Donegal Traveller

Top O' the Mornin'

We had a bit of a late start today since we didn't board the bus until 9:00. It was nice to be able to sleep a little later especially since it was cool and rainy outside. To avoid another bout of motion sickness I avoided the Irish breakfast and had a good ol' American breakfast of cereal and toast.

Our journey today took us to the north of County Donegal near the Atlantic coast. We visited Glenveagh National Park and Castle (http://www.glenveaghnationalpark.ie/). It is a lovely wooded area on the banks of a serene lough or lake. Glenveagh Castle was built by John George Adair in 1859. In 1861 he forcibly evicted 243 tenants who were legally, by contract, living on his land simply because they detracted from the beauty of his castle. Adair later moved to Colorado, bought a ranch from Charles Goodnight in Texas and then split his time between the ranch and the castle. He died while hunting buffalo in Texas. His wife continued to keep up the castle and the ranch. The castle was later sold to a professor from Harvard who mysteriously disappeared during a research trip to the Aran island. The castle was then sold to it's final private owner, George McIlhiney who lived in the castle until he gave it over to Ireland in 1986. The castle and grounds are now a national park. The castle is fairly modern and quite different than other castles I've visited in that it reflects its final owners rather than the time period in which it was built.

We ate lunch in the little tea room at the castle while listening to 3 old men who were singing Irish pub songs. They were just as you would picture them to be and were quite delightful.

We journeyed on to the Atlantic cost stopping in Downing (Dunning) for ice cream and then on to Letterkenney for some free shopping time while our guide went to the doctor as he hasn't felt well all week. Letterkenney is the largest city in Donegal and the fastest growing in IE. However, they need a new mall. It was probably the least interesting hour that we have had on the tour.

Dinner is at 7:15. Our meals have been an experience. Breakfast is always a full Irish meaning eggs, rashers (like bacon), bangers (sausage), tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, blood pudding and toast. There is always fruit and cereal as well. I have not tried the blood pudding! Lunch is on our own wherever we might be. Dinner is table d'hote meaning a 3 course meal of appetizer, main dish, dessert and tea or coffee. We usually have a choice of fish, poultry, beef or pasta as the main course. The food is outstanding, just heavy.

Tomorrow we leave at half-eight to head to Derry aka Londonderry by the British, and the Giant's Causeway. We sleep in Ballygally castle tomorrow night.

Well that's the news from Stranolar (Stran-no-lar). Later then.

The Tuesday From Hell and A Wonderful Wednesday

Cead Mile Failte Ya'll,

The wonderful news is that my purse was returned to me at dinner on Tuesday with everything in it and, I only threw up once today!

I don't even really remember where all we went yesterday during the day. I know we stopped at Connemara Marble and I was still feeling pretty good. Then we progressed on up into the hills and stopped at a lovely Benedictine Abbey where Madonna was going to send her daughter but they wouldn't accept her. Then we got on a catamaran in the Killary Fjord and ate lunch while cruising down the fjord. That was very nice. But, let me back up.

We are on a very tight time schedule. We have to have our suitcases in the hall at a certain time, be at breakfast at a certain time. Get on the bus at a certain time and so on. They told us that if we weren't on time, they would leave without us. Fortunately, that wasn't true on Tuesday. I remember waking up enough to hear voices outside in the parking lot. I thought that someone was getting an early start because I have been waking up about 5:30 every morning. I dozed back off, waiting for our wakeup call. Presently the phone rang but it wasn't the wake up call we were expecting. It was Ken our guide saying "Laura love are you comin' with us?" I was wide awake then! Yes we were coming. I hung up' jumped up and so did Ken. We were dressed and down to the bus in less than 10 minutes! At least we had a good excuse-my alarm clock was locked in my suitcase and the key to the suitcase was in my purse which was locked in the CIE office downtown. And, our wake up call was never made. No breakfast, rough looking and embarrassed we joined the bus that hadn't left without us.

Back to the Catamaran tour. The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious and we had a very nice time. Back on the bus we headed toward the village of Cong for our Quiet Man tour. A few miles into the trip, in the back of the bus, on a bumpy road, I began to feel very nauseous. I moved to an empty seat thinking if I could be cooler, I would be ok. Not so. I will spare the indelicate details but I became VERY sick. Several times. By the time we reached Cong I would have felt better dead. I did not enjoy the tour and spent much of it sitting with my head in my hands. One of our tour mates gave me a motion sickness pill that helped and I slept all the way back to the hotel. I felt sick most of the evening but I was able to enjoy the Irish Music and Dance show that we went to called Trad on the Prom. It featured several key performers from Riverdance plus a few of the local talent and was very good.

Today we left earlier than usual and despite the pill, I got sick once but was fine the rest of the day. Maybe it was the holy water from the Knock Shrine, I don't know. Our first stop today was the Knock Shrine. Back in 1879 I believe, a local woman and several other villagers saw a vision of the Holy Mother surrounded by angels on the wall of the Knock church. The vision was verified and in 1935 or so, it was officially .made a shrine. It was a holy place and I was able to step in for the opening prayer of Mass. In Ireland, most masses are 30 minutes or less. Meghan, you will have to tell Father Jim to cut it shorter from now on. We then went to the Museum of Country Life in Co. Mayo. It is one of 4 national museums and sits on the former Fitzgerald "farm". I thoroughly enjoyed it. Let's just say that real life in rural Ireland between 1865 and 1950 was much darker than what you see in the movies.

Our next stop was Drumcliffe Abbey and the grave of W.B. Yeats. Cute little church but since I don't remember much about Yeats it wasn't a highlight. The highlight of the day (besides not throwing up) was the Beleek Pottery Factory. We had a nice tour of the factory. I now understand why Beleek is so expensive. The pieces that look woven and that have the teeny weenie flowers are very labor intensive. One craftsman was working on pedestals for large candles. He said they would be sold on QVC in September. I said "Rose of Tralee Day" and he lit up and said Yes! I told him that I only watch QVC two days out of the year, Rose of Tralee and St Patrick's. He said to watch for his candle holders so I will. I spent way too much in the show room but the nice thing is that they are shipping it home for me for the same as I would have spent on tax if I'd taken it home with me.

Our last stop was our hotel in Stanolar/Ballyfoe, a little town in the mountains. It is a delightful family run inn called Kee's Inn. It is just what you would picture an Irish upscale inn to be. They treated us to a welcome drink before dinner. I also had a Bushmiller's Vintage Cider. Yummy! I guess I am feeling better. Dinner conversation was fascinating as we sat with an older couple who are professors in California. Several of our tour mates are going next door to a very traditional pub but I am being a party pooper. I don't want to push it. If I still feel well tomorrow night, maybe we will go.

I kind of had my crying jag yesterday and just decided to start over today. We are on the last half of our tour and it is going to be even better. I bought my own supply of Kwell's (same as dramamine) and will be very careful abo ut what I eat at breakfast tomorrow.

Slán go fóill !

Luck of the Irish

Mammaw always said that the luck of the Irish was bad luck and I am beginning to believe it in my case. My bad luck today began when my net book died. I couldn't get it to charge yesterday and by this morning it was gone. Predicament #1

Today is Monday and it is 10:09 p.m. here or 4:00 p.m. CST. We just returned from a walk down the Galway Bay promenade and it is still light out. It reminds me of when we went to Scotland when the girls were little. They would have to go to bed when the sun was still up and they got up with the sun as well. Meghan finally asked if the sun ever set in Scotland! It is the same way here. It will finally be dark by about 11:00.

Following our full Irish breakfast, we left our hotel In Ennis at half-eight this morning in the heavy, foggy rain. Our destination was the Cliffs of Moher. Ken O'Connor, our guide kept assuring us that it would clear off by the time we got there. No such luck. It was raining even harder when we got there. Predicament #2. Our tour company gave us rain ponchos but I decided just to wear my windbreaker that I thought was waterproof. We walked up the hill to the top of the cliffs and of course, couldn't see anything but fog and rain. To top it off, the wind was blowing as it does along the coast. My windbreaker was not waterproof and my umbrella couldn't take the wind. By the time we got back to the visitor's center, I was soaked. I took off my windbreaker and my entire back was wet, my legs were wet and the front of my sweater was wet in two very embarrassing spots. Ahem. Predicament #3. Luckily there was a family toilet (that's what they are called here, I'm not being indelicate) with a blow dryer. I took my sweater off and dried the spots fairly well. If you want to check out the Cliffs of Moher go here:http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/.

We traveled on to the Burren Way, a prehistoric area of tombs built from the native limestone. (http://www.discoverireland.ie/Search-Results/Details.aspx?touristItemID=13038) The rain had let up a bit so we didn't get as wet going out to see the Burren. I wasn't too impressed having seen Stonehenge and Mushroom Rock but maybe I was just too waterlogged by then. We were able to stop and walk up to a very scenic view of Galway Bay just before our lunch. I will post pictures later.

Lunch was at a small pub in a little town somewhere between the Burren and Galway. I forget the name but I know it started with a K. We have seen so much today that my brain is a little foggy. I tried the seafood chowder and an open face sandwich. And Erin, I had my second Smithwick's at lunch today. I even got Dad to drink 2 yesterday! I was afraid it would be too dark for him but he liked it. Maybe because of the beer or maybe because I wasn't used to carrying it but some of you will guess what happened next with my purse...Predicament #4.

As we were approaching Galway City I reached down to get my purse. Guess what? It wasn't there. I had left it several km away at the pub. I thought Ken would throw me off the bus. Passport, euros, dollars, Visa etc. all in the purse. We were sitting just behind Ken the guide so I sheepishly told him. Not to worry! He got on his phone, called the pub and they had it. He told them to put it on the "service bus" at quarter-two and send it down to the CIE office Inspector in Galway City. Adrian the steerologist (our driver) was on his phone telling the office to expect it and to put it in the Inspector's office. Long story short, it came in sometime after 4:00, it is locked in the inspector's office and I will have it sometime tomorrow. Ken the guide said that things like this happen all the time and that the majority of Irish are very honest and will take care of your belongings for you. I am trusting this is so but say a prayer anyway please. My Ken decided not to be mad at me although he said he was going to staple it to my body from now on.

At some point today we stopped at the Well of St. Briged's Well in Liscanor (http://www.castlebar.ie/news/article_2705.shtml) I thought some of you might enjoy seeing the pictures of it. Meghan, maybe she will look over my purse for me?

In Galway City we visited a shopping mall where you had to pay .30€ to use the toilet and then Ken and I walked through the green where JFK gave a speech in 1963. After we visited the Cathedral of our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicolas. (http://www.galwaycathedral.ie/) The city of Boston helped to fund this cathedral in the '60's. It is quite beautiful and contains a small mosaic of JFK to commemorate his connection as a freeman of Galway City.

Back on the bus and off to Connemara Celtic Crystal. We learned from 86 year old Mary Mullally how the crystal is designed and cut. The crystal is not sold in Ireland outside the showroom and is sold via Internet or shops in other countries. It is very beautiful unique crystal. I purchased two small bowls, one in the claddagh design and one in the famine design. Mary was quite a character and we learned a great deal about her one of a kind crystal designs.

We are now at the Galway Bay Hotel. The front of the hotel overlooks the bay and our room overlooks the parking lot :-(. Predicament #5, the key to our second suitcase, the one with my netbook and medication in it, is in my billfold, in my purse, in the CIE office. So, I won't sleep well and I will hurt tomorrow but that's my own fault I guess. I was able to use the business center here at the hotel to write this post. I was afraid you'd think the black gang got us if I didn't post today.

Tomorrow we go to Connemara Marble (!) , take a catamaran cruise and then to Cong for the Quiet Man walking tour. Tomorrow night we are going to an Irish dance show at the hotel next door.

Just a note, dad always said that he is black Irish. Unless we are descended from the Spaniards, I don't think so. Also, most of the O'Dea's were Catholic...hmmmm. And, Luana, I tried to take over the castle but there weren't enough of us to hold onto it. Besides, it was kind of damp inside and I don't think I would want to live in it.

Have a wonderful day, night whatever time of day it is where you are!

Dysert O'Dea Castle

There are two men in my life who I think can do most anything-my dad and my husband. Yesterday was an example one of the many things Ken has done that amazed me.

When I was planning this trip I was looking for something to do near Shannon. Somehow I happened on the Dysert O'Dea castle in County Clare, Ireland. It was a mere 30km from the airport and our hotel. My father's grandmother was Maud Ethel Day. Her father was an O'Day as was her grandfather who we think immigrated from County Clare Ireland. O'Day was an anglicized version of O'Dea (pronounced dee) and Day was the Americanized name. Many Irish changed their names to sound more American once they immigrated to the United States. I have always been fascinated with this branch of my family tree and would like to learn more as that bit of family history has always been shrouded in mystery.

So, Ken and I hired a car, a lovely black Peugeot, very small, with a steering wheel on the right. In Ireland, like Great Britain, you also drive on the left side of the road. Everything is opposite. Ken's amazing feat was to drive this car without a problem. He even had to shift with his left hand which he did with ease. We headed out down the N19 reaching speeds of 120, km per hour that is! The N19 and N18 are beautiful new roadways, very wide and nicely paved. Once we passed the town of Ennis (pronounced Ennish meaning island) the roads got narrower and narrower. The last road up to the castle was so narrow you could touch the shrubs on the side of the road. If you met someone going the other way you either pulled over or backed up. I am glad I wasn't doing the driving! Especially after being awake for 20 hours.

We arrived at the Dysert O'Day Archeology Centre at 9:30. The site didn't officially open until 10:00 but and extremely nice man saw us driving up the road and came up to unlock the gate for us so we could wander around. One thing we are learning is that the Irish are extremely nice and very outgoing. They love to talk and will engage you in conversation. We have experienced this with everyone from the man who opened the gate to the boy cashier at the Texaco to our desk clerk this morning. They want to know where you are from, where you are going, if you are on holiday etc. It is a refreshing change from most places we've traveled in the US.

The O'Dea Castle is located in an area known as Dysert in Co. Clare (http://www.dysertcastle.com/) . It was built by Dairmud O'Dea around 1410. The castle was occupied off and on by the O'Dea chieftans and clan for many years. Also on the site is the St. Tola church which was built in the 12th century. It is a ruin that now sits in the center of a graveyard filled with descendents of the many clans who have lived in the area over time. A few meters from the church is the High Cross erected around the same time as the church. The cross base is from the original cross but most of the rest is reconstruction. In the original cross, the head of Christ could be removed and the myth is that one could hold the head against the jaw to take away the pain of a toothache. The church, cross and other archeological sites are located in cow pastures so to get to them, you have to dodge cow patties but the cows stay away. I don't think they understood my Kansas accent because they just would't come when I called them. You also had to climb the stone fences using steps built into the wall. Lots of fun! We spent a couple of hours wandering and visiting the castle and then drove back t Shannon where we explored a shopping mall. We decided that we were too tired to do anything else so we returned to the airport, turned in the car and hung out until we could check in at 2:00.

Our hotel was ok but not 4 star by any means. We had two twin beads and Ken immediately crashed into his and went to sleep. I showered, put on shorts and a t-shirt and then went to sleep myself. We slept for the better part of 15 hours. Much needed!

Today is Sunday and we were picked up at the airport by Adrian our bus driver who looks like Jake Hess and loves to talk. We were deposited at the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis and have the rest of the afternoon free until 3:15 when we meet for a walking tour. I think we are off in a few to explore the town center and find some lunch and perhaps a pint too.

Slainte!

c

Failte!

We arrived! After dreaming of this trip for the past ten years, we are here! I am sitting in a cafe at the Shannon Airport, looking out the window at the beautiful green countryside. Ken is snoozing in a chair across the table from me. I honestly did not believe that we would ever get here--not until our plane touched down on Irish soil. What an interesting feeling to look out across the Irish countryside of Clare Co. and wonder if my ancestors walked there many years ago. I've never had that feeling before. Maybe it was jet lag--who knows.

I have now been awake the better part of 20 hours but right now I feel great. We did not have a good start. The ticket lady in Wichita was not helpful and was actually rather put out when she had to help us check-in rather than checking in at the little kiosk. If I had wanted to check-in on a computer, I would have done it at home. When her supervisor walked up to the desk she suddenly became very helpful. Go figure. The flight to Denver was uneventful and we got there in plenty of time. We boarded our plane on time, got situated and then waited. Finally, at 11:00 when we were supposed to leave, they announced that a fuel valve was leaking and it would take about 15 minutes to fix. Hardly. 30 minutes after our departure time they announced that it was taking a little longer to fix than they thought and that we could deplane. By the way, if you de-plane when you get off of the airplane, what do you do when you get on? Plane? At 12:15 they said they would make a departure decision at 12:30. At 12:30 we were able to get back on-re-plane?-the airplane and we took off around 1:00.
Now we had planned a nice cushion of time to change planes in Boston. However, we landed at 6:15ish and weren't able to deplane until 6:30 or so. Ken and I were at the front of economy class so we were able to leave the plane very quickly. Now, get this, the Aer Lingus gates were in another terminal. The only way to get to that terminal was to go out of the secured area, sprint to Terminal E, and go back through security. We did it in a record time of 25 minutes. We were the last people to board the plane but we made it!

Here's why we couldn't deplane once we were on the ground. An older lady who must have had a connection got up while we were taxiing in and she came to stand by the door. The flight attendant politely told her to go sit down. She wouldn't. She actually became quite irate and started cursing at the attendant. A supervisor was called and she not so politely told the woman to sit down. The woman started crying but didn't sit down. The supervisor told the pilot and the pilot stopped the plane and said we couldn't taxi anymore because someone was out of her seat. When the entire plane groaned, she finally sat back down. Her seat was at the back of the plane so she did not get off as quickly as she would have liked.
I'll skip the details of the flight to Ireland. It was a typical long-haul flight. I tried to sleep but couldn't so I will be running on adrenaline today.

So, now we are here. I will wake Ken up in a minute and we will go pick up our car hire and maneuver through the highways of Co. Clare to the Dysert O'Dea castle. We can check into our hotel after 2:00 so I imagine we will be back early afternoon.

By the way, no matter how sharp your white shirt looks with your black pants, don't wear it for 15 hours on an airplane. It won't look sharp by the end of your journey.

49 49 49

May 13, 2010 8:39 a.m.
I was officially 49.

I don't mind being 49. I don't think I'll mind being 50. It's just that 49 sounds so....bland. You aren't here, you aren't there, you're just, 49.

In 1999 we traveled by van to Washington D.C.. Money was tight, as always and we were going to be traveling for 14 days. If you have ever visited D.C. you know how expensive hotels are--even the one and two star rooms can cost over $100 a night. Well, Ken had heard about a motel in Vienna, VA from a well-traveled friend. It even had a classy name "The Vienna Wolftrap Inn". He said it was clean and close to the Metro station. And guess what? It was only $49 a night. How could you beat that?

This was before the days of Internet, at least for me. I didn't know a thing about Tripadvisor or anything other than the AAA travel book. It gave the Wolftrap two stars. Not bad. I just checked Tripadvisor and the dear Wolftrap is still open for business. The best comment was "at least the bugs didn't carry my bed away." That pretty well sums it up. I knew we were in trouble when we checked in. The desk clerk kind of reminded me of the guy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles that wouldn't take a Rolex in exchange for a room. He was just kind of sleazy and reeked of cigarette smoke. Our room wasn't much better. At first glance, it was just an old motel room that hadn't been remodeled since it was built. It had seventies style flowered bedspreads and disgusting matted shag carpet on the floor. Upon further inspection we discovered that the smoke detector had been covered by a shower cap. I wanted to leave.

Oh wait, it gets worse. When we pulled back the bedspread we found ashes in the bed, as if the maid smoked while hanging over the bed changing the linens. Yuck! Well, we reasoned, we would only be sleeping there and as Tom Bodette says, all rooms look the same in the dark. And, it was only $49!

Thus began a family mantra: 49-49-49. We say it when we know something is too good to be true. We say it when we encounter a crummy motel room. We say it to mean that it isn't good and it isn't bad, it isn't here and it isn't there, it's just 49.

I am just 49. I feel younger in my head and older in my body. My career is neither here or there. Right now, life just is. Some days are great, and others aren't. I know there will always be something better, but I also know that some days are just a a 49.

The Story

A sad thing happened over the weekend. Nancy Hughes died. She was 91 years old. Well, let me correct that, Helen Wagner, the actress who played Nancy , died. Her character on the long-running soap opera "As The World Turns" hadn't been killed off yet, just relegated to an occasional party scene or two. Her days as the "tent-pole" character, that steady individual that held story lines together, were long gone. A sad testament to the decline of soap operas into seedy story lines that revolve around the latest sexual affair.

Growing up "The Story" was a common thread that tied together the women of my family. I can remember watching it with my mom, my great-grandmother and my Aunt Cheryl. If you missed an episode, you could always call grandma to catch up on the daily escapades of Bob, Lisa, Kim, Tom, Susan and the rest. We talked about the story at birthday parties. We talked about the story when we went shopping. We talked about the story at almost every family gathering. Heck, I thought those people were part of my family for awhile! As a child I could tell you who Bob was cheating with on Lisa. I knew that Franny was Bob's child with Kim, but not with Lisa. Oh my the sinful lives the people of Oakdale lived. For this little Baptist soul, it was all very scandalous

I think I stopped watching ATWT when I was in high school. I've tried to watch it a couple of times in the past few years but I don't know anyone any more and the story lines don't interest me. My great grandma is gone. Characters have died or moved on and The Story is no longer the same. I don't miss it. It's just a sweet childhood memory that ties me to those I love.