Back Stateside

Hello there my friends...yes, I am back safely Stateside.   For our last morning in London we packed up and left our B&B on Hugh Street and went to the Starbucks in Victoria Station for a quick coffee and bite to eat before setting out on the Underground to go to Heathrow. The station was busy with commuters using public transport to go to work...I'll miss the train stations.   One last tube ride...I'll miss the sound of the announcer saying "mind the gap" as the doors open...and I'll miss the screeching sound of the train on the tracks as it comes to a stop...and I'll miss the rocking motion of the train cars and the sound of the train on the tracks as it speeds along with me trying to balance myself like a surfer in the aisle of the traincar whilst holding on to the metal poles so I don't go lunging forward into the other commuters when the train jerks about. I've found that it's those little things that stick with me and that I miss. The trains have always been one of my favorite things that I've experienced in the UK.   We took the District Line from Victoria Station to Hammersmith and then switched trains to the Piccidilly Line going to Hatton Cross where we had to get on a shuttle bus to take us to Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport. They are do constructioin at Heathrow so the tube doesn't go all the way there right now (of course, it makes me think...what airport ISN'T doing construction right now!?!!! seems like every airport I've been to here in the States and abroad has some sort of construction work going on that ends up rerouting and diverting people making it such a chaotic mess)....anyways....but we've traveled this route a couple times already so we did it like pros. We actually got to the airport quite early and they didn't have our flight info posted yet...so waited it out in a cafe. Then we queued up (lined up) for a LONG snaking wait to check in. Now...going over from Seattle had been able to just carry on our backpacks (they were the right size and weight)...but regulations at Heathrow seem to be a bit tighter on weight limit. Cuz...though over the 5 weeks we had purchased things and had a lot more stuff...we shipped it all home thru out the time...so our packs were the same size as when we traveled over...BUT the lady at the desk made us check them in anyways. Oh well...we figured perhaps they were tightening things since the bombings last week? We weren't expecting it though, so we quickly took our smaller daypacks out of our back packs and filled them with things we'd need on the plane (and in the haste mom had left all her rolls of film in her backpack...which we hope survived any xray screening). But overall...the process wasn't too bad.   Then we went thru the security checkpoint...no problems there. Smooth sailing thru. They still hadn't posted the gate for our flight (they don't post till an hour before take off!) so we still had loads of time so we got a bite to eat at a pub in the airport and then once they posted the gate we set out to it and boarded shortly after we got to the gate.   Now...one sidenote here...I have been totally surprised that this entire trip (with all the flights, all the trains, all the security checkpoints, and with the terrorist bombings) I NEVER GOT SEARCHED! The whole trip! See...this is quite the accomplishment cuz I'm one of those people that seem to get searched every time I fly. They either want to search my bags or they want to strip search me! But I never got searched! Somebody was praying for me in a big way!   But...one thing did happen...when my boarding pass was printed for this flight the printer got a bit ascued and so the numbers weren't quite lined up on the ticket where they should be. So every check point (thru the security spot and boarding the plane) they had to call to get the okay to let me thru (cuz my seat# wasn't printed where it was supposed to be printed). But that wasn't much...I mean a couple minutes of waiting while they varified by phone that I was an actual passenger. Ha!   British Airways is wonderful airline to fly on and if I go overseas again I would want to use them once again...I have no complaints there...but I must admit this was the worst flight I've been on ever! We were seated right behind a family of 4 who had a 1year old child who screamed and cried what seemed like the entire 9 and 1/2 hour flight! Thank God for the inflight movies with headphones to try and drowned out the noise! I watched 3 movies! And by the end of the flight my back, neck and head were hurting like crazy! I think I was just tired and ready to come home.   We had a smooth flight from London...over the big blue to Seattle...and now we're in Bremerton, Washington for the weekend staying with friends of my parents. I'll drive down to Boise on Monday with my mom (she'll be staying with me for a week down there so she can check in on our new house we're building in Star, Idaho...and dad must go back to work but he'll join us in Boise for next weekend).   It was such a wonderful 5 week holiday...so many wonderful places, people, and experiences...I've got all sorts of mixed emotions...it will take me awhile to process and sort it all. It was a great time and I really praise God that I had the opportunity to go over with my parents...it was very special to experience it with them. I can't wait to get our film developed and relive the trip thru the photos.  I look forward to sitting down with some of you and sharing the photos and more stories. Thank you so much for your prayers  (for our safety & health) and your thoughts and emails to me (blessings to hear from you while I was over there) and for being so wonderful and reading all of these "journal" emails from me (I know I have the gift of gab and I wrote a lot during this trip! I hope I didn't bore you). This will be my last "group email" from this trip...I think email is such a blessing to stay connected like this...and it was a treat to "take you along" with me on my UK and Ireland travels.   I send my love! God's peace be with you! Slainte! (Cheers!) Lisa 

Last Day In London

Hello there my friends...this will be my last transmission to ya from these bonnie wee islands cuz tomorrow we fly out to go back to the States. It has been an absolutely fabulous time touring the UK and Ireland on holiday these past 5 weeks...and we are a bit emotional to leave.   Today mom and I got up early to hve our morning walk to Victoria Station to grab a coffee from Starbucks and a donut from a Krispy Kreme vendor (can you believe it!)....I will miss our morning walks on the streets of London.   We ventured out to Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey today. They are both in the same area of the city. The Cathedral is Roman Catholic (really beautiful sanctuary) and the Abbey is the famous Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal) church known for the coronations of the kings and queens and weddings and funerals of the royals. That was amazing to see tombs of past royalty (like Queen Elizabeth I, and King Henry the VII)...the stained glass windows were beautiful too!   We stood in the square near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at noon for the 2 minutes of silence that the UK and the European Union took in rememberance of those who died last week in the London terrorist bombings. It was a chilling experience to be in the midst of the city today at that moment...everyone and every car and bus and taxi and businesses all over the city...everything went full stop for 2 minutes. Big Ben chimed at noon and then no sounds were heard from anyone or anything at all for 2 minutes. It was all over the news in the papers and on the tv (and we were there in the middle of it!)   We also took a taxi today to go over to Shakespeares Globe Theatre. It's on the other side of the Thames from us and down quite a ways...so taking a taxi made it quicker in getting there. We were unable to go inside due to them preparing for a performance today...but we at least got to be there...and we walked across the Thames River  on the Millenium Bridge back to our side of the river to catch another taxi back to Victoria Station. It was a lovely day out and we enjoyed being in the city for our last day of our trip.   Tomorrow we'll take the tube back to Heathrow to catch our British Airways flight to Seattle. I want to thank you all for praying for us over the last 5 weeks of this amazing holiday. Oh...and I want to also thank you for praying for us regarding our health...we are all on the mend...in fact mom only has remnants of a cough but dad and I are doing fine. Thanks!   I'll let you know we're safe once I get back to Bremerton and have the chance to email. Bless you my friends. This has been such a great trip and I can't wait to show you photos and share more stories with you...it's going to take me awhile to process it all (thank God for my journal and for these cathartic emails!)   Until I'm Stateside. Please keep us in prayer as we fly. I send my love....Cheers! Lisa

Back in LONDON After Touring BATH and STONEHENGE

Hello my friends...   Yes, we are now back in London for our last leg of our adventures abroad....and we are at our B&B hotel near Victoria Station (the same one we stayed in when we first arrived). We set out today from Bath...it's been lovely (sunny and hot, roughly in the 80's! actually too hot and humid!) Upon arriving in the London area, we dropped off our rental car at Heathrow Airport by lunch time, so after getting a bite to eat we braved the London Underground Tube system once again. Having done this route before it was quite easy this time (we even gave help to another American traveling over here who couldn't figure out which station to stop at for Westminster Abbey...we're old pros now!). There was a bit more police presence and security officers about the stations than I recall...and the line that goes to Kings Cross station is not in service at all...but other than that things seem to be normal here (considering it was not quite a week ago that the bombings occured). We did read in the papers that they have identified the bombers ("home grown" Al Qaeda members here in Britain, living in Leeds...one was a teenager...made me think of a story line from our tv show "24") and they did confirm them as suicide bombers (the one on the bus was supposed to be on a train originally but had been rerouted due to the other bombings closing down the trains). They haven't confirmed that they are all dead yet though....and the death toll of victims keeps rising (I think it's in the 50's now) as they continue to uncover bodies (it's taking a long time cuz the tube tunnel collapsed in on the trains and they're having to dig it all out). But like I said...it seemed like business as usual on the trains...and we felt relaxed about our journey.   Oh, I forgot to tell you about yesterday...we traveled to see Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles. WOW! Let me just say...it has been a tremendous feeling to see these sights over here! We decided to actually pay the entry ticket price of £5.50 to see Stonehenge (most people I know who have seen it have just stood outside the fence to look at it, but we decided to go in). Well...and my parents being SENIORS (over 60) have gotten lots of reduded rates at various sites in the UK and Ireland...so we have tried to do as much as we can anyways. We got to listen to an audio commentary and learn all sorts of history as we walked around the stones (on a path). Amazing! The thing is over 5,000 years old (kind of like Newgrange and Knowth in Ireland) built by unknown peoples for unknown purposes. We found out that the Druids most likely DID NOT use Stonehenge for sacrificial practices (as we were originally led to believe)...I think modern day man has made up it's own pagan legends and myths. Anyways...they really don't know much about the stones other than what they are made of and that they were brought from faraway and placed there. At Avebury (another place with a stone circle) the stones are right in the town! So you can walk up to them and touch them! Incredible!   I really have enjoyed getting to see and learn about these ancient places...it's hard to describe being where you've only read about or heard about.   Last night we had dinner at an outdoor cafe in the center of a "piazza" near the Roman baths and Bath Abbey...the light was that golden hour lighting, and there were musicians playing in the courtyard (a flute, a guitar, a violin), and the pigeons were flocked about waiting to be fed...it was so picturesque...such a lovely evening.   Tonight we plan to go to the pub nearby and have dinner and a pint (I think I'll have the chicken curry). Tomorrow (Thursday) I think we'll set out for Westminster...we want to tour the Abbey if possible...and have another look at Big Ben and walk by the Thames for our last day in London.   And again...I thank you so much for praying for us as we've been traveling around these past 5 weeks...you are such a blessing to me and my parents. I send my love to you from London. Cheers, Lisa  

From IRELAND to WALES to ENGLAND: a story of flexibility and provision

Okay...sit right back and I tell you a tale, a tale of 3 Americans traveling abroad at the mercy of.....well, this is quite the story:   You were last aware of our time in Wexford, Ireland...so we could catch the ferry boat from Rosslare port to Pembroke, Wales. Let me just start by saying...BE FLEXIBLE when traveling outside the U.S.....if you RELAX, and take things as they come, and remember to laugh a lot...if you stop to breathe and say a prayer and give up any worries, concerns, time scedules, and personal agendas...you just might be able to truly ENJOY and see the blessings God has for you along the way...and you are guaranteed to have memories of places and people that will be with you always.   Sunday morning we ate our breakfast of Alpen cereal and toast before heading out to the ferry terminal by 7:30am. Our boat would be boarding at 8:10am....so we had plenty of time to sit and think over our wonderful week and a half in Ireland.   Customs: one thing I've noticed is that there really isn't any over here in the UK and Ireland (at least to what we've experienced so far). When we arrived in London...we went thru immigrations where they stamped our passports...but that was that. When we flew from Scotland to Ireland and arrived in Dublin...we went thru immigrations where they stamped our passports...but that was that. And when we took the ferry from Ireland to Wales...we didn't even go thru immigrations. It's been so easy to cross boarders over here. (even with the bombings!)   Anyways, so we got on the ferry...and it was a lovely crossing of the Irish Sea...but...the boat was a half hour late leaving Ireland so it was a half hour late docking in Wales. THIS began the wonderful adventure of "what do we do now?"   Our original plan was to take the ferry to Wales...catch a train (which was to our understanding very close by the ferry terminal) within an hour of arriving...and head to Cardiff....then catch a taxi to the airport (where we had only a 2 hour window of picking up our rental car there) and then drive to Bath, England to our B&B.   HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! What fun is in that? Our world got rocked when we docked at Pembroke. Now remember...it was SUNDAY (and typically over here most things are closed on Sundays)....the wee ferry terminal (and I'm talking WEE) had a wee tourist info counter (that by a miracle was actually open!) And there was a very nice lady there who talked to us. See...the reason we had to pick up our rental car all the way in Cardiff (which is a 2 hour drive by car and a 4 hour ride by train) was that there was NO other place with a car available on this particular Sunday in July (and remember...my mom reserved all these plans back in January and February!!!) We had no money...cuz we still only had Euros (from Ireland) and there wasn't a bank machine or exchange bureau at the ferry dock!!! The lady agreed to make some phone calls for us...we needed to get a taxi from the ferry dock to the train station (which was about a 10-15 minute drive). There were no taxis available at that time on a Sunday. *****breathe******she agreed to keep trying for us. We thought we could maybe walk to the train station...BUT it happened to be the HOTTEST day of the year over here  in the UK...it's like a whopping 80 degrees farhenheit!!! Hello!!! I should've packed shorts!!! I wasn't expecting this sort of weather!!! I've only been over here in the winter and autumn and springtime when it's cold and rainy!!! Anyways, but we decided not to walk due to the heat and we had our big back packs on our backs...and we were tired already...and because we were already late as it was from getting in with the ferry late...we knew we wouldn't make the train on time. The lady finally told us that there was a taxi that could come to us in about a half hour. So we sat and waited. This lady was BLESSING #1...she also gave up 50p if we needed to make a phone call elsewhere's since we had no cash on us. Then finally the taxi driver showed up to take us to the train station...we knew there would be a train coming again in about 3 hours. We could wait for that one...but it would get us in too late at Cardiff to get a taxi to get to the airport to pick up our rental car so we could drive to Bath.*****breathe*****Then mom had a brilliant idea...why not ask the taxi driver if we could hire him to drive us to Cardiff???????? Why not???? So we asked. And he said that he was booked thru 4:30pm...but he would try calling a few of his friends and see if any other taxi drivers would be willing to make the 2 hour drive with us. This was BLESSING #2....he called around while he dropped dad off at a bank machine real quick to get British Pounds out for cash. He then took us to the train station (we thought we could wait there till either this guy found someone to take us or he himself could take us after 4:30pm ....it was 2:00pm by now.) BUT the train station was only a wee building not set up for indoor waiting and there was no one there...and to top it off...this was in a really run down dodgy part of town...there were some young punks dressed in black and sporting mohawks and some young girls hardly dressed at all hanging out on the tracks...hmmmmmmmm*****breathe*****so here we sat on some steps in the sun waiting for a taxi driver that we hoped would show in couple of hours. BLESSING #3.....the taxi driver came back in 15 minutes and told us he found a guy who could drive us...but not till 3:15pm (in an hour) and if we wanted to wait in a nearby pub instead of the deserted train depot he would drop us off and we could at least have a pint as we wait it out. Thank God! So he dropped us off at a corner pub called "The Prince of Wales" and we sat down to cool off and have a laugh. BLESSING #4....the pub owner told my dad that he was actually closed (even though there were lots of people still drinking) cuz he planned to go to a BBQ cuz of the good weather, but after dad told him our story he announced to the pub..."we're staying open till quarter past 3 thanks to our new American friends!" and dad got us some beers and we sat and chatted with this guy and had a laugh in a Welsch pub on a hot summer day! BLESSING #5....And quarter past 3 in came the original taxi driver with the new taxi driver (he was making sure that we were going to be found and taken care of!!!) and off we went with Keith the Welsh taxi driver for a 2 hour drive to Cardiff, Wales. He too had postponed a BBQ that he had planned to be at...so he could take us to the airport in Cardiff on time to pick up our car!!! We had a wonderful banter in the car all the way there! and we did get to Cardiff in time to get our rental car BLESSING #6...and we set out on our way to Bath, England...making it to our B&B for a relaxing evening in front of the tele as we had some tea and went over the amazing events of our day. What could've been a complete disaster and a day of stress and even dangerous situations...turned out to be a deligtful adventure not only getting to see how God protected us and provided for us and blessed us...but we also had the opportunity to meet some wonderful Welsh people who were so friendly and fun and interesting!!! It was a memory of a lifetime!!! God is so good!!!   OHHHHH and Bath...oh my goodness this place absolutely oooooozes RELAXATION!!! We are in a wonderful B&B...the lady who runs it is sooooo nice and sweet. We are staying just down from the Royal Crescent...we took a tour bus nearby today and got the tour of the city (it is so beautiful!) I am loving being in the city that Jane Austin wrote about!!!! All her books come to life here!!! We visited the Roman Baths today too....WOW! Incredible!!! This city is lovely!!!   Tomorrow we head out to see Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles.   I probably won't email again till we make it to London Wednesday evening....we'll be staying at the same B&B we were at back when we first arrived in the UK (near Victoria Station) and there is free internet there.   I wanted to email you and tell you the incredible story of our travels yesterday....I give God all the glory for the whole thing...it was one of those days where you could step outside of yourself and look in on what was going on...and laugh and marvel. It was a hoot!!!!   Thank you all for your prayers we sure did feel them...especially sitting there at that abandoned dodgy train stop waiting in the hot sun not knowing what was going to happen next. We sat there and prayed...and then we laughed and took photos. One for the history books!!   Love you! Cheers, Lisa

Last Day In Ireland

Hello there my friends....It is sunny and hot here in Wexford, Ireland. It's a lovely day! Wish you could be here to walk with me by the sea.   We set out yesterday from Kinsale and spent the day driving to Wexford. We are here thru tomorrow morning (we will set sail on an Irish Ferry for Pembroke, Wales).   We had a great day yesterday viewing the beautiful Irish scenery...I can't believe how many castles and ruins you can spot off the road...this place is amazing! We'd be driving along and then you look off in the distance or you come round a corner and "oh look, another castle!" My dad has enjoyed driving the wee winding roads in the country (although, it has also been quite a test of patience when dealing with road signs and directions in the cities).   We are still dealing with our colds...dad seems to be on the otherside though and healing up. I think I'm getting there soon...mom although, is still very much in the midst of it. We're all troopers and doing our best to keep up our spirits. Thank you all for your continued prayers for our health. We pop into the chemist (pharmacy) occasionally to replenish our medicines and cough drops. And we seem to be eating a bit more healthy here in Ireland (trying to eat more salad) compared to Scotland (all those fried Mars bars!!!). You know how holidays can be...   We had planned to go to the Waterford Crystal Factory in Waterford....BUT we decided not to go due to "The Tall Ships" being docked there (I guess there are several old sailing ships that tour around the world)....the town is packed with tourists from all over and we were actually detoured around the city. So instead, we decided against fighting the traffic and the crowds and today we are enjoying a bit of leisurely shopping in Wexford (where one can find Waterford Crystal in several of the shops anyways).   One thing I've learned on this trip...BE FLEXIBLE...we just can't possibly do everything we'd like to do in the time we have...and I KNOW in my heart there will be more trips over here...so being flexible and willing to compromise on stuff has been a good thing...it leaves stuff to come back and see next time!!!   A wee update on the terrorist bombings in London...I think the death toll is up to 49 (and counting) and they are still finding people trapped in the tunnels (they're still hard at work trying to clear it all up). My understanding is that the underground tube system is up and running in most parts (except at Kings Cross) and that the buses are running normally too. They said that a great deal of people chose to stay home yesterday and so for a Friday the streets of London were unusually quiet. But again...the stance I hear Tony Blair taking is that they won't let this scare them or ruin them, that people need to get on with life and business, and they will do all they can to find the perpetrators. Right now they are still looking into the Al Qaeda angle. I don't think it is a coincidence that the bombers chose the day of the G8 summit to make their statement.   Things should be fine regarding our transportation by the time we get back to London...but it will be interesting to see London after this tragedy. Please keep people in your prayers.   Oh...and to update you about our day tomorrow...we leave Ireland around 8:30am and should arrive at Pembroke Wales around noon and we plan to catch a train (a lovely 4 hour tour...it'll be great to see the countryside of Wales by train) into Cardiff Central where we can pick up a taxi to the airport in order to pick up our rental car...then we'll drive into England and get to our B&B in Bath. It will be a long day...so please pray for us.   We plan to see the city of Bath on Monday...then Tuesday we hope to set out to explore Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles. And the Wednesday we drive to London.   One last quick little impression of Ireland...this country has been lovely and has really dug deep into our hearts. You guys know that I've always wanted to come....and I was soooooo close when I lived in Scotland! It has been a wonderful blessing to actually be here. The people have been so friendly, kind, and helpful...and we've enjoyed talking with the various characters that God has allowed to cross our paths. My mom got teary eyed last night as we walked to the pub we were to eat dinner at. I know what's she's feeling...I too have cried those tears. She has had a blast here in Ireland and she has made memories that will last her lifetime. We tease her that she is a wee Irish leprechaun that's come home. And you know...that's what the folk here have really said when they talk with her "you've come home". This place has been magical and special...with it's vibrant greens, it's lively music, it's historical ruins, and it's heartfelt people. I can't wait to show you photos (my goodness I've gone mental with taking pictures! it's gone beyond ridiculous!) I'm so blessed that God has allowed me to come to Ireland...but also that I could come with my parents and share in this special experience with them. God is good!   I send my love and I'll email as soon as I can once again. Bless you! Slainte! Lisa 

The Day After: We head to Wexford

Hello...thank you all for your emails and prayers. We watched the news this morning on the tele regarding how it is in London right now...and looks like the tube is up and running once again (except for Kings Cross station) as normal, and the buses are going as usual too. Those in London are trying to go about business and life as usual despite the bombings yesterday (the British are a resiliant people). I think the death toll is 33 right now and 17 critically injured and hundreds more injured in some way or another. They are still investigating at the bomb sites as to if it was suicide bombers or not. And they haven't confirmed if it really was Al Queda terrorists...all they have to go by right now is a claim on a website known for Al Queda Gihad in Britian.   Hopefully by the time we get to London next week Wednesday it will be all sorted...we praise God that our trip plans had us over here in Ireland right now. Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our travels...we sooooooo appreciate them!!!   We head to Wexford, Ireland today...this will be our final stop before leaving Ireland. I'm not sure if we'll do the Waterford Crystal factory today or tomorrow (Saturday)....but we leave early Sunday morning on a ferry from Rosslare to Pembroke Wales. Then we'll need to get transport to Cardiff (which is quite some ways away) in order to pick up our rental car. Then we'll drive to Bath, England (all that on Sunday!)   Yesterday amidst the terrible tragedy of the terrorist bombings in London...we enjoyed a leisurely day at Blarney Castle...and climbed all the way to the top to kiss the Blarney Stone. It was a great deal of fun...and quite the thrill being hoisted over the side of the castle head first to reach down and kiss a stone (that probably millions of others have kissed) in order to receive "the gift of eloquence"...or what the Irish call "the gift of gab". Ha! I think I already have that, doncha think?!!! We got our pictures taken and an official certificate stating we did it!   Again, I don't know what the email situation will be from here....but I will try my best to keep in contact as we go. I send my love. Cheers, Lisa 

TERRORIST BOMBINGS IN LONDON TODAY

Hey there my friends...I slipped into an internet cafe here in Blarney, Ireland to let you know that we are okay (since we're in Ireland and not London right now).   Yes...there were 4 or 5 terrorist bombings this morning (Thursday the 7th between 8:30am and 9am) in London. They targeted a few of the tube underground stations (bombs on the trains trapping people), and then they hit the main power station of the tube completely halting all underground transportation, and then they bombed a double decker bus (blowing its roof off completely and sending people flying). Currently (it's 3:31pm) London is in a chaotic emergency mess...they are still sorting things out (they don't know how many casualties and deaths there are yet). President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair (having been at the G8 summit in Edinburgh) made statements on Sky TV Live today.   We heard bits here and there passing pubs today...and finally stepped into watch some live footage on Sky TV (kind of like their CNN). The news said they are scheduled for some major city events this week (parades and the Queen doing something near Buckingham Palace, etc.) and they will continue as planned (so the news says as of right now).   I wanted to send out a quick email to let you know what we've heard.   We aren't due in London till next week Wednesday thru Friday. We fly out on Friday the 15th from Heathrow to Seattle. Our B&B will be the same one we stayed at when we arrived in London (it is near the Victoria Station Underground). We will be driving into London and dropping our rental car off at the airport and then go to our B&B (supposed to take the tube back to our B&B from the airport and then back again when we need to fly out). So alternate transportation will need to be sought when we arrive in London, I'm sure. Please pray for us for our final week being over here...and our time in London....thanks.   Please pray for what's happening in London. The news is saying it was Al Queda attacks. I love you guys...Lisa    

The Burrens and the Ring of Kerry

Hiya! I know it's been a few days since I had chance to email...we are in Kinsale, Ireland right now...it's in the south near the water (if you have a map to look at you can see that it's close to Cork)....this is a lovely little artist town (tiny streets that meader with colorful buildings full of shops, galleries and pubs...and I'm talking tiny...really they only have room for pedestrians, but somehow the Irish seem to be able to park cars on them and drive up them really fast). We are staying in a B&B called "The Gallery" and it's run by an eccentric couple (Tom & Carol O'Hara) he is a famous jazz musician and she is a painter. The decor of the place is sort of that 1920's 1930's avant garde style inside. Carol is wonderful...being artists, we've had a grand time chatting about painting and she is very talented. Today we set off to see the Blarney Castle and to kiss the Blarney Stone!   But let me back up a bit...I should fill you in on the past few days since I last wrote.   Monday night we went to a pub in Galway that has live traditional Irish music playing every night. Okay...can I just say that this was one of those moments where I needed someone to pinch me cuz it seemed like I was in a dream of a movie or something...it was so cool! The pub was packed with revelers drinking Guinness as the 3 men in the corner played their reels and jigs (an accordian player, a banjo player, and a bodhran drum player). We made our way to the bar (being little as we are...my mum and me had no problem getting a place to stand where we could see, people were really nice to move for us). We ordered our beers and the 3 of us enjoyed a night of hand clapping, toe tapping, and grinning ear to ear fun. There was one guy who would shush everyone so someone could sing a solo ballad....there were a couple of older women who would get up and dance a jig and sing while we all watched...lots of people hoopin it up....and the people just kept coming in (we were like sardines in there)...at one time my mum says to me "there are so many shapes and sizes Lisa you can just have yer pick!" Ha! My mum...trying to get me set up with an Irish bloque...now wouldn't that be nice!!! Ha! Anyways, we had so much fun...I've never seen my mom tipsy...and I don't know if she was or not...but she sure was having fun and laughing!   On Tuesday we set out from Galway and drove the Burren (wow that's a beautiful mountainous area) to the Cliffs of Moher. OH MY GOODNESS! I've seen pictures and postcards of these cliffs before...but to actually be there lookin at them in person was breathtaking! I've said before that everything seems to have a green tint here...it's so true...the greens here are so vibrant and rich!   We kept driving, past thru a wee town known for it's "Matchmaking Festival"...do you remember the movie called "The Matchmaker" starring Genine Garafalo set in Ireland? There is a real town known for it's annual matchmaking festival...I'm told that it's just an excuse for all the old men in the town to get drunk. But...they made a movie about it!   We continued on thru Limirick, which is an industrial town (also known for the movie "Angela's Ashes") and past to a wee town (I don't even remember it's name) where we stayed the night in a brand new B&B that just opened this last February...it's NICE! The couple who run it are my age and they were so cool! The lady made us dinner!!! And then sat with my mom and I for a cup a tea and a chat while she helped us do our laundry. She showed us her wedding pictures (her and her husband got married only 4 weeks ago!) and talked to us about being Catholic (and siding with the IRA in political views) in Ireland...yes, you heard right...we talked religion & politics! Ya know...if you take the time to get to know people and be polite and be yourself and ask them questions and take the time to really want to know them, they'll be open to talking about even the subjects people try to stay away from! We had a real grand time!!! She let us watch dvd's and drink wine and eat chocolate...and in the morning she made us pancakes! WOW! I really liked her...and our stay there was very personable.   Yesterday we set out and drove southwest to Dingle. That is a lovely seaside town. We got to drive thru a mountain pass (where I got out and climbed some large rocks for a bit). We did a bit of driving thru the Ring of Kerry...but not much...we headed to Killarney and went to the Ross Castle (an old 14th century Irish castle) where we took a tour inside. We ended up in Kinsale last night and we're here thru tomorrow morning.   As I said, today we plan to go to Blarney Castle....tomorrow we set out thru Cork and over to Waterford (to see the Crystal factory) and then on to Wexford where we'll stay thru Sunday morning. Sunday we set sail on a ferry to head for Wales...and our last week of our journey abroad.   I'm at a wee internet place here in Kinsale right now....don't know when I'll get my next chance to email but I wanted to get this out to you and let you know how things are going. Thank you all for your prayers and your encouraging emails.   PLEASE PRAY for us regarding health....all 3 of us have been battling colds since we arrived in Ireland. Our spirits are up...but dealing with soar throats, hacking coughs, congested chests....actually has been wearing us out. Well...I honestly think it's partly because of the pace we are keeping on this holiday (practically a different place each day, with walking, hiking, driving, etc.)...and the amount of different places we're staying at (different smells, different pollens, molds, weather, etc.) that is wearing us out. We will need a holiday from our holiday when we all get back!!! BUT we are having a blast! We are trying to remind ourselves that we can't possibly do everything there is to do...and we are trying to be flexible and pay attention when we're tired or not feeling well. We appreciate your prayers for healing.   Bless you! I send love from this wee green isle! Cheers, Lisa

A Trip Around The Connemarra

Hello...Happy 4th of July to you all in America! Here in Ireland we set out early this morning on a coach (tour bus) that took us all around the Connemarra (which is a region north of Galway). This gave my dad a bit of a break from doing the driving. It was a lovely sunny day today. We got to see the peat bogs where they harvest the peat for fuel. We got to see loads and loads of rock walls that the farmers build without any morter of mud...it's quite an art to build them...then if they want to move their animals from one field to another they just knock down part of the wall...let them thru...then rebuild the wall again. As we drove thru the boggy areas the bus driver told us that these areas were home to many Irish who died in the potato famine in the 1840's. It's no wonder...the land is so incredibly desolate...and any and all produce and meat was being shipped to England at that time. We stopped at Kylemore Abby for lunch (it's a real working abby in the Connemarra mountains). We also saw scraggly long haired sheep out in the fields...they make me laugh...as the big bus is driving along the one lane road there are the sheep trying to get across the road. It's now 6pm and we're back in Galway...I think we're going to go to a pub tonight that has live traditional Irish music. Tomorrow we take off heading thru the Burren to the Cliffs of Moher and then over to Limirick for the night. I'm emailing from an internet cafe tonight...don't know when I'll get the chance to email next...but I wanted to quickly send one out to you. Someone asked how I have the time to email out while I'm on holiday like this...well, let me just say...YOU GUYS ARE WORTH IT! I enjoy staying in contact...and it's sort of a cartharsis for me. So as long as I have the opportunities...I will keep typing! Please keep praying for us as we travel...we have been fighting colds since we got to Ireland...but our spirits are up and we're having fun despite the soar throats and coughing. Bless you! I love you guys! Cheers, Lisa

Made it to Galway

Hello...I must make this quick, the B&B we are at in Galway doesn't actually have public internet access...but the people are really nice and have allowed me to use their personal computer to send out an email (the Irish are so nice!).   Today we set out from Trim and headed up to Cavan (where my mom's ancestors are from...the McCabes). We actually found a lady by the name of Eoffa McCabe who runs a flower shop...she is 26 years old with red hair  and she normally doesn't open the shop on Sundays...but she had extra work to do because this weekend is sort of their Memorial Day Weekend (and it's also the memorial of the Battle of Trafalgar in Britain) and she was overrun with flower orders for funerals and memorials. So that was an act of God for her to be open. We had the chance to chat with her and she was very friendly and it was like connecting with family (a real live Irish McCabe!)...in a way....well, the closest we'll get I'm sure to connecting with family. She gave us free flowers and we took pictures with her. It was one of those moments that really blessed my mom. That was so cool!   Then we set out to Clonmacnoise...an old monastery by the River Shannon. OH my goodness it was beautiful! It was raining pretty hard today...so we got a good taste of the Irish weather...but the celtic high crosses, the church ruins, and the old gravesights were incredible! The place was built in the 10th century!!! I got some great photos! It was so cool!   Now we are in Galway...a pretty major city on the west coast. We plan to go to the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow (I think). But first we need to go find a pub for some grub. It's been a lovely day. I just wanted to send this out real quick and let you know we made it to the west side.   Cheers my friends! Lisa

Frolicking Through the Hills of Ireland

Today we set out for Glendalough...which means "valley of 2 lakes" in Irish Gaelic. It is set in County Wicklow. Emmmmmm....so we set out by car, driving the winding tiny roads past farmhouses and pastures of sheep...to the Wicklow mountains (which is a bit south of the Dublin area). Incredible beauty! Vibrant greens of the hills speckled with purple thistles and heather. We stopped a couple of times alongside the road to frolick on the hills...what an incredible feeling to go hiking out on the heather and the moss and the peat and over old rocks. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. We made it to Glendalough by lunchtime. We sat and ate our sandwiches and crisps before heading into the visitor center. There we got a tour around the site. It was a sort of monastic abbey started by St. Kevin around the 10th century. There was an incredible graveyard with old celtic crosses, a tall round tower (used for various things like defense and such), and the ruins of a cathedral and a wee church...which is all set in a valley near a river...and near a couple of lakes. I was in photography heaven! I sure hope my film turns out...I've been trying to get some great photos of archways, celtic crosses, gravestones, windows, and rock walls. Here's a bit of a sidenote...this place is a favorite place for friends (Rod & Theresa who used to live in Dublin...but now are in Boise) and before I made my trip to Scotland in 2001 (for the 9 month stay) they commissioned me to do a 30x40 oil painting of the area of Glendalough for them (it is currently hanging in their living room in Boise). Sooooooooo....today I actually got to stand where I had painted!!! It was quite a surreal feeling....like I was walking into my painting. I was speechless. It was quite a blessing from God. On our way back to Trim as we drove thru the mountains again we stopped alongside the road to again go hiking out upon the heather...and I found a flowing river that was like a continuous waterfall down the valley...and of course, me being the adventurous explorere who has to touch and feel and be IN it...I set out climbing the huge rocks and out into the middle of this waterfall in the middle of this valley in the mountains in the middle of Ireland! WOW! I can't even adequately describe to you how that felt to be out there in the midst of Irish nature as the clouds hung over the mountains like a mist and the cool breezes blew my red hair while I stood on a rock in the middle of a flowing river that cascaded down a valley over huge rocks in the middle of the peat and heather! I breathed it in...and I share it with you. It was wonderful! God is so good!   After all that wonderful communing with nature we drove to the town of Naas and went shopping! I bought the recently released special U2 greatest hits from 1990-2000 2 cd with a dvd set for only €13.99 (that's about $17). This week is the LIVE 8 concerts held around the world (and the main one being held in London's Hyde Park today) "making poverty history" protesting and trying to be a voice of the poor in Africa for the G8 conference in Edinburgh next week (the 8 major countries dealing with trade issues). This is history being made. And the Live 8 is supposed to be larger than the Live Aid held in the 80's for Ethiopia. We saw protest marches in Dublin Thursday...and the tele has had several kinds of advertisements about it. I bought a paper today so I have some sort of record of what's going on over here. I also bought a paper that is printed in Irish Gaelic.   Speaking of Irish Gaelic (which is similiar to Scottish Gaelic from what I understand)...they print it first above English on road signs and street signs and shop signs. It's very much a spoken language here. In fact we were watching a channel last night on the tele that was entirely Gaelic. It makes driving quite interesting...as yer flying by at incredibly fast speeds on tiny roads that wind with trees and bushes hanging over...and then a sign pops out of nowhere (that is quite small and perhaps hidden in the bushes) and you have to quickly try to read the words to figure out if you're going in the right direction. Oh...fun!!!   We haven't hit any sheep...but we have encountered a few stragglers on the sides of the road...quite exciting actually.   Anyways, that's today. Tomorrow we head up to the County Cavan (this is the main region that my mom's side of the family...The McCabe's...come from) we just want to explore and see the countryside and perhaps stop and gab with a few locals. Then it's on to Galway on the west coast. We'll be there a couple of days. We'll drive through the Burrens and over to the Cliffs of Moher. Then it'll be on to Limirick for a night...and then on down to the Ring of Kerry and over to Blarney and staying in Kilarney...and then over to Waterford and staying in Wexford. We will be in Ireland till the early morning of Sunday the 10th when we catch our ferry to Wales...and then we travel to Bath (where we'll for a bit) and then on to London again.   I don't know what the email situation will be like from here on out in Ireland...I've been really blessed so far....but I don't know from one place to another if I'll have the chance to email...so I just wanna let you know. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you!   Until the next time...I send my love....Slainte!

A Day of Exploring Things of Old

Okay...can I just say...OH MY GOODNESS! Today has been incredibly amazing as we have been out and about exploring things of old here in Ireland.   Today we got to see the ruins of Trim Castle...which is just a couple minute walk from our B&B. This castle was built in the 16th century. And it was used in the film "Braveheart". Incredible ruins to walk thru...beautiful!   We did some shopping in Trim (on a whim we popped into a wee kind of everything shop run by a real friendly old Irish man who had the gift of gab...we chatted with him for awhile and we got some great deals on some stuff and then had our pictures taken with him...it was one of those moments when you were just really warmed inside knowing that you've connected with one of the locals).   We set out in the afternoon driving to the ancient round burial grounds of Knowth and NewGrange. Dad is enjoying driving in Ireland...he seems to have a handle on zipping really fast on the 2 lane roads that curve and meander thru sleepy country villages and past pastures of sheep.   Like I said we got to explore the ancient round burial grounds of Knowth and NewGrange. They were made 5000 years ago in the Neolithic period by peoples unknown...they are huge round stone tombs that are covered with earth. They are surrounded by standing stones that have beautiful pattern carvings on them (we all seem to attribute the carvings to celtic or druidic designs...but actually they were made even before those peoples). It was so....breathtaking to be standing inside these ancient tombs touching these ancient rocks...I just don't even have appropriate words to describe how I felt today. WOW! They think the tombs might have been used to bury the dead, or to do some sort of ceremony around death...they also think they may have been used as some sort of special sun worship place (Newgrange has a very accurate chamber where on the Winter Solstice the sunlight shines thru a hole that lights up the center chamber (kind of like in Indiana Jones!). There's lots of theories...no one really knows. The artwork on the stones are amazing and I just...well, how do I describe it...I loved it!It's just so incredible to think about what we experienced today.   After, we had dinner at a pub in the town of Navan on the way back to Trim...tomorrow we'll set out south to explore Glendalough. More emailing to come!   Ireland is so cool! Can you see the huge grin on my face after such a day as this?!!! Bless you my friends...I send my love to you. Cheers, Lisa

An Absolutely Amazing Day In Dublin!

Hiya! Today was fantastic! We headed out to Dublin by the Bus Eirann (sort of like a Greyhound bus...except it has an Irish setter on it)...it took about an hour...got to see lovely countryside along the way. We went to the main post office on O Connell Street to ship some boxes...it was a much easier process than what we experienced in Glasgow (only took 15 minutes as opposed to 2 hours waiting in a queue...that's a line by the way). We then picked up the city tour bus (our tickets were good for 24 hours) and got dropped off at Trinity College.   WOW! Can I just say it was so amazing to be walking the grounds of such a prestigious and historical college (it was set into being by Queen Elizabeth...that's the first by the way). We headed to the old library where they have The Book of Kells displayed. Again...let me say WOW! I don't have words to describe what it felt like to view some of the original pages of those manuscripts. The Book of Kells was created by Columban monks on the remote Scottish isle of Iona in the 560's...the pages are intricately made (colorful celtic drawings cover the pages on vellum). It was fantastic to see! THEN we got to stroll thru the halls of archival books...OH MY GOODNESS! rows and rows and rows and floors of old old old old books. AND we got to see the "declaration of independance" for the Republic of Ireland...along with the oldest harp in Ireland. I was at a loss for words as I viewed this stuff.   After we gathered ourselves we walked thru the streets and over to the Guinness Brewery. We got to go thru an exhibit that showed how they make the ale...and THEN we got to have a free pint of the dark stout up in the Gravity Bar at the top of the building (it overlooks the city...spectacular panaramic view of Dublin). That was amazing...to be drinking a pint of Guinness (for free) in Dublin...OH YEAH! The bartender even made a little shamrock on the head of my pint as he poured it. How cool!!   We took a taxi to the Temple Bar district where we found ourselves (at 6pm) in the midst of revelers and street performers. We went into the famous Temple Bar pub and had a pint of Harp (it's a lager) and sat and listened to traditional Irish music being played live. I'm telling you...being Irish, this is like heaven here! My mom was had tears in her eyes as we shared our pint and clapped along with the pub songs. I can honestly say that if we were to do nothing else...it was worth it to be here with my mom sharing these memories like this.   We caught our bus back to Trim at 8:30pm and now we're back at our B&B. It was an absolutely amazing day in Dublin...one to remember for a lifetime!   Tomorrow we will explore the castle ruins of Trim Castle and then head up by car to Cavan. Until my next email...Slainte!!! (that means cheers!)Lisa 

Ahhhhh It's a Lovely Day in Ireland

Good morning to you! Ahhhhhhh it's a lovely day in Ireland....can you smell that fresh air?! Wow! I can hear the birds singing outside and I know it's going to be a wonderful day. We've just had our breakfast here at our B&B in Trim...it's Thursday morning and we're going to be taking a bus into Dublin for a day of trekin about the city.   Yesterday I was emailing from the EasyEverything Internet Cafe in Dublin...it cost 1 Euro and 30cents to email for an hour (that's roughly $1.50...so much cheaper than in Glasgow). We took the tour bus around the city so we could learn the history and get a feel for it and where things were. I'm still in amazement that I'm actually here. I already see some differences of Ireland from the UK...there seems to be more building made of brick here, where in the UK they were mostly made of stone). The River Liffey is quite green looking...I'm serious! Everything here has a tint of the green. It was raining yesterday when we arrived but by afternoon it had cleared up and was sunny and quite warm. This morning when I woke it was quite foggy out...but it's already dissapated and is clearing up for a good day (it's 9:40am here on Thursday).   We did a lot of shopping yesterday afternoon...it's a whole new world of souvenirs out there!   Our B&B is lovely. It's a large stone house that has beautiful gardens and flowers all around. Our room is on the 1st floor (in the U.S. we would call it the 2nd floor, but over here they call our 1st floors...ground floor). We can see the ruins of Castle Trim, a river, a stone bridge, and some other stone ruins all from our window! It's so picturesque! So far I would say that this place is the "poshest" place we've stayed in. Oh...and I can email free here from the B&B...so it will be much easier this week for me to get updates out to you.   Last night we had dinner (chicken curry...one of my favorites) at the Castle Arch Hotel restaurant in Trim...it was great to sit and relax after a day of getting up at 3:45am and flying and then gallavanting around the city centre.   Today we hope to visit Trinity College and see the Book of Kells exhibit. Then we plan to go to a geneological history place so mom can maybe do a wee bit of searching on our family ancestory (her maiden name was McCabe...very Irish! We know the McCabes were from Dublin & Cavan counties...and mom has some names to look up...so it could be fun). Then we plan to go to the Guiness brewery and have a pint of the REAL stuff! Later we'll head to Temple Bar and have a meal....that's the plan at least. We'll see what we get ourselves into. Ha!   Tomorrow we will explore Castle Trim nearby (it's apparently the castle that was filmed in the movie "Braveheart") and then drive up to Cavan to see the town and countryside. Saturday we plan to travel a bit south of Dublin to explore Glendalough (with it's round tower and beautiful scenery...I painted a painting for Rod & Theresa who used to live in Ireland...they say Glendalough was one of their favorite spots to go to).   Since I have free internet here I will try to email each day after we have had our adventures so I can keep you updated on how things are going. Until the next email...   We're having a blast! Thank you for your prayers...and for reading these blogs. I appreciate your friendship and I'm taking you along with me.   Cheers! Lisa

I'M IN IRELAND!

It's amazing! I'm now in the EMERALD ISLE of Ireland! I'm emailing from an internet cafe near O'Connell Street Bridge. We flew on Ryan Air into Dublin early this morning from Prestwick airport in Scotland (got up at 3:45am) we arrived in Dublin at 7:40am after going thru a very nonexistant customs procedure (by the way, I haven't had my bags searched or me searched YET on this trip!) and we caught a bus into the city centre. It's so surreal to be here after all these years dreaming of coming! I'm sitting here looking out the window at the River Liffey. We're one block away from Temple Bar (I'm going to go have a pint!) and we're just down the street from Trinity College (where the Book of Kells is displayed). We're going to take a tour bus around the city today (to see the sights and learn the history) and I think tomorrow we'll come in again to spend time at various places that we want to go. So later today after the tour we will make our way back to the airport to pick up our rental car so we can drive to Trim (where we will be staying in a B&B for the next 4 nights). We'll be using that as a base and coming into Dublin and surrounding areas over the next few days. I will try to email as much as I can to keep you updated on our adventures.   Would you believe everything seems to have a hint of green here!!! I'm serious!! It's true! Anyways, I just wanted to let you know we arrived safely. Thank you for your prayers! Erin Go Bragh! Cheers, Lisa

Saying Goodbye To Glasgow

Hiya! Okay...I'm back at the internet cafe in the city centre of Glasgow. I'm trying to email any chance I get. So here I am for £2 (roughly $3.50) I can email for an hour...   Last night was brilliant! We went out to the Hurlet house (where Jake & Cherry, the pastors of the church here in Glasgow live) for a wee BBQ (hamburgers, crisps, and Irn Bru...which is a Scottish orange colored soda pop that tastes a bit like bubble gum, and ice cream) and we had a tour around the place (it's a huge estate with lots of acreage and it used to belong to a Seventh Day Adventist Bible College...and was also the estate for the Earl of Glasgow many many years ago). They've done a lot of work on it (it's a rather large place)...lots more to do...but looking good so far (it is the current place for the Harvest Ministry College). It was nice to spend a bit of time with them and Jake teased me a lot (I had forgotten how he can be...so you put him and my dad together and I was the butt of their jokes!! oh my goodness!!! lots of laughs)...we were later joined by Mark & Brenda (Mark had been in the college with me) for tea and biscuits back at Maggie's place where we're staying at...which turned into a wonderful time of prayer and ministry (I've missed how Glaswegians pray...we were up till 1am!!!). I've had such a great time here in Glasgow with old friends it's sad to see my time ending here.   Today we came into city centre on the train (the train is my favorite way to travel on public transport...I'm going to miss it!) and we walked to Sauchihall Street from Buchanan Street (still in the main shopping district) to meet Alistair and his wife Liza for coffee (Alistair was in the college with me). It was wonderful to sit and chat and to meet Liza (she is lovely! and she's an artist!) Again, I've been so blessed to see people and to spend time with them here.   Sidenote: I just bought some bracelets (the colored ones that are sort of made of rubber) from the 2 football teams here in Glasgow. Football (soccer) is quite big here. In Glasgow they have 2 teams (The Rangers, who are mostly supported by the Protestants who can be a bit more slanted towards the English...and The Celtics, who are mostly supported by the Catholics who can be a bit more slanted towards the Irish) rivalry is can  be quite violent and dangerous in the city during games (don't wear the wrong color into the wrong part of the city or to the opposing teams pubs!) It's a way of life here we just don't really understand in America...it's quite serious at times...they take their sport very serious. Anyways, I just went into the sport shops for the teams and bought some bracelets (supporting both sides).   Emmmmmm.....my time back here in Glasgow...I've got all sorts of thoughts and feelings I'll need to process thru and debrief when I return back home to Boise...I've missed this place and these people...and I'm so glad I had the chance and opportunity to come back to visit. Holidays never seem to be long enough when it comes to relationships...but I must say that I've been so blessed. Being back here...in ways I still feel so comfortable in Glasgow, like I could step right back into my life here very easily...and yet, life is so very different now...things have changed, people have changed, I've changed, circumstances have changed...and I know that being in Boise is where I'm supposed to be right now...it's my home and God has a plan...but even so, It's good to know deep down that I still have wonderful friends here...no matter where I go, what I do...God breaks down cultural barriers and time and distance. I've been very blessed.   Tomorrow we will take off for Prestwick (a bit southwest of Glasgow) near the airport. We'll be staying over night because early Wednesday morning we're flying out to Dublin Ireland on Ryan Air to start the next leg of our trip. I'm a bit torn in my emotions as I look to leaving Glasgow and Scotland behind...but I believe deep in my heart that I'll be back (don't know when or how or whatever...but I know I will).   By the way...I think I'm going to go thru tea withdrawals when I get back to the States...I'm back into the habit of drinking loads of cups of tea all day long!   Oh and before I forget...all of you who have been over here to Glasgow or who have met people or know people from here...they all say HIYA! and send a cuddle to you!   Thank you for your prayers. Please pray that my parents and I will be under the weight limit for the flight to Dublin...I'm told that Ryan Air only allows 20 pounds...and if yer over they charge you very high fines. We will be shipping boxes of our souvenirs back to the States tomorrow in hopes of reducing the weight.   I'll email from Ireland as soon as I can. I send cuddles!  Cheers, Lisa

Back From My Trek In The Highlands

Hello there my friends...well, I'm back in Glasgow after a 4 day trek in the Scottish highlands. What a greaaaaaaaaaaaat time! I will try to recap our adventures here...so much took place...but let me see if I can tell ya some highlight stories.   Tuesday night we got to have coffee with some friends at the Bean Scene coffeehouse just up the street from where we're staying here in Boise. I met up with Carrie McGavin (a friend from the church here) and Rose & Joe Daley. Rose was the leader of the Harvest Ministry College and one of the leaders in the church here, when I lived in Glasgow. She got married whilst I have been away in Boise...so it was cool to meet her husband Joe (a wonderful man) and to catch up on stuff with her.  We had a great time till around 11pm (still quite light out by the way...it's been summer soltice and being as that Scotland is so north...it doesn't get very dark here in the summer).   Wednesday my parents and I headed out for the highlands. My dad has been doing great driving...think about it: driving on the opposite side of the road, different signs and laws...it's quite a task and he's been doing wonderfully.   Anyways, so we headed up north....past Loch Lomond (remember the song: you take the high road and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before yee...where me and my true love will never meet again...on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond)....ahhhhhhhh. Beautiful! We stopped in Luss for tea and had a look around the wee houses near the loch. Then we continued up thru Glen Coe (glen means 'valley')...a historical clan massacre took place there between the Campbells and the MacDonalds a few hundred years ago. It's a beautiful place full of green mountains, watefalls, rivers, and wildlife. We stopped and frolicked in the heather a bit.   We kept going up north to Loch Ness! We stopped at Urguahart Castle (really cool castle ruins...built in the 1200's) and also at the Loch Ness Monster exhibit (very interesting). By the way...I do believe I saw the great reptilian water beast peeking it's head up out of the deep blue Scottish water...only a wee bit...it was just a bit...and then it popped back down again. But then again, it could've been a log, or just a shadow...I don't know. I like to believe I saw it. Yeah....I did. I saw Nessie.   We continued north up to Inverness (claimed to be the capitol of the highlands). This is where we stayed for 2 nights. It's a beautiful city. Our B&B was right near the Inverness castle. The next day we set out again and traveled west to Eilean Donan Castle (it was in the beginning of the original movie 'The Highlander'...."there can be only one!")...it's a real well known castle...great photos! I had gone there when I was last in Scotland and it was great to be back...it's one of my favorite castles. And then...we traveled across the bridge to the Isle of Skye! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my goodness! I love that Isle!   Last time I was in Scotland I got the surprise of going over the bridge to Skye (but just across)...this time we got drive the entirety of the Isle. WOW! The rugged highland beauty of the green, the hills, the heather, the water, the waterfalls and rivers, and the ruins. We traveled to the Castle Dunvegan, the MacLeod Castle...where the 29th Clan chief resides (by the way...my ancestors on my moms side were the Irish McCabes and they came up to Scotland and served under the Clan MacLeod as the royal guards for the chief (at that time) and so in a way we like to think that we lay claim to the Castle also!) we got to see the famous Fairy Flag that brings good luck and the bulls horn used still today for initiation ceremonies of the chief to drink from. After viewing the castle we drove more...and we got to explore the wilderness.   We found a historic BROCH (which is gaelic for 'watchtower') that was built before the time of Christ by unknown peoples, perhaps the Picts...we hiked out on a bog to get to it and then climbed up the ruins. It was so cool frolicking in the highlands, walking on the heather and it's hard to explain how it felt to be touching rocks that were so old. I was in heaven! I remember having a similiar discovery when I was on the Isle of Tiree (a wee isle also in the Hebrides) when I was living here before (the college went to Tiree for a week and some of us went out hiking in search of the broch...which I later painted paintings of it). Then we also stopped at another spot along the way where I went for a walk near a rock bridge that was over a river...I got to frolick a bit more...I climbed down onto the rocks (you know me...I gotta get in there and really experience things and touch them). Skye is so far my favorite experience.   We went back to Inverness for the night...and then on Friday we went to the famous site of the battle of Culloden (a battle fought in 1746 between the English Government armies and the Highland Clan Jacobites led by Bonnie Prince Charlie) ever since I was in highschool (where I took a class about war...and we watched a short film documentary on the battle of Culloden) I have wanted to come to Scotland to see that place. Finally. We found where our clan stood to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie (who was trying to recapture the Scottish throne). After that we traveled back down the highlands all the way Oban by the sea (on the west). We stayed over night in rooms looking out over the water...very beautiful. Sunset was around 11:30pm.   Saturday we drove back to Glagow via Inverary. We got to see Castle Stalker on the way (the castle at the end of the movie "Monty Python's In Search of the Holy Grail"). We stopped in Inverary and went to Inverary Castle (the Campbell Clan...the 13th Duke of Argyll resides there) and ate fish n chips by the water.   Today (Sunday) we traveled into the city centre by train and went to church at Glagow Central Fellowship which meets in the KOG cafe (the coffeehouse that I and many many friends helped work on when I was here). It's sooooooooooooo different...they've really progressed in the building plans and it looks very nice now (It's hard to believe that it was once a second home for me...I remember it very well back when they first purchased that building and teams of us came over from the States to help out...it was so old and run down and full of muck and just an absolute manky mess...and it's taken a lot of hard work from a lot of loving people from all over the world to get it looking so cool like it does now). And It was so wonderful to see old friends again...I was warmly welcomed by everyone...and though the church has many new people coming and going that I don't know...there were still the warm hugs and smiles from some of the people I remember dearly. We enjoyed the worship and we have been invited to the Hurlet tonight to attend a BBQ. The Hurlet is the former estate of the Earl of Glasgow that the church purchased to be the home of the Harvest Ministry College (and other ministries and people). I saw it just before I left Scotland before...before they purchased it...it too was in bad condition and has needed a lot of hard work to get it livable...so it will be cool to see the work they've done in the 3 years I've been gone.   Tomorrow we plan to tour the city again...this time by taking the city tour bus...and it will be our last day in Glasgow, as Tuesday we leave for Prestwick where we will stay over night so we can catch our flight out early morning on Wednesday for Ireland. We'll be in Ireland from Wednesday thru the 10th of July (when we take a ferry to Wales). I will try my best to email as we go. I've heard from a lot of you that you're enjoying my email journal...so I will try to keep up as I can.   God has really been blessing us with lovely weather and great times at each place we go to. I have been amazed at how many surprises he has had for us. We'll be driving and make a mistake with reading the map or make a mistake in the directions...and somehow he works it out for us that we'll end up right where we need to be (like a miracle or something). We've really been having great adventures and it does get overwhelming at times to take it all in...cuz there's been so much in such little time. And I've been so very blessed by the surprises of getting to see certain people here while here in Scotland. We end this leg of the trip soon and will head to Ireland for a whole new adventure...   Well...my time is up here at the internet cafe...I better get this sent out to you. I'm sorry if I'm forgetting things. Thank you for your prayers...I so much appreciate them! Much love, Lisa