The Great 2018 Irish Adventure -- Part I
The Great 2018 Irish Adventure -- Part II
One afternoon while E was out with Uncle Con hauling wool, the kids and I decided to walk to the end of Uncle Con's driveway. Mind you, at the end of the driveway is the single lane road that goes on for two miles before hitting the main road.
On the way down to the end of the driveway, Conall found a couple of slugs. He was so excited.
At the end of the driveway and across the little road, Uncle Con keeps his three rams. Majestic was the first word that came to mind when we saw them. They like to stick together and when we walked down that afternoon, they were laying right next to the road (which isn't unrealistic as NO ONE travels on the road unless they are coming or going from Uncle Con's).
This is the view from the bottom of the driveway, looking back up to the house. If you look SUPER close, you'll see a little boy who ran ahead of me and lifted his shirt up for my photo.
Being that E's family is from Donegal, his grandparents are buried there. We visited the cemetery in Drimarone and visited their grave. Conall was beginning to get super ornery (we didn't realize but he was coming down with a cold, which that story will come later). He was a complete bear for most of the day that day. So lots of patience was given and we went on his pace whenever Conall the Kraken came out.
While at the cemetery, Conall found a little frog. This photo seriously had me in stitches. The little frog was sitting so nicely in his hands. And when I got down to take the photo, apparently the frog tried to jump out of Conall's hands, unsuccessfully (obviously). But I didn't realize that Conall had that little frog held by his feet.
This was the last photo of the little frog from the cemetery. Conall was very upset to have to let him go (as he is with all the animals he catches) and so we had to take one final photo of them. Again, I was in stitches because that poor little frog was upside down in his hands. But he was so proud.
After the cemetery, we went to Inver Beach. The last time we went to Ireland as a family, we stayed at a cottage on the bay, which is directly across from Inver Beach. At the beach, Conall again found new friends. This time it was dead crabs. He was collecting pieces, legs, and full skeletons of dead crabs. Good times.
Finorah had such a blast at the beach. She was doing cartwheel after cartwheel. The girl is just getting into fashion and she tied her own shirt up. It was COLD, but the girl is a slave to fashion and she didn't care that her tummy was freezing. She felt good!
This video is beyond spectacular. Finorah didn't intend to land that way, Conall thought it was right way.
Everything about this video is Finorah. From the tips of her pointed toes to the flourish she finishes her cartwheel with, all Finorah.
After the beach, we went into Donegal town. We were told that fairies live near the River Eske. So of course, we had to check it out. This was the highlight of both of the kids' trip. We were asked again and again to go back to the Fairy Walk.
The Fairy Walk was so much fun! We walked along the River Eske and tried to spot the doorways to the fairies' houses. Conall was very intent of finding a fairy and wanted to knock on every single door he saw, even ones that were quite difficult to get to. He was determined.
We found the large tree that appeared to be a fairy apartment complex. It was here that we made contact with the fairies! Those fairies refused to open their doors, but they would knock back to let us know that they were there. To this day, the kids are still amazed that they made actual contact with the fairies!
After the Fairy walk, we hit up Donegal Castle. The kids had been dying to check out a castle in Ireland. At the entry way, the kids were given a scavenger hunt to try and find throughout the castle. It kept them really busy and it was really fun!
King Conall
Queen Finorah
The cobwebs in the high corners of the castle were amazing! This window was three stories above the ground and I was at eye level with it due to the staircase.
After Donegal Castle, we hit our final stop for the day. We went to the Donegal Abbey. It was ruins of an old abbey and a very old cemetery. We walked through the ruins and looked at the old stones. By this point in the day, both kids were exhausted, but Conall was especially worn out.
Our last stop of the day was at a really old cemetery that was next to Inver. The kids were exhausted and they didn't even get out of the car. The cemetery was next to the beach and the bay.
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