Day 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.