After our first night in Ireland, we woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy. We slept on what Tyson called "a cloud" which was obviously a very comfortable bed. We ate breakfast and then head out to see Giant's Causeway with Tyson's cousin and her child. It was a bit of a drive but there was lovely scenery of the country and coast along the way. We stopped for pictures a few times to try and capture some of the beauty in the especially scenic places. When we reached Giant's Causeway everything was a bit different from the last time Tyson had been there. They were now charging a hefty entrance fee which had always been free so we had to pull a fast one and sneak in the back. It was not too difficult because they had just created this pay structure two weeks prior to our visit and the staff were still trying to figure everything out. The three adults and the innocent child snuck by the guards who didn't know what hit them.
Giant's Causeway is not a big race track as I suspected but rather it is huge formations of volcanic rocks that have naturally formed into hexagon-shaped steps along the coast. There are over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns as a result of intense volcanic and geological activity at the Unesco world heritage site. The rocks are sixty million years old due to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows. The place is also the victim of many legends and stories that the locals here believe. We did not buy the audio guide so I cannot tell you more than it is about a Scottish giant, an Irish giant, a camel, a wishing rock, a grandma and a fight. We walked along the paths and took in the breathtaking views of jagged cliffs, thousands of smooth steps and beautiful blue waters crashing onto them. We climbed about and took many photos. The place was quite busy with tourists and the rain even held up for our whole visit. We snuck back out without being noticed and drove through the city of Bushmills. It is a small place but it has some famous sites including the whiskey distillery. We walked into the visitor's center of the well known branded building and read some of the information about the place. They offered guided tours that we did not have time to take but Tyson had taken in the past and enjoyed. We also stopped at an old castle a little outside of town and spent some time taking photos and exploring the oldness of it all.
After all of this acitivity we stopped for a very windy picnic lunch. Tyson's cousin had kindly prepared sandwhiches and snacks for us to feast on but the wind decided not to let us have it so easy. Drinks, napkins, saran wraps and even the blankets were each flying at certain points in time. We ate quickly and drove to the farm. I cannot say much about the drive because I slept most of the way but my guess is that the others had a pleasant time. I did wake up at one point to see a few gypsies riding their horse and carriages and their villiages of caravans. We learned that they are a community of people who steal from others and sell their stolen goods back to the farmers. Apparently they are a funny bunch who inbreed, do not pay taxes, like to burn and destroy the places they live in and are not afraid to become violent. We went to the farm of Tyson's Aunt and the family. There are six children in total including the cousin who we were staying with. She had to go to work for a few hours but I met two more of the younger cousins that live on the farm. They were running the place since their parents were out of town. I watched the baby and we followed Tyson and his other cousin to milk the cows. This happens twice a day everyday and it is a big job. There are hundreds of cows that have to be moved from one field to the milking area with the help of a Land Rover and a couple of border collies. They are led ten at a time into a big room where they recieve feed to keep them happy while sucking machines are attached to their nipples and they get drained of their milk. The milk goes into glass holding containers and then is transported into a large steel contraption where it is kept cool. The whole procedure was fascinating to watch and even got pretty entertaining when Tyson recieved a couple of golden showers and one brown one.
This took a couple of hours and by that time, Tyson`s cousin had returned and we all head back to their house about thirty minutes away for delicious fish and chips. The adults hung out and chatted over tea and desserts for a while before it was bagpipe time. Tyson`s cousin is a very talented musician and Tyson has always dreamed of playing the bagpipes so she set up her set for him to try on. He was supposed to use about six breaths to fill up the reserve and then keep breathing into it to keep it full while playing notes. He actually was not too bad and was able to make noises that resembled what the instrument is supposed to sound like. I not only could not make the correct sounds, but I couldn`t even hold the thing up right so apparently Tyson has the blood lines for this difficult instrument. We were treated to a real song from the professional in the group which was exciting.
The next morning Tyson and I woke up earlier and baby sat for a few hours while the baby`s mom and dad were at work. We managed to keep him entertained, fed and clothed the whole time but we cannot say we weren`t tired afterwards. When Tyson`s cousin got home we puttered around for a while chatting, doing laundry and organizing our things. We planned to go out after the baby`s nap.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
Giant's Causeway is not a big race track as I suspected but rather it is huge formations of volcanic rocks that have naturally formed into hexagon-shaped steps along the coast. There are over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns as a result of intense volcanic and geological activity at the Unesco world heritage site. The rocks are sixty million years old due to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows. The place is also the victim of many legends and stories that the locals here believe. We did not buy the audio guide so I cannot tell you more than it is about a Scottish giant, an Irish giant, a camel, a wishing rock, a grandma and a fight. We walked along the paths and took in the breathtaking views of jagged cliffs, thousands of smooth steps and beautiful blue waters crashing onto them. We climbed about and took many photos. The place was quite busy with tourists and the rain even held up for our whole visit. We snuck back out without being noticed and drove through the city of Bushmills. It is a small place but it has some famous sites including the whiskey distillery. We walked into the visitor's center of the well known branded building and read some of the information about the place. They offered guided tours that we did not have time to take but Tyson had taken in the past and enjoyed. We also stopped at an old castle a little outside of town and spent some time taking photos and exploring the oldness of it all.
After all of this acitivity we stopped for a very windy picnic lunch. Tyson's cousin had kindly prepared sandwhiches and snacks for us to feast on but the wind decided not to let us have it so easy. Drinks, napkins, saran wraps and even the blankets were each flying at certain points in time. We ate quickly and drove to the farm. I cannot say much about the drive because I slept most of the way but my guess is that the others had a pleasant time. I did wake up at one point to see a few gypsies riding their horse and carriages and their villiages of caravans. We learned that they are a community of people who steal from others and sell their stolen goods back to the farmers. Apparently they are a funny bunch who inbreed, do not pay taxes, like to burn and destroy the places they live in and are not afraid to become violent. We went to the farm of Tyson's Aunt and the family. There are six children in total including the cousin who we were staying with. She had to go to work for a few hours but I met two more of the younger cousins that live on the farm. They were running the place since their parents were out of town. I watched the baby and we followed Tyson and his other cousin to milk the cows. This happens twice a day everyday and it is a big job. There are hundreds of cows that have to be moved from one field to the milking area with the help of a Land Rover and a couple of border collies. They are led ten at a time into a big room where they recieve feed to keep them happy while sucking machines are attached to their nipples and they get drained of their milk. The milk goes into glass holding containers and then is transported into a large steel contraption where it is kept cool. The whole procedure was fascinating to watch and even got pretty entertaining when Tyson recieved a couple of golden showers and one brown one.
This took a couple of hours and by that time, Tyson`s cousin had returned and we all head back to their house about thirty minutes away for delicious fish and chips. The adults hung out and chatted over tea and desserts for a while before it was bagpipe time. Tyson`s cousin is a very talented musician and Tyson has always dreamed of playing the bagpipes so she set up her set for him to try on. He was supposed to use about six breaths to fill up the reserve and then keep breathing into it to keep it full while playing notes. He actually was not too bad and was able to make noises that resembled what the instrument is supposed to sound like. I not only could not make the correct sounds, but I couldn`t even hold the thing up right so apparently Tyson has the blood lines for this difficult instrument. We were treated to a real song from the professional in the group which was exciting.
The next morning Tyson and I woke up earlier and baby sat for a few hours while the baby`s mom and dad were at work. We managed to keep him entertained, fed and clothed the whole time but we cannot say we weren`t tired afterwards. When Tyson`s cousin got home we puttered around for a while chatting, doing laundry and organizing our things. We planned to go out after the baby`s nap.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
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