A Picturesque Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. It's a big week in the US of A as we celebrate Independence Day. Do you have any special plans? How will you mark the day? BBQ? pool-lake-beach time? fireworks? homemade ice cream? If you're not an American you can tell us what's happening in your corner of the world on Thursday. 

I've got nothing planned at all. When the boys were small, we made sure they got their fireworks somewhere. That kind of fizzled out after we spent the holiday in DC. Once you see fireworks on the National Mall, you're ruined.

2. What's your favorite 'All-American' dessert? 

Ice Cream Sundae.

3. Does that patriotic feeling come easily to you, or are you having to work for it more these days? What's something that makes you proud to be a citizen of your country?  

It used to come really easy, but with everything that's going on, I'm feeling a little hopeless. Traveling the country and seeing how beautiful it is makes me proud to be an American. 

I felt pretty patriotic last year as we left Yellowstone and entered Grand Tetons National Park. I looked up and saw this:

4. Your favorite 'patriotic' movie? Favorite patriotic song? 

Independence Day is the first one that popped into my head. I'm sure I'll be slapping my forehead when I read everyone's answer to this question!  

America the Beautiful gets my eyes watering and my skin tingling. Especially this version (which I've played many times):

Carmen Dragon is the arranger. 1 of my brothers said Carmen is the father of "the Captain" of Captain & Tenille.

5. One simple pleasure on your July 'bucket list'? 

Visiting Holland, Michigan for the day. I know the tulips will be gone, but I've wanted to visit for a long time. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Last year on the 4th, CH & I embarked on what was to be our last adventure. I'm feeling a little melancholy; I really thought we'd have more adventures with Maeve Anne, but what memories CH gave me! I tried to get him to come home after we got to my sister's house in Missouri, but he insisted that we continue. I think he knew that would be our last trip together.

I think we took more selfies and had other people take our pictures on this trip than any other. And I'm so glad we did.

Cody, Wyoming

Devil's Tower, Wyoming

Yellowstone, Wyoming

Little Grand Canyon, Utah

Arches National Park, Utah

Montrose, Colorado

Turquoise Lake, Colorado

2024 Ireland Adventure-Great Southern Tour Part 1

We started the day with a full Irish breakfast, buffet style. Seriously, y'all...if you aren't a breakfast eater, make sure you're one when you're in Ireland! In my previous 2 visits, I didn't try Blood Pudding but after one of my sisters tried it, I decided to try it as well. I really missed out the previous visits by not trying it! It sounds gross, but it's very good. It looks somewhat like a sausage patty, but don't expect it to taste like sausage. The taste is a little hard to describe; just go for it! My breakfasts typically consisted of porridge, fruit, and yogurt. One of my sisters went crazy for the breakfast sausages. If you're going to skip a meal, breakfast is definitely not the one to miss.

We gathered around the Vagabond group in the lobby of the hotel and were very quickly pleasantly surprised when we were told there were only 6 in our group: the 4 of us and 2 ladies who were solo-traveling. One was from Australia and the other lives in North Carolina (but she was born in England). We also had a "bonus" guide: Angela hung out with us since she had never been a guide for this section of Ireland. Denise was our "Vagaguide" and she was just awesome. So, we had an all-women small group, which meant we could ask for potty-breaks at any time. 

Rock of Cashel

Our first stop was the Rock of Cashel. On the way, Denise talked about the history of what we were about to see. This wasn't my first visit here. The last time I didn't know about St. Patrick's Cross. Even though I knew about it this time and actively sought it out, I think it was behind locked doors. Where I think it should have been (the Vicar's Hall) only had 2 rooms open. We did see the replica; however, the site The Standing Stone indicates that the real one is definitely inaccessible.

View of the Rock of Cashel as we approached it.

The group (minus two: one was taking the picture and the other was in the bathroom)

St. Patrick's Cross Replica

Our first sheep sighting

The Rock of Cashel, built as the seat of the kings of Munster, is said to have been visited by St. Patrick when he converted one of the kings. Brian Boru was crowned as High King here. The only remaining Romanesque frescos in Ireland are housed here. We were able to see one of them; however, the others were in a locked part. I was a little disappointed my sisters didn't get to see them. 

Blarney Castle

I said I'd never do it. No way would I ever kiss that nasty stone when I know what teenagers do to it at night. Except when I got up there and realized that it is cleaned after each visitor, I thought, what the heck. I laid on my back, leaned waaaay back and still didn't reach it. So I gave up. I kissed my hand and touched the stone, and that was that. 

Here's a picture from the bottom of the castle that tells you where the stone is:

This is how far up it is

There were a TON of steps to go up, and then down. Blarney Castle is a Tower House that was built between the 15th & 17th centuries. We did the obligatory Blarney Stone and then walked around the gardens. The first point of interest was the Poison Garden.

Even though we were a little early for a lot of the flowers to be in full bloom, the grounds were still very pretty.

Kinsale

Kinsale is a charming fishing town in County Cork. As you walk up the hill, you're treated to very narrow streets and colorful buildings. We didn't have very much time here, just long enough to walk around, find something to eat, and slip into a pub (or 2).

View from the hotel room

One of the streets in Kinsale

The Grey Hound is one of the oldest pubs in Ireland. 1690 is the year of its license with the building being older than that. 

Sláinte 

Chris the barman lit a fire to help us take off the chill

We ate dinner at Fishy Fishy. The service was excellent, although the hostess looked down her nose at us when we told her we didn't have a reservation. We didn't have to wait for a table so I'm not sure what the problem was.

Kinsale is definitely someplace I'd like to go back to and explore. There are a couple of forts there that I'd love to visit, as well as a museum and a mead company. 

If I keep going, this post is going to be rather lengthy, so I'll just stop here. Can you believe this was just Day 1? It was a long day with a lot of information and beautiful sights. 

Prioritizing the Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. What do you think has remained the same about you your whole life? How has your perception of yourself changed over time? 

I think I've remained caring and empathetic. I am much more confident in myself and I am a stronger person than I was early in my marriage.

2. What was the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you prefer to cook or bake? 

I'm not sure, but it was probably spaghetti out of a jar! I much prefer to bake.

3. What are some of your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate. 

Taking care of myself, for sure. It's easy to get into the habit of not eating or exercising. Having a dog that has to be walked daily helps with the exercise. Also, taking care of myself spiritually is huge. Surrounding myself with people who share my faith is important.

4. How much time do you spend on your hair each day or, put another way, what's your hair care routine? Do you get it cut regularly or just whenever the mood strikes? Do you go to the same stylist every time? Do you tell your stylist everything? Any other beauty treatments you indulge in throughout the year? 

I'm a "wash, gel, and go" kind of gal. I don't spend a lot of time on my hair; it's going to do whatever it wants to, so why fight it? I get it cut every 3 weeks; if I wait 4 weeks I can really tell it. It's hard for me to find a stylist who cuts my hair the right way, so I tend to stick with her. I tried going to someone else for a while but that person kept trying to style it (even though I told her it wouldn't work) and tried to make my hair do something it just didn't want to do. I crawled back to my hairstylist and begged forgiveness! 

5. What is the most awe-inspiring place you've visited? 

Oh, man. I haven't visited that many places, but I've seen some amazing things. Last year, CH & I spent a month out west. The Little Grand Canyon was amazing, as was The Badlands. But, so was Turquoise Lake in Colorado. I've seen amazing places in Ireland, as well as Germany. I can't just pick one!

The Badlands

Little Grand Canyon

Turquoise Lake, Colorado

Benbulben, Ireland (Photo Credit: Tomas)

View from our campsite at Mile High Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I finished the book "I Hope There's a Kettle in My Room" by Paula Rooney. At the time of the writing of the book, she was 55 and solo-traveled through Europe. The book read as if reading her diary, and at times was a little choppy and painful to get through, but it was interesting and gave me hope that I could do something similar, although, since she is British, she is more familiar with train travel and timetables. Maybe not backpack on the Interrail, but I got a couple of ideas of where I would like to go. I saved this quote:

"This has been a very selfish trip. It’s been exactly what I wanted it to be, and I have done exactly what I wanted to do, and it’s been a revelation. No one has suffered because I was selfish. It doesn’t have to be a choice between my happiness or someone else’s. We can all be happy. I need to be a bit more selfish from now on. Not so that it hurts others, but do a bit more of what makes me happy. It is my life, after all. I dedicated myself to my children as they were growing and took the job as mum very responsibly. Despite its many challenges, I thoroughly enjoyed it and enjoyed seeing my three grow into wonderful adults and see Jamie thrive as well. It’s been very rewarding, but now it’s time to learn to be more selfish. To put me first if I want to. I am not sure that I can break the habit, or change the way that I live my life, but I am going to try."

Definitely words to live by!