The Goodosier visit!

About a week after the Moy's left us, Amy, Kevin, and Wyatt arrived. So exciting! They had flown into Dublin and toured ROI first. They drove from the Galway area to Belfast on Saturday, arriving in time for dinner. Sunday was a gorgeous day, weather-wise so we thought about driving to the country to see Bob and Kath and go to Castle Espie. Alas, we couldn't get our rental car a day early. So, instead, we took the double-decker bus to City Centre, showed them City Hall, the view from the top of the dome at Victoria Centre (Amy was a bit leery of that!), wandered by the leaning clock and the big fish, crossed the Lagan, and went to W5 (Science Center described in Moy post). Again, this place was a hit with the kids and sapped all energy from the adults. Favorites this time around were the kitchen (J), the electric harp (J&W), and the Easter egg race (W&W). Of course, the bounce house and cars in the Odessey were also a fav. 

During the Moy visit, and again for the Gooderosiers, I made a new creamy chicken mushroom soup recipe I found online - http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/creamy-chicken-mushroom-soup-ru342824.html. Yum! Then, on Monday, Jubin picked up our rental car, he and Kevin picked up picnic supplies at Sainsbury, and we headed north. We followed the same general route that we did with the Moys, but did some different stops. First off was the amazing playground in Carrickfergus. This time, I brought my camera!

Next up, we had our picnic lunch at a rest stop along A2 where there was a playground, picnic tables, and a nice rocky beach (might have been sandy if the tide was out!). I'm not completely sure where this was, but I think that it was just south of the town of  Glenarm. The Gooderosiers are big into beaches and rock hunting! I made a map of the spots we visited here: http://goo.gl/maps/EOvMm.

Next stop was near Ballintoy to hike out to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge (more info in Moy post). This time around, the island was open. Very cool, but also very steep cliffs down to the water with no railing around most of it. Wow. Luckily, Watson was in a much better hiking mood this day then he was during the Moy visit. You'll notice pix of he and Wyatt racing along the path, wrestling in the grasses, etc...

Amy and Wyatt did MUCH better than they expected on the bridge!

Another beautiful day at the bridge!

After the last trip, we got a new pack for Jamie off Gumtree (UK version of Craigslist).
Still not quite right though...Might have to keep looking!

There was a bit of grumbling from both boys on the walk back to the cars...
nothing that a snack at the tea room couldn't overcome though!

Next we went to our rental cottage. This time, we stayed south of Portrush a bit, in a complex called Ashlea Cottages. We had rented one 3 bedroom cottage that we thought would work well because the complex included a game room (pool, ping pong), a playground, a trampoline, and mini golf. All of these extras were very much appreciated by the boys! And, the location was better in terms of getting to the sites in the area. However, the cottage itself was only so-so. The beds were pretty poor, the stairs a bit treacherous, and the unit was very echo-ey loud. Plus, the bedrooms were on 2 floors, so Wyatt didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the kid room with Watson, a floor away from his parents. So, we probably wouldn't make a point of going back there, but it had its advantages. That night we went into Portrush to eat, thinking we would go to either Ramore's Wine Bar or Harbour Bar, but over an hour wait at each...so, we wandered a bit through town and eventually ended up at a place called 55 Degrees North.  The food was ok; nothing special really, but the setting was amazing...right on the Sea with waves crashing and glorious views, and the waitresses were very good with Jamieson.

Tuesday, Jamieson and I stayed in during the morning so that he could get a good nap in. Meanwhile the rest of the crew went to Giant's Causeway (see Moy post for more info). Another great visit, although Watson didn't feel like hiking much again...

Jamie and I met up with the rest of the crew in time for a picnic lunch at White Park Bay (after a little confusion about time and place to meet - it is hard up there with no cell phone service!), after which we enjoyed the beach and explored the caves that Jubin had spotted on our last visit. So cool!

The mound of dirt at the mouth of the cave had 100s of
knapping flakes from people making stone tools. Outside
the caves, there were nodules of chert too. Cool!

Jamie had such a love-hate thing going with the water that day!
He wanted to play in the water, but cried every time he went in it b/c it was too cold...

Next up? Dunluce Castle! I didn't get to do the scavenger hunt with Watson, but it was still pretty cool!

I cannot tell you how long I spent hanging around the bridge while Jamie played
with the audioguide and looked through the bars... but, it was LONG!

So, the ASL for flower is like you hold a flower to each
side of your nose and smell it. This is Jamie's version. :)

After touring the Castle, we had dinner at the Bushmill's Inn (http://www.bushmillsinn.com/restaurant.aspx). We found the food solid (not amazing), but mainly enjoyed this experience for the atmosphere - the building is really old, there are all sorts of little sitting rooms, an old-style pub, and they burn peat in the open-hearth fireplace. Very fun! That night, Kevin, Jubin, and the boys drive into Portrush to go to the arcade. Kevin won Wyatt another stuffed animal (he was collecting them on the trip - think that win brought him up to 5) and Watson got a piggy bank. Back at the cottage, after the kids were in bed, we adults attempted to stay up for a while to visit...Amy and Kevin shared their impressions of the sites they saw in ROI and we chatted for a little while, but we all faded quite quickly. Alas, we do not have the energy we did 15 years ago when we first became friends!

Wednesday morning, while the boys played, first Amy and Kevin and then Jubin and I drove to Bushmills to do the Old Bushmills Distillary Tour (http://www.bushmills.com/). It was really interesting! They have been making whiskey there for over 400 years. Unfortunately, Diageo Beverage Company bought Bushmills during 2005 (the tour guide called it D-Day). Anyway, they take you through the in-use factory, teaching you about whiskey and showing you each step of the process from the very beginning all the way through bottling and boxing. We learned a lot! At the very end, you can taste some whiskey (our favorite was the Irish Honey) or have a hot toddy - I did the latter and we both really liked it. We even bought the hot toddy spices, which comes with the recipe. On our way out of town, we all stopped in Bushmills to check out the gift shops and grab a quick lunch. The Goodosiers had some not great fish and chips from a take-away, but then we found some AMAZING bread, olives, and cheese at a French bakery (the French Rooms) that we demolished (and then went back and got a second loaf for Belfast). 

We drove home the inland route, and on the way we drove through the Dark Hedges near Balleymoney (http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Dark-Hedges-Armoy-Ballymoney-P27502). Of course, my pic doesn't look anything like the ones in the movies, but it was pretty cool. 

The gorse in full bloom - it smells like coconut! 

Back in Belfast, the boys played outside with the neighborhood gang, we showed our guests our little neighborhood strip of shops, we cooked sausages, potatoes, and veg, did laundry, and visited.. readying ourselves for the morning goodbyes. Too short of a visit! We are SO glad that the Goodosiers spent their 10-year anniversary vacation in ROI/NI!

Uncle Kevin is soooo silly! He taught Jamie to 'high-5' too!