Aug 11 Back to Mill Bay!

We (make that I) got up at 5:30 to hit the shower. Shannon grudgingly got in the shower next and then by the time Shayla was finished it was 6:45. It was nice actually being ready on time without rushing, and without having to pack anything because we followed the plan of not using our backpacks, just the day packs for a change of clothes. 

We walked the 100m or so to the airport and after making one or two wrong turns ended up checking our baggage downstairs. Our backpacks were fine, but our day packs were all over the limit. With my laptop and camera removed we were all less than a kg over so she let us through and we made our way up to security for the departures. 

Of course security went smoothly but not as quickly as in Dublin. We had arrived at the airport at 7 am for a 10 am flight, which is the requirement for an international flight, but when we got to the gate we found our flight had already been delayed 40 minutes. Then a half hour later they changed it to 70 minutes. But the time didn't really end up bothering us. We had a quick bite to eat for breakfast and sat at the gate watching the planes coming and going. 

We finally started boarding about 10:50 and by 11:20 we were in the air (80 minutes late). Estimated flight time was 8:45. That's a pretty long flight but both of the girls had bought books to read in the airport and the inflight entertainment system was actually pretty good. The only real issue with the flight is the sardine effect of being squeezed tightly into the airplane 9 seats across. 

When we hit Vancouver airport we breezed through as fast as the luggage carousel would allow and Laurel was waiting there for us with Thomas, Leanne and Nana. 

We piled all the luggage into the Suburban and headed for the ferry, making a few wrong turns along the way because of some dumb plan by the GPS Laurel borrowed to get around Vancouver. When we shut it off we got back on the highway and headed straight for the ferries, arriving literally 4 minutes before the 2 pm sailing and getting on as the 3rd to last vehicle. 

The only thing left to do was combat the Victoria rush hour traffic (which apparently starts well before 4pm) so we didn't get home until after 5pm. 

The End!

Aug 10 Back to Glasgow

We didn't want to sleep late today because we needed to be to bed early tonight, so the girls did get up on and were actually packed quite early, well before me. In order to make the weight restrictions for the flight today and tomorrow a few things had to be discarded. A few clothes, the Canadian flag towels, etc. Kevin had a scale which turned out to be very accurate, so we used it to weigh our baggage at home so we wouldn't be panicking at the airport to lose the weight or pay the freight. 

We were all ready to go early so we were just sitting around playing with the dogs. But as we approached lunch time we had to say goodbye to the dogs. We went out for lunch at a restaurant across town which Kevin was familiar with because he did the air conditioning in the place of course! It was good food but honestly too much of it. Apparently that is the American part of the place. 

After lunch we walked next door to the grocery store to buy a few bottles of goodbye presents for David, Annette, Kevin and Ann. 

We drove to the airport with plenty of time and Kevin dropped us at the arrivals. We made our way to the bag drop as Kevin had already checked us in on-line. Our baggage was spot on what Kevin's scale said, under 20 kg checked baggage and under 10 kg carry-on. We waited near the gate for our flight watching all the Aer Lingus planes coming and going to all kinds of exotic destinations. Until it was finally time for our flight, which turned out to be less than an hour from Dublin to Glasgow. 

When we arrived in Glasgow the airport was practically empty. We picked up our bags and walked out the front doors looking for the Holiday Inn Express, which we had booked while at Nanette's house while in Glasgow on Jul 31. We saw the Holiday Inn straight away but as it turns out it was not the right one. We should have gone left instead of right. We were still just a small parking lot away from the airport. 

We checked in and went up to the room and set our bags down. I relaxed and started in on the computer, but I had to pay on-line fees to get hooked up to the internet after trying several unlocked networks without success. By the time I connected Shayla had gone out to meet Sam, who was one of the Scottish Scouts from the camp. Shannon and I went out to check out what there was to eat locally for dinner and there was NOTHING. I didn't feel like taking a cab so we ended up eating pizza in the HIExpress restaurant and it was actually very good. 

We just sat and watched TV until Shayla got back. I tried to book our seats online but I guess I was actually too late so we had to take our chances the following morning, which turned out fine anyway.

Aug 9 Dublin Zoo

Today the plan was to get up at 8 and get on the 9 am bus to Dublin. As usual the girls were a little slow getting up so we managed to rush to the 9:55 bus. It also happened to be the milk run, so we didn't get into Dublin until about 11:20. The bus driver was kind enough to tell us how to get to the zoo, which turned out to be on the trolley, with a reasonably short walk to the park.  

So as we walked along the road to the zoo we asked a couple nice Irish folk if we were headed in the right direction, which we were. On the walk through the park to the zoo we saw the Wellington Monument and it was so huge we had to go over there and take a look at it. It turned out to be even bigger than we thought as we got close to it. It was absolutely massive. The photo here shows the monument with people like ants at the bottom of it.  

From there we went to the zoo, which is a very big attraction in Dublin. There were an awful lot of little screaming kids there too. Kind of annoying actually. And the kids yelling and banging on the glass, right below the sign that says “don't bang on the glass”, and the parents doing absolutely nothing about it. Now that was really annoying. I actually told one of the kids to stop in my ever so kind and gentle usual way. Ha! He stopped alright.  

Anyway, we saw lots of the usual animals you would expect to see at the zoo, including tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes and such, and lots of primates. Some really cute little ones too. Shannon's says her favourite was the hippos, no wait, hippos and giraffes, and tigers, and zebras, etc. Etc. We also all took plenty of photos of course. Just a couple to share here. It was a real scorcher for Ireland too, so we had to stop for an ice cream near the end. Then we made our way to the obligatory gift shop to pick up a couple souvenirs.  

When we left the zoo we headed back down to the trolley station and were asked by some foreigners where the zoo was, after seeing our zoo shopping bags of course. They could barely speak english. I could understand “excuse me” and “zoo”. It seemed a bit strange being a foreigner giving directions to other foreigners, especially when there are so many helpful Irish around.  

On the trolley at the second stop there was a child who got onto the car but for some reason the mother didn't make it on before the door closed. Then panic ensued as the mother chased the trolley screaming and the kid started crying. They stopped the trolley a couple hundred meters later and got everything sorted out.  

We got off the trolley a stop before the bus station so that we could see some more sights down the main street of Dublin. In particular I wanted a better picture of the spire. Then we walked down the street for a couple blocks with the intention of shopping along the way to the bus station but didn't come across a store we felt compelled to go into.  

We got our tickets for the bus back to Drogheda and when we went outside the bus was just pulling away. It probably worked out better that way because 20 minutes later the express bus was headed to Drogheda which we caught instead. It got us to Drogheda a few minutes before the milk run pulled in.  

Kevin picked us up at the bus depot in Drogheda and we were back at his house only shortly before heading out to Kevin and Ann's favourite restaurant “La Pizzeria”. It was very good.  

After dinner we dropped Ann and the girls back at the house so that Kevin and I could go back out to Uncle John's for a visit. David also came by for a visit and of course Annette lives there so she showed up soon after we got there too. Unfortunately Barry couldn't make it, but then again Kevin said the 4 siblings and John haven't been all together for a number of years so it wasn't unusual for somebody not to be able to make it. It was a good visit with Uncle John. He was quite talkative and related several stories from the past. We kept him up a little late too but he seemed ok with that. I had my first taste of Jameson whisky out of Annette's private stash. By the time we left it was getting late so straight to bed back at home.

Aug 8 Dublin

This morning we got an early start because we were going to do some sightseeing in Dublin today. We started out by going to view St. Patricks Cathedral, which was very impressive on the outside but there were services going on so we couldn't go inside.  

So we drove up to the Guinness Brewery, which fortunately was not that busy, being a Sunday morning I guess. They have a self directed tour of one of the old buildings, which has been refurbished to explain the whole brewing process. As well they had some old artifacts like bottles and advertising from nearly it's inception. The culmination of the tour was in the glass bar on top of the building, which had an impressive panoramic view of the whole city. Of course the pint of Guinness which is part of the cost of admission was enjoyed thoroughly. 

After finishing up in the bar, which Shannon and Shayla were of course allowed into but not to drink, we all went down to the Guinness Store to look through the souvenirs.
Next stop was Trinity College. We walked through it for a bit taking pictures, and went into the Library shop for some souvenirs. They wanted a lot of Euros to see the Book of Kells so we skipped that one. We watched about 2 minutes of a cricket game going on in the back field before we decided we better get some lunch. 

We walked through the Temple Bar area and stopped at the Elephant and Castle for lunch. It was pretty good food. Service could have been a bit quicker, but we were a little concerned about making it to our Viking Splash tour on time, which we booked way in advance. 

The Viking Splash tour was in one of those WWII amphibian troop carriers called the DUKW. Some Viking helmets were supplied and we were instructed on the proper way to scare the Celts with our roars. Apparently killing and spitting on Celts is no longer allowed. The driver/tour guide was very good. 

He was quite funny and very good at getting everyone charged up for the roars, which we did several times and scared the heck out of unsuspecting Espresso Celts, and Sidewalk Celts. The tour also included a short trip up and down the Grand Canal basin in the vehicle. We had a great time on the tour, as we have had on pretty much all the bus tours we have been on. 

After the bus tour it was already 5:30 so Kevin drove around Dublin for just a bit showing us a few things before we headed back to Drogheda where we had a nice dinner at home and relaxed later by the TV.

Aug 7 Newgrange

This morning we wanted to get out of the house early so that we could book a tour in Newgrange, so just Kevin and I went out there to get a tour time. On the way out there we got a good view of Uncle John's house from across the Boyne. In the picture it is the white house just above the field with the little white shed in the back yard.

We were at the Newgrange interpretive centre in plenty of time to book a tour so we picked the afternoon to give us plenty of time and options.  When we got back to the house the girls set a record for slowness getting ready. We finally hit the road and went to the interpretive centre again, this time to tour through it while waiting for our Newgrange tour. We had enough time to eat lunch at the centre, and it was pretty good, but not 58 Euros good!

For the Newgrange tour we had to walk about 300 m to the bus stop, where a tour bus shuttled us the 3 or 4 km to the site.
We spent about an hour at the site, which included a bit of waiting, some reasonably knowledgeable explanations of what Newgrange is (and Knowth and Dowth), and the actual tour of the “tomb” itself, which was only about 15 minutes. We also walked around the site taking pictures of it and Knowth, which could be seen in the distance. But the fact that the tomb at Newgrange was constructed about 5000 years ago is just incredible. It is older than Stone Henge and the Egyptian pyramids. 

After Newgrange Kevin took us just a little ways out to Slane Castle, which is the site of Irelands biggest rock festival, held on the natural sloping grounds. Up to 80,000 can be seated on the grass for the open venue and the biggest acts to play Ireland have played there, including U2, Bob Dylan, Queen, Bowie, Springsteen, The Stones, Guns n' Roses, Madonna, Neil Young, etc. 

When we got back to the house we picked up the dogs and went to the beach just a few miles north of town. The tide was out so the dogs had a great run on the beach. When we got way out there we spotted some big seals sunning themselves on some rocks. The dogs were close enough to see them but they couldn't smell them as they were downwind. A few of them went into the water when we came too close anyway.

On the way back from the beach we stopped at a newly built breakwater near the town Clogherhead. There were massive concrete blocks piled up on the ocean side of the breakwater to resist the storms from the Irish Sea. 

We made our way back to the house with the dogs but Kevin had an emergency call out so he took me out to a customer's warehouse where a compressor had blown. Since it required a replacement there wasn't much he could do so he let the customer know and we drove out to his shop where he showed me around, including his prized 63 MG, which is going to be a restoration project. 

After some great home cooked burgers Kevin and I walked into town to go to the pub. The first one we went to was Clarkes Bar, which has a preservation order on both the interior and exterior of the building, so the inside is a very old, very authentic, and I think very unusual pub. It has many very tiny separated areas so that you could have a decent chat with some degree of privacy. At least that is the plan. By the time we left it was starting to get very busy and pretty loud.
The second pub we went to was Kingston's Bar, which is Kevin's “local” pub and is more of a sports bar, with sporting trivia on the walls, and 3 TVs playing sports channels. Kevin ran into a few people he knew at both pubs. It was also pretty obvious that Guinness appears to be the drink of choice in the pubs. It was a bit late by the time we got back so it was nice and quiet and straight to bed.

Aug 6 The young and the old

I was up reasonably early, but didn't get out of the house until about 10:30, after the girls had got up and I had confirmed with them that they would rather stay home for a bit rather than go for another walk into town. So I went by myself and I got about 10 minutes out of the house before I realized I had forgot to put the battery back in my camera after charging. So 20 minutes later I was back exactly to the same place and started taking pictures on my walk. This time I walked down to the river on a more easterly route, coming down on the other side of the viaduct where I got some good pictures.

After walking right up to the viaduct I went back up a street and down through St. Laurence Gate and back to St. Peters Roman Catholic Church where I went inside this time to see the head of St. Oliver Plunkett. It was very dark in that area of the church, and the head itself was not illuminated specifically, and there were people praying and in confession and such so I decided not to use my flash on the camera. So the picture isn't great, but I can tell you my impression is that his teeth were pretty good, although he had a bit of a crooked smile, and his head seemed a little small. The church itself was very impressive inside, as have been just about every church I've been in on this trip.

I had a quick and not-so-good lunch at Moorland Cafe beside St. Peters Church. It was very busy so I was surprised the food was off.On the way back from town I stopped back in at St. Peters Protestant Church graveyard, which Kevin had mentioned had some pretty old tombstones. Just wandering around I found a strange sculpture on the back wall which I later found out came from the 15^th century. The tombstones themselves were decaying so much it was impossible to read if they were much older than about 200 years.

I walked back from town in the pouring rain. Good thing I had my umbrella. I wasn't back at the house too long before Annette called. After she got off work she came by and picked us up and took us to Mellifont Abbey which is the ruins of an old monastery from the 11^th century. By about the 16^th century it had been abandoned and was significantly dismantled for it's stone building material. As kids the Roden's of Drogheda used to go out and run around and play on the ruins. Now it has been fixed up as a heritage site with an interpretive centre and tours.

We went to Annette's for pizza and I met Uncle John for the first time. He was expecting someone a little shorter. He and Annette went through some old photos with me. He is very hard of hearing so a long conversation is quite impossible, especially with horse racing on the TV.

After dinner Annette took us out to Jim and Caroline's to visit with them and the baby. The first time I've met Jim and of course Caroline and the baby too. Eoghan was very cute, less than 3 weeks old and a healthy set of lungs.

On the way back from Jim's, Annette took us to Monasterboice, which is a monastery founded in the 5^th century. The oldest structure is
The Cross of Muiredach, which dates to 932. Also from the 10th century is a 95 ft round tower hich the monks used to take refuge from the marauding viking hoards of the 10th and 11th century.
After Annette dropped us back at the house and after some chatting and computer/facebooking that was the end of another good day on vacation.

Aug 5 Drogheda

Ann was out of the house early this morning to go to work. Kevin was up making phone calls for a new contract this morning when I got up about 9'ish. Kevin gave me a run down on what was going on today and left us about 10 am to go to work. Shannon and Shayla started getting up about 10:30. By 11:30 they had breakfast and had showered and were ready to go out.

With a map in hand and a list of things to go see we headed out for a short walk to downtown. We walked straight into town and up the main street to Trinity Gardens, which is where my Dad lived back in the 40's. I wasn't sure which house so I took a few pictures to get them all in.

We walked back down the main street, stopping in the occasional store to look around. Shannon got the flag of Ireland she wanted, to go with her Scotland and England flags she got while in those places.

I took several pictures of some street views and some historical sights along the way, including St. Peters Church, which I had forgotten had the head of St. Oliver Plunkett inside. I'm going to have to go back there again to take a look.

I also took several photos of St. Laurence Gate, then headed down to the Boyne to take some photos of the viaduct. There were cranes along the river blocking the view so I'm going to walk down to the seaward side of the viaduct to get better photos tomorrow if possible.

We walked across the river on a pedestrian bridge over to Scotch Hall, which is a big retail shopping mall. We had lunch in the mall and then walked up to Millmount, where we had a guided tour and took some great photos of the city. You can see all the way down the river to the sea from the Millmount. From there we essentially walked straight back to Kevin's house through the middle of town and got back about 5:30.

Ann got home about 6:00 but had to go out to a course she was taking a course, and Kevin was working late. David had called and had arranged to pick us up and take us to his house for dinner at about 6:30. We had a traditional Irish Stew, which was very good and was pretty much exactly like the ones I was used to growing up.

Annette came over after dinner with Juliette, after just getting home from Portugal yesterday very late. We had a great chat and at the kitchen table while Shannon and Shayla watched the TV with Katie and Juliette.

We stayed until about 11 and Annette gave us a ride back to Kevin's house, stopping a couple times along the way so I could get some night pictures of the cable bridge on the M1. It is the newest bridge in Ireland and very impressive looking all lit up at night.

When we got back to the house Kevin was just going to go to bed, but I managed to keep him up a bit longer to have a chat about what we did today, and he gave me some ideas about what I could do tomorrow morning before Annette gets off work. If the girls are up to it they can come for another long walk with me around town or stay at Kevin's house with the 3 dogs.