Crazy Cat Lady

Hawaii, Pictures 2

2011-10-23T14:10:00.005-06:00

Hawaii, Day 6 & 7

2011-10-21T01:50:00.002-06:00

Well tomorrow we are homeward bound. It's pretty sad, but in a way I am ready to get back. I have a lot to do! Anyways, so yesterday we drove to the north part of the island & went on an ATV tour. It was a ton of fun! The place was called ATV Outfitters, & they have a ton of trails leading along the coastline & through orchards. It was beautiful. Plus I was on a four-wheeler. Can't get much better than that! We did a 15 mile ride & stopped off at two different waterfalls. The first one we drove right to, but the second one you had to go on a little hike to get to it. They were both amazing! Our tour guide was named Fado, & he was pretty hilarious. I drove behind him & he kept grabbing fruit off trees while we road. So after our tour was over, we headed back south. By the time we got back it was already pretty late. We hung out for a bit & then went to dinner at the Big Island Grill. It was pretty good.

Today we got up, grabbed breakfast, & headed toward Hilo. It is a pretty big town to the east. On the way there we saw turkeys, nene birds, & a pheasant. Crazy! We did some shopping when we got there & then went to the Hilo Airport. We were there to go on a helicopter tour. It was so much fun! We checked in & then went over some safety stuff. After a little while we headed outside to get loaded up. It was us three & a German guy named Rudolph. He was so adorable. Anyways, we got into the helicopter (I was in the back with Rudolph), talked to the pilot for a bit (his name was Marco & he was pretty cute), & then we took off. It was crazy! I have been in a ton of planes, but never a helicopter. I was pretty nervous for the first little bit but got used to it pretty quickly. We were in the helicopter for about an hour & saw some amazing stuff. At first we flew over a harbor, saw a couple of waterfalls, but then we headed to the volcano. It was so amazing to see from above & there was even some lava flow! It was awesome! He said that the lava had just started flowing again last night so we were lucky to see it. Anyways, we flew back to the airport, got unloaded, & hit the road again.

When we got back to our place it was nearly time to set off on our next adventure. This time Ang & I were going to go night snorkeling. We got ready, & drove down to the dock to meet our guides. We ended up using the same company as we used the other time we went snorkeling, & our guides were the same. It was pretty funny. Anyways, we got the kayaks in the water, & headed out. We didn't kayak very far & then it was time to anchor & get in the water. It was a little cold at first but we got used to it fast. We swam around for a minute, & then a manta ray appeared! It was so amazing! He circled around below us the entire time we were in the water. He was beautiful! I was so happy we were able to experience that. Apparently, sometimes they take people out & they don't see any manta rays. So once again, we were lucky! We snorkeled for a while, loaded back into the kayaks (not very gracefully, I might add), & then headed back to the harbor. We said farewell to John & Booboo (the other guide), & went back home.

Well now it is time to pack. Sigh. I hate packing! Plus I am tired so I just want to go to sleep! Anyways, I have had a great time here but am getting ready to head home. I have a ton of work to catch up on at school & need to hop to it. Also, my new phone is waiting for me! I ordered an iPhone 4s & it arrived the same day I left. Gives me something to look forward too! And, I miss my kitties! I'm ready to visit them. Anyways, I best be off. Night!

Hawaii, Pictures 1

2011-10-20T01:25:00.006-06:00

Hawaii, Day 4 & 5

2011-10-19T13:54:00.007-06:00

I have been having a hard time getting the internet to work here. If you sit in a certain location, you usually have one bar but it doesn’t always work. I even had to spend $30 to get the internet. Nice. Anyways, Monday was a great day. We left at about 8:30, grabbed breakfast, & drove about 100 miles to Volcano National Park. We went & saw the steam vents & then headed to a glass blowing studio that was nearby. We were able to watch the artist working on some glass, which was great. He had two big dogs & they were adorable! They were massive, but so sweet. We bought some stuff, & then headed back to the park.

We parked, & then set off on the Kilauea Iki Trail. It was a four mile hike that went along the side of the crater, dropped down into it, went across, & on the other end zigzagged back out of the crater. It was beautiful. On the rim of the crater there were tons of trees & plants, but as soon as you got to the bottom, it was like a barren wasteland. It was the site of the 1959 eruption & was a lake of lava. One interesting thing is that the crater is still sinking. Apparently it sinks about an inch a year, which is pretty crazy! The hike took us about two hours & then we headed back to our resort. We were all pretty wiped out! We got back pretty late, grabbed some dinner, & then watched True Grit. It was really good, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. It was a bit depressing.

Yesterday, we go up, ate breakfast, & headed to “Aloha Kayak”. We got outfitted with snorkel gear, met our two tour guides, & then followed them down to Honaunau Bay. I never did catch the name of one of the tour guides, but the other guy was named John. They were both super nice, funny guys. Anyways, they unloaded three kayaks & got everything ready to go. Ang & I were in one kayak, John was alone, and then my mom & the other guy were in the last one. We took off into the open ocean & traveled about two miles down the coast. Ang & I sort of sucked at first, but we got better after a while. We couldn’t go in a straight line for very long. Anyways, we were going along & all of the sudden there were a ton of dolphins in front of us! It was so amazing! There was even a little baby one! Adorable!

After the dolphins left, we continued on until we arrived at some cliffs. John hopped out of his kayak, climbed up the cliff, and jumped into the water. Ang went next. She didn’t quite go all the way to the top, but she did great. I really wanted to go, but wasn’t sure I could make it up the cliff! Plus I was a bit worried about getting back into the kayak. Anyways, next we headed to a lava cave. We backed our kayaks into it & floated in the cave for a little bit. It was really cool. Then we took off back along our route to the bay. We were about halfway there when John pointed out a turtle. It was so adorable! He was just hanging out in the middle of the ocean. At first you could only see his shell (which was massive) but then his little head popped up! It was so awesome! John said it was pretty rare to see a turtle in open waters, normally you see them closer to the shore. After the turtle disappeared, we continued on our way.

Once we got back to the bay, we ate lunch, & then got ready to do some snorkeling. It was so much fun! It took a while to get used to breathing through the tube thing, but it was definitely worth it! I saw so many fish! My favorite fish was this long, thin, silver one. It was so strange looking! I’m honestly not sure how long we snorkeled for, but we got out of the water, chatted with the tour guides for a bit, & then hit the road. It was a ton of fun. Unfortunately, I got sunburned! Apparently I didn’t do the greatest job putting on my sunscreen. I can’t remember the last time I was burned like this. It totally sucks! Anyways, we headed back to our resort, showered, grabbed dinner, & a couple of movies. We watched Your Highness (worst movie ever) & Bridesmaids (hilarious). Well, we are about to set off on our adventure today! I’ll try & update later… If the internet works! So far I have been unable to get any pictures up.

Hawaii, Day 3

2011-10-17T01:18:00.000-06:00

Hawaii, Day 2

2011-10-16T02:41:00.001-06:00

I’m about to go to bed, but figured I’d write a quick summary of our day. I don’t think many people actually read this, but it is more for my benefit anyways. It’s like a journal & it helps me remember things! Take Ireland for example. Sometimes I’ll go back & ready my posts about it & it helps me recall all sorts of things from that journey. I didn’t always want to stay up & write about my day, but now I am grateful that I did. Anyways, we didn’t do a lot today. Angie got a cold before we left & was feeling pretty sick. Plus, we are all a bit jet lagged & trying to adjust to the time change.

So we went to breakfast at a country club nearby (I’m not sure how we ended up there… It just happened) and it was pretty good. We didn’t really fit in, but that’s alright. Afterwards we decided to just explore part of the island & just drove down the coast for a few hours. We stopped at a few places along the way & looked around. We stopped at a bay & walked around for a bit & saw some little crabs. They were adorable but kind of creepy!

It was kind of nice not having a plan. I tend to be the type of person that wants to know where we are going, when, & what we’ll be doing once we get there. So we returned back to our place, took a nap, & then headed into town. We stopped at a store, rented Thor, & grabbed some drinks & snacks. Then we picked up dinner at a little Mexican place called Los Habaneros. It was pretty good! Went back, ate dinner, made some plans for the rest of our time here, & watched the movie. It was alright. It had some funny parts but was pretty cheesy. Anyways, I’m off to bed. Night!

PS: I can't get my pictures to load, but hopefully will be able to tomorrow.

Hawaii, Day 1

2011-10-15T20:55:00.005-06:00

Well, I am in Hawaii. Hooray! It has been a very long day. I went to bed last night around 1am, woke up at 4am, and left for the airport at 5am. Our plane left at 7am & we had a relatively short flight to Denver. After a three hour layover, we boarded a plane to Honolulu. That flight was over 7 hours, but felt more like 20. I dozed a bit, but it hurt my neck. Anyways, we landed in Honolulu (which, by the way, was a very strange airport), and an hour later boarded a plan for Kona. That last flight was nice because it was only about thirty minutes. We got off the plane (at an even stranger airport), boarded a shuttle to the car rental place, got our car, and hit the road.

It was a short drive to our resort and there were some spectacular views along the way. The sun was just setting and the sky was gorgeous. We got our keys, and then grabbed dinner at a little pizza dinner called Bianelli’s. It was really good, and it was nice to finally eat a meal. All we had eaten thus far was a bagel in Salt Lake and some chips on the plane to Honolulu. The dinner salad was just romaine with a big pile of local olives and was delicious. After dinner we stopped at a grocery store to grab a few essentials and then went back to the resort. Now here we are and while it is only 9pm here, back in Utah it is 1am. Which means I have been going for 21 hours. And now that I can finally go to bed, I’m restless. Sigh. Tomorrow we plan on being pretty low key. Perhaps we’ll just spend the day on the beach. I’m totally prepared with some SPF 110 sunscreen.

Swimming Lucy

2011-08-16T22:42:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend we got a little pool for Miss Lucy & she sure did love it. We had a hard time getting her out of it!

St. Louis, Day 4

2011-07-04T22:29:00.005-06:00

It is nearly midnight & I leave for the airport in four hours. I have yet to decide whether or not I am going to go to bed at all... Anyways... We went to the Golden Pancake for breakfast again & then we headed to the City Museum. It was a pretty strange place... The building it is located in was supposed to be demolished & in order to save it, it was turned into the museum. It is very interactive & full of things to climb on, both inside & out. We were there for a couple of hours & then headed to the Laumeier Sculpture Park. It is a 105 acre park that is full of statues & sculptures. We walked around for an hour or so & it was pretty cool. It had rained the day before so there was a lot of mud in the area. We were nearly out when I slid in the mud & landed on my hands & knees. It was pretty talented. The worst part about it was that I was holding my camera at the time & dropped it when I fell. Luckily it was okay... Just a bit muddy.

After my amazing fall, we headed to a laundromat because Ang needed to get all of her laundry done. We spent an hour or so there & then headed to Kampsville to drop Ang off. We stopped to eat dinner & then got to Kampsville at like 8pm. We said farewell to Ang & headed back to St. Louis. I'm sad to leave Miss Ang, but I am ready to get back to my own bed. I am also ready to get away from this weather! Anyways, that's about it...

St. Louis, Day 3

2011-07-03T23:36:00.004-06:00

Another day in St. Louis! We went back to the Golden Pancake for breakfast this morning (yes... it was delicious) & then we did a bit more shopping. The main thing we wanted to do today was go to the top of the Arch. We had to park rather far away because there was a fair going on. Anyways, we got into the Arch at about 2pm & then bought tickets to ride to the top. It was super busy so our tickets weren't until 4pm. We basically had to hang out for the next couple of hours if we wanted to go to the top. Which, obviously we did. While we were waiting it began to pour rain & there was a severe thunder warning. Because of this they announced that no one could leave the building & then they had some technical difficulties. Anyways, we weren't able to go up the arch until like 5:30... So you load into these tiny little cars (photos below...) and take a five minute rickety ride to the top. We were all pretty unsettled because it was creepy. We got to the top, looked out some tiny windows, & went back down. Was it worth it? Umm... I guess. I probably wouldn't do it again but it is one of those things you have to do at least once.

We didn't leave the Arch until 7pm & by that time it was pouring rain again. But we decided to brave the weather & walk to the car in the rain. By the time we got there we were all pretty soaked, so we stopped by the hotel to dry up a bit & then headed to dinner. We ate at CPK & then went to see Transformers 3. It was alright. Mindless entertainment at its best... It had some funny parts, some cheesy parts, lots of explosions... You know... The usual. Anyways, tomorrow is our last day with Ang. We have to drop her back off at Kampsville by the end of the day & then early Tuesday we fly home. I'll be sad to leave Ang but super excited to get away from this weather. It is awful! High temperatures combined with lots of humidity is not my thing. Who knew I would be excited to get back to Utah?

St. Louis, Day 2

2011-07-02T20:06:00.003-06:00

This morning we headed to Chris' Pancake House for breakfast. It was good, but not nearly as good as the Golden Pancake. After breakfast we meandered around town & did some shopping. Ang needed some stuff & it is so hot here I wanted to get some capris. We ended up at a mall & went in all sorts of stores. I'm not much of a shopper but I did pretty good. I tend to get a bit grouchy at malls... Anyways, we also got a pedicure at the mall which was nice. I haven't gotten one in ages & it's good to get one every so often. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory & then headed back to the hotel. We are now trying to decide if we want to hit a movie. However, a boxing match is on & we all want to know who wins (random, right?). Anyways, that's it for today. Pretty boring... I know.

St. Louis, Day 1

2011-07-01T21:39:00.003-06:00

Well, I am in St. Louis. It sure was a long night! So we left for the SLC airport at about 5pm & our flight was supposed to take off at 8pm but was delayed about an hour. We got to Phoenix around 9:30pm (local time...) & our next flight didn't leave until midnight. I, of course, was unable to sleep on the plane & was pretty miserable by the time we landed in St. Louis at 5am. We took a shuttle to Hertz, got our rental car, & ate breakfast at the Golden Pancake. They honestly had the best pancakes I have ever eaten. In other words they made a good name choice. Anyways, after breakfast we called our hotel to see if we could check-in early & then headed that way. Fortunately, we were able to check in at about 7:30am & then we crashed. Hooray for sleep.

When we got moving again, we explored St. Louis a bit before heading to Kampsville. We were supposed to get Ang at 6pm & it was about an hour & a half drive. The route we took followed the Mississippi River & it was beautiful. The water is very high, so lots of trees & even a few buildings are currently flooded. I had seen flood damage when I went to New Orleans right after Hurricane Katrina, but I have never seen active flooding. I can't imagine living in a place that basically floods every summer! And apparently, this flood season isn't nearly as bad as last years. Crazy.

Anyways, we grabbed Ang, drove around Kampsville a bit, & then headed back towards St. Louis. We got dinner at an Italian restaurant & are now back at the hotel. It was great to see Miss Angie & nice to see where she has been staying. Not too sure what the plan is tomorrow, but we are probably going to be pretty low key. Ang needs to do some laundry, maybe we'll go shopping, see a movie... That sort of stuff. I hope to get some shots of the flooding later in the trip, but we'll see! I got a few shots of the river & of both the sunrise & the sunset. Anyways... That's all for now!

On the Road Again...

2011-06-29T20:17:00.002-06:00

Well, I can't believe it, but I am getting on another plane tomorrow. I will have actually been on four planes by the time I get home! Crazy! I thought I was done flying for a while! Anyways, I am flying to Missouri to see Miss Angie for the weekend. She gets Monday off because of the holiday, & then her birthday is on Tuesday. I fly out on Thursday & fly back on Tuesday. We wanted to drive out, but my father wouldn't let us. Sigh. I really wanted to drive! I love road trips & it has been far too long since I have taken one. Oh well. At least I get to see Ang! I miss that girl!

I am excited to go, not only to see Ang, but also to go on a mini-adventure. I have been missing Ireland a lot & hopefully this will take my mind off that. I've also been rather lonely. Only because I got so used to being around a lot of people & now that I am not... Well, its pretty sad. I did start school this week, which has helped. Oh & I went to Greg's wedding over the weekend where I saw some of the Ireland group. That was fun. And the wedding was gorgeous. They did an amazing job. Well... That's about all for now. I'll keep you posted on my new journey!

Study Abroad, Day 25

2011-06-22T02:00:00.002-06:00

So I lied... That was not my last post in Ireland, but this definitely will be. I am currently sitting in the Dublin Airport, waiting to board my flight & thought I would share some final thoughts. I am pretty excited to go home but will miss Ireland more than I can say. This has been such an amazing experience & I am so grateful that I was able to come here. The people I have met (whether locals, students, professors, etc) have all been so great. I appreciate each & every one of them & credit them for making this trip as fantastic as it was. I have learned so much here & will never forget this journey. Thank you to Professor Michael Minch & Professor Jeff Torlina for organizing this study abroad program & bringing us to Ireland. And, of course, thanks to my parents making this trip possible. You are the best! I'll see you in 17 hours! Hooray!

Study Abroad, Day 23 & 24

2011-06-21T14:52:00.008-06:00

This is my last post from Ireland! It is amazing how fast this trip has gone! Well today & yesterday I toured Dublin with Kat, Greg, Pam, & Torben (the cameraman). We bought tickets for the double-decker bus tour & tried to see as much as we could. Yesterday we went to Dublinia, which is a Viking Museum, grabbed lunch at a cafe, & then spent most of the afternoon at St. Stephens Green (a park). Torben asked everyone to meet him there so that he could complete the interviews he needed for the project he is working on. So we waited for Torben to finish up & then we headed back to the hostel to grab some stuff before dinner. For dinner we went to a pub & I got tortellini's. It is the first pasta I have had in about 5 weeks & was pretty excellent. We headed back to the hostel, browsed the internet for a bit, & went to bed.

Today, we saw the Writer's Museum, the Book of Kells, the Long Room, the National Library, & the National Gallery. We ate lunch at a little cafe & had dinner at the Temple Bar. After dinner we headed back to the hostel so that we could get packed for tomorrow. Anyways, it was a pretty fun day & we were able to see a lot. I really liked Dublin this time around & am glad we were able to spend a few days here.

I am ready to go home, but I am also a little sad. I am going to miss this place! The beautiful countryside, the sheep, the nice people... It has been so amazing. I am also going to miss the people. I have made some great friends here & probably wont be seeing much of them once we return home. I imagine we'll all get busy & just wont have the time. Sad. Anyways... I'd like to thank a few people in particular...

Katina. You are an amazing person. I am so glad that we were able to get to know each other on this trip & have some late night conversations (even though we kept getting in trouble... sorry Ang). And by the way... You owe me some vegetarian food.

Gregorious. What would I have done without you on this trip? You are great & I am thrilled that we have a class together as soon as we get back. Thank you for being amazing & putting up with me. Good luck on Sunday!

Pam-Cake. Thanks for letting me call you Pam-Cake. I am glad we got to know each other! Thanks for hanging out with me & Ang, & for being so fun. Enjoy your continuing vacation!

Torben. It's too bad you were only with us for a week but... it was a pretty spectacular one. Thank you for the bus ride from Corrymeela to Dublin. I truly appreciate that... more than you might know. You have so much talent & I can't wait to see more of your work. (By the way, you should check him out... Here.)

Ang. Oh Ju Ju Bees. You are the best sister & friend anyone could ever have. I am so glad we went on this journey together & can't wait to see you again! Have so much fun in Kampsville! I love you!

Everyone else. Thanks for making the trip great! It was amazing to meet all of you & I hope to see you in the hallways one day!

Well... It's about time to go to bed. Our bus is picking us up at 7am, which is way too early. Next time I come on here... I'll be in Utah! Hooray!

I'm not sure why Greg wanted to try & climb this ladder... But he did. And he didn't make it.

Dear Greg. Thank you for putting on this mask & making my day better. Sincerely, Anna.

Study Abroad, Day 22

2011-06-19T16:10:00.002-06:00

Well, we are in Dublin. This is the last leg of our journey, & I must say I am a little relieved. There are a select few that I am going to miss a ton, but other than that, I am ready to get some alone time... Anyways, we had a session at Corrymeela this morning, ate lunch, & then hit the road. The bus ride to Dublin was four or five hours. I actually ended up having a very interesting conversation with our new cameraman & lost track of time. I have a sneaking suspicion that he was ready to get off the bus! So we got to our hostel in Dublin, got our rooms, & then got back on the bus for a quick tour of the area by our hostel. Tony met us here & took us on the tour, which was very nice. We all grabbed dinner & now we are back at the hostel. Some people went back out but I am pretty beat. Also, I need to take a shower but I am having a hard time getting the motivation for that. Well I sure miss my Angie & hope things are going good for her. She should be back in the states by now, which is pretty insane. Tomorrow we should have a free day, but we will see how that goes. Night!

This is what I woke up to this morning. Aren't they so adorable? I am going to miss those little guys!

Study Abroad, Day 20 & 21

2011-06-18T15:09:00.008-06:00

Angie is gone! Isn't that crazy? I think so... Anyways... On Friday we had our last day at INCORE. We had group presentations all day & then filled out an evaluation on the program. For our presentations we had to break into groups & pick a topic to speak about. I was with Ang, Greg, & Kat & we chose gerrymandering for our topic. It wasn't a big deal & we only presented in front of our group. I was still glad to be done with it though.... So that night we went to a hotel for dinner & also to get a certificate for completing the course. They were handed out by John Hume, which was amazing & the hotel was in a beautiful location.

After dinner, Frank came & picked us up to take us to Corrymeela. We left around 9:30pm & got here around midnight. The best part was that the bus couldn't make it all the way up the narrow road to Corrymeela, so we had to walk up in the dark. We got organized into rooms & then we all pretty much crashed. This morning, we got moving at 8:30am for breakfast (which was delicious porridge) & then I showered real quick before our sessions began. The sessions were run by a guy named Paul & were pretty interesting. No one was quite sure what this stop of our journey was going to be like, but we basically talk about what we have learned & do some little activities based around that.

John showed up around 4:30pm to pick Ang up, so we took a break & all said goodbye. It was hard to see her go & I will miss her very much. She is off to Kampsville, Illinois to work at an archeological dig for the rest of the summer. I won't see her again until mid-August. Sad! Anyways, she took off & we finished up our session before we ate dinner. We had another session after dinner & then I took off on a walk. It is so beautiful here. I wouldn't get anything done because I would just wander around all day. I took some pictures, had some good quality alone time... And now I am about to go to bed. I still am not quite over my cold so I need to get some sleep. I am tired of coughing! Mainly because I feel bad for everyone else. Anyways, that's about it...

Bye Ang! I love you! Be safe & have so much fun!

This is where we are staying. It is in an amazing location. I would definitely live here.

Isn't this little guy adorable? I tried to communicate with him but he just continued to chew on his grass.

I tried to make friends with these guys but they ended up running away from me. I even told them I was a vegetarian, but apparently that didn't help my cause.

Study Abroad, Day 17, 18, & 19

2011-06-16T14:05:00.002-06:00

So it's been a while! Every night we get home I am too exhausted too blog... So I crash. Plus we have been working on our projects, which takes up a lot of time as well. Anyways, here is a list of the lectures we have had over the past three days:

Tuesday

CAIN (an amazing website that has a ton of documents & information regarding the Troubles)
Dr. Brendan Lynn

Peace Negotiations
Dr. Cathy Gormley-Heenan

Peacemaking in NI
Paul Arthur

NI Murals
Bill Rolston

Wednesday

Inter-communal Divisions & Community Relations
Grainne Kelly

Dealing with the Past in NI
Brandon Hamber

Young Father's Project
Youth Panel

Keynote Speech
Bob Collins

Thursday

Policing in a Transitional Society
Sam Donaldson, Tom Fraser, Amanda Leighton

From Prison to Peace: The Role of Ex-Combatants in the Peace Process
Ex-Prisoner Panel

Conflict-Related Commemoration: Challenges of Remember in a Society in Conflict
Dr. Kris Brown

So after the last lecture today, we all walked over to the Playhouse, a theater in Derry. We watched "Theatre of Witness", which was a production put on a few years ago. After watching the movie, we heard from three women that told us about their direct/indirect involvement in the Troubles. It was a very moving experience. Afterward we grabbed dinner & then headed back to Inch House. This is our last night here. Crazy! I can't believe how fast this is going! Tomorrow after INCORE we will get on the bus & drive straight to Corrymeela, our next destination. So we all have to get packed tonight & which is going to be a lot of work! I will be so sad to leave! Plus, Ang leaves on Saturday! Which is definitely sad!

Last night when we got back from INCORE, Tony had a big dinner planned for all of us. It was adorable! I have pictures, but I'll put them up later. Anyways, the lights were off, the candles were lit, & all the food was laid out. Adorable! Us vegetarians ate some mystery thing, but it was delicious! They have the best vegetarian options here! It blows my mind. I am going to see if I can get some of the amazing things I have eaten in the US. That would be most excellent! Anyways, that's about it for this evening. I am getting ready to go home, by the way. I am ready for my own space & to not live out of a suitcase anymore. That would be great. And to do my own laundry! I will miss the sheep though! And some of the people... Anyways... The end.

Study Abroad, Day 16

2011-06-13T13:21:00.003-06:00

Well we are finished with our first day at INCORE. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, so that is good. I was pretty nervous that it would be intimidating & hard, but so far it's pretty good. We got to the University of Ulster, checked in, & sat in the cafeteria for a bit. When we checked in we got name tags & a binder full of information. Hooray for free stuff! We headed to orientation, where we learned more about how things were going to run & stuff. We then separated into our separate modules, & took a quick tour of the campus. So we are all in one group & have a separate schedule then everyone else. Except for the end of the day when all the groups go to the main hall & have a lecture.

Anyways, so our first lecture was by Professor Brandon Hamber, who is also our facilitator.... Basically he just tells us where to go & stays with us. He talked about peacemaking/building theory. It was nice to have a change of topic! We have been hearing mostly about Irish history, so this was good for different. We had lunch next, & we just ate in the cafeteria. Our next lecture was by Dr. Brendan Lynn (our other facilitator) & was about how the Northern Ireland conflict fits on the conflict cycle (a theory Professor Hamber spoke about). Our final lecture was back in the main hall with everyone else & was given by Professor Paul Arthur. The final lectures each day are going to revolve around the Northern Ireland conflict. So this lecture was about the Troubles starting in the 60s, until now.

Next we all had to go outside & get a group picture, & then it was dinner time. It was a buffet & was pretty good. Frank, our bus driver, picked us about at about 7:45, & now we are back at Inch House. So it was a good day all-in-all, & now we know what to expect for the rest of the week. The only mystery about the program now is the group presentations that are scheduled for Friday. We aren't sure exactly how that will work, so I'm a bit nervous about that. We should learn more about that tomorrow... I'll keep you posted!

Study Abroad, Day 15

2011-06-12T15:21:00.005-06:00

Today we left for church at 10:30am. We went to St. Augustine's, which is an Anglican church. It was pretty interesting. We sang a lot of hymns! Everyone's favorite song was the childrens song. It was pretty funny. After church, we got back on the bus & headed to Donegal. It was a pretty long drive & the weather wasn't too great. So we got to town & most shops were closed since it was Sunday. We went to the Donegal Castle, ate some lunch, went into some stores, & then got back on the bus. We were supposed to head to the Donegal Cliffs, but it was decided that the weather was too bad to go. Apparently it is a very narrow road & it would have taken too long once you factored in the rain. We decided to spend some more time in Donegal & went in a few more shops.

We then headed back to Inch House, where we made dinner for our bus driver, Frank (who is amazing, by the way), Tony (who owns & runs Inch House), his wife, & Isabella who helps them (& us) out. I helped Ang, Daniel, & Jess make some cookies for desert, & then Greg & I set the table. Dinner took forever (we had Jambalaya), so we ate pretty late. Clean up also took forever, but we are finally finished. I am pretty tired! My teeth are really bothering me (stupid dentist...) & my throat is still pretty sore (stupid cold...). I am definitely ready to go to bed. Plus, tomorrow we have an early day. This week will be spent at INCORE, the International Conflict Research Institute. It was established in 1993 by the University of Ulster & the United Nations University. We are attending their Summer School, which is going to amazing. We are actually going to be the first undergraduate students to attend, which is very intimidating! Anyways, that is it for today!

This is Daniel, baking cookies.

Study Abroad, Day 13 & 14

2011-06-11T16:14:00.007-06:00

I fly home in like 10 days. Crazy! It is going by so fast! Yesterday we listened to a speaker, ate lunch, & then headed into Derry. We went to a museum, wandered around, & ate some dinner. We then met John & he showed us some more murals around the area.

Today, we had a speaker & then we went sightseeing around the area we are staying at. We first went to a tower called the Grianán of Aileach. It was at the top of a hill & had an amazing view. After that we stopped at a round chapel (which I can't remember the name of...) & then the cemetery where Agnes Jones was buried. Next we went to the bridge in Buncrana (the same one we went to the concert at) & then a few other points of interest. We ended up at the beach, which was really nice. We saw a crab & a starfish (which needed rescuing...), & lots of shells. It was nice just to meander. After that we came to Inch House, ate some dinner, & then played poker. I have never played before but Diego was nice enough to teach me & guess what? I annihilated! I won the whole thing with my last hand (pictured below) & I was pretty excited! So hooray for Texas Hold 'em!

Study Abroad, Day 11 & 12

2011-06-09T15:30:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was an interesting day... We had two lectures in the morning, one from Tony & one from Willie McCarter. We were supposed to have lectures later in the day, but they all ended up being canceled. I was not feeling well & so I took a nap. I slept for about an hour & then wandered around for a bit. I was pretty bored though, & ended up going back to bed. It has been forever since I took a nap! It probably wasn't a great idea because I felt blah the rest of the day, but what do you do? We didn't do much else that day.

Today, we spend the entire day in lectures here at Inch House. Dr. Terry Cradden spoke to us 9am about Northern Ireland politics. We had a short break, & then at 10:45am he talked to us about politics in the Republic of Ireland. We ate lunch & the listened to John McCarter speak about business in Northern Ireland. He mainly spoke about his family business, which currently makes Irish Whiskey. Then he gave us samples! Adorable! After his talk, we met with Seoirse O'Docartaigh, a local artist. He was very interesting to listen to plus he was an amazing artist. Me & Ang actually bought some of his prints at the end of his speech. We had dinner & then met with Nigel Gardiner. He is the deputy party leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He was a very interesting guy, but pretty intimidating.

It was a long day. Since I napped yesterday I did not sleep well last night. Which, of course, means I was really tired today. Every time we had a break, I went outside & went for a short walk. It was a beautiful day! I walked to the road & listened to the sheep. They are pretty darn cute. Anyways, that's it for today! By the way, I showered a minute ago & must say that I sure miss my own shower. Add that to my list!

Study Abroad, Day 10

2011-06-07T14:37:00.002-06:00

Last night I stayed awake until 1:30am with Greg watching some MMA fighting, so it was pretty hard for me to wake up this morning. I was tired! So we took the bus to Omagh, where a bomb was detonated on 15 August 1998 & 29 people were killed. We met with Michael Gallagher, the co-founder of the Omagh Support & Self Help Group. He actually lost a son in the bombing & now works to help others affected by the tragedy. He spoke about the day of the bombing & what has happened since.

After we talked with Michael Gallagher, we headed to Enniskillen. In that town, another bomb went off on 8 November 1987 & killed 11 people. There we went to the police station where we met with Inspector Roy Robinson. He took us on a tour of the station & then spoke about how things have progressed in the police force since the Troubles. He was a super nice guy & has seen a lot in his many years on the force.

So we are now back at Inch House. We ate dinner & then met with Michael & Jeff to have an overview of the last few days. We are getting an overload of information each day, so it is always helpful to get together with the group & go over it. That's about it for today... Oh, except... Happy birthday Cali! I miss you & hope you have an amazing day!

Study Abroad, Day 9

2011-06-06T16:15:00.003-06:00

Today, we got up, got ready, & boarded the bus. By the way, last night a cameraman from UVU arrived. Joy! So he has been filming us all day. We actually all had to line up for the bus so he could film us all boarding it. Anyways, we headed to the cemetery in Derry & Tony gave us a bit of a tour of different monuments there. Then we headed to the Pat Finucane Centre, which is an organization that helps families that lost some during the Troubles find out what happened. We met with Paul O’Connor, who is the director of the centre. It was great of him to take time out of his day to speak with us.

We grabbed lunch at a café & then walked to the Guildhall, which is where we met with the mayor of Derry. It was very interesting to listen to him speak. Afterward, John Hume arrived to meet with us. It was such an honor to meet him! He has received all three major peace awards & has done many great things. He talked with us for a short period of time & then we had some free time. Me, Ang, & Kat walked around Derry, bought a few souvenirs, & then got hot chocolate at a little place called the Boston Tea Party. It was pretty delicious.

We got back on the bus at 5:30pm & headed back to Inch House. We ate dinner & then had a presentation by Felicity McCall. She used to be a journalist with BBC & wrote the script for a movie that was released recently. She was pretty adorable. That’s about it for today. Me & Ang sat in the kitchen with some of the other students on the internet for a bit & Michael Minch gave me like the best compliment ever! He said, “my life has been impoverished before I met you.” Adorable, right? He is pretty great! Anyways, time for bed!

Pictures: Study Abroad, Day 7 & 8

2011-06-06T12:17:00.026-06:00

This here is Greg. He was pretty excited about his donut.

We attended mass in this church.

Greg & Ryan climbed up this hill... It was pretty entertaining to watch.

Here is me & Ang with Greg. He is our long lost brother. I'm not sure how we lost him exactly, but he's back now!

Yes, we did mock Greg for wearing this poncho.

It's the bridge! It was actually pretty creepy to walk across.

Study Abroad, Day 7 & 8

2011-06-05T14:42:00.008-06:00

Time to catch on my blog! I can only get one photo to attach (our internet is being slow), but I can at least tell you about whats going on! Yesterday we had a lecture by Jon McCourt, who talked about his experience during the Troubles. He lived in Derry where some of the fighting began in the late 60s. He was a student at the time & took part in a peaceful civil rights protest that quickly became violent when the police arrived. This started a long conflict between some Derry citizens & the police. Jon was present for Bloody Sunday, which occurred on….. He actually took us on a walking tour of Derry & showed us where some of the events occurred. Jon then let us look at actual photographs of Bloody Sunday & indicated exactly where it happened in the area. It was very moving to experience. I truly appreciated meeting Jon & being able to listen to him.

After the tour of Derry, we headed to a Catholic church & attended Mass. It was a very different experience for me. At the end of Mass, we walked to a restaurant & ate some dinner. They had vegetarian sausage, which was delicious! After dinner, we stopped by Inch House, & then headed to a pub to listen to some Irish music. It was a lot of fun. We stayed until 12:30am, headed back home, & crashed.

Today we got up, got ready, & hit the bus. Our first stop was Dunluce Castle. It was beautiful. It was perched right on the coast & we were able to walk around it. I took a ton of photos. Next we headed to Giant’s Causeway. It was also amazing! It was a lot of fun to climb on the rocks even though I did trip once. It was really rainy, so they were all very wet. Which, of course, translates to slippery. We spent a bit of time there, & then headed to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge. It is a rope bridge built back in the day that fishermen used. It was quite the walk to get to it, & then we walked across it & got a great view of the cliffs.

It was a very long day. It rained pretty lightly all day but when we walked to the bridge, it started raining harder so we were all soaked. That made the bus ride home pretty miserable. We made it to Inch House at about 7pm & ate dinner. I took a shower after that, which was amazing. I feel much better. But it is nearly 11pm, so I best head to bed. We’ve got a bit of an early start tomorrow. Should be another great day!

Study Abroad, Day 6

2011-06-03T16:51:00.007-06:00

Today we got up, got ready, ate breakfast, & were on the bus by 6:30am. It was way too early! We headed to Belfast where we were able to walk around & see some more murals & also went to the peace wall. We signed it really quick, hopped back on the bus, & headed for Stormont, home of Northern Ireland's Parliament. There we met with a politician from the Alliance Party. It was interesting to get an insight on the politics in Northern Ireland. We then headed to lunch (I had a delicious black bean burger) & then to the WAVE Trauma Center. It is an organization that helps victims & survivors from the Troubles. We spoke with the director of the Belfast branch (a very smart man who lost his wife during the Troubles) & then were able to speak with a survivor. He was so amazing! He drove a taxi back in the early 90s & one day a bomb blew up in his car. He lost one leg, part of the other, & was given a one in a million chance to live. Now he is working with this organization, helping others that are trying to cope with their experiences.

After WAVE, we stopped really quickly at the ship yard where the Titanic was built. It was pretty neat. We were in a hurry though, so we looked at it for a minute & then headed to the East Belfast Mission (EBM). A lady named Sara had been with us all day & it turned out that she worked at the EBM. She came to Ireland in the 90s on a study abroad program (just like us!) & then came back a few years later to help with community reconciliation. She was really an amazing person. She is making such a difference here, which I think is so great. So she talked to us about what the EBM does & what she has personally done in the area to help the community come together. It was pretty fascinating to see that side of the situation. We went on a quick bus ride & looked at some more of the murals & the interfaces in the area.

It was interesting because she told us that about three weeks ago, two new murals appeared in the area, across the street from each other. They had been painted over previous murals & some advertising, without permission from the building owners. They were both black & white, & pretty ominous. One had men holding guns & said, “We seek nothing but the elementary right implanted in every man: The right if you are attacked, to defend yourself.” Creepy, right? Anyways, Sara said that the community was all pretty fearful since the murals had appeared. She felt that some of the progress they had made with people in the area was erased. We asked why they didn’t just cover them back up or why the police didn’t stop them from being painted in the first place, & she replied that everyone is afraid of starting the violence again. It is so strange to me that, what seems like some graffiti on the walls can make such a huge impact.

Next we saw the interfaces in the area. Interfaces are basically areas that are surrounded by giant fences. Neighborhoods that are being vandalized can request that the city erect these walls in order to protect themselves. I can’t imagine having barbed wire fences between me & my neighbors. Or having my children grow up in an area surrounded by them. Most people in the area agree that the fences need to be removed, however no one knows exactly how to go about it. Those that requested the fences are afraid that once they are down, things won’t have changed & they will be vandalized again. It is such an extreme situation here. People want to reconcile, but all sides are nervous & don’t want to make the first move. There are no easy answers! After driving around for a while, we returned to EBM, ate dinner there & then Sara spoke until about 8pm. We grabbed the bus again & made it back to Inch House at about 10:30pm. It was a long day but amazing day.

Its official, I am in love with Ireland. There are so many unbelievable people here doing incredible things! It sort of blows my mind. It is so beautiful & I never want to leave. Of course I want to see my family & cats, but I love it here! One day I want to come here & buy a little house & raise some sheep. Wouldn’t that be amazing? I sure think so. Maybe one day!

Study Abroad, Day 5

2011-06-02T16:16:00.005-06:00

Today was another great day. We got up at about 8am, ate breakfast, & then had a lecture at 10am. We had three sessions in a row that were held upstairs in Inch House. It was so handy! There is a classroom upstairs here that we are able to use & we fit perfectly. We first heard from Tony, the owner of Inch House. He began by talking about the Queen visiting Ireland & the feelings he & others had about it. He then gave us a brief overview of Ireland's history. Next, we heard from a man named William, who is a professor at the University of Ulster. He also spoke about Ireland's history. Lastly, John spoke.

John Gunthy (?) has been with us since the beginning. He took us on the tour of Belfast, & rides along with us. He is such a nice guy & you can tell he has lived an interesting life. He spoke about the more recent history in Ireland & also about his experiences during the Troubles. He was assaulted when he was 12 & later was falsely accused of murder 9 people in a bar. The most amazing part is that after having so many bad experiences, he is still positive & wants peace. It was such a powerful talk!

We had soup for lunch that was delicious. It didn't have meat, which was so nice for me & Ang. They have been so great about having a vegetarian option for us each meal. I really appreciate how accommodating they have been. We played some Phase 10 during a break, went & visited some sheep, & just had a great day. We ate dinner at 6pm & then some of us went on the bus for a little journey. We first stopped at a market to pick up some snacks & then we headed to a concert about thirty minutes away. Tony's son is in a band & they were playing nearby next to a bridge. It was so much fun! It was a charity fashion show & the music was great. It was a fun little trip to take.

Tomorrow we have a super long day. The bus is leaving at 6:30am & we probably wont get home till like 10pm. Crazy! I'll be so tired! Me & Ang called my momma tonight & it was so great to hear her voice! She had to head to a meeting, but we were able to talk for a few minutes. I miss her! Love you momma! (She reads my blog... In case you were wondering...)

Study Abroad, Day 3 & 4

2011-06-01T17:34:00.008-06:00

I didn’t take a single picture yesterday! Isn’t that crazy? Well yesterday we got up, got ready, & ate breakfast. Then the group walked to a bus stop that is about 10 blocks away, grabbed the bus & headed to the Irish School of Ecumenics. Once there we were greeted with juice & coffee, & were introduced to David Toombs. He spent the entire day with us & was super nice. We had three sessions of class before lunch & then a few sessions after. We then ended the day with a movie called “Holy Cross”. It was a long day! The multiple sessions given by Dr. Johnston McMaster & Dr. Cathy Higgins. They were both very nice & so smart!

Today, we did the exact same thing. However we were only at ISE until 5pm & we had different sessions. After we were done at school, we were picked up by the same bus that got us at the airport. Then we headed to Inch Island. It was about a two hour drive & the countryside was so beautiful. That if my favorite part of Ireland. I love it! So we arrive at Inch House, ate dinner, & then got settled. For dinner us vegetarians were served some sort of quiche, which I ate even though it had broccoli in it. Then I ate two bananas & an apple. Hooray for me!

The place we are at is amazing! The couple that runs it lives in a house next door & converted the stables into a dorm-type room. We are five to a room, which is perfect, so I am with Ang, Kat, Pam, & Rachel. My favorite people! After getting settled, the five of us & Nick headed down to the beach. It is a pretty short walk & you get to walk past lots of sheep on the way! Plus, we were told that if we got permission from the farmer (which is apparently easy) we can go visit the sheep in the field! I am so excited! Best news ever! I can't wait to frolic with sheep! Haha. So we walked around the beach for a bit (by the way it is the ocean, but is more of a bay...), we headed back to Inch House. I showered & then went in the kitchen & played Nerts with Leah, Jess, Daniel, & Diego.

After Nerts, I chatted with Daniel while editing some photos & now I am blogging. It was 1am here though so I need to go to bed! Tomorrow we have a pretty low key day, with a few lectures here at Inch House, but then we are going to a concert. I am pretty excited for that. That's all for now. Things are going great & I am so happy to be here.

Study Abroad, Day 2

2011-05-30T15:02:00.002-06:00

Today we got up at 7am, got ready, & then ate breakfast in the hostel. It was pretty good actually. We got yoghurt, a croissant, cereal, & orange juice. After eating breakfast, we realized that we weren’t starting our foot tour of Belfast until 10am. So me, Ang, & some other students (Kat, Jess, Leah, & Daniel) headed to the capital building. There was a store nearby that exchanged money, & that was what Kat needed to do. Afterward we headed back to the hostel, met our group, & hit the town.

We walked over 5 miles around the town stopping at murals, important buildings, a cemetery, etc. It was very interesting. One thing that was unexpected was how tense it was throughout the area we were in. People were staring at us, honking, etc. A few times when we stopped & our guide told us about a mural, a local would come over & listen to what was said. We were later told that those people came over in order to find out who we were & what we were doing there. Pretty creepy. One of the places we visited was Shankill Road, which is the road where over 40 people were tortured to death in the 70s. That was a pretty ominous street.

Well my feet are killing me! Luckily tomorrow will be spent at the School of Ecumenics, so there won’t be a lot of walking. We will be in class all day. Should be interesting!

Study Abroad, Day 1

2011-05-29T13:20:00.005-06:00

I am currently sitting at a youth hostel in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We woke up this morning, ate breakfast in the hotel, & then my parents dropped Ang & I off at the Dublin airport. We hung out in arrivals & waited for our school mates to land. We waited for quite a while & started to get a bit nervous, but they finally came through customs. We had to hang out at the airport until the bus arrived, & then we hit the road.

We first stopped at Drogheda & went to St Peter's Catholic Church & saw the mummified head of a saitn. Creepy! The church was beautiful though. After that stop we went to Monasterboice Abbey & saw two high crosses. They were amazing. Oh & I saw a cat while we were there. Adorable! It’s only the second cat I have seen in Ireland. Anyways, after that we drove straight through to Belfast. The hostel we are staying at is called the Belfast International Flagship Youth Hostel. Quite the mouthful. It is pretty nice. I have never stayed in a hostel, but I am told that this is way nice for one.

So we all walked over to a fish & chips restraurnt that, fortunately, served veggie burgers. It was pretty good. Then we wandered over to Queen’s University & now we are back at the hostel. Everyone is really jet lagged so most of them are sleeping right now. Belfast is an interesting place. It seems… Aggressive. Or something. Me & Ang both decided it was an intense place.

Well we stay here for three nights & then head to Inch Island. Should be fun! So far, all the people are pretty nice. I haven't quite got all of the names yet, but it has only been one day! That's all for now!

Ireland, Day 6

2011-05-28T13:19:00.002-06:00

We are currently sitting in our hotel in Dublin. It is a pretty nice hotel. It is called the Shelburne I think... Anyways... We got up this morning, ate breakfast at the castle, & hit the road. We grabbed the ferry & then headed to Waterford Crystal. We looked around their store & actually ended up buying some stuff. A lot of stuff, really. We were going to go to a hand-blown glass company afterwards, but figured we would just want to buy more! So we headed straight to Dublin. It was about a three hour drive, which wasn't too bad. We got to Dublin, checked into our hotel, & then took a double-decker bus tour. It was a good way for us to get to see the city because we have such limited time. After riding the bus, we ate dinner at a pub called Captain America. I got another pizza! Haha. We are back at our hotel now & Ang & I are getting ready for tomorrow. I can't believe this part of our trip is over. It has gone by so fast. I will be sad to say farewell to the parents, but I am ready to move on to the next part of the journey. We are going to meet UVU at the Dublin airport tomorrow morning. Their flight gets in at 8:45am & we will be waiting to greet them at the baggage reclaim. I am nervous, but I'm sure it will be fine.

Anyways, that's about it. Last night Ang & I stayed up doing laundry until 1am. Slowest washing machine ever! But it is nice to have all clean clothes again. I was running low on socks! Well, I'll post again when I can. I should have internet so with any luck I'll continue writing every night. Not many pictures today... Spent most of the day in the car! Bye!

Ireland, Day 5

2011-05-28T08:23:00.006-06:00

Today was a very long day. We ate breakfast at our hotel & then hit the road. We visited Charles Fort first, which was not far from where we stayed. It was pretty neat. It was massive & we spent nearly an hour wandering around it. After the Fort, we headed to Mizen Head. Mizen Head is the southernmost point in Ireland. It was amazing. You had to walk rather far & cross a bridge before you reached the outlook point. It was such a great view. I loved it!

After spending an hour or so there, we headed to our next hotel. Tonight we are staying in Waterford at the Waterford Castle Hotel. It took nearly 5 hours to drive here. It was a gorgeous drive. Every time we drive a long distance here, we have taken different roads & have been able to see so much. I love this place! It is so beautiful here. Anyways, our hotel is actually on an island near Waterford & you have to take a private ferry to get there. The ferry is fun for different! When we got the place to check-in, there were two big rabbits running around. Adorable!

The hotel is super nice. It actually is a two –level lodge. It has a living room, kitchen, three bedrooms (each with a terrace), four bathrooms, & a washer & dryer. It is definitely the fanciest place we have stayed so far. After checking in, we went back off the island to eat dinner. We ended up at an Italian restaurant that was really good. I got pizza… Again. I have honestly had pizza for dinner 80% of the time. There are not a lot of options for vegetarians, & I am a super picky one. Once I was able to get an egg mayonnaise sandwich (it was just egg salad…yum) & I also have gotten a couple of omelets for dinner. I hope I can find stuff to eat once we meet up with the school!

Well it is nearly midnight here, but me & Ang are taking advantage of the washer & dryer. The loads take forever! We thought we would only have to do two, but the washing machine is so small we have to do three. Hopefully it will finish soon because we are tired! Oh… I forgot to mention that I finally tried some whipped ice cream today. I saw it in London & in Ireland, but have never had a chance to try it. I grabbed some at a gas station, & it basically changed my life. It was delicious! It is just like soft serve, but lighter & richer. Yum. It was so good! Haha. Well, I’ve got to go cycle the laundry. Tomorrow we head to Dublin, & the next day we meet up with UVU. Scary! This trip has flown by. Until next time!

Ireland, Day 4

2011-05-28T08:15:00.003-06:00

The end of another long day. We ate breakfast at our hotel this morning & then hit the road. We first headed to Kilkenny National Park. It was gorgeous. We drove through it, & then stopped at Muckross house, which is right in the middle of the park. While we stopped there we all got a pastry at a little nearby shop. It was pretty random… After the park, we headed out & tried to find a few more castles. We couldn’t find Dunloe Castle but found Aghadoe Castle… Which was like a couple of stones. Haha. Afterwards, we headed to Blarney Castle.

Blarney Castle is home to the Blarney Stone. Apparently you are supposed to kiss it & doing say may give you the gift of the gab. Basically, you kiss it & might speak more eloquently. Anyways, we wanted to see the castle, but didn’t really want to kiss the stone. We found out that you had to climb to the top of the castle & then hang upside down, with the help of an attendant, in order to kiss the stone. Needless to say, we decided not to do it. It took nearly two hours to make it to the castle, & we arrived around 5pm. It was an amazing castle. It is definitely one of my favorites. So we wandered around for a bit & then me & Ang decided to climb to the top.

It was quite the climb! The stone staircase was very narrow & twisty. The most amazing part about it was every so often you could get off the stairs & wander through rooms in the castle. We went into the murder hole, the dungeon, & many other rooms. We were nearly to the top of the castle when the stairs narrowed considerably. I was holding my camera in one hand & gripping a rope they had strung up the center in my other. A few times I honestly thought I was going to fall. I could just imagine myself rolling all the way to the bottom. It was pretty scary! So we finally made it to the top & there was no one else up there besides the attendant that helps you hang backwards & upside down to kiss the stone. Plus the other guy that operates a camera. Apparently you could buy the photo at the gift shop… I was pretty excited to have made it to the top of the castle so me & Ang decided to kiss the stone.

It was pretty scary! There was a gap between the roof of the castle & the wall which is where you hung down. They had installed two metal bars that you held & the guy helped get you into position & gave you extra stability. So you sat with your back to the gap, leaned back, grabbed the bars, & lowered yourself down. Once in that position, the stone wasn’t right in front of your face, but was like six inches lower. So you had to sort of scoot back & strain your neck… Then you could give it a smooch. Getting into the position wasn’t too bad, but once I was hanging back & realized I had to lean much further down, I panicked for a split second. But, it was over before I knew it. We tipped the attendant (our Ireland book told us too…) & went back down the stairs (fortunately it was a different staircase that wasn’t quite as narrow…).

I was actually pretty proud of myself for doing it. Later I went in the gift shop & got a little Blarney Stone trinket so I could remember today. Anyways, we left Blarney Castle & headed to our hotel. Tonight we are staying at the Blue Haven Hotel in Kinsale. It is a cute little town. Probably the biggest town we have stayed in so far in London. Obviously Dublin will be much larger… We ate dinner at a pub down the street called Ned Kelly. It was pretty good. Our waiter was pretty adorable. Tomorrow we want to go on a boat trip out to the Skelligs Islands, but the winds have been so high that boats haven’t been traveling to the islands for the last month. They are hoping that the weather will cooperate tomorrow, but probably not. We have to get up at 7am in order to call. If the weather is good, we’ll go out on the boat, otherwise we will head to Cork. Well, that’s it for today. Night!

Ireland, Day 3

2011-05-25T14:55:00.005-06:00

And another amazing day in Ireland ends. It is going by so quickly! Today we spent a ton of time in the car, but we also saw a lot of amazing things. We ate breakfast at our B&B & then hit the road. We drove from Dingle to Kenmare. The route we took is called the Ring of Kerry, & it took us all along the coast of Kerry County. It took longer than it would have normally, but was definitely worth it. Our first stop was Dunbeg Promontory Fort. It was built in 500 B.C. & was really cool. Even better, we had a great view of some cliffs from the Fort.

After spending some time at the Fort, we hit the road. We stopped off multiple times when we got to somewhere that had a good view & took lots of pictures. Ireland is so beautiful! At one of our stops, we made friends with a dog (see below...). He was adorable! We stopped in a small town & grabbed some lunch, & the headed toward Staugie Fort. On our way down a super narrow road (see below... it's not a one way road either) we nearly ran over a group of baby lambs. They were so cute! They ran from us though. Once again... They are pictured below. Anyways, we wandered around the Fort for a bit (which by the way, they believe was built in 1000 B.C., but aren't positive...) we finally headed to our destination... Sallyport House. That is where we are spending the night tonight. It is a nice place. It only has five rooms. It is so strange staying at these super small places. Normally you can basically be anonymous at a hotel. After we checked in, we went to the main street in Kenmare & ate at an Italian restaurant.

Well tomorrow we are headed to Kinsale, which is in Cork County. Not too sure what is on the agenda, but I will keep you posted. The weather today was super windy/rainy. We have been lucky thus far & have pretty good weather. Anyways... Bye!

Ireland, Day 2

2011-05-24T15:35:00.008-06:00

We are in Dingle, Ireland & it is beautiful, just like the rest of the country. I love this place! Me & Ang saw a house for sale that was adorable & tried to talk our parents in to moving here... I don't think it worked. Anyways, we ate breakfast at our hotel this morning & then hit the road. We first went to Corofin, Ireland to an O'Dea Castle. It was built in 1480 and then restored in the 1980's. It was also the site of an archaeological dig, so Ang really wanted to see it. It was really cool. We were able to walk through the entire castle & even go up on the roof. Afterward, we went & saw Dysert O'Dea an old monastery near the castle. The archway at the monastery was carved in the 12th century, which is pretty amazing.

After leaving the castle, we then headed to Min Aird Castle. On the way we stopped in Adare, grabbed lunch, & wandered around for a bit. We made it to the castle & it was gorgeous. It was right on the beach with all these massive sandstones. The castle was built in the 1600s & then was damaged in during an attack by Cromwell's army in 1650. We climbed all over the rocks, went down to the beach... It was great. After the castle, we headed to our hotel in Dingle. We are staying at Greenmount House & it is super nice. It is right by the water & our rooms are huge. They both have a terrace & a great view of the ocean. After arriving at our hotel, we checked in, & then headed to the tourist part of Dingle. We walked around & wandered through some shops. Then we ate dinner at Murphy's Pub. It was pretty good. We even got to listen to an Irish band called the Shenanigans. It was actually quite entertaining.

Well tomorrow we are off to Kenmare. This has been such an amazing trip. Driving around the coast is great because we get to see so much. I love this place! Ang wants to look into grad school here because she loves it as well. It is so green & everyone is so nice. Plus they have amazing accents! There are cows & sheep everywhere, too. They are so adorable. Anyways, that's all for now. So far we have good luck with the internet... Hopefully that will continue. Bye!

Ireland, Day 1: Pictures

2011-05-24T03:56:00.004-06:00

Well I got some pictures to load this morning... Here they are!

Ireland, Day 1

2011-05-23T13:15:00.002-06:00

We are in Ireland! I can’t believe we are actually here… It is amazing! So beautiful & green… We left our hotel this morning at about 7am & took a cab to the London airport. We checked in, ate some breakfast, & the boarded our Aer Lingus flight to Shannon. It was quick & comfortable & before we knew it we were in Ireland. We got off the plane & went through passport control… Which means… Another stamp in my passport! Hooray! I was pretty excited. After that we got our rental car (which is a Renault) & hit the road. It is a manual car & not only do you drive on the left side of the road, but the roads are really narrow. Needless to say we’ve had a couple of mishaps…

After we left the airport we drove straight to the Cliffs of Moher. It was so windy! I have never been in wind like that. It was pretty funny. Anyways, my dad didn’t want to walk up to the cliffs because of the wind so he waited in the car. He definitely missed out though because the cliffs were amazing! When I think of Ireland I think of cliffs, so it definitely felt like we were Ireland then. After the cliffs, we got back in the car & headed to our hotel. We are staying at the Bunratty Castle Hotel. Basically it is just a hotel next to a castle, but the hotel is really nice & the castle is pretty adorable. So we checked into our rooms (which by the way all have adorable old-fashioned doorbells…) & then we went walking around the local shops & went to the castle. Afterward we ate dinner at the Creamery Bar. It was pretty good & the waiter had an adorable accent. Me & Ang decided that accents tend to make people cuter…

Well we are back in our rooms now. We are thinking we’ll call it a night because everyone is way tired. Also my feet are bugging me. I have gotten two blisters on the same foot & before I left home I smashed one of my big toes while I was helping Adam garden. Anyways, tomorrow we are going to try & hit the road pretty early. Every night in Ireland we will stay at a different hotel, so we will travel every day. That way we get to see as much as possible during our trip.

So far Ireland is amazing! This trip is going by so quickly. Me & Ang meet up with UVU in less than a week! Crazy! Anyways, that is it for today. We have some internet at this hotel so hopefully we will have it at the rest of them... Farewell!

PS> I headed down to the lobby to get a better internet connection to no avail. So no pictures today! Sorry!