More Doolin Photos

To Doolin

Scott and I woke early and took a fairly empty bus to Doolin. We went through Ballyvaughn and Lisdoonvarna which were two of my favorite words to say on the trip. As we neared our stop I was preparing to get off and unstrapped my camera from around my neck. I got off and left it on my bus seat. I realized it when I was getting the tour of our hostel. Our host, Karl, was extremely helpful and called the bus as we stood there and arranged for a pick up as the bus came back through. Karl, by the way was the best hostel host ever. We stayed at the Aillie River Hostel, which was incredible. The kitchen was busy 24/7 it seemed and there was always people lounging about sharing stories and games. I think part of it was that Doolin was a small village and tourists were more apt to stay at the hostel than to try and explore a large town.
As we got there, and settled in, we asked Karl how to get to the Cliffs of Moher. One reason for our stay. He sat and drew us a map and described the walk to us. We walked out and waited for the bus and got my camera before we left for our hike. The day gave us brilliant sunshine and we took advantage of it.

We started on a road out of town and to a pasture. From there we hopped a fence and walked close to the water. We stayed near the water until the trail turned to look at an abandoned settlement. It was left during the potato famine.

We then walked along the cliffs the whole way. Along the cliffs there was a waterfall that didn't fall. It came over the cliff and was immediately blown back onto land. We saw a sea cave full of sea foam. The hike only became more and more exciting as we neared the cliffs. There was one point where the trail was a foot wide between fence post and a 300ft drop to the sea. The walk started at basically sea level and climbed to over 400 ft above the Atlantic. We were able to take all of the photographs that were on postcards.

Scott and I approached the visitors center and realized we would have to hop the fence. You are suppose to enter at a certain checkpoint and pay an entrance fee(if driving, after an 8 euro parking fee). We hopped the fence near many tourists and walked to castle that was at the top. We then ate a sandwich we had packed from our free breakfast in Galway and walked around the area. If you tour the way you are suppose to, you only get one view of the cliffs and you need to work your way above a giant fence to do so.
We hiked back along the road and saw some great local sights.

We found a jam shop and bought some delicious raspberry spread. We also found a small resataurant. We ate fries and drank beer. It was great.
We made our way back to the hostel and decided to sit for a bit. We knew the next day we wanted to hike the Burren and asked Karl what his favorite walks were. He showed us on a map where we should go. We rested and then went out to buy food. We toured the village and found a music shop, a small grocery store and 5 pubs. We bought some pb and bread, some oatmeal and a couple of bananas and apples.
We read for a bit at the hostel and decided to get dinner out at a pub. We walked down the road and stopped at the last pub we could find. I ordered an Irish Stew with Guinness sauce and Scott had fish and chips. It was delicious. We decided to wander while we waited for music to start. We found a very neat old cemetery just out of town. We searched for names of relatives (Carr, Higgins, Cahill and Donahue) but only found Griffin which was the Surname of in-laws.
We went back and saw a little band who had an accordion, a banjo, drum and guitar. We drank some more beer and ordered more fries. When we finished our fare, we walked down to the next pub. There a fiddler and a guitar were just taking a break. We continued our walk and found Fitzpatricks. There was two flutes and guitar playing.

They were decent. After a while we decided to head back to the hostel. We used the FREE internet(only place we stayed at that offered this) and checked the bus schedule and our email.

To Galway

My cousin Kim drove me to the airport early on the 28th and I flew to Cedar Rapids, IA. It was small, but I think Great Falls is still smaller. I was there for 3 hours before a flight to Chicago. To fly international you need to leave the gates and go through security again. I got through in the nick of time and then was on my way to Dublin. I knew it was a 7 hour flight, and I landed at 8 am the next day. It was my only chance for sleep. What did I do? I watched the two movies on the plane and then cat napped my way in.

I got in at 8. It took until 9:15 to get through customs and immigration. My brother was suppose to come in at 10:00, so I tried to stay awake until then. I paced around, and finally slept near a bus schedule. Scott came in at the right time and flew threw customs. He came out at a different gate than I expected so it was good he decided to look for me before he went to the main terminal. We met up and got bus tickets, took some cash out of an ATM, and boarded a bus to Galway. We were awake through the city and for about 5 minutes on the open road, then we both slept almost to Galway (approx. 3 hours).


We left the bus station, and walked a few blocks to our hostel. We checked in, took showers, and were ready to hit the town. Scott had spent the last few years in Jamaica with the Peace Corps, so he was excited to travel, but he was not about to spend money he didn't have to. Thank godness. We walked around Eyre square, and found a crepe place for lunch. We then walked through the town stopping when we saw a good photo or when it rained.

We explored the Cathedral, walked out on a pier to the lighthouse, and then up a hill and found a cemetery and St. Augustine's well. We decided to go back to the hostel for a rest and then try and go out on the town.


We were in Galway during the Galway races, much like the kentucky derby back home. The place was packed. We finally found a bar that we could sit down in, and watched part of a hurling match on TV. Another TV was turned up REALLY loud on a nature documentary and the sound of crickets was being piped through the pub at unreasonalbe volumes. A man walked over and turned the power off to the cheers of his mates, but an old man stood up and threatened to throw a punch. The old man was calm once the young guy turned the tube back on, but I was, in the back of my mind, hoping for an Irish brawl. Could you imagine, the first night and a drunk Irishman got in a fight? I don't like stereotypes, but that would have been a story.

We turned in after one or two beers.

We were tired and sore and one guiness was enough for a buzz. We slept well, despite our roomates coming in at 3:15am and talking about their mis-attempts at scoring that night. We were awake early the next morning and the hostel had a breakfast ready for us. I was disappointed because breakfast at all the hostels meant toast and jam and cereal and milk. I can't have cereal with milk, so I was stuck with toast and jam.

It was fine because it was free. We then boarded a bus and were on our way to Doolin.

Kansas

I drove to Manhattan Kansas the next day to see my friend Brandon. I met his wife to be, Lisa, and his best man as we picked up my tux. We then drove to the reception site and looked around and then to Lisa's house. I set up my tent in their back yard and they fed us a great bbq. That night we created the centerpieces and welcomed Brandon's sister in later.

The next day as all the others in the bridal party were coming in, we decorated the reception hall. It was fun. That night all of us went to Aggieville in Manhattan and danced and drank for the bachelor party. We had friends from all over the US and had a great time catching up. We drove back to the hotel and slept preparing for the big day.

On the day of the wedding we dressed at the church and took pictures before hand. The wedding was beautiful in a small Lutheran church in Wheaton. After the wedding, the bridal party boarded a bus and drove around taking pictures and relaxing. We then eventually made our way to the reception.

It was a great dance and we all had lots of fun. That night we also went swimming until about 3 am. I sweat a lot. During the dance I took off my bow tie and set it on a table. I forgot to get it, but the mother of the bride picked it up. The next day, I met up with her and she told me I dropped my bowtie in something, it was soaking wet. I told her that, no, I was sweating and it soaked the tie. She absolutely wouldn't believe that it was only sweat.

I dropped my buddy Nick off at the Kansas City airport the next day and was able to cross into Missouri to add another state to my road trip. I drove back across Kansas and only was able to get to Hays before I was ready to stop. I rented a hotel room and stayed there. The next day I drove to Aurora again, and stopped into the local library to check my email and look at my travel plans to Ireland. That night was my aunt Lillian's birthday. I went over to her house for dinner and met up with my other cousin Kim and her two kids. It was fun to see them again and play games and celebrate Lillian's birthday.
The next day, Kim drove me to the airport to leave for the emerald isle.

On to the next...

I drove to Billings on the 21st and stayed with my aunt Mary. I had seen her at the reunion but was nice to spend time with her. For dinner she had five nuns from China and a nun from New York staying with her. We ate a great stir fry and had a house full of laughter. I sat and talked with Mary about my family history and showed her some of my work on an online family tree.
I then went and visited my cousin Daniel and had a great conversation. I stayed with my aunt that night and the next morning discussed traveling in Ireland. She had been there twice before and was able to give me some ideas for site seeing.


I drove to Aurora Colorado the next day, and on the way visited with my cousin Grant in Buffalo, WY. He was working at the newspaper where he is a reporter. We ate lunch and he showed me some fun spots around the town.
I continued to Colorado and missed getting into a severe thunderstorm by a few miles. I hit some rain but missed the large wind and hail. I stopped in and stayed a night with my cousin Ronda, who I hadn't seen in 8 years. It was great catching up and sharing family stories with her. We promised to spend more time together and get the cousins on our side together more. I then was off to Kansas for a friends wedding.

Thank God I'm a country boy

When I returned to the farm, my aunt Veronica and uncle Bart were still around. We spent a night talking family and life. It was fun to see them. The next day I spent a day wandering around the hills in our pasture looking for rocks. I found great examples of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. I found some interesting sandstone layers and think I may have found small fossils in the layer. I saved many rocks for hand specimens in my classroom.
The next day I stayed home as Mom and Dad went to work. I continued playing with ancestry stuff on the computer and was bored in the evening
so I walked to Antelope butte from our house. It was probably about a five mile hike or more, but I really enjoyed the walk with our dog Molly. I saw hawks, deer, rabbits, and lots of meadowlarks.
The next day I decided I was going to run to my uncle's house. It has always been a goal of mine. He lives about 12 miles away. I went to his house for lunch because I was trying to find places to stay later in my travels and our internet went down. I ate great chicken dinner from aunt Jerri and then walked out to the reservoir and our families grave site. I drove home and hydrated for my big run. At about 6:45 I took off with a camel back, two cliff bars and a powerade on my back. I ran about 4 miles and started feeling my heart beat and began to worry. I drank some water and walked for a bit, and calmed down. At 6 miles I stopped and rested for a bit. I ran 2 more miles and began getting sore. I had blisters on my feet and a sore knee. I knew I needed to keep going and luckily my uncle ran from his house to meet me and met me at about mile 9. I ran the rest of the way with him and his dog Otis. It was great. I ran the 12 miles in one hour and forty-five minutes.
The next day my knee hurt, but I played 18 holes of golf with my friends Owen and Allyn and loved my day in the sun.

I then drove to my friend Nick's baby shower at his farm. I stayed there until 1 am spending time with neighbors and friends.

On Sunday, my parents and I were going to float the river but the wind was blowing really hard. Mom decided to go to church and told Dad and I to go by ourselves.

We borrowed a kayak from my aunt Jerri and another from our neighbors. We drove up to Carter to put in and I strapped 2 water bottles to the back of my kayak. We put in and I tipped not 50 feet into the river. The man watching us would have told us to take out immediately. I floated a little farther and tipped again. I told my Dad to take my water bottles and I stayed up for almost the rest of the few hour trip. I realized the kayak was too small. I couldn't fit my knees into the boat and they were touching the whole time. It really worked my ab muscles and balancing muscles. My mom came and picked us up and we enjoyed a root beer float at the tasty freeze.

The next day, my last day at the farm, I hiked square butte with my uncle.

We left at 9:30 and got to the top at 11:30am. We walked around the top for 6 more hours, before going home. I loved the few days home and all the energy I was able to exert. I saw lots of my home town area and loved it.