Ireland, getting there is half the fun

We finally had lift-off from Charlottesville on Sunday night.  We drove to Dulles with just a few U-turns to make it to our hotel for the night.  We hit the sack quick and started out fresh on our journey to Shannon by way of New York JFK International Airport.  As you can tell we travel light (this was just our carry-ons!)

A wonderful sight, making progress to the International terminal, sight are getting greener.....

Two happy travelers tucked in their seats, ready to launch....

We hit the tarmac in Shannon at 5:30am, but couldn't see the green fields as sunrise was not until 8:19, so we hit the road for the ride to Salthill.  I love the address: Threadneedle Court, Threadneedle Lane LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  

Typical Irish weather is overcast.  This is the view from the kitchen window on our first day looking towards Galway Bay, the gray dampness didn't dampen our moods.

We recharged our batteries with breakfast, a lie down and a shower then off to downtown Galway.

Lunch was at The Dáil Bar where we had our first Guinness, fish and chips and warm soup.  Then we went into shops and walked the streets.  

We then pulled into the The Skeff Bar and Kitchen for a little R&R, tea, dessert and libations....

Looking forward to tomorrow, stay tuned....

Céad Míle Fáilte

One hundred thousand welcomes

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Looking forward to my second trip to Ireland in as many years.  Definitely an advantage to having family there.  Not any family though, my wonderful brother and sister - in - law, Dan and Amy Robins.

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I am going with Kayla and Brant this year, which means another adult vacation, how blessed I am.  This trip is a gift to Kayla for her graduation from grad school.  Brings back memories of when my parents took my brother, sister and myself the summer we had all finished grad school, for 2 weeks of Ireland, England, Scotland.

Joyce Country Sheep Dogs is a staple of each visitor that gets to experience Amy's Irish Adventures (that's my sister in laws business, right up her alley from her days at Explore Columbus).  They are famous for the quality sheepdogs and for the Jennifer Aniston trip to Ireland in the movie, Marley and Me.

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Then there is the fine Irish music.  My favorite group is still the Clancy Brothers.  I grew up listening to Irish music.  My parents saw The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on a tour in the US, sure wish that I had.  BRIMS is our local Irish Music School, offering lessons in Irish flute, fiddle, tin whistle, traditional dance and more.  I really want to figure out how to work it into my homeschool curriculum.

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What's not to love about having a few in pubs that look this cute.  I even went to a bar in Galway that had a tap with a credit card machine at the table so there was no waiting on others to serve you.  

I am still waiting to find the perfect thatched cottage to talk my brother husband into buying.  Here are some images I fell in love with.

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Looks similar to some I saw on the Aran Islands last time I was there

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This one is pretty fancy....

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Love the rolling green fields in the background

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One of my favorite movies of all time is, drum roll please.......

You guessed it, The Quiet Man.

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Guess what we are going to watch for movie night tonight?  You guessed it.  Netflix here I come.  Hope to be back along the way to document my trip.  So much to take in.  I really feel like I was born in Ireland and Camden, NJ was a typo on my birth certificate.

Sláinte

 (To Your Health)

Kelly

Camp Cornelius

Belhaven North Carolina is a 1,685 located in the Inner Banks.  I know 6 of those folks really well.  We call it Camp because it comes complete with golf cart, trampoline, pool, hot-tub, playhouse, go-cart, 4 wheelers, dirt bikes and a boat.  My husband's sister is but a 5hr car ride away.  The kids love hanging with their cousins and we love hanging with the adults.

Last year they added some new members to their family

I had no idea how much work chickens are.  They are living in the lap of luxury in Belhaven.  They were so well taken care of that they had to add an addition to the coop to accommodate them all.  Some of them wear jackets...the things you learn in NC

Checking for the loot

Who is having fun?

Holding the loot

The latest in chicken fashion

When we weren't slaving away taking care of the chickens (ok, I was taking pics and the my sister-in-law was doing all the work with an audience) we went crabbing.

Bait

We had the nets ready for our bounty...

Waiting....

Our one and only!!

Ok, so if crabbing isn't working, fishing was Plan B.  I don't know about you, but baiting the hook is the part of fishing I can't get past, so I took pics.

Bait

Waiting...

Our one and only!!

Ok, so one to Plan C, a little crab and fish feast at their outdoor kitchen.  Then on to R&R...

All in all a great weekend, even came back with a goodie box packed with crabs, fish, chicken, hush puppies, cake etc.  THANKS Donna and Joey

Barns, more than just horses

Are all girls are horse crazy?  Edenbrook Farm is a little slice of heaven east of town.  They have chickens, ducks, horses, ponies, llamas, goats and a cow.

When you drive up to the farm you drive on a gravel road at 10mph it forces you to look at the wildlife that is out to greet you that morning.  We have made friends with the birds and bunnies.  The next view always takes my breath away.  I could image sitting there all afternoon reading a good book with a glass of iced tea.

Through Divine Intervention and my friend Margaret I found a farm for the girls to work on and they get a little riding in too.  Driving to and from 2 days a week isn't so bad, but lack of internet access is a bummer.  I guess horses don't care if they can't get on Facebook!

 One of many and ruling the roost and horse stall.

 Leo was the next to show his face but patiently waited until the opening was free and clear.

From a design perspective I am currently obsessed with patina.  I couldn't help but drool over this barn wood and siding.  My father-in-law had an old barn on his property that he took down before he sold it and brought the wood to the dump.  I was blown away when I was talking about this with my hubby a few weeks ago.  I was so close to such beauty and was too young to appreciate it....ever had that experience?

I hope to have a post about the reno of our downstairs bathroom that includes barn wood....stay tuned

First Day of School 2012

Ok, so really it was the first afternoon but who is keeping track?  We started with horse lessons at a new farm which took the entire morning, then we had lunch and then got down to business.  Spring Ridge Farm is a wonderful farm just north of Charlottesville.  I don't know what happy horses look like but I know what happy kids look like and I had 2 today.

(These are actually a couple years old but the smile hasn't changed.)

Maggie has been steady at school for a week!  Catie's response was I have 1 week left, I am living it up!  Kendall just wants to get through it so he can go play.  I snatched this great idea from a friend of mine, Julie ( she has a blog as well) to take a pic every year...so I bought the poster board and let them go to town.

(Genny is along for the ride)

Raise your glass to a great year.  I hope you have a great one, I know I will with God's grace raining down, no other way to get through.

Perfect Mornings

My perfect morning was getting up and running before the rest of the gang was awake. My sister's house is about 4 miles away, mostly dirt roads.  I would put on my shoes, start my running playlist on my iPhone and start my running app.  It was bliss to be out in the cool mornings with myself and the deer flies for company.  It was so nice I didn't mind giving the flies a lift until they started biting.

This tractor I saw on the side of the road.  I was tempted to start it and use to get to my destination but it looked like it hadn't been used in years.

This was the last few hills of my 4 mile jaunt, the first mile is downhill, then a mile of flat road then 2 miles uphill.  Boy was I was done after the last hill!

The best part was getting to have a cup of coffee and visit with my sister and her family. My dad goes to the Eaton Village Store every morning for a cup of coffee and to catch up on local gossip.  He then swings by my sister's house drops off the local paper and collects me and brings me back to the homestead.

Did I say it was perfect?  Here is the proof, the view out the back of my parents house with Mt Washington as the tallest mountain and Conway Lake below.

Happy Hour

Happy hour is the second best part of the day, after bedtime of course. A family tradition of meeting at various houses for libations, snacks and great conversations.  This afternoon was at the family homestead, a place I have travelled to every summer.  The adults sat on the screened porch as the kids ran through the fields and played in the barn.  Eventually their stomachs got the best of them and they were on the hunt for food.  They made short work of anything that the adults had left.

This barn holds so many wonderful memories.  I have journeyed here every summer for the last 44.  My grandfather bought this farm in 1929 and was a working farm before that.  Now it holds memories and treasures from the family over the years.  I love the the patina of the shingles, the iron door handle, the chopping block for splitting wood, the rope swing and all of the old license plates that grace the back wall.  Many an hour was spent whiling away the afternoon, trying to keep out of the way of mom and chores before cellphones and electronics.   Oh the good old days.