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.