Journey to the Isles

Day 23

2005-08-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

Today is our last full day in Ireland and will mark the end of this blog. It has taken me almost 9 months to finish a blog that only covered 24 days (yes...I lost a day somewhere out there on this version). Thanks for bearing with me as I have dragged my feet finishing the story.

We want to visit by far more places today than we actually have time. We decide to check out the red DublinTours buses that stop right in front of our apartment on St. Stephen's Green.

We ask the first driver to stop what we need to do and he tells us to hop on and which stop to get off at so that we can buy our tickets. We can buy one ticket and can get on and off the bus as many times as we want all day long. This seems perfect for us. There is a tour guide on each bus and they hit all the things that we want to see with the tour guide describing interesting things along the way. They are quite humorous actually.

Our first stop is Dublinea at Christ Church. This is a children's play area/museum which takes you on a "hands-on" tour through Dublin's history.

Eamon has a blast, actually we all do. Eamon and I decide to go down into the crypt below the church to see the treasures and the tombs below. It is a little bit dark and Eamon gets somewhat uncomfortable but it is pretty interesting. When we come back up we can explore the church a little more, now that the morning service is over. There are a mummified cat and rat that were found to have died in the pipes of the gigantic organ of the church. They are now on display in a glass case. We end up spending most of the day here before we get really hungry. We don't find any good spots, so we decide to get on the next bus.
Our next stop is the Guinness brewery at St. James Gate. They have converted the old brewery into a museum which is encased in the world's largest pint glass. At the end of the self guided tour you are served a pint of Guinness in the clear lip of glass above the stout's famous tan, foamy head. We head right to the restaurant for lunch and a pint. The food is fine, but the Guinness is tremendous. It is definitely the best we have had on the trip. The museum is fascinating, with lots of tidbits and facts about the beer and the process. Eamon's favorite section is the advertising section which has posters from every campaign, and some really funny old commercials. Other than the restaurant, we spend most of our time here. After lots of trolling, we finally grab some seats at the top of the pint to sit and have our beers. The 360 degree view is stunning but hard to capture with the camera.

We manage to catch the very last bus of the night and ride the tour to its end. Unfortunately this means it ends at the main tour location, and does not travel past St. Stephen's Green again. This means a VERY long walk or a cab ride. The driver kindly offers to drop us off at a better location on his way back to the garage. He tells a great story about the Jameson's distillery and makes me wish that I could have fit that in on this trip. Ah, well, we will go there next time! We walk back to the apartment, and we are all exhausted. We make sure to spend the evening packing while Eamon (who has stayed on GREEN the whole day, somehow) watches television.
There is no doubt that this trip with the kids has been tough. We know now that future trips with the kids work best with one or very few home bases from which we can launch multiple day trips. The constant motion of our drive from Connemara to Dublin was the hardest part of the trip. All in all, though, it was well worth it, and, taking some of our newly earned wisdom, we will do more trips like this, planning them a little better next time.

Day 22

2005-08-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

0700 GMT - Connor sleeps in this morning giving us the perfect opportunity to explain the new system to Eamon. He actually becomes quite enthusiastic about it. We put a green toy on top of the TV and after many questions and suggestions from Eamon he starts the day on GREEN. We turn on the TV and get breakfast going. Amy and I review the list of places/things that we want to do. We decide to visit St. Stephen's Green and the National Museum today. I dress and head out for a run on the Green. I am able to do much better today...the wind was a big impact in wearing me out yesterday. When I return, the apartment manager is there and offers to walk us through the whole hot water experience. It finally makes sense and we realize how to make the system work. It is still not particularly convenient, but at least we know what we are doing.

1100 GMT - We head out to the Green for a walk which we target to take us, eventually, to the playground. Eamon and Connor both have a blast. We chat with some local parents and watch the kids play.

We then head to look for a pub with music to have some lunch. We find a pub that sounds like it has great music, but the menu is limited and it seems to be lacking room for the family. Across the street is another pub, the music is not as good, but the menu looks good and there is lots of room. The musician is just one man, and he plays mostly 60's/70's folk music. The food is actually pretty good. We have a nice chat with a family that sits next to us, and then decide it is off to the museum which should now be open.

1300 GMT - Well, we get in line at the museum only to learn that we are at the wrong branch. This is the natural history one, which does not have the exhibits that we think Eamon will like. We meet an American woman who is looking for the same museum, and is trying to meet someone there, so we walk over together. The museum is quite interesting, and Eamon does rather well...though he gets a little nervous in some of the more dimly lit sections. The last section we visit is a history of the revolutions in Ireland and the final independence. I realize how little I knew of the more recent history of Ireland after spending some time in this exhibit. We stop in the museum shop so that Eamon can have a treat and we can have some tea. We wrap things up and stroll back to the apartment having had a MUCH better day.

1800 GMT - We are once again exhausted. We decide to order in and do so once more. I am not feeling really well, so I decide not to go out tonight. Tomorrow is our last day, and we work out our plan of attack. We still want to visit Dublinea/Christ's Church and St. James' Gate/Guinness. Eamon managed to stay on GREEN the whole day, though he did end up sitting on the bathroom floor a number of times. The new system seems to be working out.

Day 21

2005-08-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

0630 GMT - Early day today. I was woken up several times last night by various New Years Eve revelers and Connor crying, wanting to be fed. Now Eamon is up and about so I turn on the TV for him to watch some cartoons. I remain in a rotten mood. I have grown quite frustrated with Eamon's behavior and feel rather at a loss as to how to deal with it. I have decided to not be involved in discipline of Eamon for the rest of the trip. In my wandering fury I try to avoid Amy completely. As soon as she wakes up I put on my running clothes and head out for a run. Fortunately they have opened up St. Stephen's Green just as I arrive and I get to put in some laps. I am feeling quite out of shape, and running against the wind is quite tough. The sun is out but I do get hit by some drizzles. I head back to the apartment only to have to take a cold shower, we have yet to figure out the hot water.

1130 GMT - We are all dressed finally and ready to head outside for the day when a massive storm hits. The winds are VERY fast and it is raining as though this were a hurricane or a monsoon. We take off our coats and decide to do a little more waiting.

1330 GMT - The rain has mostly stopped so we go off in search of lunch. We wander through the shopping district right next to our apartment, but have very little luck. We try a number of places, but none really seem to be what any of us are looking for. Finally we head back to a Chinese restaurant because they have Dim Sum. Once inside, however, we learn that all the food except for a few dishes has MSG. Amy is frustrated by orders some food and overall it is OK. Eamon and I eat the Dim Sum, which really isn't very good, but the other food is not bad. Connor begins to get cranky...it is time for his nap so we head out for a walk so that he can nap in the stroller.

1730 GMT - We are not feeling much like doing anything at the moment, and Amy and I are still talking to each other only as much as is necessary. We order delivery food from a magazine left on the table. It is adequate. We watch some TV and finally get the kids into a warm bath and off to bed.

2030 GMT - Amy wants to get out and hear some music. The real Irish Pub nightlife doesn't begin until after 2100, and we have thus never gotten to experience it. There is a pub listed in her Dublin guide that is very close to our apartment and is supposed have great traditional music. I tell her to go out and she promises to let me go out the next night. I spend my time reading and am still up when she comes back. She has had a FABULOUS time. She got to the pub and was adopted by the locals. The band was a bunch of older traditional musicians. Her new buddy slowly works her closer and closer to the band until she is right up on stage. He has told them that she plays the guitar and one of the players passes her an instrument. She tells them that she plays, but has NO idea how to follow them. They laugh and continue on. One of the younger musicians tells her that he has been trying to learn by playing with them for months and still hasn't got it figured out. She tells me that I have to go out. We use her great mood as a ice breaker to have a VERY long discussion about Eamon and his behavior as well as the way that we are dealing with it. We come up with a new plan similar to what he does in school. He can be on RED or GREEN. When he is on red he loses all privileges. He cannot play with the computer, watch TV or play with a grown up. He will have time outs on the bathroom floor with the door open and the light out. He is very particular about having all the lights on, so this drills the point in. He is not in the dark, he just can't turn on the light in the bathroom itself. We agree to explain the new system to him in the morning. We will use markers on the white board at home, but here we will just place a red or a green object on the television.

Day 20

2005-02-23T04:55:00.000-08:00

0700 GMT - Awake again. We shower and dress, bundling up for our walk to breakfast. We stroll to the alley where we ate dinner last night, to find the little breakfast place we had seen on the way. When we locate it, we are surprised to find, despite the sign with their listed hours saying that they open at 0800, the staff are having a meeting and will not be opening until 0830. We start walking looking for another option. We pass a few possibilities, but I am not feeling like just having coffee and pastries and Amy feels a little uncomfortable at the one sit down place we find, so we keep searching. After a while Amy becomes quite aggravated and we begin arguing about which place we should have stopped at. Finally we find somewhere that everyone seems to be happy with. Eamon had been asking for thin pancakes like Maraed had made for him in Bunratty, but when we sit down with the menu he decides on sausage and eggs. I order the French style pancake and a side of bacon, knowing he will probably end up eating what I order again. If he does not, I am sure Connor will. Amy orders oatmeal and toast. My French style pancake turns out to be a monstrosity. It is about 6 inches in diameter, and maybe 1.5 inches thick, and it is somewhat overcooked and black on one side. It is a very good thing that Eamon did not order it. While we eat, I look at our two maps....one of the Ireland roads to plan the route to Dublin, and one the great Dublin street map that Amy bought for me for Christmas. We plot out the drive to Dublin and I even find the little street near St. Stephen's Green where our Apartment is. With this map we won't be driving around aimlessly lost like we did last night. Finally Eamon and I get up and leave Amy and Connor to head back to the hotel and finish packing while we run some errands. We stop in a Pharmacy to pick up a few things and then I FINALLY get into a sporting goods store where I find a 50% off sale and the perfect set of running clothes for cold, misty weather. They are not waterproof, but they are better than layered sweat shirts! We head back to the hotel and I load up the car while Eamon watches a cartoon. Once the car is packed and we are checked out of the hotel, I suddenly realize that I have no idea where the two maps we looked at in the restaurant have gone. I unpack a number of bags, scour my pockets and search the car to no avail. We decide that we must have left them in the restaurant and decide to drive by and check. Unfortunately, we still don't have a map of Cork, and we can't seem to navigate anywhere near the restaurant on the one way streets and suddenly find ourselves trapped in rush hour grid lock. I leave Amy parked illegally, within eyesight of traffic police, and I run (literally) off through the streets to find the restaurant. It takes me a while and I am looping around a bit, but finally I find it. Alas, no maps, the staff didn't find anything. I find my way back to the car, running again, just as the traffic police are telling Amy to move along. She sees I have no maps, but says, "Well, at least you got your run in..." We head out of the city on my memory and following the signs.
1000 GMT - Actually, getting out of the city proves quite easy. We hit the road and make great time. Amy drives and I navigate off the map in the Frommer's Ireland book. It is not as detailed as the rental car map that I lost, but it does the job. I have some rudimentary maps of Dublin in both the Ireland book and the Dublin book that Amy bought for me for Christmas. The towns and scenery flies by, and we avoid stopping to ensure that we can make it to Dublin before dark and meet the apartment manager. Amy had called her from the hotel in Cork and let her know what time we were expecting to make it to Dublin. We stop for lunch in a little town whose name I can't remember and choose the little cafe over the pub inside the hotel. Lunch is quiet and curt, Amy and I are still fuming over yesterday, and I seem to have run out of patience with Eamon. After lunch I take Eamon to a little corner grocery to pick up water, snacks, and he chooses to spend his daily money (this is a new thing we are trying as of today) on a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comic book. It is more than the 3 euro he is allowed each day, but I chip in the extra 50 cents. We load everyone up in the car, and I take over driving. One more stop for diesel before we hit the city, and the next thing you know we are in Dublin.
1800 GMT - Well, we promised the apartment manager that we would get there by 1800, and we are still navigating traffic when that time rolls around. Despite the map, we struggle to find the way we want to go due to the preponderance of one way streets, and a lack of clear signage. We finally cross the river, but are looping round and round as Amy struggles to read the map, and I struggle with traffic. Finally I pull over into a garage where we are not supposed to be, and switch places. I look at the map, and quickly see where we went wrong. Amy is a much better driver, and I am a much better navigator. This is something we need to remember in the future. Even though Amy argues with me I tell her where to turn and when and next thing you know we are pulled up to the gate in front of the apartment. Amy has the manager open the gate and we park, pledging not to go near the car again until it is time to go home. Amy checks us in and I start unloading the car. I take everything out for the first time in a week, it will all need to be repacked for the trip home. Amy pledges to do the garbage clean up. The apartment manager is very sweet, and shrugs off our apologies for being late when we know she has New Year's plans. She says she still has another tenant who has yet to check in and is several hours late. She gives us a quick tour of the apartment and shows us how to work the appliances. I get directions from her to the grocery and she loans me a sack. The stores charge extra if you don't bring your own sack. I run out to the grocery store to pick up some dinner, choosing some frozen pizzas and some beer. I get back to the apartment to cook the pizza only to find that there is no stove, only a microwave and some electric burners. We get creative and try to cook the pizza in a frying pan.
2000 GMT - Bath time was a big failure. There did not seem to be any hot water and we can't seem to get the heater working. Amy places a call to maintenance, but we realize with tomorrow being New Year's Day, we are unlikely to have much help before Monday, which is still two days away. I set up Eamon's bed by pulling out the couch, only to find that this was not the plan. We decide to leave it pulled out, at least for tonight. I read Eamon some Lemony Snickett, and we are all off to bed.

Day 19

2005-02-23T04:47:00.000-08:00

0700 GMT - We awake and decide to have breakfast. Having better prepared ourselves for both the lack of a high chair, and Eamon's volume, we make it through this morning much more efficiently. We finish packing and load up the car. We once more need to pay with cash, so we decide to hike into town, and stop at the stone circle along the way so that Eamon can have a chance to see it and Amy can take some photographs. We make it to the circle with very little complaint from Eamon, and he asks many questions as we look around. There are a couple of other men there as well, and we allow each other respectful quiet. As we start to leave, however, they ask me if I know what this place is. I explain what little I know, and they thank me. As we reach the road, they approach again and ask some additional questions. We strike up a conversation and learn that they are several friends from Barcelona traveling around Ireland for their holiday, all in one van. They are surprised to learn that we are Americans, assuming that we are Irish. Obviously our accents sound the same to those who speak English as a second language. They are fascinated in the fact that we are traveling with the boys, and one of the men is quite interested in Eamon, commenting on how aware he is of everything. Amy asks them if they are a band, since they seem an eclectic group of friends, but they say no, that they are just friends. Two of the men are Rugby players in Barcelona, and Eamon asks what Rugby is. They run to their van to show him a rugby ball. They talk for a little about how important Rugby is to them, saying that very few Spaniards play the sport. They say that it reminds them of the days when their were knights and men lived lives of honor. With great emotion, one of the man offers his Rugby ball to Eamon. Eamon is a bit overwhelmed and at first says no thank you, but when the man explains how important it is to him, and that he wishes for Eamon to have it, because he feels Eamon would appreciate the importance, Eamon accepts the gift and thanks them. They head on their way once goodbyes are shared all around. We pick up cash from the bank and some snacks for the road from the local bakery. Once we pay our hosts, we head out on the road, with Amy at the wheel.
1100 GMT - We take the scenic route to Cork, with our first stop north of the city at Blarney Castle. We are inundated with the smell sheep manure from the moment we enter the park. We hike round the castle grounds, exploring the Witch's Kitchen, Druid's Cave, stone circle, fairy glen and sacrificial, stone altar

Finally we hike to the castle itself. Amy picks up a promised piece of the Blarney Castle for Bob's mother, and we head inside. It is quite small, and in rather good shape, though the main hall has large wooden stairs built to provide access to the upper levels. Once we enter the small tower stairs which wind to the top of the castle, Eamon has a panic attack. We handle it quite poorly, Amy is responding to her own claustrophobia and to Eamon's panicked crying, but finally we manage to get out of the tower and back down. Amy returns to the top on her own so that she can have the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone itself.

I stay with the kids, and my frustration is so high, that I decide not to bother going to the top myself. We return to the car and head into the city.
1630 GMT- We are unable to find the address for the hotel on the map of Cork that we have. We spend quite a bit of time driving around, and finally get some directions from a lady who doesn't quite seem to know how to get there, and then from one who does, but they are too confusing to follow. At one point we are stuck in traffic and I hop out of the car to run ahead through the main shopping district and look at the end of the road. I can't see the hotel in either direction. We take a guess and head left along the river until we finally see an officer directing traffic. Amy asks him directions and he tells her to pull over. He leans in Amy's window, but will only look at me while he gives directions. He then stops traffic and allows us to do a U-Turn...had we gone right earlier, we would have passed the hotel. There is no place to park and we end up driving around quite a bit before we finally are able to pull up the gate of the parking lot. They tell us however that the lot is full and we need to drive around front, check in, and pay for parking across the river. Amy is quite cranky, since she selected this hotel for its free parking, and was not told that there were only 15 spots available. I wait in the car while she checks in, and argues with them until they agree to let her in the lot to unload. We unload the car and while I bring the kids and the luggage up to the room, Amy manages to get a spot in the lot as someone else pulls out.
1730 GMT - We decide to walk into the shopping district and try to find some food. We pass a breakfast spot along the way, and decide to go there tomorrow. Next we find a Thai restaurant and decide that it would make a lovely break from pub food. Eamon decides that he likes nothing on the menu, but we talk him into Phad Thai, and he asks for no vegetables. I order a satay appetizer to share with Connor, but as I figured, Eamon decides that this is very yummy, too. The food is good, though not great, with the exception of Eamon's noodles. They had to improvise, and they made him a delicious dish that he loves. We split a dessert, and decide to head out for a little walk. Finally we head back to the hotel, where we all crash for a good night's sleep.

Day 18

2005-01-21T01:00:00.000-08:00

0630 GMT - We are again up too early for breakfast, so I bundle up and decide to take a quick run. I take the long way into town and head right up the road to the Stone Circle. It is actually directly across the little river from our B&B, which I can see from the circle.

The circle is not quite what I expect. Certainly quiet, and demanding of respect, but the stones are less "stunning" than the standing stones at Stonehenge. It is still a remarkable place. I jog back, again the long way, taking a little detour to visit a beautiful old church along the way. It is really drizzling, and getting near time for breakfast, so I head back.

0830 GMT - After a nice shower we all head to the dining room. They apparently do not have a high chair, even though we had requested one. The other guests in the dining room are SO quiet that Amy starts to get annoyed, since I feel obligated to keep reminding Eamon to keep his volume down, despite this being a clearly lost cause. Finally, Eamon finishes, so I take him back to the room for a cartoon and rejoin Amy and Connor. Feeding Connor without a high chair for him to have control over his own food proves to be quite the challenge, and he eats little.

1000 GMT - I decide to drive since we are going to do the Ring of Kerry today and it is Amy's other big thing (besides the Aran Islands visit which never happened). I am determined to make sure that she gets the opportunity to enjoy this drive. We drop off our huge load of dirty laundry at the cleaners we pass on the way out of town. For 14 euro they will wash dry and fold all our laundry by 1700. We decide this is a vacation must! The price of a lunch to get our whole day to have fun is definitely worth it.
I plot a path and give the map to Amy. We reach the Ring of Kerry and have to decide to go left or right...Amy can't decide so I just head left. I then take a sudden right to take a "scenic" route I saw on the map.

<DANGER! DANGER!>

This ends up being a VERY steep, VERY narrow set of switch backs, and we end at a fork with no signs. The fork is NOT on the map. I make a guess, and we are driving down a one lane road through farmland, with nothing in sight but rocks, greenery and sheep. We begin to fear that we are hopelessly lost when we notice that the sheep around us are rather startled and nervous by the presence of our car. None of the sheep we have encountered anywhere else have even acknowledged our presence.. We spook a sheep that is on the side of the road, on OUR side of the fence, and the poor thing begins a manic race to get away from us. The dim witted creature can't figure out what to do and just keeps running down the road. It tries to get through the fence in a few places but fails and we have to keep slowing down so as to avoid hitting it. We are sure the sheep is going to give itself heart failure if it keeps this up. I have no idea how to do CPR on a sheep. Finally though, it finds a widened spot on the side of the road and tries to hide behind a small rock as we pass it by. Amy decides that we are on the REAL Road to Nowhere but I refuse to turn around. A farmer in his truck comes barreling up the road at about 90mph, and after we swerve to avoid the head on collision, I roll down my window and ask him how to get back on the main road. He tells me we are headed in the right direction, to just keep going. Amy is satisfied and we head on. Soon we see asphalt road ahead. The question now is which way do we go? We decide to go right and end up in town on our map. I was actually on the road I meant to be on, but had no
idea it would take an hour to drive it! Amy is panicky that she is not going to get to see the ring, but we stop in town for a toilet break and to buy some snacks and head back. Rather than drive back up the gap we decide to take the inviting little "scenic" route that cuts right to where we want to start our Ring trip. We drive back and forth past it arguing until finally we decide that this MUST be the road.

<DANGER! DANGER!>

1300 GMT - Ok. The drive was quite lovely, but rather short, winding and narrow. We stop at the top of the Ballaghbeama Gap. It is a stunning view with misty fog rolling below and rain whipping in the wind on our faces.

There is a nice map and we pick our route from it, unfortunately none of the roads on that map are on the map we can actually bring with us. We make a guess at another unexpected fork. After driving MUCH longer than we should have, we realize that we took the wrong turn, and are now halfway down the peninsula, far west of where we wanted to start. Amy is in tears, I have pretty much ruined the day for her, and we have no time in our schedule to do this again. We do, at least, know how to get back on the Ring, now. As we are driving we pass an empty pasture with a single large standing stone in it.

We stop to admire it then head on our way. Finally, we are on the Ring! Unfortunately, for quite some time it is rather disappointing. It is very overcast, and most of our trip is through towns. We take a detour and Amy and Eamon explore a beach.

That little speck in the center is Eamon playing in the sand. He gets SO wet and sandy that we have to undress him and pull clean clothes out of the suitcases to dress him in.

1500 GMT- The views get better and better as the drive continues, but we wish that we had a clear sunny day to see them in. We do not have ANY tour buses to avoid on this trip though, and in the summer we have read that they are a numerous menace. We pass the "only" beach cafe in Ireland (according to its sign) and stop to check out their little sandbox.

Amy is mostly satisfied, but she makes it CLEAR to me that I made her miss the best part of the drive through my driving foolishness. I am thoroughly chagrined. By 4:30 PM, we still aren't back, and Connor starts up his dusk tirade and carries it through for the next twenty minutes until we pull him from the car. Before that can happen, we pick up the laundry from the cleaners and then stop at a restaurant nearby for some dinner.

1830 GMT - Dinner was nice, though Eamon was a wee bit difficult. We head back to the B&B for baths (ok, not really). Since there is only a shower, Connor decides to make the whole bathroom a tub through his wild splashing. It is time to rest up for our trip to Cork in the morning.

Day 17

2005-01-20T23:41:00.000-08:00

0630 GMT - Eamon is the first to wake up. Amy turns on the TV to let him watch some cartoons. It is MUCH harder to sleep in the same room with Eamon while he watches cartoons. He tends to have a running dialogue with the television, and usually loses his volume control at some point in the conversation. I rise and get dressed to take a run before our scheduled 0830 breakfast. I have finally surrendered to the reality that between holiday closures and our travel schedule, I may not make it to a store to replace the running clothes I left in Scotland. It has already been more than a week since my last run, and I need to get my legs stretched. I bundle in layers of already dirty clothes and put on my hat and gloves and head out into the light mist. This is not too much different than an early morning run in Seattle in the late autumn. It is quite stunning to have the sun rising of Buratty castle as I run by. I make a guess as to my halfway point for turning around, based on where I am in my Working Out playlist on my iPod. I look forward to Apple's upcoming flash model, since I can only get around 20 minutes before my current iPod starts to skip. At the gym I can clip it to the treadmill and not worry about skipping, but out in nature I have to face that 20 minute limit.

0830 GMT - We head down to breakfast, which is again very nice. Eamon selects a "special" French style pancake, very thin and more like a crepe, while Amy and I go with the traditional Irish breakfast. The fruit, bread and cereal selection here is not as broad as Drum Creehy, but it is adequate. Eamon LOVES his pancake, but suddenly he gets some food caught, gags, and says that he is going to puke. I grab napkins and a bowl and start moving him upstairs to our room, but he begins vomiting along the way. I keep it all in the napkins and bowl and get him upstairs successfully. I give him some water and he feels better, so we return to finish breakfast. Ah, the TRUE joys of parenthood. Eamon and I watch the end of "The Never Ending Story" whille Amy heads to find an ATM machine, since this B&B only accepts cash.

1130 GMT - We hit the road, trying to get to Kenmare before dark, we have been told that it is about two hours away. We go back to Buratty castle, this time to check out the attached historical park which has replicas of life in 1800's - early 1900's Ireland. I am very disappointed. The park is nice, and the animals are out and about, but because of the holidays there are no people present in the shops or the houses to portray the people of the time.

I wish they had told us when we bought the tickets that it was not a full experience this week. We check out the empty dwellings, including the house that the makers of HB ice cream lived in, Eamon plays in a little castle playground, and then we hit the pub for lunch.

We chat with a Californian woman who has been living in Belfast, Northern Ireland (part of the UK) for a year whose husband and son are visiting. The people who sit at their table after they leave are also Americans, and after a short chat we learn that they are the family who moved into the Connemara Country Cottages house that we were staying in after we left. We laugh and joke about the absurdity of 200 TV channels and no phone and ask if we left any toys. They say no. We decide that it is time to hit the road.

1540 GMT - It is still light out, but we have only made it as far as killarny.
We try to pull off the main road to find a phone and call the B&B for tonight once I read the notes and realize that if we won't make it by 1600, we are supposed to call. We find a phone booth in the middle of a residential neighborhood. While Amy is on the phone, a dog walks up to check us out and he begins to bark visciously, not at us but at a teenager walking by. I usher Eamon back into the car, and suddenly I find a VERY hard chunk in the gum I am chewing. I take it out to find a small piece of what looks like a tooth. I feel around with my tongue only to find that the porcelain part of my crown has fractured and exposed the metal beneath. Amy returns to say that she spoke to the owner of the B&B and he tells us that it will be another two hours, and to avoid the "scenic" route and stick to the main highway or it will take 3-4 hours. I tell her about my tooth, but because it seems to be causing me no pain, I decide to wait until we get home to deal with it. If it starts to hurt, we can try to deal with it in Dublin. The drive seems to take forever, and when we finally take the exit to head towards Kenmare, it is already dark and Connor has awakened and begun to scream. We can tell that the scenery must be stunning, but we cannot see any of it, and Connor is still screaming which would make it impossible to enjoy anyway. 1630 has been his limit, beyond that he cannot bear to be in the car.

1730 GMT - The very curvy roads in the dark have slowed us down, and many people passed us throughout the drive. Connor screamed the entire way. We follow the directions Amy got from the B&B owner and arrive at the house.
It is quite cute, up on a hill above the road and surrounded by Christmas lights.

It is a little roomier and nicer than last night's B&B, but still not as nice as Drum Creehy. It will be our last B&B, two nights and then we are off to Cork and Dublin. We pack up in our rain gear and hike down to town, in the dark over a little bridge shortcut our host told us how to find. We come out on a street with a sign pointing the way to the Druid Stone Circle that we have read about and take note of that. We pick a restaurant, after much rigamarole, eat some food and hike back to the B&B for a good nights sleep.

Day 16

2005-01-12T01:21:00.000-08:00

NOTE: Please visit the BLOG in story order on https://home.comcast.net/~shoisson

0800 GMT - We wake up with Connor's call to action. Eamon starts of the morning with some early BBC kids shows, while we get our bags packed and ready to go. We don't have a clock in the room, and the only watch I have is my formal watch for work and, frankly, I don't even remember where I last left it, but somewhere at home in Seattle. It is a somewhat overcast day, so that does not help too much, but since it is no longer dark out, we figure that it must be close to 9am. We requested breakfast at 0900, so we decide to head over to the main house. Once inside, though, our host tells us that it is only 0840 and they are not quite ready. We head back to the cottage and I load the car. When I get back to the room, the phone rings and they tell us that they are ready for us. Breakfast is lovely. They have a full buffet of fresh and dried fruits, some breads, butter, jams, preserves, juices, milk, and cereals set out. They then serve us a full traditional Irish breakfast with back bacon, sausages, eggs and black and white puddings. I try the puddings, since they have gone to such efforts to put together this gorgeous breakfast. Neither one is to my liking, but Eamon really likes the white pudding so I give mine to him. Eamon also tries both dried and fresh dates, but decides that the fresh ones are not good, and the dried ones are delicious. Amy has tea with her breakfast, but I stick with my coffee. After breakfast, we settle our bill and hit the road to Buratty.

1130 GMT - We want to visit the Cliffs of Mohr. We head southwest, and arrive at a little seaside town, where we can see the Aran Islands off in the distance. On our way out of the town, we see a very cool ruin.

We get to the cliffs, and do a little shopping beofre braving the walk to the viewing area. The wind is so strong here that it will actually physically move me if I don't resist it. Amy loses her hat and I have to chase after it. The cliffs are quite stunning, but once it starts to rain, we decide to return to the car and hit the road.

1330 GMT - Both kids fall asleep after a few hours on the road, but we realize that it is almost lunch time, and we are entering the last major town on our route. We stop in Ennis and find a parking lot. We wake up the kids, and since St. Stephen's Day fell on a Sunday, today is a bank holiday. The stores are open, but the parking is free. We decide to try a Pub/Restaurant right on the lot, but once inside decide that it is not family friendly and head back out to the street. We end up at the first Pub we saw driving into the town and take a seat in the back all on our own. We find a big newspaper clipping about Ireland's former Prime Minister named Eamon De Valera. Eamon is excited at first to see his name on a newspaper headline, but that quickly passes and the mysterious, empty pint glass perched on top of the stall in the Gents toilet becomes the real interesting object. We have a nice lunch, and I have a chat with the bartender about the change in the smoking policy in Ireland. There is no smoking indoors in public buildings in the whole country. I ask if it has impacted business much, and he says that business is down a little, but not that much. He says that every worker in the bar was sick with bad colds for a month after the ban went into effect, and no one has been sick since. He is very happy about the health benefits the new law has brought for a non-smoker like himself. It is a torrential downpour, and we run back to the car as quickly as we can. We decide to hit the road. We, again, have no idea where our next B&B is actually located, but we do have an address. Once on the road, we get caught in absolutely ridiculous traffic which barely moves for 15 or more minutes. We decide that it must be airport traffic, and the airport is halfway between where we are and where we are going. I analyze the map and pick a "back" way that routes around the airport and takes us through more scenic areas.

1530 GMT - We manage to follow the map and the signs to Bunratty and drive right by the castle where we have our dinner reservations for the evening. When we pass the castle, I see a road sign, but don't pay too much attention to it. After driving a little way past the castle, Amy says we have gone too far, since she was told that the B&B was close to the castle. I check the address, and see that it is on the road that we drove in on, the "back" way. We turn around and drive all the way to the end of that road without seeing the sign for the B&B. Amy calls them from the castle parking lot pay phone, but can only leave a message. The gas station at the other end of the road says that they know where it is, and we must have missed the sign. They say that it is after the Carriage Park (or trailer park to we Americans) but before the winery. We drive back again, and slow down at every B&B sign, much to the chagrin of those people behind us along the way. We finally find it, when we realize that the name we have for it is in small print under the larger print of the owner's name. Silly us. We pull in and Maread is pleased to see us since she was late to the phone, and had no way to call us back with directions. She sets us up in our room upstairs, and I haul up the luggage.

1645 GMT - It is time for the big dinner. Due to the rain we have to drive to the castle. We enter and pick up our tickets and run through the rain...quite a long way to the castle entrance. Amy gets routed off with the stroller at the entrance so she can place it in the room where we will have dinner, and we won't have to carry it. I am carrying Connor, and Eamon has a minor panic on the narrow, spiral, stone staircase. I manage to talk him through it, with the help of some kind folk behind him. We reach the top where they hand him a mug of fruit punch and me a mug of mead, or honey wine. It was the traditional drink for the bride and groom for the first month after the wedding, with reputed powers for fertility and virility. Mead's honey base, and the month length led that period tradition required for its consumption led to this period being titled the "honeymoon." We are in the great hall, and we take the opportunity to look at the castle structure itself, as well as the art throughout the room. We meet a woman from Bellingham who is visiting her daughter who is going to school in Dublin. We also meet an Irishman named Eamonn, and again Eamon is pleased to meet someone with his name, even if it is spelled with the traditional second "n." A Lord and His Lady are selected from the crowd and bestowed with their new titles, and a harpist plays some music. Suddenly, the women who have been serving the mead and punch form a choir right next to us and begin to sing quite nicely. At the first vocal note, Connor, who I am holding, whips his head around to watch them, and he does not move or make a sound until they are done. He really loves music. We are herded back downstairs, and with the kids in tow, we wait until the end of the line to make the journey. Eamon has and even harder time going down, but he makes it.

1730 GMT - We are seated at the end of a long wooden table with long wooden benches. Connor is provided a high chair at the end of the table. We are served soup which must be drunk directly from the bowl, and some bread and butter. It is quite tasty. We meet a couple from Belgium who take our photo, and seem intent on keeping my wine glass full at all times.

They are very sweet and we have nice conversation with them throughout the meal. We have a few more courses, including chicken and spare ribs. All food is eaten with the hands, and you are provided a bib and a bowl of water for your fingers. Connor is snuck some serviettes by the women who are serving dinner, as they have become VERY fond of him. Dinner is great, and after dessert, they start up the music, with the servers as performers. They are quite good, and Connor's favorite also plays the Bodhran. The women fawn over Connor the whole time, and give him a plastic, red, ball ornament from the tree, since he keeps reaching for them while they are holding him.

They try to get Eamon up on the stage for the finale, but he won't budge. He does visit the dungeon after the meal with one of them, and she tells him that he needs to come back to Ireland in a "few" years to have a pint, and they will marry him off to a good Irish girl.

Both Eamon and Connor have had a BLAST, loving every minute of the visit. Kudos to my brilliant mother for the recommendation to bring them. We head back to the B&B, and it is time for us ALL to go to sleep.

Day 15

2005-01-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

0800 GMT - We get up and head down to the restaurant for breakfast.
Eamon wants to know all about blood sausage, and we realize we don't know anything about it. It is essentially the same as white pudding, but with pigs blood added for color. It contains pig liver, pigs blood, bread crumbs, unrendered lard, oatmeal and spices. I don't find either of them interesting enough to try. We all avoid them. We have to check out by 11am. We pack and reload the car. This is much easier as we are bringing only one large bag and some smaller backpacks each night as we start on our heavy travel period. Today we head out to the coast and our first Bed & Breakfast.

1100 GMT - We make the trip much faster than Amy had anticipate. We find the Burren which means "great rock." Amy wants to do some hiking here, but we get lost trying to find the visitor's center. We pass some great ruins on the way to Ballyvaughan, and also pass our B&B for the night, the Drum Creehy House. We can't check in yet, since the owners have been away on holiday and won't be ready until 4pm. We head into town and park down on the water in front of Monk's which is a Pub our landlord in Connemara recommended. We decide to take a short hike on a path through the Burren that starts here in town, but are unable to figure out where it is despite a map and signs. Despite being clear and really quite lovely, it is absolutely FRIGID, and I realize that I don't have my hat or gloves, and have no idea where they are. I add a few layers, and we bundle the kids.

Apparently we have chosen a perilous place to park as this sign warns us...

Everything is closed today, which is St. Stephen's Day in Ireland and Boxing Day in the UK. It is the Feast of St. Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death by the Jewish Sanhedrin who he reportedly forgave as they continued to throw stones at his dying body. No one has a definitive answer as to why it is called boxing day...though their are many legends and folk tales regarding the naming of the day. Most include the reference to the opening of the church's poor boxes for the poor on that day, and the tradition of gift giving among equals on Christmas Day, followed by gift giving to those lower in status on Boxing Day. Whatever the reason,nothing is open other than the pub.

1230 GMT - We have lunch at Monk's and it is not particularly special. We meet a sweet family on holiday from the UK, and they are all goo-goo over Connor and Eamon as well. The kids are both older teenagers. After lunch, we go back out to the map of the trail, and realize we walked the wrong direction for the hike. We hop in the car and follow the signs for the trail along the road and then up into the hills and finally all the way up a one lane dirt road where we discover the ACTUAL trail into the big rock hills of the Burren. Both kids are asleep, so I stay with the car while Amy hikes up. Eamon wakes up and eventually awakens Connor with his noise, which leads Connor into a screaming fit. I offer Eamon the choice to stay in the car or get out and hike up the steep hill to Amy with me. He whines about not going up the hill and I get out. He has kicked off his shoes, and when he realizes that I am putting Connor in the backpack and serious about leaving him in the car alone, he begins to have a hysterical fit. I come back to him and put his shoes on and get him bundled. He proceeds to whine the WHOLE way up about how he hates hiking and then begins to cry after around ten steps that it is too hard, and he is NOT going to go up the hill. I ignore him and continue to hike up, which starts a chorus of "Wait for me, Dad! You are going too fast, my legs aren't as long as yours." I walk with him until he starts to whine, and then pick up speed and head up hill again, all the while trying to dodge the wet cow manure that is pervasive along the trail which is marked by two stone walls heading up through the middle of cow pasture. Finally, Amy comes back down and meets us 3/4 of the way up so that we walk back together. We hop in the car and head to the B&B.

1630 GMT - We arrive at the house, and the host steps out to meet us. He has us in one half of the cottage adjacent to the main house. It is a lovely room, and we all noticeably relax once we are in it.

We arrange to have afternoon tea. Eamon asks to meet their 2 year old daughter, and they go off with the hosts to see some of the new toys she got for Christmas. After tea, we all head back to the room where I take a long, hot bath to try and ease the horrid pain in my mid back. I start my new Peter Straub book, "lost girl, lost boy," and quickly get lost myself in the story. Eamon watches Shrek on the TV, and Amy picks up a bottle of wine from the main house's wine list. It is a German white, and not too bad. We sit and play cribbage while Eamon watches his movie. After his bath we all play King's Corners together, and then it is some more Lemony Snicket and off to bed. We are almost done with book two, and will soon be starting on book three which Amy bought us for Christmas.

Day 14

2005-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

0630 GMT - We are up early to get a head start on getting the final packing done and getting the car packed for checkout at 10am. Power goes out early a number of times, and this is complicated by the scene outside the cottage. We have a special Christmas present...a white Christmas.

Another surprise awaits Eamon and Connor. In front of the fireplace are two bags from Santa, one for each of the boys. We thought Santa was going to only visit Seattle per our request so that we wouldn't have lots of presents to pack and bring home. He leaves a note telling the boys that they rest of their presents are on their way with him to Seattle now, but that he wanted them to have SOMETHING from him in Ireland. Eamon is VERY excited. To fight off the cold, and deal with the loss of power, we start up our last fire.

Despite the snow, the power outages and the rest, we manage to pack, load the car, get out of the cleaning people's way and settle up with Jim to be on our way by 1015. It is quite an adventure driving down the dirt road hill from the cottages to the main road over the Quiet Man Bridge. We yell goodbye to our sheep dog friend, we will miss him. To complicate matters, it begins to snow VERY heavily after we pass through Oughterard on the way to our hotel in Galway City. We keep our spirits up by listening to live Christmas morning mass on the radio. You can here all the babies crying throughout the service, and the war between the choir and the congregation makes for amusing musical interludes. We have no idea how to get to hotel, and only a street address to go by with a small map. Amy gets concerned and we stop at the first open Petrol station to ask directions. She gets nervous that she is going the wrong way, and we turn around, despite his directions, to find a nice lady, on herway back from church, where we should go. She gives us directions, and we end up right back where we turned around. We were two minutes from the hotel when we panicked.

1230 GMT - We eat some pub lunch at the hotel, sign up for Christmas dinner and relax for a short while in the hotel.

We call family in the states and wish everyone a Happy Christmas (they don't say Merry Christmas here in Ireland.) The phone is set up to deny you the ability to use it for internet, and I only brought a UK style modem cable...I don't have an RJ45 connector with me, and all the stores are closed. I end up going down to the lobby to use the 1 euro for 10 minute computer with internet access there. I FINALLY have my Sonics scores!!! They lost to Phoenix by a single basket, but then beat Denver, they are playing GREAT basketball.

1400 GMT - We decide to head out and visit St. Nicholas' Cathedral where Christopher Columbus was supposed to have prayed before leaving to find the "New World." Galway was once a Spanish city. Both the boys fall asleep while we are driving around the city, and Amy goes in alone. She decides not to disturb the people praying by taking any photos of the inside, but says it is stunning.

1830 GMT - We go downstairs to the restaurant for Christmas dinner. We finally learn why they are called Crackers. If you open the blasted things the right way a little piece of paper inside has a cap that pops and makes a loud cracking noise. We have a nice dinner, despite Eamon needing a clothes change in the middle when he soaks his clothes by knocking his water glass over.

2030 GMT - We all lie in our beds and watch a production of "Kiss Me Kate" on BBC. Eamon enjoys it but has LOTS of questions. Finally we turn it off after intermission and go to sleep.

Day 13

2005-01-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

I am back in the States again, and have regained access to the internet...Ireland was almost impossible to get internet access and when I did it was by far too expensive to handle images. I will pick up again with the posts, though now I will be a number of weeks behind.

0800 GMT - Today is Christmas Eve, and we still have presents to wrap, and prepratory tasks to take care of...it is not a day for much activity, other than wrapping, cleaning and packing. We have to be out of the cottage by 10 am tomorrow and on the road to Galway City.

1300 GMT - After getting a big chunk of packing done (being sure to leave room for the presents we unwrap tonight to make it in the bags!!!) we take a break and head to the Peacock Hotel for lunch at the quiet man pub. I look around the room at the pub, and all the faces look so familiar...it feels like a family reunion at the Dunphy's that we used to have every February when I was a kid. I start to realize how very Irish our family is genetically. Amy mentions a little later (not being privy to my thoughts) that she has realized how Irish I look having visited Ireland now. It seems not until I open my mouth to speak that I am marked as an American. Amy and I take turns with some last minute shopping at the gift store in the hotel. With the pressure of THE two gifts that I wanted to buy off my shoulders, I pick up a few more things for Amy. The lady at the counter is very sweet and she gives me a candy bar to give Eamon as a present tonight from her. We then swing next store to the hotel gas station and conveniance store to pick up some travel groceries and some Christmas sweets.

1600 GMT - After afternoon tea is completed, we fulfill our promise to Eamon to have present opening time between tea time and dinner. Here are the presents waiting through tea time to be opened.

Eamon seems to think this whole present thing is pretty darn cool...

By the time that tea time is over everyone is ready to get going on the presents...

Eamon unwraps a load of presents...he is very excited by his first which I picked out. It is an Egyptian archeology game which has all the treasures, dice and game pieces buried in some red mud like plaster and they have to be excavated to play the game with them. He also likes his traditional Feodog or Irish Tin Whistle.

Eamon is pretty helpful opening Connor's presents as well...

But honestly, Connor seems much happier playing with the paper and ribbons than looking at the presents that were in them.

Amy and Patrick get some smile bringing presents as well...

Amy's big presents are her tea cosy, hand knit hat from the Aran Islands that we never got to visit,

and a silver standing stone necklace (this is the one that I worked so hard to find.) I struggled since EVERY store we visited had silver jewelry, but they were just the same designs over and over again. I wanted to get Amy's from an individual crafts person or artist and understand what the piece meant to them. This standing stone (Amy is very interested in the standing stones, though we have only read about them and maybe seen some from a distance...) and it's enery theme really strikes me as a heart of what makes Ireland the special place that it is. For such a small island it has produced a huge global emigration impact which leaves Irish descendants still embracing their heritage while still being integrated in their new homelands.

1800 GMT - Amy makes dinner while Patrick and Eamon work on digging out some Egyptian treasures, Eamon is the famous archeologist and Patrick is his undergraduate student who gets to do all the work. Dinner is very nice, Eamon loves the carrot cake he picked out, or rather, he loves the cream cheese frosting on it that he eats leaving a big pile of cake and crumbs behind. Finally everyone is tired. The kids go to bed and Amy and Patrick try to finish up the packing to be ready for tomorrow's move. After we turn off the lights we look out the window to see that tomorrow will bring a special surprise for Eamon.

Day 12

2005-01-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

0800 GMT - Amy is heartbroken, but gale force winds and poor weather make this a poor candidate for the Aran Islands again. We decide over breakfast to try for Westport in County Mayo. It is recommended by Jim, our host at the cottages and has a nice write up in the Frommers book as well. Amy is still sore from all the driving yesterday, so I decide to take the first leg today. It is another long drive and we head through some pretty country, though almost half the drive is the same as we did on the Kylemore Abbey trip. We see a huge and beautiful rainbow, and remembering Gate's pot of gold, we try to chase it, but again, it seems to elude us. One moment it is right a few feet in front of us, then it shifts into the lake (Laugh in gaelic)or up the hill. At one point we seem to drive right through the end of the rainbow, but it seems the leprechaun must have run with his gold to the OTHER end.

I get attacked as we are driving by some sheep dogs who are lying in wait. One of them leaps up from where he is lying and charges my front wheels... I am shocked and swerve to avoid hitting him. After the initial surprise, Amy and Eamon get quite a laugh about the attack sheep dogs.

1200 GMT - We arrive in Westport which is an adorable town. It should be a must on anyone's Ireland trip. It is as cute as Galway without the crowds. There is quite a bit of foot traffic about the shopping district with only two days left before Christmas, but nothing like the mobs we found in Galway City. I find a lot to park in, and actually get into a space where all four of us can get out. It is a heavy drizzle, but my shoulders and mid back are so sore from carrying Connor in the backpack all day yesterday, I have to put him in the stroller. We head to a pub that Amy saw while we were navigating the area looking for parking. Lunch is good and we are introduced to the Irish "cracker" tradition. They have these little wrapping paper twists on the place settings. In the center is a cardboard tube with little toy prizes in it. Eamon collects all of these and we read the jokes that are also kept in side. We don't get the "cracker" name yet.

1330 GMT - We leave the pub and Amy and Eamon head off down the alley away from all the stores, and I decide to keep my mouth shut and just tag along. Suddenly I come upon a little store called Westport Designs, and I have found the store where I will buy Amy's present. I shoo Amy and the boys along, and talk to the artist. He makes great jewelry, I love his work. He explains his inspiration and themes for a few pieces, but I am drawn to one in particular. He tells me that it is a standing stone, and the symbol on it is a linking of the three energies of the island, the sun, the ocean and the land. I know this is the right one...lucky me, it is all silver and costs less than 1/2 of the other pieces I had been looking at. Unfortunately, he wants cash, and I go off on an adventure to find a cash machine that will let me take out money! The first fails, but the second succeeds and I return to the shop where he has it all ready. He is so happy that I tell him he has made my week that he throws in some cool postcards with pictures shot by a friend of his as a bonus to send back to the states and make all our friends jealous. We are so bad about post cards, that I doubt they will get sent from here...

1500 GMT - We try in vain to find a cafe where Amy can nurse the baby, Eamon can have a snack and I can get on the internet. We are only able to satisfy two of those. Neither of the internet spots have food OR coffee or comfortable places to nurse and change a baby. I still don't know the score of the game, and it has been a week since I last posted! Eamon orders cold chocolate milk, which he does not drink. While he and Amy wait in line for the toilets, I try to let Connor have a sip. While I am trying to get the straw into his mouth, he grabs the cup and pours the whole mug in our laps. We are both soaked and the floor is as well. A nice man leaving the cafe sees the whole thing and returns to the counter to bring me some serviettes, and Amy sends the woman from behind the counter over with a big towel to mop up the mess. I however, have a huge soaking chocolate stain from my crotch to my ankles. Eamon thinks all of this is quite funny and starts chanting..."Dada peed his pants! Look Mom, dada wet his pants!" The only reason I am not marching around full of fury is that I finally have the gift I wanted to buy. We head home with Amy driving and once again leave her as the only person awake.

We have to stop at the gas station to buy some dinner, and this wakes up Connor who once more serenades us with his tale of woe the rest of the way home. Our friend is there to welcome us. Eamon and I head off to wrap presents, read a little Lemony Snickett and head off to bed. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.

Day 11

2004-12-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

0800 GMT - It is another rainy day, and we decide to pass, once more, on the Aran Islands, much to Amy's disappointment. After some deliberation we decide to hit Galway City today.

1100 GMT - We have a little trouble actually getting into Galway City...we should have just followed the signs to City Center, but I was trying to find a specific street, which is a futile effort when your maps leave a huge gap right where you need to make your connection. We find our road finally, and it leads us to an adorable little shopping area. We pull into a parking area right next to the Jury's Inn. We are shocked by the VERY limited space in the garage. Amy makes a twenty-five point turn to get up the first ramp to level 1 (remember, we waived the insurance....!). After several more ramps, now more easily negotiated as the sudden appearance and need for wide turns at entry are no longer a surprise. Amy executes another twenty-five point turn to back into the ONLY space we are able to find, but only after Eamon and I clear out of the car since we will never get the passenger doors open from this space. We pack Connor into the backpack and head out into the walking streets which are littered with shops, pubs and restaurants. We see a pub named Riordan's which is Eamon's friend Lily's last name.

We are unable to decide whether we should eat or shop...decide finally to eat and then end up in stores shopping while we try to find a place to eat. We go into a pub, and just as suddenly exit it, something about too much of a place for grownups. We walk around some more and still don't find anyplace that Eamon wants to eat at, so I find Amy some restrooms and we decide to return to the original pub. It turns out to be perfect. Amy stands in line to order food and pints, while Eamon, Connor and I find a little table in back. Eamon spots some tapestries on the wall and says "Hey, Dad, is that the Unicorn in the Forest?" This is one of a series of 7 tapestries we saw at Stirling Palace in Stirling, Scotland. It is indeed, upon closer examination, said same tapestry. He points at another and asks if it is The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Palace, which, it is not. I am still in shock that he remembered either the tapestry or the entire names. I didn't even think he was paying attention at the other castle when I explained them to him. He has a bacon sandwich, he is in love with Irish bacon already, and butter, and white bread (sigh).

1630 GMT - We do quite a bit of shopping. I find my gift for Eamon. I find a gift for Amy...it is not the best example, but with only one day left, I am getting desperate. I still haven't bought THE present that I want to get. We do find some cool presents for others though. we pick up a cooked ham and some carrot cake from the butcher and baker to use for Christmas Eve dinner. We never make it far enough down the cobblestone road through all the stores to make my original destination, Eyre Square, since the mob of people we have been in the whole way suddenly begins to grow exponentially. We surrender and run to find a place to hide. Finally, we stop at an internet cafe to post some blog updates. Unfortunately, the connection to their ONE DELL laptop, is down. This is clearly another example of why people should NOT buy Dell computers. Eamon begins his daily 4pm spinout and we are unable to enjoy anything we get from the cafe. We leave as darkness begins to fall and hit the road back to the cabin. Connor wakes up part of the way back and serenades us with cries of agony and despair for the last 20 minutes of the drive. We will miss our neighbor's dog if he ever decides to NOT guide us back up the hill.

Day 10

2004-12-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

0900 GMT - Eamon was up early today, and Amy puts on the TV for him and we sleep in until Connor wakes us up. We have a light breakfast and take note of the rain. Plan 2 and heading to Kylemore Abbey is the choice for the day. The drive is nice and the rain is off and on. We drive through some nice areas and pass a hike to a location where St. Patrick once prayed...apparently there is a statue at the top, but it is too steep for Eamon to hike.

1130 GMT - It is a nice short trip to the abbey. It is pretty stunning, right on the water and looking quite nice.

The Benedictine Nuns of Ireland were relocated several times as Catholicism fell in and out of favor in England. When their abbey in France was destroyed by the Germans in World War I, they were able to purchase the Abbey from it's owner at the time for 45,000 pounds which they, of course had to borrow. They reopened their international girl's boarding school, with 50 boarders and 150 local day students. Their particular goal as an order has been to educate the women of Ireland. We walk the exhibit, the chapel and visit the mausoleum.

We stop for lunch in the cafe and take turns shopping in the gift store where a few choice gifts are located.

1430 GMT - We head back to the cottage by a different route. We drive along the water and note a large number of buoys in the water along the coast, and some sort of trawler. We wonder if it is fishing nets or traps of some sort, but there is no easy answer. By the time we hit the town where we turn back south, all the boys are asleep leaving Amy driving on her own.

1530 GMT - As we get back on the N59, we realize that we have no dinner, and know that our light lunch is not going to hold us over. We have a petrol station store right at the intersection, but decide to try and find some take away food in Oughterard. This turns into a nightmare, as there does not appear to be anything handy. We go into a grocery store and buy some pizzas and water as well as a few other items. We drive back to the cottage for dinner and another early evening. I still have not found the gifts I want to buy for Amy, and with only two days left until Christmas Eve....I am starting to get stressed. I don't even have anything for Eamon. We have decided to have Christmas Eve dinner and open presents on Christmas Eve since we have to be out by 10am on Christmas Day. Our trusty sheepdog herds us to the cottage once more.

Day 9

2004-12-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

0830 GMT - Everyone sleeps in today. We decide to head out to Roundstone to hit up a music store we have read about there. It is run by Malachy Kearns who is the most famous Bodhran maker in Ireland. The Bodhran is a traditional Irish percussive instrument. It is alternately raining and sunny on the drive to the coast. We pass a sign that reads... "Abandoned Village For Sale." It forces us into a double take. Roundstone is VERY tiny, and really cute. It is right on the water, and you can see small islands and farther land masses off in the distance. We park at the music store and a full rainbow appears over the town.

Eamon's friend Gate's has asked us to bring him back a pot of gold as a Christmas present...and we think we are in luck when we find the leprechaun's house.

Alas, the doors are locked, and we will have to catch a different leprechaun if we are to get Gate's gift. The music store and some other craft shops (pottery and jewelry) are housed in an old monastery.

1230 GMT - We have a great time in the shop, and they recommend a pub in town for lunch since they are hosting a local Christmas party in the music store cafe. Lunch is nice and we note the roaring peat fire, we are definitely missing some crucial knowledge in this area. We shop in a little jewelry store next to the pub, pick up some groceries from a little store, and head back to the monastery to check out the jewelry store there. Unfortunately it is closed. We do some more shopping in the music store which is more of an excuse to use the restrooms again. I surprise Amy by driving back to the cottage. This is the first time I have driven the whole trip, except from the hotel lobby to the lodge back in Scotland. It is much less unnerving to drive these little country roads which have little to no traffic on them. I don't do too bad.

1530 GMT - We are welcomed and herded home by the neighbor's sheep dog pup. Tea time again. I think this trip may see me consume more carbohydrates in three weeks than I have in two years. We cook the chicken that Amy bought on Saturday. The boys have a blast taking a bath upstairs together. We have to turn the oil heat on long enough to warm the hot water, but shut it off after their bath to keep the heating costs down.

Tonight I have a wee dram and stay up late watching some mediocre television on TV and get plot locked on some show, which I can't even remember. Our plan for tomorrow is to go to the Aran Islands if it is nice or to Kylemore Abbey if it is raining again.

Day 8

2004-12-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

0730 GMT - Our first morning Ireland. Eamon wakes us up and we decide to let him have some cartoons to buy us some recovery time. I get up eventually and make us a traditional Irish breakfast. I make thick slabs of back bacon, pork sausages, scrambled eggs and toast with Irish butter. The sausages are OK, the eggs are as well, but the bacon and the butter are great. Amy tries to get a peat fire going, but it pretty pitiful and generates almost no heat. After checking out the amazing scenery, we decide to take advantage of the great weather and head out to Clifden. The drive is stunning...and we spend the morning dodging renegade sheep in the road.

1130 GMT - Clifden is quite cute. We shop a bit, buying a few presents. We are feeling somewhat hungry and hop into a little pub on the corner in the center of the town. The pub is nice, and the bartender comes up with something that Eamon can eat. Eamon decides he wants something to drink partway through his meal and yells across the room..."Excuse me...do you have any lemonade?" I notice the bartender smiling and he nods while I shake my head. No one will ever accuse Eamon of being shy.

Everyone seems to have a great time.

1330 GMT - After searching through town for the quaint little internet cafe "Two Dog Cafe" that we have read about, and shopping along the way, we finally ask someone where it is. They tell us that we walked right by it, and we work our way back, continuing to pick up gifts along the way. Unfortunately, when we do locate it...(across the street from the pub where we ate lunch), we discover it closed both Sundays and Mondays. Eamon is done. We pack back into the car for the hour and a half ride back to the cottage. Both boys are asleep before we are 15 minutes on the road. Our sheepdog friend once again herds us up the home stretch.
1630 GMT - Amy continues her new tradition of holding tea time. We light a peat fire, but despite our most valiant efforts, we are still unable to get more than burning embers. Eamon watches a cartoon, we read some books and are off to bed by 2300.

Day 7

2004-12-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

Due to the lack of inexpensive or speedy internet connectivity...I will not be posting pictures until I have a lower cost way of doing it!

0400 GMT - BEEP...BEEP...BEEP. The alarm goes off and we rush to shower and dress. I take out the last garbage and load the car while Amy wakes up the boys. We lock the lodge up and I walk the keys up to the hotel to drop it off with the night porter. The whole hotel is locked down with big wooden pull down doors at the entrances. I try calling the night porter and after 5 minutes he still doesn't answer. So much for that idea. I look all around to see where I can leave the key, but end up having to drop it on the floor in the entryway.

0505 GMT - Not too bad, we are on the road close to schedule. There is no traffic whatsoever, and the rain is not too bad. All of the petrol stations are empty, so we hope that we will have better luck closer to Glasgow. We are able to navigate to the airport successfully even without the directions that I have misplaced. We find an open petrol station just before the Erskine Bridge. We drop the rental car off in the "early returns" lot and drop the key at the drop box. We then head into the departures section to find Aer Lingus who has our next two flights. The line for the Dublin flight is incredibly long and doesn't even move for the first fifteen minutes due to some sort of problem. Finally they add more agents and the line progresses. I get stressed about the time when the agent tells us that the flight boards in five or ten minutes, so I nix the planned stop at Starbucks for coffee and food. There is a sign claiming a cafe in our gate area, and I think it is better to be closer to our gate. We go through security, and find the food store, an Irish Sandwich shop. We buy some coffee and sandwiches and while we are waiting, another passenger stops me to ask if we left a black bag at security. I count and indeed we left the diaper bag, which would have been near disastrous given that the rest of the diapers are packed and checked. I retrieve it and we head to the gate.
0745 GMT - The sandwiches are horrible. Everyone is rather cranky with me. Eamon is obsessing over a video poker machine that uses Monopoly as is gimmick. I try to explain to him why he is not allowed to play it, but he just thinks I am stopping him from playing with video game. We get early boarded by Aer Lingus, who also lets us carry the "buggy" on board. The flight is quick, only 35 minutes and we are in Dublin.

0900 GMT - We deplane and make our way to the restrooms and pick up another snack. This creates a new blast of arguing from Eamon who only wants things that the stand doesn't have. We compromise on warm ham and cheese which is satisfactory, but still not good. We wind our way through customs (there is not a soul in either the declare or the nothing to declare lines) and then through the ticketing areas and finally through another round of security. Finally we arrive at our gate. A mechanical servicing delay sets our flight back 40 minutes, so we wander around the terminal. We finally are able to board only to learn that they have put Eamon and I in an exit row, which clearly he cannot be in. We wait through the whole boarding process and finally as we begin to taxi the flight attendents move us a few rows up and on the other side of the plane. I have to say that all of AerLingus employees are outstanding...the nicest and most helpful of all the Euroupean crews that we have dealt with among Iberia, British Airways and AerLingus. We fall asleep immediately upon takeoff. I awake and end up supporting Eamon's head until we land and park at the gate.

1245 GMT - We deplane and go to retrieve our luggage. Again, customs is empty of any personnel. We go to Eroupecar and start work on organizing the rental. They decide that the car we have doesn't have a boot large enough for our luggage and bring a different car. They decide that one won't work either, so they upgrade us to a Passat and make it an automatic because they want things to be easy on us. Again, these car rental folk are by far nicer than their counterparts in Scotland. The luggage does fit, and the Passat is easier for Amy to drive, although she does hit the brake rather hard the first time she tries to shift.

1400 GMT - The countryside has been interesting thus far, but somewhat unspectacular. It is pouring rain. Connor has a bit of a screaming fit at one point, and we are trying to find a place to have some food and a brief rest. He falls back asleep before we find someplace suitable, and we decide to keep driving. Eamon then starts to complain that he is hungry, so we start looking for food again. Meanwhile, I am looking through the Frommer's Ireland 2003 book we have brought along. Amy reads a sign about Oysters and I laugh to myself, because I just read a section about the two best Oyster restaurants in this area. Suddenly Amy says, "How about this place?" I have to say yes, because it happens to be Paddy Burke's which is one of the two places I was just reading about. We stop for a bite to eat and a pint. It is nice, and quiet due to the time. We pack up and head out again.

1630 GMT - We are passing through Galway, and it is getting quite late. Even with the stop and the rain, this is taking much longer than we had anticipated based on the RCI information. All this time, Amy has been telling me that the place we are staying at is in Clifden. We don't look like we are going to get there by the 1800 cut off point, we have to be more than 2 hours from Clifden. I take a look at the directions only to find that the cottage is not anywhere near Clifden, but is only 9km from the next town. I tell Amy to stop at the next grocery she finds so that we can get some starter supplies. We find a SuperValu in Oughterard and stock up. I find a bottle of Dunphy's Irish Whiskey while picking up a 4 pack of Guinness, and given this is my Mom's maiden name, I have to buy it.

1730 GMT - We miss the sign to the cottage. The sign, of course, is after the road we have to take, and in the rain we miss it. This is despite the fact that I have just said that the turn should be any minute, and "Oh, look at those lights up on that hill." Of course, the hill was our hill, and the lights were the lights on our cottage. We find a place to U-turn and head back and over "The Quiet Man" Bridge, named for its use in the John Wayne movie of the same name.

We drive up an old, narrow road, with no lighting, in fact, we can't tell if it is even paved, except that we can see tufts of grass in the center. Suddenly and pair of glowing eyes leap in front of the car and race us up the hill. When we find the office for the Connemara Country Cottages, we discover the eyes were that of a small sheep dog pup who has herded us to the offices. We go inside to meet James our host. He welcomes us and gives us a tour of our cottage which is incredibly cute.

There are doors between every room that are to be shut to keep heat in. We have a basket of peat blocks and a bucket of coal for the fire, with a box of starter chunks (smell as though they are soaked in Kerosene).

We have to pay for the electricity (not so bad) and the oil costs (these are outrageous). The oil costs 1 euro per hour which has no mark up according to James. That is simply what he has to pay and with a raised eyebrow he notes that we can thank George W. Bush for that. We laugh and tell him that by the time he hits his state of the union address we will, between Canada, Scotland and Ireland, have spent more time out of the country since his re-election, than we have spent in it. He seems to like this answer. Ireland, unlike Great Britain, is not a supporter of the Iraq invasion and occupation. James keeps calling Eamon, Connor, which Eamon never acknowledges, and we decide to just keep quiet about. He is very sweet, but in the middle of his tour, his cell phone rings, and his wife wants to know if he is coming home for dinner. We obviously came later than he had hoped. He tells us how to work the oil heater and the sauna, and tells us that our keys will open the office if we need to use the phone which accepts coins or cards. There is no phone in our cottage, however there is a satellite television with a few hundred channels. (I check later, and though they have CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, Al Jazeera, Nickelodeon, Boomerang (Eamon cheers for that one), and a million or so football stations (that is soccer to the yanks, of course, but you knew that), there is no ESPN or NBA TV or any way to find out the score of last nights Sonics/Sun game. I am pulling my hair out in wonder. Of course, if you are reading this, than I already know the score, but without a phone or internet access, I am out of luck for the moment. We can't seem to get the peat fire to do more than embers, we must be doing something wrong.

2000 GMT - Eamon chooses to sleep downstairs in the "big" bed since he decides after a try that he doesn't want to climb the ladder to the top bunk. We read some Lemony Snicket (I read the chapter Eamon and Amy read last night on the plane from Glasgow to Dublin.) and Eamon is off to sleep. Meanwhile Amy is nursing Connor to sleep. While I am waiting for her, I scan through the available satellite stations and get plot-locked on the "reveal" episode of Joe Schmoe from Spike TV in America. What am I thinking? I wouldn't watch this show last season when it was on in the states, but here I am trapped on it in the middle of nowhere in Ireland. Perhaps I needed a little brain dead American television to equalize myself. Amy comes down, gives me a disparaging look, and proceeds to become just as plot locked. Finally it is over and I shut it off. We decide to explore Clifden tomorrow and hit the Two Dog Cafe, which I found on the web and also is in Frommers, and offers good food, coffee and INTERNET access. My wait for those Sonics scores will soon be over. We decide to crash for the evening.

Day 6

2004-12-30T14:23:00.000-08:00

0830 GMT - It is an earlier morning, and after spending a little time online, Amy and I set Eamon up to play with some toys while we start packing. After a bit of packing we head off to Aberfoyle to do some shopping and mail some postcards. There really aren't a lot of shopping choices in Aberfoyle. I buy myself a nice sweater, and pick up some small presents for Amy. She has informed me repeatedly that this trip is her present and that I am not to buy anything "big" for her.

1300 GMT - We get caught in a downpour while shopping and hop into a pub that has a "Children Welcome" sign out front. Eamon finally gets to have a sponge pudding, though it is not a treacle sponge, it is good enough, with hot syrup and warm custard. We watch an older teenager (18 or 19) and his dad play pool and drink a few pints. In the connecting room a Christmas party starts and the bar fills with people from the party ordering drinks. A few other families with kids come in and it is quite lively. This is a bit more like I expected our vacation to be like, and we decide to try and throw a few more pub lunches like this in to our schedule.

1500 GMT - We return to the lodge to do a little more packing . Eamon gets restless so we head out to the pool. We make sure to get lots of play time in with both kids and take turns with Connor. We head back up to the pub to have a wee snack and a pint. On the way back to the lodge I make sure to check out. We have to pay for all the electricity we use, and they tell me that I should drop off the key in the morning with the night porter. We have an 8:15 flight, and the airport is about 1 1/2 hours away. We also have to fill up the car with diesel and check in for our flight, so we build some extra time in and decide to leave by 5am and be up by 4. We finish the packing and I line everything up to load the car in the morning. I head to bed by 10:30 to try and get enough sleep.

Day 5

2004-12-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

0930 GMT - Yes. I slept in again, as did the boys. It is becoming a habit. Amy was up early. It is a BEAUTIFUL, clear day, and she has already been out for a walk and pictures. We move through the early morning motions and are ready to go. I have no sore throat this morning, I think the few "wee drams" from the Deanston single malt have cured it. Nothing like a little local folk medicine. I check the guide book and I see that our trip for the day looks like a long one...about an hour and a half at least to get there. Amy insists that it is closer...even after I show her the map. She mentioned doing a lake drive today since it is so nice, and I worry that she won't get the chance. We get in the car and she tells me she wants to take a different route. I say that's fine and renavigate via the maps.

1130 GMT - Boy did Amy make a great choice on the route. We drive up steep hills in low gear and are stunned by the views as we drive through the Queen Elizabeth National Forest in the Trossachs. This is definitely the "scenic" route. After we cross the first hills and several Lochs and hiking trails we are surprised by a small castle in the middle of nowhere on a Loch.

After a wee bit of driving we are on one of those narrow roads with a Loch on one side, separated by a stone wall, and a pasture of cows on the other, separated by a wire fence.

We make a few small stops along the way, including this little turn-off on the shore of one Loch.

1300 GMT - Connor is nearing time to nurse, so we stop in a very cute little town and pick up some meat pies and sausage rolls for a snack, and have some coffee. There is a cute older building converted into a hotel and restaurant.

1530 GMT - Despite the gorgeous scenery, and cute little towns along the way. The 1 1/2 hour trip has now taken almost 4 hours. Connor has been screaming for the last 35 minutes when we finally pull in to the distillery. Amy chose the smallest distillery in Scotland, the Edradour.

Don't be fooled by the sign. In the winter it closes at 1600, we have just made the last tour. A very nice Scottish gentleman greets us and starts us off on our own private tour. We have a taster and watch a short film. Both Amy and I agree that it is our favourite single malt yet. He then walks us around and tells us quite a bit about the process of making whiskey and the value of their particular product. They are so small that they produce as much whiskey in a year as a large distillery produces in one week. Every output from the process is reused. The liquid is used by the farmers to fertilize their crops and the solids are used to feed their cattle.

We stroll back to make some purchases at the store, where they are quite helpful in explaining the "best" choices. We pick up a bottle of the "Special" which unlike the standard whiskey is not chill filtered. If water or ice is added to it the beverage becomes quite cloudy, thus it should be consumed at room temperature.

1630 GMT - We decide to head back on the larger main A9 back to Aberfoyle, rather than take the scenic route in the dark. It only takes an hour and a half, but about 20 minutes from the hotel Connor awakes and begins to scream once more. We stop for dinner, strangely enough at the same The Lion and the Unicorn as yesterday. We head back into the car only to learn that Connor was not screaming because he was hungry, but rather, he was entirely sick of being in the car. He screams the remaining 20 minutes without pause.

2100 GMT - Connor is long since asleep, but Eamon has no interest in sleeping after his hour long nap in the car. He instead plays Arabian Knight with Amy's scarf and one of his swords bought in Stirling.

0130 GMT - I make the mistake of logging on to my work email. I spend far too long answering things I should be ignoring. I do a little work on the blog and off to sleep after a "wee dram." We are hoping to hit Edinburgh tomorrow.

Day 4

2004-12-16T03:04:00.000-08:00

0930 GMT - I am the first up this morning, but I climb back into bed with a bad sore throat. The cold the kids have had seems to have caught up to me. Today is our trip to Stirling Castle. The morning does not start well. It is pouring rain outside. Amy has a case of cabin fever and we end up in full out family row. After we get ourselves all together, we can finally head out for the day.

1100 GMT - We hit the road, which is flooding over in many places. The water from the Loch is high, and the water coming down from the hills is hitting clogged and overflowing drains. Water is entering the roadway from the hills, and bubbling up through the drains on the sides of the road. We get stuck behind a recycling truck going up hill and for a few scary moments we fear that Amy has blown out the clutch. She can't get the car into first gear. Finally she gets it into reverse and backs into an uphill B&B driveway. She is able to use the momentum to get the car into first and get back up the road.

1230 GMT - We miss a turn in Stirling and end up in dead end road trapped for a few minutes as some large trucks come down the one lane road to enter parking lots. We finally get out of there and start up the switchback roads up the hill to the castle. This castle is one of the most important in Scotland due to it's strategic location. It is very well preserved. We buy our tickets and immediately stop inside for some snacks and coffee, since Eamon skipped breakfast this morning.

The castle is interesting. Our first visit is to a military museum within the castle which includes artifacts and stories about Scotland's history of regimental soldiers from the higlanders through to modern day war. Next we visit the great hall, the chapel and almost get blown away by powerful winds as we try to get out on the ramparts.

The palace itself is closed for restoration work and Amy is quite disappointed. We explore some exhibits in the palace vaults and then hit the kitchens which have lifesize recreations of the kitchens and their workers at work. We check out the canons and climb some tower stairs to explore a stable section of one of the towers.

We taste some whiskey from Deanston in the lower highlands in the whiskey store and Eamon checks out the books in the bookstore. Apparently Disney has made a movie of Greyfriars Bobby, we'll have to check it out on Netflix when we return. We have some lunch at the coffee shop and then explore the back side of the castle. In one new building there are weavers recreating a series of seven tapestries for the palace restoration. The tapestries tell the story of a unicorn hunt. Two of them are already on display in the chapel. The one in progress is called "The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Castle." The story is part mythical love story and part Christian metaphor with the Unicorn representing the life of Christ. My legs have had it from carrying Connor all day in the backpack and the winds are extremely intense.

I am also feeling the effects of this cold and my throat is aching for a "wee dram." We buy a bottle of the Deanston single malt and take a quick hike up the forward ramparts before returning to the car.

1630 GMT - After 20 minutes of non-stop screaming by Connor, Amy pulls over at a pub along the way called The Lion and the Unicorn. We are the only ones there and they are very sweet to us. I have a wee dram of Jamisons, Amy has a half pint of some local brew and the kids play with toys from a bucket the restaurant keeps for kids. Eventually we head out.

1800 GMT - Back at the lodge, we pack up our pool gear and laundry and head up to the recreation center. I take the boys in the pool while Amy exercises. After her workout, she starts a load in the now available laundry room. After our swim we try to switch over the laundry, but the dryers have yet to be emptied. Another couple is waiting for us to move ours to the dryer so they can start their wash. We head back to the lodge to drop off the kids, and I return to finish the laundry. After dinner I head up to the pub for a pint while I wait for the clothes to dry. Surrendering to some level of wetness I hike them back to the lodge. I end up drying the ones that are still damp in the Sauna.

2300 GMT - After some work on the days blog entry, it is time once more to sleep, we need to hit the road early tomorrow.

Day 3

2004-12-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

0900 GMT - I am the first to awake this morning. I fix a bowl of corn flakes, not my first choice, but it is part of the "starter grocery kit" that Amy had ordered from the Kinlochard Grocery prior to our arrival. I sit to do a quick log entry and make sure the I-C3 batteries for my hp 635 Photosmart digital camera are charged. Amy is the next to waken, but at 1030 I have to wake Eamon and Connor up. We need to get their internal clocks adjusted soon. We throw on a movie for Eamon since it was too late to watch last night and it has to be back by 6 tonight.

1300 GMT - Now we are frustrated. We need to get groceries, half the day is gone and Amy had wanted to go to Stirling Castle today...that isn't happening now. We go to the grocery store in Kinlochard to settle our pre-arrival bill and buy a second round of groceries. We intend to head back to Aberfoyle to do some more shopping, but with Connor nursing and Eamon eating lunch, somehow that never happens. We set up for a short hike around the resort instead. Much to our surprise, this short hike is apparently fraught with peril.

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There is quite a bit of warning signage around the resort, and one of the docks is clearly in great disrepair. Actually it is a nice, albeit short hike. This must be quite an active location in the summer time. The loch is very majestic in this season, but I can imagine its warm weather appeal as well.

The "garden walk" in front of the hotel includes a pond with a spouting fountain, a giant chess board, and an eroding stone stage of some sort.

1630 GMT - We decide to hit the pool again, or at least Eamon and I do in order to try and give Amy some kind of break. She has to nurse Connor, and perhaps this will give her a chance to have some peace and quiet...she has seemed tense and frustrated today. Eamon has a blast, as I agree to play "let's pretend" the ENTIRE time we are in the pool. We play Leap and Dr. Quigley from the LeapPad Learning system. He just was playing with his nice new dinosaur leap book, and so we are photographing and taking samples from dinosaurs in the past to bring back to the present for further study. I try to get him into the steam room (it doesn't get too hot) to "decontaminate" but the sensory experience of the heat, the steam and the menthol is too much for him. We decide to head back.

1830 GMT - Amy has two different types of pre-packaged quiches ready for us when we return. They are really quite tasty. Even Eamon, our resident "selective" diner, gives them two thumbs up. Connor of course gums his fair share, while ignoring his baby food. He doesn't have a single tooth yet, but that doesn't stop him from demanding a taste of every piece of food anyone else eats. I take Connor up for a diaper change and a bath. We use the big tile tub, and I get in with him, which he thinks is the funniest thing ever. We splash each other for a little while and he giggles insanely. I give him a good wash while he tries to climb over me and unplug the drain.

2000 GMT - We put the kids to bed. Amy reads a book that she bought for him today, "Greyfriars Bobby." It is a cute story about a little Skye Terrier who is a police dog in Edinburgh. His owner dies, and rather than live with the widow and son, he ends up refusing to leave the grave of his dead owner. He ends up licensed by the head of Edinburgh who is charmed by the story, and allowed to live out his life in the graveyard of the Grayfriars church. There is a statue of him at a joint people/dog fountain in the city today.

2100 GMT - Wow, we don't crash with the kids for the first night. We watch a show on BBC called MI-5 which involves two agents getting captured by Iraqi terrorists who are trying to get a woman into a British/American/Iraqi summit dinner. She has a small explosive surgically implanted in her abdomen with chemical/biological agents. The intent is to kill the Prime Minister, the Americans and the Iraqi traitors. The twist is the MI-5 agent that has to get her in is the husband of one of the hostages and the best friend of the other. Of course the MI-5 agents save the day, but the best friend gets executed as he heroically saves the other agent's wife. We play a round of backgammon on the cool game table in the living room.

We open a bottle of wine that came with the "starter kit," which is an adventure in and of itself. From the bottle: "At Blossom Hill we are dedicated to selecting the finest grapes," none of which are included in this bottle, "and using our expertise and experience to make a range of award winning wines," of which this bottle is not one, "perfect for drinking anytime" within the paper bag or without. In fact this wine may be the finest "Soft Fruity Californian Red Wine" I have ever had, having never actually come across this particular blend before. We can't actually remember how to set up the board, so we improvise. Amy whips me in the first game. It looks like she is going to take me out in the second, but right when my big comeback gets going in full force, the baby conveniently awakens and she bails out of the rest of the game. It is time to sleep once more.

Day 2

2004-12-15T13:55:00.000-08:00

1000 GMT - Yes. After waking up many times to deal with crying babies, and "lonely" kindergartners, Amy wakes me up at 10am. Unfortunately she has been up since 0530 while the rest of us slept. She has eggs, sausage and back bacon warm and ready. There is also some warm, instant coffee. Eventually we finish eating and after Amy expresses her disinterest in "sitting around" the lodge all day, we pack up to head out.

1200 GMT - After I accidentally distract Amy at the start of the in-town parking in the road insanity by saying "Do you want to go up that hill?", we actually find a free parking spot. We have lunch at the Scottish Wool Center and shop around it a bit. I see some nice wool sweaters and a great jacket (polyester and rayon?), but decide that I can't possibly buy the first thing I like in the first store I shop in. If I don't find something by Friday, I'll head back here. Due to the day (Sunday) and the season (winter), there are no animals or shearing shows, merely a balloon animal man and a chance to have a picture with Mrs. Claus.

Hello all. We are here safe and sound. I am in Aberfoyle, Scotland

After lunch is completed, we stroll around Aberfoyle. We spend a good chunk of time in the visitor's center which has an interactive area history display which Eamon enjoys quite a bit. We buy our first travel stickers for our Thule rooftop carrier, but our first purchase was some postcards at the wool center. There is little else to see, and darkness is falling, so we head back to the hotel.

1630 GMT - We hit the pool. Connor is sleeping so it is just Amy and Eamon in the pool. I hit the Fitness Center for a 5K run. I have to fill out 3-4 pages of medical questions prior to exercising...something I have never had to do prior, but I guess in every country the liability laws must vary. I immediately regret forgetting to bring my hp iPod to the pool, I have grown attached to running to the soundtrack of my workout playlist. On a sidenote, if you haven't tried one yet, do. I am so attached to it now after 4 months, I bring it everywhere. I have only uploaded a little over 1100 songs with plenty of room still remaining. After my workout I head into the pool as well.

1830 GMT - Next we head up to the pub (over the pool) for dinner and a pint (or two.) I have a mediocre rib-eye, I should have said yes to the peppercorn sauce. Amy has a shrimp appetizer, Eamon has fish and chips and Connor has sherbet and melon. I start with Guinness, Amy already had a pint of "extra cold" Guinness before Eamon and I arrived. Another oddity of the UK is the serving of warm beer rather than our "icy" beer in the States. I stick with the warm "regular" Guinness. My second pint is and Ember from a local brewery, which frankly, I can't remember. Eamon goes for the sherbet as his dessert and the chef "accidentally" adds an extra scoop after I specify two, so Amy and Connor help him with the third.

2030 GMT - We return, and though I try to read a comic to Eamon, I can't make it far and end up bringing him upstairs to brush his teeth and read a chapter of "The Reptile House" form the Lemony Snickett series, "A Series of Unfortunate Events." Here we learn of the playfulness of the "deadly" snake and learn of the impending death of the nice Uncle before being reintroduced to the dreaded Count Olaf. I get out of his room only to crash in my own. Amy is already there.

Day 1

2004-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

0500 PST – BEEP…BEEP…BEEP. My wife reaches out her arm across the bed to tap me and have me shut off the alarm. I do and she rises and heads straight to the shower. I think to myself, “What on earth was I thinking, staying awake until 2am?” I go back to sleep. From my light sleep, I hear the shower stop…I know it is time…so I rise and go to the shower myself. We have around 28 hours of travel time ahead of us. My two sons, Connor (8 ½ months) and Eamon (5 years) are still sleeping. From the shower I hear my wife (Amy) waking Eamon up, and together they awaken the baby. The adventure is beginning. We have planned a three week trip from Dec. 10th – 18th in Scotland and Dec. 18th – Jan. 4th in Ireland.

Fortunately, Amy has been packing for a week, and we had set all the bags up ready to go last night. I load up the car and we run through our final list packing the last minute items. It is off to the car to head to the airport. We have to drive the whole way to the airport in the rain with one of the windshield wipers broken. The wiper has slipped off its frame and with every swipe we hear truly annoying metal on glass scraping. I hope this is not an omen for the rest of the day….

0700 PST – We park the car in the garage, note the space and head inside. Check-in and security are remarkably smooth. We eat some breakfast and Amy struggles with the phone. Finally she is able to leave a message for our friends that are picking the car up from the airport. We manage to miss early boarding while Amy taps her foot waiting for her coffee at Starbucks. There is still room enough for all of our carry-ons. The flight to Chicago on Alaska Airlines is smooth and our preparations to keep Eamon occupied work well. He opens his “prizes” and we read the 10 cent comics I bought and Amy wrapped. His leap pad battery dies immediately, but the comics save us.

1530 EST – We land in Chicago. It truly is a nightmare trying to get all of our carry on junk gathered together and off the plane. We find our gate after quite a haul between terminals…and everything looks good. The flight is still on schedule. We grab some great pannini sandwiches from a little bakery in K terminal at O’Hare, this is the best Airport food I have found yet. Again we manage to miss early boarding as I have been sent on an errand for the baby. While on the errand I pick up water and gum and return to find us now last in the boarding line. We get to our seats to find a pair of children in two of them. The mother is seated in front of us and asks if we will move. I tell her we are four and can’t break up. We are sitting in two rows on this 7 ½ hour flight. Two in front and two in back with aisle/window seats, and this works great. I sit with Eamon and Amy with Connor, and we start the long process of entertaining. American Airlines Chicago to London is a Boeing 777 which comes with individual entertainment consoles in all classes of service! Eamon and I watch Disney’s “Home on the Range” which I don’t actually see much of. I doze off shortly after it starts and awake near the end. I switch him to some cartoons on the Cartoon Network station and he remains happy, not having this much TV in at a time ever. That is fine, he may not have any TV for the next three weeks! We get him to sleep after the cartoons finish up and he sleeps for around 2 hours. I watch the end of Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox and then get about 30 minutes of sleep. I don’t think Amy sleeps at all.

0700 GMT – We land in Heathrow. We again go through the hassle of organizing and carrying all of the various carry-ons we have. My neck is tweaked from all the weight. We check with security to see if we need to retrieve bags to go through customs before connecting with Glasgow…they tell us that if our bags are checked through we will do customs in Glasgow, just to head to Terminal 1. We hop on a little bus (they let us leave Connor in the stroller on the bus??!!) and go through Immigration at the connecting flights station in Terminal 1. We pick up our boarding passes from British Airways and head to waiting room 5. Our flight is scheduled to board at 0800 for departure at 0845, but it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Looks like a lot of flights into Scotland are being delayed by weather. We grab a bite to eat and break our first Sterling notes. Boy is the US dollar weak right now. This trip is going to feel even more expensive than it is. I detect a diaper in need of change, and start to head to the restroom with Connor…of course, they suddenly announce boarding of our flight. By the time we gather up our gear we are at the end of the line. A gate agent tells us that because the flight is full we will have to check our stroller. Amy tries to explain that it will fold easily to fit in the overhead as it has on all the previous flights. The agent ignores her and pulls me out of line to check the “buggy.” As I am finally heading down the ramp to the plane, a flight attendant passes me telling me that there is plenty of room for the stroller and he will retrieve it. He is unable to do so. Amy has snapped and is in fury on the plane. She has to change the baby’s diaper and has been waiting for me since all the gear was on my back. She gathers what she needs and heads to the rear of the plane. I set up the car seat only to find that it really won’t fit in this seat. The arms are wider than any we have been on yet and I have to provide a little “manual encouragement” to resize the seat. This configuration of plane is not as friendly either, and I take my solo seat behind the three of them. The flight attendant then tells Amy that if the car seat isn’t forward facing that we cannot use it for take off and landing. Every non-US airline we fly seems to have the most bizarre rules. Iberian wouldn’t let us use it for take off and landing either no matter which way it was facing. Amy holds back her fury but lets loose a few barbed comments. She uses the sling they provide her with for take off and landing.

1000 GMT – We land in Glasgow. I am in the front of the plane, but have to wait for the whole plane to empty so that I can pack up and get off the flight. Finally I get out of the plane and we head off to find our baggage. By the time we get there, the whole plane has retrieved their baggage, (we stopped at the rest room along the way) and there are no customs agents whatsoever, so we just grab our bags and head to the rental car. Our paperwork says that we rented from AutoEuroupe, but there is no such entity. Finally we track down some vouchers for Eroupecar which we do find. Of course, they tell us that American Auto Insurance and Visa Card insurance are not accepted in the UK and unless we pay an additional 17 pounds per day (almost $30) we are not allowed to drive the car in the UK. We are dumbfounded and feel like we have been cheated. We went with this deal because it was cheaper than the deal I got with Hertz or Avis and my discounts (insurance was included in those prices), now it is more expensive. With no choice and deciding that at this point money is less important than a good start to our vacation, I just pay it. Amy’s fury has returned. They do give us a free car seat in an attempt not to drive her over the edge. She tells us that our car is “quite large” and should be fine for our….was ALL of that luggage ours? She frowns and says that we should give it a try, but she doesn’t recommend installing the car seats until we see if the boot will close. After three configuration changes, the boot does close and we load the kids and their seats.

1200 GMT – I am squished into the passenger side of this “quite large” little European sardine can. Even if I could push the seat back further (which I can’t without significant whining from Eamon) I doubt I could actually be comfortable. Amy tells me that the next vehicle is larger. Connor decides that now is the time to nurse and Amy tries to do so in the drivers seat. Once he falls asleep, she can’t actually get out of the car, it is so small. I unfold myself from the passenger side and take him from her to load him in his seat. While she was nursing I had matched our directions to the map and we are ready to go. Amy is masterful with the left hand side of the road driving, and while we have some moments of confusion, she gets us going quite smoothly. We bump a curb on the left occasionally, much to our amusement, and actually survive the 5 or 6 roundabouts we hit in the first two minutes of driving. If you haven’t been to the UK before, they use rotaries called roundabouts in lieu of traffic lights in most places to control traffic flow. Add to this the need to drive on the opposite side of the road from what you are used to and it can be quite an adventure. The first challenge comes in Aberfoyle, where we run into the phenomenon of UK village traffic. The roads are not any wider, but parking is allowed on one side. This means that you have one tiny lane to service both traffic directions. This leads to considerable need for kindness and courtesy. I fear that in the US this would lead to a significant increase in non-accident related traffic fatalities and road rage. We hit the “scenic route” along Loch Ard, which means that you have a shear drop off into the water from the left edge of the road, and in most places a high rock wall on the right. Did I mention that these non-main roads are only wide enough for 1 ½ cars in many places?

In just one of those places we come up against two trucks and a tour bus headed the other way. We are forced to put the car in reverse (which was a challenge to find) and back up 150 yards into the driveway of a B&B we had passed. The larger vehicles move on and we head back up. Finally we arrive at our destination, MacDonald Hotels Forest Hills Resort.

1345 GMT – We can’t check in until 2:00, so we sit in the car for another 15 minutes, both the kids had fallen asleep as soon as the car started at the airport, so we can’t really go off exploring. Finally we head in and check in. They inform us that our unit won’t be ready until 3:30 at the earliest. We decide to go swimming. We track down our suits in the luggage and hit the pool. The pool is beautiful…it is floor to ceiling with gorgeous tile.

The wall of the building facing the Trossachs (lower highlands) is glass and we have a nice view. There is a sauna, steam room and a “spa” or hot tub. We try them all. I note the presence of a small exercise room for tomorrow. We retrieve our key and learn that the curling rink is broken and will not be open during our visit. Amy is quite disappointed as she had hoped to learn to play this wild ice sport while we were in Scotland. There will be no curling for us. We also learn that they moved us to the lower lodges from the upper lodges upon which Amy starts her fury once more. She tells them that they better be nice because we have had troubles with RCI before. They assure us that it was just a scheduling issue and all the lodges are equivalent. The lodge is indeed quite nice. We have a view of the loch that we would not have had otherwise.

It is a bit of a walk to the recreation center and restaurants, but I think it will work out fine. The bathroom upstairs is gorgeous with tile everywhere, a huge sunken tub big enough for the whole family (well almost) and a sauna.

We are exhausted. Amy tries to get a little food ready for Connor. I take Eamon on a walk up to the restaurant to order some “take away” food for us all to eat. While we are waiting in the pub, Eamon has a hot chocolate and I have my first pint, this one of Guinness. By the time the food comes, I can tell that I have little left in me. We bring the food back and all four of us are trailing…

2100 GMT - Ok, well three of us were. Finally it is off to bed for us all.