July 13, 2009

Whew! Handed the car back into the rental agency this afternoon so am off the driving hook for the remainder of our trip. In truth...it wasn't really all that bad. The first couple of hours were a little challenging as that included getting out of Dublin but once I reconnected the rusty links in my brain from the last time I did this wrong side of the road stuff....it wasn't bad at all. In fact....It's really part of the adventure :) Had great navigators for the trip so all I really had to do was keep it between the ditches....and although we had a moment of adreniline earlier today...for the most part I did alright if I do say so myself.

We're back in Dublin - arrived at our hotel here about 4 this afternoon so after a shower to recover from our Newgrange experience (I'll explain in a minute) we were off to Temple
Bar area of downtown Dublin for dinner and a wee wander around. It's a lively spot in the heart of the city and boasts a very international flavour with the tourists from all over the world who gather there to experience the pub culture that Ireland is so famous for. We had pub grub in Sir Gogherty's (along with a glass of Guiness of course) and then spent a little time checking out a few other shops and wandering along the road eavesdropping on the music that spills out the doors as patrons come and go.

I should really go back in time a little though as it's been a few days since I've been able to add to this blog as there is no wireless at Derrygoony (the farm).....

We arrived at the farm after a good days drive from Portrush in the north. Although we had some nasty weather along the way...the drive was relatively easy as Rob had settled into his role of navigator with his multiple maps and guide books for reference.

We received the royal welcome at the farm when we drove up the lane.....everyone came out to greet us at our arrival. As amazing as this may sound....within minutes of our arrival.....Rob spied a fallen tree that Eric had taken down a couple of years prior (it had died for some unknown reason). The tree had been at least 80 years old and it was a Western Red Cedar....not a tree commonly found in this part of the world so it had to have been planted, likely by one of our ancestors. As luck would have it Eric also had two freshly sharpened chain saws (one large and one small) and within the hour Rob was up on a ladder and carving Ireland's first ever chain saw carving. It turned out beautifully and everyone who came by over the three days we were there was duly impressed. The carving is of an eagle sitting on a tree stump. The piece is about 8 feet tall and now sits where the original tree once stood....so it's back in it's home and looking better than ever. Rob only used 1/2 of the log so perhaps Eric will try his hand at the other half. Either that or Rob will have to go back to do a matching piece for them at a later date....who knows....maybe he will.....

In addition to the awesome gift that Rob was able to leave with them (it really is Ireland's first...no one there had ever seen anything like it and only one or two had ever even heard of such a thing as possible)....we enjoyed some great craic sitting around with family and friends in the new addition to the house (they almost doubled the size of the house since I was there last), we attended Thelma and Peter's wedding in the church where the Forde family has been attending for hundreds of years, and the reception that was held in Monaghan (about half an hour away) at the Four Seasons Hotel...a very fancy affair. The reception was a highlight for everyone. Irish weddings really are a wonderful experience and we were so thankful to have had the opportunity to be included. We met so many cousins we didn't know we had and everyone danced till the wee hours of the morning. Mom likened it to a dance of her youth and it was obvious that young and old will remember it with a smile.

The day following the wedding meant a trip back into Monaghan to retrieve the cars (we hired a bus to drive us home after the reception - much safer that way!) and then of course....there was another party with many of the family and friends we'd met the day before dropping by the house for a couple of drinks and some craic. John and Hannah had to leave that morning though so we missed them at the Sunday party but they were on their way to see Bruce Springstein in concert in Dublin that night before their early morning flight on Monday so we didn't feel too sorry for them.

This morning we all shed a few tears as we said good bye to everyone at the farm and hit the road for points south. Our first (and as it turned out...our only)stop was at Newgrange where during our tour the skies absolutely opened up on us and when you're in the middle of a field with nothing to hide under or behind.....there's little to do but get soaking wet....which is exactly what we did. It's too bad that the weather turned so bad during our time there as it made it difficult to enjoy the scenery and the ambiance of the place but we did get into the centre chamber and that for me was another highlight. When I think of the fact that Newgrange pre dates the pyramids in Egypt and Stonehenge in England by centuries.....it's hard to believe that we were able to walk right into the centre chamber of the megolith. Imagining the work that went into the getting of the materials (rocks that weigh up to 10 tons each) and then the building of the structure that is the size of a football field....is almost overwhelming. It is estimated that Newgrange would have taken up to 15 years to build. Anyway....it's still on my top 10 places to see in the world!

We had planned to stop at the Hill of Tara today too but the weather just wouldn't cooperate so we pressed on with wipers going at full speed and made it back just in time to get the car turned in without incurring too many additional late charges. Now that the car has been handed in and I'll assume that no one from the rental company will be reading this....I can say that while on our journey...we lost a hub cap but as luck would have it....mom and I found one near Dunguaire Castle (early in our travels). The hub cap didn't match but...it was roughly the right colour and it did fit the rim so....just before we handed the car back in, Rob jumped out, popped on the "new" hub cap, and during the walk around everyone held their breath .......we passed the visual test - whew!!!

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post....we're in the hotel and tomorrow will be our last full day so we'll try to make the most of it. The weatherman hasn't given us anything we want to hear but we're all counting on a little Irish luck to keep the showers to the times that we're inside one of the sights we'll stop to enjoy.

Till tomorrow......
Lorrie