Halloween in 30 minutes or less!

     Halloween is definitely an  American holiday.  Some other countries have picked up some of the traditions, probably through American television programmes aired in overseas markets, but have not FULLY embraced the day.  For example, I can find Halloween decorations in the grocery store and costumes in shops.  One thing I noticed is that the Brits have picked up the gory side of the holiday.  Some of us know that in fact All Hallows Eve is a day for the ghouls and goonies to party before All Saints Day (Novemer 1st) when the good guys chase them back into the crypt for another 364 days.  We all know that somewhere along the line, American children decided they didn't want to look scary and gross, they just wanted to dress up and play tricks on people wearing fun costumes.  To be honest, seeing a giant Donald Duck toilet papering your house could be considered by some as pretty scary.  I also remember the witch costumes my mother made for my sister and I when we were 4 and 5 years-old.  We even had a chance to put them on a few days early for a Halloween parade and party at the firehouse down the street.  My mother had some green face paint to complete the look, but my sister and I both refused to put it on!  At the firehouse, another girl in a witches costume won for our age division, and hers was not a homemade costume with ball fringe added to the bottom and all the details my mother had painstakingly added to our costumes, but she had a green face!  Sorry Mom!  (You all do realize that when you win the costume award, it really is usually because of your mother's handiwork.  I was personally equally proud when Katie won the contest the year she was Supergirl and I had made the red satin skirt and cape and fashioned the felt logo to the leotard.)

      Because the tradition is not fully embraced in England, it isn't much fun to go trick-or-treating.  You might walk a half mile and only find 4 houses giving out candy.  The return on the investment just isn't there.  As parents who remember fondly the haul our kids dragged home last year while living in the US and now feel guilty about wrenching them from their American neighborhoods and throwing them into a foreign culture, we go out of our way to create a user friendly Halloween experience - Trunk-or-Treating!  Yesterday was the day for Halloween festivities at TASIS, the American school in England.  It was almost like being back in Naperville minus a little bit.

     First, the lower school had a Halloween parade and classroom parties at the end of the school day.  Much like at our home school, Mill Street, the children put on their costumes, lined up and paraded around the courtyard.  One difference was that only PreK-Grade 2 parade, the other grades line the parade route and high 5 the little kids.  Another difference, the kids get to go around 3 times, but even on the 3rd time around they haven't figured out how to stop on the "runway" and pose for mom to get the perfect Halloween scrapbook photo.  Then the kids go back to the classrooms for parties.  Here we have another big difference from Naperville, we get to serve them food, and it can be homemade!  So in Cameron's class they decorated a pumpkin shaped cutout cookies with orange frosting and gummy candies (I found gummy fangs!).  Then we play games and it's OK to do Mummy Wrapping (also prohibited in Naperville for unknown reasons).  After an hour of party time we all packed up to head home and prepare for the evening.

Luca, the class bunny, lead in his pumpkin costume.  Cameron behind.

The Ninja and Taylor Swift (straight hair doesn't really hold a curl all day at school)

    My kids and I were invited to the home of our Buddy Family for a pizza dinner before going back to the school for evening fun.  We live kind of far, so we went straight there after school and imposed for an extra hour.  This was good as the 6th grade boys could fret over what they were going to do for a costume for the Middle School dance that evening.  Having pizza on Halloween is quite a tradition for us as our Homeowner's Association hosts pizza for the kids every year before trick-or-treating starts.  This year is was just Dominos rather than Little Cesars.

     By 6:15 with costumes on, we loaded into our cars and set off for the school.  Here in England it is already dark by this time so it is probably much safer that we do Trunk-or-Treating instead of going door to door.  Parking the cars in the school lot is a bit of a production in itself.  There are parent volunteers who have to be there by 6 to be ready to direct drivers to spots.  There are no lines painted, so this is actually a vital role.  Next, only cars that have been preregistered can park in the Trunk-or-Treat lot.  Given limited spacing we had to RSVP to get a space and then you were awarded with an official Parking Pass with your Name on it.  By 6:30 we were being directed to a parking space.  Then only parents can get out of the cars to set up decorations in the trunk of the car (or boot of the car is you want to speak British).  This was a bit farcical as it was as bad as hanging the donut in front of the toddler's nose and saying she can't eat it!  It was for kids safety, but it wasn't long before they were all out and sitting on the tailgate.  Now the lower school kids were all invited to Trunk-or-Treat and only middle school kids if they were with their families in the parking lot.  However, the middle school dance started at the same time, so most of them, including Jacob, skipped the free candy and headed to the dance.  (Don't worry, Katie and Cameron passed Jacob plenty of loot.)

     At exactly 7pm a horn was blast officially starting the Trunk-or-Treating.  I swear that Cameron RAN off for candy!  The kids knew the horn would blow at 7:30 to officially end the event.  Steve managed to race from the office to meet us at just a few minutes past 7.  I was able to go off and search out the kids and pretent to chaperone them as I checked out everyone else's decorations and said hello to friends.  The kids had a lot of fun and were able to meet up with their friends which is what makes trick-or-treating the most fun.  OK, the candy is the MOST fun, but getting candy with friends is EXTRA fun.  Cameron was a stealth Ninja sneaking up and snatching candy most likely hitting up a few cars more than once as at the end of the event his bag was significantly heavier than Katie's bag.  Katie was Taylor Swift and a dad at one car gave her a second treat for singing a Taylor Swift song!  When the horn sounded at 7:30 there were downtrodden faces on the children and looks of relief from parents.  We had about 250 treats to hand out and only had 6 left in the basket!  We were on the edge of the parking lot, I think people in the middle may have run out because of the stealth ninjas secreting seconds. 

Jacob with a Mr. Pringles mustache hanging out of the back of our car

Cameron and Katie ready for treats!

2nd Grade trunk-or-treaters!

     Loot in hand, Halloween fun was over.  We just had to return to the school to collect Jacob and a friend that we drove home.  This time the two boys didn't talk so much about the dance.  Uggh, they are growing up.  I'll have to find the mom of a girl and see if she got any scoop.  Now the weekend is here.  We may have a few more tricks up our sleeve.  We are considering heading to a National Trust home where there is a Halloween Trail in the garden.  Tomorrow, Katie's soccer team is getting treats from all the parents with enough for siblings as well.  Then on Monday, we will visit the home of a soccer teammate of Katie's whose parents have planned a haunted house with treats to be collected throughout.  So although we won't be able to go door to door, we are trying to experience Halloween in England.  A little more challenging, but hopefully equally fun.  I can see from the haul of candy that there better not be any complaining from the peanut gallery!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Northern Ireland Day 6: Further Afield

We still had more to see of Northern Ireland!  On Thursday morning, we had a great breakfast of fresh eggs from the chickens in the garden before heading out to see what we could see.  We were still in the Causeway Coast area for some sights, but venturing to Londonderry to walk the walls of the old city.

Our first stop was really a wonder rather than a destination.  There is a road where the trees line both sides but the branches intertwine overhead in such a way as to create a lovely archway.  The locals refer to it as the Dark Hedges.  We made our way inland to the road in question which isn't but a half mile long stretch and were amazed that it looks just like the postcard I bought.  In true crazy mom fashion, I made the kids get in the road for some photos!  They only had to jump to the side three times because of cars.  I didn't really put them in danger....

With a timed out schedule, we were back on the road in ten minutes to drive on to our next sight: Dunluce Castle.  This was a ruin that we had seen a photo of and all agreed we had to check out.  Back along the coast near Portrush the castle looms on the cliff above the crashing waves.  The clouds were gray and a consistent drizzle pelted us.  We first watched the background video and then checked out the Discovery center which explained archaeology projects at the castle.  Once we had exhausted viewing displays in the warm buildings, we ventured into the numbing drizzle to explore the ruins.  Trying to take plenty of photos meant my hands were exposed making my fingers raw.  The kids kept running through the ruins making up stories of torture chambers and something about Santa.  Steve and I were trying to read the plaques posted in different areas explaining the uses of the rooms whose rooves had crumbled and only partial walls remained to remind you of more glorious days.  There was a small tower from which I was able to get views down on the castle.  It was a good stop.

Our next stop was supposed to be White Rocks, a beach area in Portrush just down the road; however, the rain was only getting steadier and we were all raw enough that we didn't need to punish ourselves with more time in the elements.  We pushed on to Londonderry instead.  It was an hour drive southwest of the Causeway Coast.  By the time we arrived, the weather seemed to be letting up although we did grab the umbrellas on our way out of the car and into the city.  We had parked right on the outside of the city walls near the city center.  By now it was noon and the streets were busy with plenty of people going to lunch and getting shopping done.  Sale signs in Halloween costume shops all along the way enticed me to come in for a look.  I actually picked up a costume for Cameron and a pirate hat for Jacob.  I had not seen any similar full stock costume shops anywhere in my area, so I was happy to check something off of my to do list even if it meant carrying a large bag around town.  Our next stop was a cafe Steve had found on the internet and it had a kids menu!  We found it fairly easily in the center of the old part of Derry and luckily got a table just as the lunch rush began.  After eating, we made our way up a set of steps just a half block from the cafe up onto the wall.  The top of the wall is a good car width and has canons still arranged in different battery areas.  We made our way around noting the Loyalist and Republican areas of the city are still very demarcated.  I'm glad that Jacob did not wear his new Union Jack t-shirt today.

An hour back up the road to the coast to our last sight for the day:  Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne.  The sight is all in ruin but only since the second world war.  There are photos of how it looked 80 years ago and it is amazing how there is only a shell of stone walls left.  The temple is on the cliff and looks like it will someday fall off which it very well might.  When it was built, a horse-drawn carriage could travel all the way around it. The temple was built as a library and there was always a fire in the lower level so it would always be warmed.  The estate was built by an eccentric bishop.  I found it all fascinating; Cameron not so much.  There was a lot of navigating around sheep manure.

Just a stop at the grocery store for me to pick up dinner and then back to the cottage where it was nice to relax at last, our sightseeing around Northern Ireland was done.

Day 7:  Friday morning Katie and Cameron helped to feed the chickens and collect the eggs.  Steve loaded up the car.  By 9:40 we were on the road; we had a 3.5 hour drive to the ferry in Dublin.  We had lunch on the way and at the ferry in plenty of time.  Unfortunately, the ferry was 30 minutes late due to rough seas.  We managed to all sit together at a table but Cameron laid his head in my lap most of the way as he was not feeling well.  Steve kept his head on the table.  The boat would rock and all you would see was the sky our one side and water out of the windows on the other side!  People were staying in their seats.  Fortunately it was a high speed crossing and we were docked in two hours.  Only 5.5 hours later we were unloading ourselves into the house.  There is no place like home!

Northern Ireland Day 5: The Causeway Coast

Wednesday was a great day!  The weather is the typical Irish weather we expected: cold, damp with rain off and on.  We had to just get going rather than wait for the sun, otherwise we would still be sitting in the house watching BBC Breakfast and drinking tea. 

We made a great decision to head for Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge as our first stop.  The sight opened at 10am and as a National Trust location, we were able to slip in without paying an entrance fee as we had our temporary membership card on hand.  When we pulled into the parking lot there were not more than six other cars already there, most of those for the Trust Rangers on duty.  We made our way down the path with the wind whipping around us.  The ranger at the gate indicated the bridge was open, but commented that the day before the bridge had been closed to visitors for most of the day because of the high winds.  We quickly made our way along so as to be sure to risk the crossing before they thought better of our safety and closed it. 

The views of the coast as you make your way toward Carrick Island are stunning and worth the trek even if the bridge were closed.  The gray skies were not discoloring our excitement as we climbed a hill and rounded a corner to start our descent toward the bridge.  There is a guard with a gate at the top of the bridge to limit the number of people crossing at a time.  Just as we arrived, a group of three other tourists were making their way over the bridge and up the stairs to go back to the car park.  We were all alone!  Our timing was great, and we would be able to have the island to ourselves!  I stopped each child as he/she crossed the bridge for a photo midway.  Once all across, we were able to take in the views from the island.  We noticed some old structures on the eastern side that had fallen into disrepair.  Other than that there isn't much of an island or much to do, so we made our way back across.  The ranger at the gate to the bridge told us how the island had been used for fishing salmon for almost 400 years, but that ended in about 1995.  One of the last fisherman is still alive in the area and tells how when he first started fishing the waters there, they would catch almost 500 in a day in July, but that in 1995 only 350 has been caught during the entire season.  There were only ever 5-6 fisherman and then the rest were fish carriers who would bring them up and over the rope bridge to an ice house.  If you could have felt the weather whipping at us, you could understand that it would take quite a constitution to withstand such a lifestyle.  I don't think my boys could have done it!

Carrick Island is the largest one closest to the cliff.

crossing the bridge to Carrick island

kids on the island

making our way back to the mainland

view of the bridge from and overlook

With a spring in our step, we bounced back into the car and headed along the coast route to Kinbane Castle.  Down a VERY narrow road we arrived at a car park.  We were the only ones making the trek out to these ruins at this time.  At 11am the skies were still gray, but the wind prohibited the use of umbrellas as we made our way out.  The trail was well marked and we easily made our way down, down the steps and around the side of the cliff wall when the rock promintory with the ruins of the castle came into view.  This prompted my pondering of the comments between the newly married couple arriving at their castle:

Patrick: (cause you know everyone from Ireland is named Patrick) "So, Mary, what do you think?!" he asks with a hue grin and much machismo (he's travelled to Italy and has machismo)

Mary: "I'm not living out there!  It's freaking cold out here and the wind and salt water are ruining my hair!"

Patrick: "But Mary it's a CASTLE!"

Mary: "I don't give a sheep's arse!  This is hell on Earth!"

Patrick: "I'll promise your mother and sister can come visit whenever they want..."

Mary:  "Whenever..."

Patrick:  "Whenever..."

Mary:  "Alright, but you better not back out on your word or I'll personally push you off the cliff!"

The weather here makes me realize why Patrick and Mary have so many children!!!!  Between being stuck on this promintory for a great deal of the time and the need to keep warm.... you get my drift!

The kids had fun exploring the ruins and other than one incident when Cameron was almost pushed off the top by his big brother (they were actually much further from the edge than we had really been able to see), it was a great stop.  Even better because we were there all alone.  It's fun to make up stories and climb without feeling as if you are disturbing someone else's holiday.

"Mary, m'love, welcome home!"

Cozy, seaside cottage!

With a hike back up the hill to continue to push our quadriceps still tired and sore from Sunday's trip in the Mourne Mountains, we stopped in the parking lot for a snack and trips to the toilets.  Then we were on our way to Bushmills.

In Bushmills, we had lunch on our mind, but we also took some time to pop into a shop or two.  First we dropped off a few postcards at the post office/gift shop where the shopkeeper was very upset to see children touching anything.  Most of the tour buses stopping in town were of an older clientele, so I think she just wasn't accustomed to children, or she had lost her job as the wicked witch of Ireland.  Then we trudged all the way through town to a small cafe.  There were only a few locals popping in to pick up their To Go lunches.  They did have a kids menu, so we figured it couldn't be too bad.  It was like an American diner and everyone found something.  With bellies full, we made our way back to the car with quick stops in a few shops to look for a tea cup.  I like to collect a tea cup from my vacations, but nothing caught my fancy.

Our travels took us back to the Giant's Causeway.  The day before we had only stopped half way along the walking path and we wanted to go beyond.  We also had time for the kids to just relax and run around on the rocks.  That is the best part of the sight; you get to actually go out and experience it.  The wind was still blowing and the sun was in and out.  Rain would start and stop, but we headed down anyway.  We took our time to look at the rock formations pointed out in the small guide: the camel, the granny, and the giant's boot.  The trail to the Organ was closed but we managed to zoom in for a photo.  The rain managed to stop long enough for sun to shine through the drops and display a rainbow over the causeway.  With so many fewer people touring at this time of the year, I was able to get a photo without any people in it!  You would think we had a private tour of the place.  It was great.  But honestly, I look at the postcards in the shop of the area in summer sun with people in shorts and t-shirts and wonder which time of year is better:  nice weather, tons of tourist or yucky weather, few tourists.

The Giant's Boot

My pot of gold under the rainbow!

Rainbow over the Giant's Causeway

We made our way back up the hill to the visitors center where the National Trust shop was chockablock of great stuff.  I found a great jumper (sweater) to replace one from four years ago when we last travelled to Ireland and a fun ornament for our Christmas tree.  It was about 3:00 but we thought it would be great to call it a day and relax in the cottage so we made our way the 3 miles down the road to the house we rented. 

Uh Oh!  We all piled out of the car in the driveway and waited while the look on Steve's face turned to panic.  He had emptied all of his pockets, but the key to the cottage was not there!  I tried not to say anything (you all know this is not easy for me).  I called the kids to get back in the car.  Once piled in, we turned around and started retracing our steps.  Should we go to the furthest point first or the last point first?

We headed toward the farthest point: Kinbane Castle.  The drive down the road was torture!  Besides being windy, there was a car in front of us actually following the speed limit!  We decided to pull off at a sight that we had stopped at but not actually walked because of the weather in order to allow more distance between us and the car in front.

We pulled over at the car park for White Park Bay.  We had stopped there between Kinbane and lunch to consider a walk on the beach.  When we parked the car and started out, we realized it was quite a long way down to the beach and therefore a big hike back up.  The wind was blowing and the rain was actually falling at that time.  We had turned around at the top of the hill and returned to the car.  Steve thought that the key must have fallen out as he took car keys in and out of his pocket throughout the day.  An inspection of the parking lot was to no avail.  We would have to continue on.

We proceeded along the road in the same direction when we next came to the entrance for Carrick-a-Rede, our first stop.  We pulled in and drove down to the parking area.  Jacob and I jumped out of the car and looked around the parked cars.  There were many more cars here now than early in the morning.  I was happy to have Jacob look under cars; I didn't want people to come along thinking I was casing the area!  Steve went to talk to the Trust Rangers.  I suddenly saw him run off toward the ticket entrance booth.  That was a good sign.  Jacob and I returned to the warmth of the car.  Steve was soon back with the key in his hand.  Someone had found it and turned it in!  Yeah!  It was only a 30 minute detour and there was success.  Hey, we did get another long look out over the Causeway Coast before calling it a day on our sightseeing.

Our day wasn't over.  Although I had made spaghetti dinner the day before, tonight I was awarded a night off from cooking.  We drove over to the town of Portrush to the restaurant 55 Degrees North.  This place is great with amazing views and a kids menu!  (can you see an important distinction of a good restaurant is a Kids Menu)  A great end to a great day.

Northern Ireland Day 4: The Antrim Coast

We got up early to make a good start on our adventures to the northern parts of Northern Ireland.  We packed up the room, had our breakfast and then loaded the car.  By 8:35 we were on our way.  It took us about 15 minutes to get out of the city and onto a fast road as our navigation system is 4 years old and thinks there are entrances onto highways where there aren't and turns us onto roads that don't exist causing us to go a bit in circles.  It really does make sense to understand where you are trying to go before relying on technology because although not always the best you can look at signs for help along the way if you know what signs to look for.  At least our crazy directions took us up  The Falls Road which is notorious as it leads to generally republican suburbs from the times of greater turmoil.  That checked off of our sightseeing list, we were happy to find the motorway and head north.

Our first stop of the day was about an hour from Belfast.  We made our way to Glenariff Forest Park.  The park is known for the waterfall walk which is where we were headed.  As we arrived in the parking lot, we were the only car!  It is amazing how empty everything is in the off season.  It was about 10am and the facilities were all open: toilets, a cafe and an information center.  Once ready in our walking shoes, you know the ones that were dried out but completely muddy from Sunday's walk, and with an umbrella in hand because as luck would have it the rain started just as we jumped out of the car, we headed toward the path.

We were excited to find that this was a real path.  Parts were paved in asphalt, other parts just rocks and some boardwalk, but all of it easily recognizable with little arrows to help us along.  The rain would turn off and on like forced air ventilation systems but since there always seemed to be rain dripping off leaves, the umbrellas stayed overhead.  The glen is beautiful and there are several small waterfalls along the way before getting to the more dramatic ones.  What was odd was that the water was very brown. Not muddy, but like flowing root beer, as Jacob described it.  There was even the appropriate root beer foam in places.  Perhaps this is the water to make that dark Guiness beer.  Actually the water is colored brown from peat or from iron ore in the rock bed or a combination of both.  Either way, even water logged from the rain, it was making us thirsty!

Back to the car park we had our morning snack and jumped back in the car to head to the coast and the town of Cushendun.  We managed to wind our way through the glens to the shore and park the car.  We walked into the small town via the beach which was tons of fun for the kids.  "We went in the Irish Sea!" was the chant of the walk.  We detoured in town to the post office which the gentleman at the counter for the chemists indicated was closed.  The reasoning is obscure as his accent was not decipherable.  I know that in England the post office in small towns is often closed on Wednesday afternoons, but this was Tuesday so I couldn't even venture a guess.  We had to write it off to inadequate capitalist infiltration of the area and decided to meander along the river walking trail instead.  (so if you expected a letter from us, it's coming a day later.)  We had hoped to have lunch in Cushendun but as it is not the high season just about everything was closed.  I don't know why we were surprised about the post office.  Consequently, we made our way back to the car and carried on our scenic way.

The next part of our journey was the journey itself: the Torr Road.  This is a scenic road along the cliffs way above the Irish Sea along the northeastern most part of NI.  I had to remind Steve to watch the road and not the scenery.  Then I would yell at him to "pull over" so I could take a photo of a view.  I put Pull Over in quotes because this is a road that is really only a lane and a half wide and there are hedges and walls on both sides.  If we stopped, we really just stopped in the road and prayed no one came along from any direction!  With the wind whipping and random rains starting and stopping, I would jump out, quickly take a photo or two and jump back in the car.  The kids are accustomed to the erratic behavior and continue with their antics as if nothing is going on.  Don't ask them about the views, by looking at my photos you will have the same memories of the drive as they have!

The end of the Torr Road dropped us into Ballycastle where food was in order.  After driving up the high street and not noticing anything, we parked the car and decided to walk through town instead.  Fortunately this is a nice small town only about two blocks long making the journey an easy one.  We found the Central Bar about a block and a half through the village.  It is a great place with plenty of old pub ambiance and a kids menu!  We were seated near a fire to warm us up and dry out the bottom 6 inches of our pants. 

With full bellies, we made our way back to the car stopping along the way to poke our noses in a few shops, including the wine shop (it is vacation...).  We also stopped at a small grocery store to get some pasta and sauce to make dinner.  From there we decided to call it a day and head to the cottage we had rented near the Giant's Causeway.  However, we arrived at half past three and the owners were not home in the cottage next door as they were not expecting us until 5.  With time to kill we figured we would check out the Giant's Causeway a day earlier than planned.

Back in the car it was less than ten minutes to get to the National Trust sight parking lot.  As new members, we flashed our temporary card and parked for free.  Our beast of a car squeezed into a space and we headed on our walk down to the Causeway.  We had heard about it and seen photos but you need to experience it.  The walk is about a mile downhill from the parking area which isn't bad until you are on your way back to the car.  But as we were going, the kids were all happy.  Brief rain showers didn't even bother us.  The wind was so crazy that we didn't even bother with umbrellas.  Once out on the rocks were were awestruck.  The kids had fun exploring and climbing out as far as they could. I slipped and fell at one spot and then was freaked out in another because some part are really steep and slant funny and.... You get the idea, I'm a wimp.  Since we were just killing time and planning to return the next day, we didn't stay long but started to head back up the hill.  We didn't get far when a man stopped me to ask about the kids.  Apparently they were filming a commercial for NI tourism (we had seen the cameras but ignored them) and the children they had for the shoot were really young and very crabby about the wind and weather.  The director saw our kids and wanted to know if we would be open to letting them be on camera.  He wasn't sure they were needed as the weather was very windy and crazy, but took our information and asked us to stick around awhile.  With no plans, we said sure. 

Given more time to explore, we went a bit further and onto different areas of the causeway into the water.  The kids were getting more daring making me more nervous.  I wasn't going into the water to save them if they slid in! (remember, I have the camera...Steve gets to jump in)  A group of annoying German tourists had just vacated and the area was emptying so it was more pleasant to explore.  Suddenly another man came up to us.  (I was starting to wonder what was going on or if I had a sign on my back.)  He was actually a National Trust Ranger and had seen us exploring and taking lots of photos.  He asked if we wanted him to take a picture of all of us together.  In fact we were actually as a "famous" part of the causeway called the Wishing Chair which is where we had the photo taken.  He was great to share stories of the legends surrounding the Causeway as well  Still killing time, the gentleman from the filming crew came over to take our phone number.  He did not think he would need us after all.  Filming was going to have to call it a day as the light was getting too low.  He would call if they did need us (which they never did).  Released from any obligation we made our way back up the hill to the car and then to the cottage.

We were only at the house 8 minutes when the owner arrived to help us in.  Maurice was wonderful showing us how to operate just about everthing including how the kids should use the broom to shoo away the chickens!  Finally settled for the next few days, we were able to put our feet up and relax with the libations acquired in Ballycastle.  After dinner the kids enjoyed a movie and Steve and I planned the next day over a round of Harp from a can, which was very good.  Can't wait for Wednesday.

Northern Ireland: Day 3 Belfast

After our crazy hike on Sunday, we drove straight back to the hotel in Belfast.  We didn't even stop to take photos of scenic views. We dragged our muddy selves up to the room and took turns washing the Irish dirt down the drain.  Clean and revived, we walked a few steps across the street from the hotel to Pizza Express.  This is a family favorite restaurant for us:  1) pizza - thin crust with nice sauce, 2) table service - ie not fast food, 3) serves alcohol.  I had a large wine and Steve had an even larger beer and we let the kids get dessert when the pizza had been devoured.  Having skipped lunch, we didn't mind overindulging at dinner. 

A good night sleep for us all and we were ready to see what Belfast had to offer.  We headed straight for the new development called the Odyssey in the dock area, or Titanic quarter as that is where the ship was built.  We had a quick drive past Samson and Goliath, the huge structures used to built the ship.

Samson and Goliath are the names of the two yellows structures.

But as interesting as the Titanic is, more interesting is the W5 (stands for who, what, when, where, why), the science center at the Odyssey in Belfast.  It appeared we may have been the first guests of the day when we dashed in from a torrential downpour at 10:15.  The British schools have half term next week, but I thought school groups would be filling up the museum; however, we practically had the place to ourselves.  We spent the whole morning working on hands on exhibits.  We had to drag the kids out into the Odyssey where there are several restaurants to choose from for lunch.  Of course we had to promise that we would go back to the W5 after eating.  We had not even finished exploring the second floor and there were still 2 more to go! 

Katie ended up on the single pulley and was having a tough time pulling herself up.

Steve and Jacob built race cars and then raced them.

Katie designed the butterfly that then flew through the forest.

Lunch was quite and ordeal.  The tapas restaurant, Chinese food place, and Indian options were not appealing to any of the kids.  There were two other very likely possibilities:  an American 50's style cafe with burgers, shakes and the works or Pizza Hut.  Remember dinner last night was Pizza Express and Cameron even had pizza on Saturday in Dublin.  Somehow the votes were cast and we were eating pizza...again!  No worries, the kids were happy.

After lunch we headed back in to the W5 where we managed to spend the rest of the afternoon.  We finally launched ourselves out at 4:18 (it closes at 5pm) mostly because Steve and I were getting tired of watching the kids make yet another still action movie.  Surprisingly the sun was shining as we left so we took our time finding our way back to the hotel.  We took a driving tour of the city making sure we made it past some of the highlights like City Hall and St. Anne's Cathedral.

We parked the car in front of the hotel (very lucky spot) and walked to dinner at the Crown Bar and Saloon.  The saloon is a listed landmark for its Victorian architecture.  With the kids, we weren't going to be able to hang out in the bar, but rather made our way upstairs to the dining rooms for dinner.  Traditional pub food was on the menu and everyone but Cameron found something they enjoyed.  Steve, Jacob and I all went for the very traditional steak and ale pie made with Guiness.  Satiated, our Belfast day was done.  We would be checking out and heading north in the morning.

Northern Ireland: Day2 Mourne Mountains

Day 2:  A 7am alarm had us all up and hopping on Sunday morning.  The sky was showing signs of sunlight which was going to make for a good day of hiking.  I had actually reviewed the weather forecast before leaving for NI and noted that Sunday was much better than Monday, so the plan was set to hike in the better weather and save the Belfast sightseeing for the rainy day as we had indoor plans on the docket as well.

We all layered up for the ever changing Irish climate and mosied on down to the lobby for breakfast.  A full English breakfast was available although the kids stuck with the more American choice of cold cereal!  Knowing hiking was in order, Steve and I partook of the eggs and bacon to get us set. 

We made a quick stop at the hotel desk to validate our parking and found that we were half an hour early to get into the parking garage!  So we had to wait around for a bit in the lobby...got to read the Sunday paper and then we were on the road again.  We had an hour drive into the southwest part of NI to the Mourne Mountains.

I had read of the beauty of the mountains and found some hiking paths on the http://www.walkni.com/ website.  One of the routes included climbing to the top of two of the peaks.  Given that this was Ireland and not the Alps, it seemed completely reasonable to climb these "mountains."  How high could they really be?  I had planned that it would take about 3 hours to do the hike and then we could even make it to two other places: Castlewellan park and Mount Stewart, National Trust site.  It was going to be a fun day and the sun was shining brightly!

As we drove toward the Mournes, we suddenly rounded a bend and the mountains were in view.  Katie gasped.  "Those are too high! I'm afraid of heights!"  We assured her that when we got to the hiking trail they wouldn't seem very tall at all. 

Just when the Mourne Mountains came into view.

We made our way to the first car park mentioned in the walk guide and found that at 10am it was already full and that the loads of people all gathering to make out on the trail were over the age of 17 and in quite a bit of REI trail gear.  We ventured on further up the road to the second car park and pulled into one of three remaining spots.  The other two were filled immediately after us.  Again, everyone in the car park was attired in proper hiking gear with walking sticks and day packs.  Our kids in Lands End fleece and sneakers were probably not in proper attire.  Steve consulted one of the guides in the parking lot who was pointed out to us by a lovely couple at the car next to us.  Apparently there were three hiking groups all gathering to set out on various trails from this trailhead.  The guide pointed us in the right direction and after a quick stop at the toilets with a backpack loaded with water and snacks, we decided to try it.  How bad could it be? 

The beginning of the track was a well stoned path.  We made it over a wall and into a field.  A group was heading off to the right but our direction was to go to the left.  Looking left we had an open field with no trail until we got about a half mile down to a track in the distance.  We headed across the very soggy moors.  My gortex shoes were holding up very well, but Katie and Cameron were not so happy.  Not half an hour into the trip and their feet were soggy and they were still looking for ways to keep them dry.  If we only knew then that it was only to get worse, would we have turned around?  The mountain was looming and calling our names.  It still seemed kind of doable although Steve and I were having our doubts.

open field walking

Apparently we even had to cross a stream or two!

Finally on the path heading into the mountains.

This seems easy and fun!

Once on the track we went along without any problems.  Sometimes it would be very wet and we would try to step on rocks to cross the water or go alng the grassy side which was often saturated.  We even caught up with one of the hiking groups.  Our little family was doing pretty well without investing in trail gear.  We came to a split in the path:  one trail headed straight into the valley between two mountains and the other went up.  The hiking group was going up, so we followed.  Mistake #2 of the day (we will call mistake #1 the choice to not turn around when we were in the parking lot...then again mistake #2 was probably not turning around when crossing that open field with no trail...anyway).  After much anguish trying to find the trail as by now the hiking group was quite a bit ahead of us again, we managed to scale the side of the mountain and make it to the same crook in the two mountains that the other path led to.  Looking at the path we didn't take it was apparent we had taken the high road but in this case that was not the right decision.  At least we all made it safely, if not very muddy.

A view of the top of the second mountain in the hike! 

From Wikipedia:  "The Mourne Wall is a wall which was constructed to enclose a reservoir's catchment area in the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland. It was built between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners to enclose the water catchment in the Mournes.

The wall was crafted from natural granite stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques. On average the wall is about 1.5 metres high and 0.8 to 0.9  metres thick. It is 22 miles (35 km) long and passes over fifteen mountains."

Taking the High Road...can you see the easier trail in the background?!

Wow!  We are high up and this isn't the top of the mountain.

We were finally at the Mourne Wall.  We had a snack and some water and wondered if we should continue on.  The mountain loomed to our right.  A set of stone steps would start us on our assent.  Mistake #4 (or whatever number we are on now) was that we decided to continue on and not turn back.  The mountain top seemed so close.  We headed up the steps but from there it was hard to find the trail.  There were two women hiking with their dog and we were following them a little, but they were just as confused.  How do we get to the top?  The big hiking group we had been behind before was lower down than us.  We weren't sure if we were on the right path.  We managed to make it around the side of the mountain and could see the Mourne Wall and the top, but to get there we would have to go straight up.  The dog kept running back and forth and around us, he didn't seem to think this was a problem at all.  Mistake #789 - we chose to go straight up.

The ground was wet, our legs were getting tired.  Steve and I both slipped more times than can be counted on one hand.  Cameron was NOT having fun.  Katie was actually leading this part of the trek and Jacob was pointing ways to go.  They seemed ready to help me, but I kept the camera around my neck and Cameron's jacket in my other hand (getting muddier and muddier each time I slipped).  The black Irish mud was eating our shoes and the soggy ground was better for snowboarding than for hiking.  I don't have ANY pictures of this part of the hike.  We were in survival mode.  We wanted to get to the wall and to the top and find the trail.  Steve and I were both nervous but trying not to let the kids know it. 

Going over the wall at the crook of the mountains.

Climbing the stone steps up the side of Slieve Bearnagh

Looking down at Steve and Cameron making their way up the side of the moutain without a path.  The other group of hikers decided to follow us.  I wonder if they thought it as foolhardy a decision as we did!

Safe at the top, taking in the view.  Oh, and the clouds rolling in.

At the top, we tried to get our legs to stop shaking.  We had a snack in the protection of some rocks as the wind had started to pick up.  We asked a small group of hikers next to us (2 men and a woman) for some advice and showed them our trail map.  There was still Slieve Meelmore to climb if we were to continue on the trail we had started.  They actually pointed out that if we followed the wall down, we would be able to go over it and through the valley out the way we came in.  This would help us to avoid the second mountain but would also add at least another mile to the hike.  We looked over to the other peak (which I sadly never took a picture of that view) and realized there was no way we could ask the kids to go up another mountain, even if it was 43m shorter (Bearnagh is 727m high and Meelmore is 684m high).  When I broke it to them that we would be hiking more than 7 miles and not just the original 6, they didn't even seem to mind.  We just wanted to all be safely back at the car.  We thanked the hikers for the advice.  They were so friendly they even shared with us the last three Maltesers cookies they had.  A little sugar to give us the energy we needed to go on.

In Gilligan's Island fashion, our three hour tour had become something much longer.  We took our time going down the mountain which was a very rocky route.  At the bottom, we took one last look up the next mountain toward the tor at the top and said good-bye to the Mourne Mountains.  We happily climbed over the wall and headed out of the valley on the trail ahead.  We didn't mind the black mud sucking our shoes off or the streams of water seeming to think that the trail was their path.  Wet and muddy we trekked down the stone Trassey Track to the lower car park and up the half mile stretch of road (hillier climb than we thought) to our car at the second car park.  More water more snacks out of the boot of the car before climbing in at 3pm in the afternoon.  Five hours later we had made it back.  Maybe we hadn't made it to the top of two mountains in the Mournes, but we can say we did make it up one.  The only casualties are the socks and maybe even jeans that may never come clean.

Making our way down the mountin to the path in the valley below

At the wall in the valley, ready to cross and head back out.

So much easier going this way!

Nearing the end!