Well, it's taken me long enough, hasn't it? I know! So, on the second-last day of our tour, we were supposed to take a boat trip to Innis Mor, but the weather was so blustery that it wouldn't have been safe. Our guides dropped back to Plan B. They promised us that Plan B would be great. They were right. (Alas, Joe was damn sick. Right after breakfast I went down the street to Dunne's... Read more →
No visit to Ireland would be complete without a visit to a castle! So, we stopped at Bunratty Castle on our way back to Ennis from Kinsale. It's impressive! It sits at one end of a folk park, which replicates village life in the Regency era (around 1795-1837). Bunratty Castle, So It Is The entrance brings you to the Main Guard, a great hall that the soldiers and retainers hung out in. Our guide told... Read more →
The only completely rainy day occurred on the day we visited Charles Fort, a star-shaped fortification opposite Kinsale Harbor. It dates from the 17th century and was used as a British Army barracks until 1921. The Brits left after the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. It wasn't pouring when we left the hotel, but the heavens opened on the short ride to the village of Summer Cove. But we soldiered on (heh) and gathered around a... Read more →
Our second full day found us in Cobh (pronounced "Cove"), the harbor town where the Irish boarded ships to America. Just in front of the Cobh Heritage Center is this statue of Annie Moore and her brothers. Annie was the first immigrant to pass through US federal inspection at Ellis Island. Eileen played a haunting version of "Nearer My God to Thee" in front of Annie, which got us ready to learn more about the... Read more →
Monday was a travel day from Ennis to Kinsale, with a stop in Killarney National Park for a meal, a mansion, and music! Breakfast at the Old Ground Hotel was grand - lots of yummy scones, croissants, breads, cereals, juices, yogurts, you name it. Not only that, there were hot breakfast choices too! I grabbed some goodies and ordered some porridge for good measure. The coffee was good and strong; I immediately poured a big... Read more →
We went to Ireland and it was wonderful! I will not speak of the clusterfuck that was our trip to Shannon Airport, except to say that we will not fly United Airlines in the foreseeable future. Or ever. So there. Wild Atlantic Music Tours is the company that organized our tour. Their tours do not just go to cool places. Oh no. Each tour features a musician or group that travels with the group and... Read more →
Our sweet Little Bits has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. In 2013, Little Bits came out from under our stoop, walked in the front door, and decided to stay. She went to Ocean City with us, moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania, rode on the Cape May/Lewes ferry, and even accepted a step-sister. She'd curl up in our laps and insist on scritches; if you had the audacity to stop, she'd reach up and pull your hand... Read more →
What the hell happened to March?? Geez Louise! Anyway, I seem to have acquired yet another new hobby - building book nooks. A book nook, in case you don't know, is a bookend, but not just any bookend. It's a bookend with a scene built right in, and you do the building from a kit. SonnyeBoy gave me one for Christmas, called Sunshine Town. Since he and his sweety were coming to visit for Easter,... Read more →
My pal Linda K. posted this list on The Facebook, and I saw it, and I thought "Cool! I'm gonna make a blog post out of this!" Feel free to play along, on The Facebook, on a blog post, on a Twitter thread, or however you see fit. Here we go! 1. First concert - Ravi Shankar. It was also my first date! I was 15. The next night the same boy took me to... Read more →
Recovery from Covid Neither of us had bad symptoms; in fact, I tested negative almost immediately. Joe tested negative after a week, but he never got terribly ill. Some Delsym for the cough, ibuprophen for the body aches, NyQuil to sleep and he coped well. So we were both double-tested negative right after Christmas. Speaking of which... Christmas Even though we were all by ourselves, Christmas was still lovely. We gave each other great gifts... Read more →