Aunt Lynn

We enjoyed a wonderful visit from Eric's sister, Lynn.  She is quite the adventurer!  After her arrival and initial visit, she was ready to hit the white water.  Our little one went with them, too.

The two girls were in a double kayak, while Eric was in the other.  Shortly after putting into the water, they hit a series of rapids.

Then the pictures stop until this....

During a rapid, the girls were bumped into a large rock in the river by another raft.  The girl's kayak flipped and they went into the water.  The two got seperated - our little one stayed with the boat until Eric came to her side.  Lynn made it to the shore and didn't see what happened to the little one and Eric.

The rescue squad was called to the scene because they thought a little girl was missing. However no one was injured or missing.

The emergency personnel were not only grateful for the best possible outcome but they got to practice their response drills that hadn't been used in a while.  

Our sweet girl enjoyed all of the attention.  Here is her "selfie" on the way home.

                       

The next day, Lynn and Eric tackled the water again.  But this time, it was just the two of them.

They both did great and really enjoyed the water.

It was a gorgeous day to white water, minus the sunblock that didn't seem to help.  Lynn came back a bit redder than she left.

Along the hike back, Lynn took a great picture of Eric.  

We enjoyed Lynn's visit and hope she comes back for more exciting times.

School Time!

I'm a bit jealous of all those sweet "First Day of School" pictures floating around.  Mine won't really pose for them anymore, so I have to capture them on the run.

The little one is all weighted down with her supplies since we missed Meet the Teacher night.  Our son would rather get to school early than let me take a still photo.

Our oldest headed back to college.  Now into her 2nd year, she's out of the dorms and into apartment-style living.  Or in her case, a plush basement right on campus.  

It even comes with a private swimming pool.  How does she find these places?  

Have a great academic year, kids.  Mommy loves you!

Ireland - Part 5

In this final post of our Ireland vacation, I saved some of the best for last.  This is the Dingle Peninsula.  

Clouds came in quickly to block the sun below, but you can still see the beautiful coastline.

As we drove around the bend, the sun came out again to reveal the deep blue Atlantic Ocean. 

On the other side, we saw some of the islands.  One of these islands below was the place where the final scene was shot in the latest Star Wars movie.

Still on the peninsula, there's a mountain called Mt. Brandon, one of the highest peaks in Ireland.  Eric talked all of us into climbing it.  On the way, we passed lush green pastures.

The hiking trail is an old Christian pilgrimage created by monks. At the base of the trail we saw this shrine.  

The trail began fairly easy, although I still found myself out of breath.  The fun part was walking side by side sheep who were grazing on the land.

The pilgrimage is marked by 16 crosses.  The first one starts about 20 minutes into the hike.  The next 14 crosses represent the Way of the Cross, or the Fourteen Stations.

Here's where is started getting steep.  The little one needed a piggy back ride to the next cross.  I can't believe he was able to do it, but our son carried her that entire stretch.

This is only the 10th station, and Eric & I were good to stop there.  However, the kids urged us onward.

We realized the crosses were closer together now, but visability was starting to become a problem in the clouds.  Notice how there are even sheep up here!

The 14th station.

There was one final cross on the very top summit, so we pressed onward.  We were grateful for the small white markers every 20 feet, as that was often the only visual we had to stay on the trail.

 View from the mountain, although there wasn't much sunlight coming in through the clouds.

Our vacation was amazing, and I'm so glad all of us had a safe trip.  Next adventure ..??? who knows, but it's good to be home.  Now if I can only find some great Irish butter and a scone....

Ireland - Part 4

Almost all travel destinations to Ireland will show you this scene:

It's the Cliffs of Moher, and it definitely deserves it's reputation.  The bad part is, the place was packed with people and it's hard to catch the coastline when it's sunny. 

We tried to take pictures that were away from the crowds.  All along the edge were endless beauty of sheer rock cliffs towering over the Atlantic Ocean.  Below is one of my favorites.

Here we found another lookout tower that was built to protect their homelands form vikings and other invaders.

After a while, the older two decided to run ahead of us.  They had a great time snapping their own pictures.  Good thing we didn't see these poses!

During our trip, we had the privilege to tour several places dating back to 3000 BC (500 years before the pyramids in Egypt).  

Early settlers here built tombs out of large, heavy stones.  They were then covered with smaller rocks and mud which formed rounded hilltops.  Archeologists believe they were places of significance, possibly for elders and religious ceremonies as well as burial chambers. 

Many of these megalithic tombs had passage ways with heiroglyphics and other carvings on the rocks.

This tomb in the picture above, in particular, had a skylight that was perfectly aligned with the winter solstice.  On Dec. 21st each year, the morning sunrise would light a path into the tomb and reach the far back wall.  Below you'll see more rock carvings.

Another mound we saw is quite tall and dates back to the 13th century.  It's surrounded by rings of dirt with deep moats that are thought to be a fort of some kind where people and even livestock lived between the "rings" surrounding the mound.

Since there were no barriers preventing us from climbing on it, we hand-crawled to the top and got some of our best pictures of the countryside.  

Nearby, teenagers were playing soccer and asked our kids to join them.

Ireland - Part 3

Throughout our trip, we saw so many castles, towers, churches, and other neat historical monuments.  Much of the Irish history is sad with so much persecution, wars, and famine.  They are a proud country who celebrated 100 years of independence during 2016.

This is in Dublin.  We were walking along and this just appears from a side street without us looking for it.

Another castle along the river, rail ways, or road, I can't remember.  Castles were just everywhere. 

We decided to tour one of them in Limerick.  Very well preserved.  Most of the castles were from the 1200s - 1400s, and it's residents severely affected by the black plague. 

A lookout tower on the coast of Ireland.

One of the most interesting places we visited in Dublin was Trinity College.  This is part of the "3 elite" of the UK, aptly named Trinity to complete the trio with Oxford University and Cambrige (both of England).

In their library, they have one of the oldest collections of books in Europe.  The library has two levels and spiral stair cases.

The long hallway was picturesque for what I imagined in Harry Potter novels.

Another interesting artifact in this library is the Book of Kells.  This book was created by persecuted monks in Ireland during the 8th or 9th century.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of it, so this one was downloaded from the internet.  The Book of Kells contains the 4 Gospels of the New Testament in Latin, but with very ornate drawings and lettering using stains like indigo traded throughout Europe & Asia.  This book was sought after during countless raids, so the fact that it survived is incredible.  It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact.

Lastly for this post, I wanted to highlight some of the beautiful churches we stumbled upon. Above is the cathedral in Limerick.  Below is the cathedral in Killarney.

All their interiors were just as breathtaking.  

Enjoyed Mass at the cathedral in Galway, although I forgot to snap a picture of it.