The Moys come to visit!

At the end of March, Jess, Derek, Cameron, and Morgan Moy came to the island - yippee! They flew into Dublin and took the bus over to Belfast at the beginning of their trip, arriving mid-day on a Friday. I met them at the Europa bus station and we took a MPV taxi back to the house. Jubin, Watson, and Jamieson got home from school/work/childcare shortly thereafter and the fun ensued. I simply cannot imagine 4 boys of such different ages (11, 6, 5, 1) getting along any better than our guys did. They played outside themselves and with the neighborhood kids, they played inside, they went to Jumping Clay together, they explored the science center (W5) together, they slept in one bedroom together (we put the double bed in the teeny bedroom for Jess and Derek and a blow-up bed and single bed in the bigger bedroom for the 3 boys), and on and on. Cameron is an absolutely amazing young person - he is exceptionally patient and mature and compassionate - all I can say is WOW!

We were in Belfast for the weekend. Friday was for recovery. I walked the Moys down to our little strip of shops and to the tow path to look for seals, but other than that we laid low, visited, and played.

Saturday, we took a taxi down to St. George's Market, which is a huge farmer's market - fresh seafood and fish, meats, cheeses, fruits, veg, breads, flowers, etc... along with an assortment of gifts. There are also many food vendors, so we ate lunch down there (crepe anyone?). After lunch, the boys went to Jumping Clay where they made Mother's Day gifts (who knew Mum's Day is on a different day in the UK?) while Derek and Jubin had a drink next door at Conor Bar. Jess, Jamie, and I relaxed/napped at home. That night, Bob and Kath came over for dinner and brought an amazing trifle - yum! So lucky to have such amazing cooks as friends.

Gotta love Jumping Clay...Need someone in the Lansing area to open one!!!

Sunday am, Derek, Cameron, and Jubin went to the Titanic Museum (http://www.titanicbelfast.com/). They said that it was really good - lots on info about the City's history, ship-building, the linen industry, and of course the Titanic, which was built in Belfast. However, not for young kids.

The Titanic Museum is the cool-shaped building across the water. Pic taken from W5.

The rest of us met them down at the Odyssey in the Titanic Quarter. The younger kids played on the bouncy house/slide and the many cars in the main part of the Odyssey while waiting for the rest of our group and then we went to the science center that is in the Odyssey. W5 (who, what, where, when, and why; http://www.w5online.co.uk/) is an amazing science center - huge, lots of room to explore, and materials for all ages (Jamie and Cameron both had things to do!). The only disappointment was the cafe - nothing very exciting to eat for lunch. But, some of the kids favorites? Water play (M and W), building your own vehicle (C), the train area (J), and the 3 exhibits right as you walk in are quite fun (huge marble ball rolling on water, shadow display on wall, and hot air balloons). It also has amazing views of the City. Why is it, though, that places like that are so invigorating for kids but seem to completely sap all energy from adults? Seriously - we old folks were all soooo tired while there....

Morgan and Watson in the water play area of W5 - shooting balls.

Sunday night, Jess and Derek dined and stayed in City Centre for their date night. Woohoo! Unfortunately, a lot of shops and restaurants here are closed on Sundays, but they said that the hotel was amazing and they seemed happy with their time together on Mum's Day.

On Monday, we picked up our 2 rental cars and headed north to the Antrim Coast. This was our first time going north of Belfast and it was a great trip. We took the coastal route and stopped a lot along the way. Map here: http://goo.gl/maps/0bkhP. Our first stop was at Carrickfergus Castle in Carrickfergus. As you can see from the pix below, this castle has been kept up quite well. Jubin stayed with Jamie in the car napping, poor guy, but the highlight for the kids seemed to be the huge shoots and ladders game upstairs.

How cool is this? Room-sized shoots and ladders!

The view from the castle of the Carrickfergus harbor.

We next grabbed picnic supplies at Sainsbury's and headed down the road to an AMAZING playground. I didn't get any pix of it this time around, but check out the info here: http://www.carrickfergus.org/news/item/404/council-opens-new-state-of-the-art-play-park/ and my next blog post. This place is huge, has a zip line, areas for each age/stage, etc... Absolutely brilliant! I sooo wish that there was a playground like this in the Lansing area. We stayed here much longer than we had anticipated, it was so good.

Ok, back on the road, we made it next to the town of Carnlough where we stopped for snacks and a quick stretch of the legs. We then continued up the coastal road, oohing and aahing over the beautiful scenery.

Carnlough harbor

Next stop? A pull-off parking lot (Magheracross) between Dunluce Castle and Portrush. Such amazing views!

Portrush is in the background.

Dunluce Castle is on the middle hill - see the ruins sticking up?

Finally, we made our way to our 2 rented apartments in Portrush. They were right across the road from the Sea and had amazing views (25 and 34 Kerr St through TripAdviser). But, we totally could have stayed in just 1 unit - they were both plenty big for us all (not advertised that way, too bad) and there were no towels, the heat was confusing in one of the units, and the beds were pretty uncomfortable... Oh, and there was no way to make coffee and since it was off-season, none of the coffee shops were open until late! I don't think that any of us would stay in those units again. Portrush is a mix of a town. There is a branch of Ulster U there, it is in an amazing location with beautiful rock sea views, sandy beaches, surfing, and the like, but it also has sort of a seedy feel with lots of arcades and cheesy tourist shops. The location of the rentals was great for views and being able to walk to get dinner, but the town isn't super easy to drive in and out of to see the nearby natural sites. And, we found out the hard way that many, many places are shut during the off-season. So, I don't think we would stay in Portrush again. Anyway, after settling into our rentals, we had a really tasty and reasonable priced dinner at Ramore's Wine Bar (although Jubin was quite annoyed at the set-up...you have to go place your order at a counter) and then dessert back at our place before bed for all.

Tuesday, we went to Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, and visited another great, albeit smaller, playground, this time in Ballintoy. Giant's Causeway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site just north of Bushmills - it has about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns from ancient volcanic eruptions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant's_Causeway). Unfortunately, Watson didn't feel much like hiking that day (grumpy at the bottom of the hill)...so, he and I didn't explore as much as the rest of the group and returned to the visitor center for a snack. But, it was still super cool!

They 'big boys' with their audioguides.

Jamie asleep in his backpack - on this trip we realized that
he has gotten too heavy for us to carry him in this pack anymore... Sad!

We next had lunch at the Causeway Inn, right next door to Giant's Causeway. It was a quaint, traditional place. The food was good but not great, and the service was slow, so I'm not sure we would return there, but it was what we all needed at the moment. Next stop? The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrick-a-Rede_Rope_Bridge) near Ballintoy. To get to the rope bridge, you do a really lovely 3/4 mi hike (each way) that has amazing views. Then, you cross a rope bridge that historically was used by fishermen to get to an island that has even more amazing views (and used to be a great place to fish for salmon), including of Rathlin Island and all sorts of birds nest in the cliffs. The island itself was closed for the off-season (see my next blog post for more about the island), but it was a great hike (minus Watson's continued hiking grumpiness) and we had great weather!

Watson was great at the bridge. He said that he was disappointed because he thought
that it was going to be much longer. I was fine walking the bridge, except when I watched
Watson walking in front of me - he wasn't even looking where he was putting his feet! :)

Can you see all of the birds in their nests in the cliff - look for white.

This is one of the few pix I got of Derek - he somehow managed to steer clear of my camera most of the time!

After a visit to the nice, brand new play park in Ballintoy (our 4 guys really like playgrounds!), we went back to Portrush. Jamie went to bed while we searched for dinner takeaway (that's what they call take-out here). Lots of the places we tried were closed (off-season), but eventually we ended up with Indian for the adults and pizza for the kids and full bellies. The Moys then visited the arcade before bed while the Cheruvelil's hit the hay.

Wednesday morning, we divided in order to conquer. The Moys went to the Bushmills Distillery to do a tour (more about this in the next blog post). Unfortunately, young kids aren't allowed on the factory floor (liability), so Cameron and Morgan had to hang out in the lobby while Jess and Derek took the tour. But, they really enjoyed the tour and were able to get a bottle of reserve (only sold there) with a custom label for a whiskey-loving friend back home. Meanwhile, the Cheruvelils went to White Park Bay  (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/white-park-bay/). Of course, Jamie fell asleep in the car on the way there, so we had to split up again. Watson and I went down to the beach first and then Jubin went after we returned to the car. It is a bit of a hike down to the beach (steep and not short), but it is an amazingly beautiful beach. The wind was really strong that day, so we didn't stay down there that long. But, when Jubin went down, he found some caves, so we made plans to return during our next trip north.

We met the Moys back in Bushmills, grabbed lunch at a local eatery right at the traffic circle (nothing to write home about, but fine), and then went to our last site of the trip: Dunluce Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunluce_Castle). This ruin is really amazing - it is a big castle right on the edge of a seaside cliff. They have a really nice audio guide for adults and a different one for kids that is set up like a scavenger hunt. The 'big boys' had a lot of fun with it. If we visit this place again, I want to do the hunt with Watson!

The 'big boys' doing their scavenger hunt.

Jamieson thinks anything that looks even a bit like a phone is a toy for him!
And, certainly didn't want to be left out of all of the fun...

You can also walk down ~100 steps to get a view from
below of the castle, the sea, and a cave

After our castle tour, we jumped in the cars and drove the inland, quick route back to Belfast (only about 1.25 hrs). Of course, we had never done this before and we went through City Centre during rush hour and took a wrong turn on 1-way streets (when Jubin really had to pee!), but...live and learn, right? That night, Jubin and I went out to dinner at Shu Restaurant (http://www.shu-restaurant.com/) for our date night. The food was REALLY good - fresh, interesting, tasty...yum! This was just our second night-time date since last July, so we were really appreciative of the time alone together. We even opted for a walk home in the rain rather than a taxi ride to have a little more time to talk. Lovely!

Wednesday morning, Jubin and I took our kids to school and childcare and the men dropped off one of the rental cars at Enterprise. I walked with Jess and her boys up to Jumping Clay so that Cameron could get some clay to take home and we grabbed cappuccino and treats at Black Bear Cafe (best in town), then a double-decker bus back home (we couldn't have them in Belfast for a week and never take our bus!). Then, about lunchtime, Jubin drove the Moys to Newgrange to see that really cool megalithic tomb (see my previous post from when our first Lansing-area friends visited). They ate at the really good cafe there and then Jubin left them at the Drogheda bus station to head into Dublin for the Republic of Ireland leg of their trip.

We were sad to see the Moys go, and Jess reported back that Morgan and Cameron asked why they couldn't just spend the whole trip with Watson. We are so glad that they came to visit us!

New "not so ordinary" ordinary days - Jan-Mar 2014

We've had some more really great ordinary days here in Belfast. Generally, the weather was terrible after we returned from FL (gales, gray, rain, drak (not much daylight)), but we made the most of it and now that we are on the other side of winter, we feel good about how we coped. Here are some of the things we've done that aren't already chronicled on the blog.

Watson was invited to a couple more birthday parties for kids in his class. First, was Gab's bday party at Funky Monkey's (http://www.funkymonkeys.co/), a soft-play centre in City Centre (luckily we had a car hire  planned for that weekend already!). Watson had a great time playing, mainly, with his friend Antonia. Jamieson also really enjoyed the place, although he was at an awkward stage where he was a little advanced for the toddler area but at the same time not advanced enough for the preschool/school-age area. He made the most of it, as you'll see in the pix. Interestingly, this place really outshines Jumpin' Jax in Lansing - much more to do for the kids in addition to slides and bounce areas AND much more for parents to do. Lots of tables and chairs, a real cafe with home-made food, etc...

Gab (Gabriel - the bday boy) is between Watson and Antonia.

BFFs! 

Then, a month or so later, his other school friend Oisin (some neat Irish names here!) invited Watson to his party at the Olympia Leisure Centre (http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/leisure/leisurecentres/LeisureCentre-6507.aspx). The City has a bunch of these centers in various neighborhoods that are similar to the Lansing-area YMCAs, except that they are run by the city. For their parties, the kids have access to a bounce castle for an hour, along with balls and nets for basketball and football, and then a room for food and party games for an hour. Watson had a great time bouncing (all of the kids were a sweaty mess after an hour!) and enjoyed the pizza and the 'pass the parcel' game (The parents wrap a small gift over and over again in may layers, with candy in between some of the layers. The kids pass the parcel around the table while music is on and when the music stops, whoever is holding the parcel unwraps one layer of paper, keeping the candy if there is some, and then when the last layer is removed that child gets the small gift). However, he didn't want to have a go at the pinata - not sure what that was about (he still got in there for some of the treats that fell on the ground once it opened up though!). Jamie had a tough time at this party. He SOOOO wanted to be in the bounce castle and really could not be in there - way too dangerous. So, he and I wandered the leisure centre for most of the hour. Jubin was away this weekend, so we took a taxi back and forth from the party, which worked out just fine. Our favorite place to buy bday gifts for friends? The Ulster Museum gift shop!

Watson and Antonia, and Jamieson in the background (of course!)

Watson is on the left with his back to the camera in the blue sweater (jumper here!)

We have continued to do a LOT of bike riding here, even throughout the winter. When we got back from FL, Kendra found a second bike on Gumtree (Belfast's craigslist) and Jubin installed the toddler seat she had previously snagged off the site. Jamieson loves to ride behind! Much prefers it over the pram. So, he is taken to Avril's house most mornings by bike now. As you can see below, most days Jamie's quite happy to put on his helmet and go (signified by patting his head and pointing outside)!

And, now the whole family can go together on bike rides! About a week later, Jubin snagged another bike off the site, upgrading from a really rusty old bike to a much nicer Giant with functioning brakes. Woop woop! Here are a couple of pix from a nice bike ride that Kendra took with Watson and Grace one weekend on the Tow Path. They went to Lock Keeper's Inn (http://www.walkni.com/walks/566/lagan-towpath-shaws-bridge-to-lock-keepers-cottage/) and back, stopping there for German biscuits (yummy cookies - sorta like 2 shortbread cookies with jam in between them and coconut on top) and stopping along the way to feed ducks. No seals that day!

Watson is taking a class this semester at the QUB Physical Education Center (PEC; http://www.queenssport.com/) - this is like MSU's IM but there is only 1, central location, and they have programs for families as well as students. He took the 1st class each of Rock Monkeys (intro rock climbing) and trampolining, and decided to stick with trampolining. Rock climbing was too hard, he said (his hands and arms were sore 2 days later even)! But, trampolining is great. He's learning all sorts of tricks and keeping Mum very nervous. There are no nets. Yes, there are mats on the ground around the big trampolines, but still...sometimes they seem to just bounce weird and go flying! Needless to say, Kendra stays down at the coffee shop (Clements) during most of the class where she cannot see any of the action. Think we might have a backyard trampoline in our future!

Kendra had her 39th birthday in Belfast (gasp!). Jubin made a nice meal and a really lovely homemade chocolate cake - yum!

Jamie is a chocolate FIEND - seriously...

After cake, a bath was quite necessary. Fun with shaving cream... 

Kendra would also like to put it into the written record that she is enjoying her Friday mornings with Jamieson. He goes to Avril's Mon-Thurs while Watson is at school, but on Fridays Kendra stays home until Jubin and Watson get back from school. It is nice to have a little cuddle time with the little guy! She doesn't get as much 1-on-1 time with Watson, but they are sure to do something alone together at least every 3rd weekend (movie, bike ride and meal, etc...). He SOOOO loves his neighborhood friends here in Belfast. They play all the time - biking, kicking balls, tag, hide and seek, hammock, and then tablet and games and movies when it is raining. It is a "bad day" if they do not play together. Not sure what the transition back to Lansing will be like...hopefully he and Izzy still get along well! Maybe some other kids will have moved in close by?

Jamieson sitting on our purple fuzzy bean bag chair reading - he LOVES books...
And, he is super into signing. We've been doing ASL with him, both on our own and with
Rachel Coleman's Signing Time and he is really good - huge vocabulary already. Fun!

Finally, we experienced St Patrick's Day this month in Belfast. Jubin was in Oxford, England, so Kendra took the boys down to City Centre for the parade. We had high hopes, since we ARE on the island of Ireland, and St. Patrick is supposed to have been buried just SE of us in Downpatrick. However, the parade was super-short...maybe 10 floats and bands combined. The bag pipes at the front were beautiful and there were a couple of neat floats, but all and all it was a disappointment. Watson seemed content though - he got a great spot at the front of the crowd to see it all and then was treated to McDonald's afterwards. In hindsight, I suppose that with "the troubles" being linked so tightly with NI being part of ROI or the UK, it makes sense that the people here would shy away from making too much of a big deal about this particular holiday. I guess we should have gone to Dublin! Watson did make a really nice St. Patty's Day scene at Jumping Clay though - check it out below.