Antrim Coast with Mom & Dad

After we returned from our 2+ weeks of site-seeing in ROI with my parents, they had a week in Belfast to recover and then they went up north to the Antrim Coast for 5 days, starting on a Saturday. I rented a car and drove the boys up for Sat/Sun. This was the first day of my Father driving in NI, and they seemed to think that things were a bit...dicey...but, they followed me up and from my vantage (a whole lot of car and air separating us), he did fine. We stayed just south of Bushmills, in a small complex of self-catering houses called St Columb's Holiday Cottages (http://www.stcolumbscottages.co.uk/). This holiday let was the nicest we experienced up there, and I'd definitely stay there again. The house was clean, modern, well-equipped, had wifi, and the manager was pleasant. And, the set-up worked well for my parents with all that they needed on the ground floor. The location was great too - just 5 min or so into Bushmills, which is the center point to all of the sites up there. 

Our accommodations. There was a nice walking trail behind the cottages (below).

Gorgeous foliage - HUGE.

The first afternoon/evening, after settling into our accommodations, we all piled into my parents very large rental car and I drove them around showing them some of the sites. It was so nice to go somewhere that I had already been to so that I could give them advice and help them plan their visit! I drove them west first to Portrush and scenic viewpoints along the way to see Dunluce, and then east through Bushmills and toward the Causeway. We had dinner at an Inn just across the street from the Causeway that had very nice views and fine food (nothing special but certainly nothing to complain about). 

On Sunday, we went to the Skerries Pitch and Putt in Portrush that is part of the Royal Portrush Golf Club. I had been hearing about P & P ever since we started planning this year, but had never experienced it. Let me say now - I am a fan! It is a miniature golf course that requires the use of a pitcher and a putter. The course we went to was a par 3 course (I think) for a total of ~1200 yds for 9 holes. It was definitely not a gimmicky/touristy thing - the course didn't even have the holes numbered and the man in the booth had to search for some clubs to lend us (and then make us a map on the back of the score card so that we would know which hole was which!). And, the location was oh so beautiful - right along the sea with grass-covered dunes, white beaches, and blue sky... This type of golf (which, by the way, was only 3 GBP per person), I could get into. We had a great time. Dad and I took turns on the holes while the other person kept Jamieson from getting in the way or stealing a ball. And, we all did pretty well! Watson had some great hits and we brought back all but 1 of the 5 extra balls that the man in the booth gave us. Fun, fun!

  

What a pose, right? Portrush in the background, zoomed in below.

He SOOO wants to do everything Watson does.

Talk about views...

After leaving the P & P course, we noticed a sign for a beach that we had not yet explored during our times on the Antrim Coast. So, down the very steep, sharp turn we went to Whiterocks Beach (http://www.beachni.com/beaches/whiterocks-beach/). Gorgeous! My parents stayed near the top to take in the view (and have a very nice conversation with a family walking a dog who looked amazingly like Keya - they called her their "dog in sheep's clothing") while I took the boys down for a little exploring and sand play. 

Reminiscent of MI's sand dunes!

Dunluce Castle on the cliff above in the middle 

This was the weekend that the Giro D'Italia went from Belfast to the
Antrim Coast and back. There were lots of signs and pained pink bikes
along the roads - here the lifeguards had spelled out a cheer to the bikers with rocks. 

That day was also the U.S. Mother's Day. We all gave Mom a NI scarf (lots of great ones here) with little birds on it and cooked my parents dinner before heading back to Belfast and saying goodbye to them for a few weeks (Next up for them - Scotland!). Even though it was only a short trip together, I really enjoyed this time together on the northern coast.

Who's in town? Justin Joseph

During June, Jubin's little brother Justin (13 yrs his junior) came to visit us for a couple of days. Justin lives with one of Jubin's other brothers in MD and has been to (and lived in) Kerala, India, but other than that hasn't traveled much. Jubin picked Justin up in Dublin and they did a bit of a holiday in ROI at the beginning of his trip (look for a future post written by Jubin!) before coming to Belfast to see the boys. Here are a few pix of Justin with the boys - they love him!

Emily Byrer pays a visit to Belfast

During May, my cousin Emily came for a couple of days. She is a few years younger than me and has 2 older sisters, so growing up, I always spent more time with them than with her. Well, I was missing out - she's awesome!

Emily is a chef and has her own marketing and catering company. She came to visit us Thurs evening after being in London for over a week managing some big corporate shin-dig. Friday, while Watson was at school, Jamieson and I took her on a walking tour of the neighborhood, took her to the Botanical Gardens, went for a very short visit to Ulster Museum, and then she wandered down to City Centre to do a hop-on/hop-off bus tour on her own while I took Jamie home to nap. Saturday, we all went down to City Centre to show her the Market, Victoria Dome, etc... and then she went to check out the Maritime Festival in the Titanic Quarter when we headed home. Both days, I was struck at how seemingly calm and happy Emily was. It was also amazing how independent and apparently fearless she was - guess that comes with the territory a bit when you are a business owner. She was really quite nice to be around!

Ok, perhaps not the BEST pic ever, but Jamie really, really wanted to run all over that day! 

The Victoria Dome - great views of the city!

The 2 big yellow cranes out there are dubbed David and Goliath.

The leaning clock tower is on the right-hand side.

Love the way that they green-scaped the roofs here!

We will certainly miss the St George's Market, especially the crepes and wheaten bread!

Kind of a funny pic, I know, but this demonstrates Emily well - the kids warmed up
to her immediately, in part b/c she just did whatever they did (including sitting on
the floor watching Signing Time with Jamieson as depicted here).

I am so glad that Emily came to visit and that we got to know each other better (she really is lovely!).

Oh, around the house the flu does go...

We have had a pretty healthy year this year. Not as many sinus infections here as in Lansing. Jubin never got his seasonal allergies (I sure did!). Jamieson had a very mild case of chicken pox in the fall and then a not-so-mild case of hand, foot, and mouth disease in the spring, and both boys have had a few minor colds, but all-in-all we have been feeling pretty lucky... Until this week. Wow.

Last Thursday at 4am it began with Watson. Vomiting, aches, fever, the works. Terrible. The violent part lasted about 12 hours for the little guy and the rest disappeared Friday sometime with our normal healthy kid back on Saturday. Then, at 4am on Monday, Jamieson's version began - same symptoms, but quicker process. He was happy-go-lucky when he woke up at 4pm on Monday (just 12 hours later) from his nap. Tuesday at 6pm it hit me. Worst bug ever! It seems to have gotten me the worst - the violent part lasted 18 hours for me, I didn't sleep a wink Tues/Wed because I was so achy that I couldn't find a comfortable position, and I was still pretty sick throughout the day Thurs. Just finally starting to eat again as I write this on Friday! Jubin also got sick, about 6 hours after me, but luckily didn't have the vomiting part of it. Good thing, because otherwise I don't know how we would have gotten the kids to their respective childminders on Wed and we certainly couldn't have taken care of them at home!

Yikes. We are thankful for our health and glad to have wonderful childminders. And, Jamieson is thankful that his Mum has started to produce Mama-milk again - he was not a happy camper Wed night!

The Dingle Ring

The Dingle Ring is MUCH shorter than the Ring of Kerry, at just about 30 m completely around. And, there are a ton of archaeological and historical sites, which means that you are never in the car very long before you get to another stop. Our kind of car tour. Check out the guidebook description we were using here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ricksteves/dingle-peninsula-loop-trip-20272095/. Below are photos and some memories of the stops we made. 

First off was a stop to see some really cool beehive huts, called the Fahan Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahan,_County_Kerry). These were really amazing. Funny, they were on people's farms - sheep all around, entrance fee of 2 Euro that seemed to be going to the farmers. But, at one of the sights, there were conservation workers doing some stonework, so maybe the money goes for projects like that...

Sporting his new sweater (called a jumper here!)

The ceilings were so amazing - no mortar but dry inside.

Jamie really liked being inside the huts - his size I suppose!

Back in the van, our next stop on the map was a beach. But, we did many pull offs (including Slea Head) for the amazing scenery. Another great day weather-wise - we actually only had a couple rainy days during the whole trip, which is quite amazing in this part of the world!

"marshmallows"

Our next stop was at a beach that Amy and Kevin had told us about, between Slea Head and the Great Blasket Center. It isn't even named on the maps, but is a nice beach for rock hunting and the cliffs around it have layers of really amazing crystals - we spent lots of time searching and came away with a small, clear crystal each. Very fun!

rock hunting!

Great boulders and cliffs - pic of Jubin below
is a zoom of the area in the foreground above.

Crystal hunting!

 We stopped for a picnic lunch and visited the Great Blasket Centre, all about the very hardy and isolated people who lived on the Blasket Islands until relatively recently. Jamieson was asleep in the car, so Watson and I went into the Centre with my parents who watched the documentary while we explored the exhibits. The place wasn't particularly accessible, but it had a neat interactive Gaelic/English exhibit that Watson enjoyed.

Next up was the Reasc Monastery (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/riasc) from the 6-12th centuries, with a Celtic stone pillar from 500 BC, and oratory (church), and chlocans (circular igloo-like huts). Cool!

We next went to the Gallarus Oratory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallarus_Oratory) built sometime between the 6th and 12th century - super cool! Jamieson loved this church - he had such a fun time inside... 

Our last stop of the day was at the Kilmalkedar church. We parked and first went walking up the hill through fields filled with sheep looking for a site that was never to be seen...Jubin was pretty much done for the day by this point and it was unclear how far the hike was, so we turned around after not too long. A little adventure though!

Mumma milk!

These were the markings we followed through the fields -
up and down over walls and through lots of sheep (and their pooh!)

The church ruins are surrounded by a graveyard and has a very old (3rd centrury?) ogham stone - there is a hole drilled in the top where people would "seal the deal" by touching thumbs. Lots of other neat stones there as well (http://www.megalithicireland.com/Kilmalkedar.htm). Fun.  

A cool fairy fort we passed on the way back to Dingle:

We stopped in Dingle and ate dinner at the Half Door Restaurant. We were the first people there (early birds who were hungry, tired, and a bit grumpy after the long day of sites), but had a nice dinner. What amazing sites we saw that day...