The Contents of a Tesseract

September 14, 2008

We awoke too early again, and watched a zoo program called Roar for an hour, then watched the televised Highland Championships on BBC. Love those Kilts! After a very filling breakfast, and a slan leat to Angela, we headed north to Belfast. On the way, we stopped at Monasterboice, which is a very old churchsite. Now a graveyard, there were tons of celtic crosses around, and two very elaborate and old high crosses that told the story of Jesus’s crucifixion. A big surprise was finding another ancestral line of mine, a McCullough, buried there, amidst the huge ancient trees.

As we went, the roads became much nicer once in Northern Ireland. I know the Republic is doing a lot of work on their roads with help from the EU, so I’m sure that will change quickly. I tried driving for a bit - not too hard, but Mom was too upset about not driving to let me continue. Besides, I am the far better navigator. We drove to Carrickfergus, met the ocean, then drove along the Antrim Coast, which is very beautiful and rugged. Bought batteries in the small town of Ballycastle, which was the receiving point of Marconi’s wireless message from Rathlin Island. The puffins had already flown off for the year, so we didn’t take the ferry out to the island. Took a break at Glenarm Castle Garden tea room - scones again, and I’m not complaining!

After that, Mom was driving again. We took a shortcut across the Antrim mountains, which are both mysterious and intensely interesting in how barren they are. Heather was in bloom everywhere, and fog moved in and around the marshy bushes and sheep. We also went to the Giant’s Causeway, which was a bit too touristy for me. Breathtaking views, though you had to look through the people to see them. Somehow, we managed to skip Bushmill’s distillery. It has been a long day, and we have not had a full meal since breakfast. Tomorrow, I vow that we WILL eat lunch!

I feel worse and worse every day with this cold. I’m sure walking in the sea air didn’t help. I got my kids and husband presents today, I’m sure the first of many.

September 15, 2008

The day started out nice, but rainy. We had a huge breakfast at our B&B, Glenageary farm, and got to meet a Scots couple from Clyde as well as a couple from British Columbia at table. There was a westie that did a little dance for bacon. We headed for Omagh right after.

It wasn’t a straight direction to Omagh, though. Mom called it a distraction. We became highly distracted in Donegal. First, it was with the Grianan Ailigh, an ancient building of dry stone that was the innaugural seat of the O’Neils. It was extremely misty atop the hill, and in the stone ring, but patience rewarded us with a sudden, amazing view of the valley below; the Swilly shining like mercury. Since we are related to Niall of the Nine Hostages, Mom decided we were definitely O’Neils. It was easy to do in such an inspirational place.

I found a small dolman indicator on one of my maps that was outside of Raphoe, so we managed our way there. What a wonderful surprise. Beltany Standing Stones - at one time a stone circle, then turned into an iron age fort. Sheep were everywhere. I think wellies will be a requirement for any more trips to Ireland, because we had a rough time in the rain and sheep poo trying not to mess up our pants! Not that I really cared much about that at the time. I was so entranced by the area. The small dark forest nearby was wonderful, and the light glinting through the trees reminded me of stained glass windows. The path that led to both stones and forest was overgrown, deep and still. Huge trees covered with knots of ivy made the place very mysterious, and being there was very special for me. Mom made it to the stones, but decided against approaching the sheep who were also inhabiting the pasture. Good Call.

The man who runs the Greenmount Lodge (the B&B we stayed at in Omagh) knew some people from Huntsville Alabama. That blew my mind.

We had a wreck after we reached Omagh. It was late, and we had not had lunch. We were stuck in some kind of fairy trick for about 2 hours where all of the street signs were the same. I’m convinced of fairy mischief in that. But anyway, the airbags deployed, and we were both shaken up a lot. Everyone was really nice about it, and we managed to get a ride back to the Lodge while our poor crumpled Yaris was taken to a car shop down the road. Tomorrow, we head to Derry to plead and beg for a new car, although at this point, I am longing for home and really wanting to hug my kids.

Hello there. I thought I would post, briefly, about my trip to Ireland that happened from September 11 - 25, 2008.

The following was taken directly from my trip journal.

September 11, 2008

Departure -

Hello from the air! In Huntsville, we were 45 minutes on the ground waiting for traffic to clear in Atlanta. So far, I’m a tiny bit dizzy, but nothing too bad. Brought some lifesavers candies to suck on to reduce the pressure on my ears, and that seems to be working. We arrived in Atlanta from our schoolbus in the air to plop Mom into a wheel chair and I was off! Walking and maneuvering through the airport at workout speed. Sensai would be proud. I’m hoping for the best, since Mom’s back is already hurting and we aren’t even in Ireland yet.

Hopefully this 8 hour flight will be easy. It will be 9:25am in Ireland when we arrive, so we will have missed an entire night. Everything is pleasant so far. The Boeing 767 is large and minimally filled, as Mom predicted. She has three seats to lie down on in the center. They’ve already handed out earphones and those little masks, and I had 3 pillows on my seat when I arrived, as though they just knew I needed them. I haven’t flown on an airplane of any kind since 9/11, so this is a bit momentous for me. The security checks were interesting. The private screens on the back of all the chairs are wonderful! Got to watch Iron Man again.

We didn’t stop - couldn’t stop - for a snack in Atlanta, so I’m opting for the tortellini for dinner. I hate the way airplane food smells, though. Roo, you would have loved the take-off, but the landing in Atlanta was a bit sloppy. Bunny, I promise some day we will fly together as a family, so you can be above the clouds. Did you wave at me? I looked for you both in the airport windows. It is so scary and hard to leave you both. I hope Daddy takes good care of you. I promise, the next time, you will BOTH be with me. I wonder what business class is like. Coach is really nice - so much nicer than 9 years ago. The seats seem so big. Maybe it’s because I’m so much smaller.

September 12, 2008

Good morning again! We’re here, but in bad shape. I feel better than I did before I slept, though. Mom’s back is hurting very badly, and I have a cold and sore throat - Thanks Delta! We arrived and since I wasn’t exactly awake, I followed Mom out of the airport to where she was just sure Hertz rental was, but it wasn’t. We eventually found the bus, got on, and got in line to get our car. It’s a Yaris, bright red. Mom is driving, but I think I will try tomorrow.

The B&B - Killowen House - in Drogheda is very nice and quiet, with lush gardens and a dog next door. Angla, our host, is super nice, and gave us the room on the first floor. There’s a tea service and three beds, plus en suite bath. That’s new to me! The last time I was in the UK, bathrooms were always down the hall. For lunch-dinner, we went to a local place called the Black Bull. It was very nice, and they gave us so much food, in the colors of the Irish Flag, too. I made it my plan to try everything. We had vegetable soup, and then something called stuffed steak. We also had hot chocolate! Too much to finish, sadly. Next time, just the soup!

After the meal, I started feeling a bit lightheaded - probably too much food, ha, so we came back to the B&B. I went to sleep almost immediately, and woke up when the phone rang at 7:30pm. Mom sat straight up in bed and started talking about going home. She misses her dogs. I showed her how to put a pillow behind her legs so it would feel like one of her dogs, and she felt better. I also told her that I wasn’t willing to give up yet. So it’s 9pm now, and we’re both wide awake. I think I will have some hot tea.

Tomorrow, we set out for the day to the Boyne Valley, and get in touch with our ancestral roots. New Grange, Dowth, and Knowth are big neolithic tombs that date back to 2000 b.c. Angela has suggested some other interesting places to go, so hopefully we’ll have a nice day for it.

September 13, 2008

The morning started off a bit earlier than expected. 16 hours of sleep made both Mom and I eager for the sun to come up! But, we waited until 8:30 for breakfast, talking in our beds about what we would do today. Angela provided a full Irish breakfast for us. Then, it was on to New Grange, to beat the tour coaches! Our OPW cards got us in for free, and Mom was able to walk half way, then ride in a wheel chair the rest.

New Grange is amazing. It reminds me a little of Oakville Mound near Moulton, except that it is much more magnificent. Everything has been meticulously recreated on the outside. The lighter rock is actually a type of quartz that seems to capture the sunlight and give the whole place an aura as you walk up to it. My favorite parts were the large stones that had been carved with swirling and diamond patterns so long ago. Only 300 people a day are allowed to see it, so we felt very lucky.

After New Grange, we went to Slane, kind of on our way to Tara, and discovered the Hill of Slane, upon which St. Patrick lit the easter fire and annoyed the current high king, who was supposed to light the fire first from Tara. They light the fire from Slane every year, now, and the place is host to rock concerts and all manner of parties.

From there, we drove on the wee roads to Tara. We found out a lot about our ancestor, Gormfleigh, who was married to Brian Boru at one time. She’s got a checkered past according to some of the books on her, but she seemed to be rather special, having married three different kings. So I was overwhelmed a bit, to stand on that hilltop, and imagine her witnessing Brian Boru’s innauguration.

We had scones and clotted cream for lunch, then went to look at the Holy Well near there. Afterards, we went to Trim Castle. It was really enormous, and had a murder hole above the portcullis, a keep, curtain walls for defense - you name it!

About sunset, we returned to Killowen House to rest Mom’s back, and I made a grocery list of mainly cold medicine. Found an off-license to get the much-needed supplies, right next to the Black Bull! So, we ate dinner there - just soup this time.

I wish my cold would go away, but it doesn’t look likely. Tomorrow, we plan on a long drive to Bushmills, going along the Antrim Coast.