Travel Tales

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Calling Colleen in Raleigh!

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:07:00 +0000

Hi Colleen, thank you for signing Gracie's guestbook. I've tried emailing you but has come back undelivered. Beth was wondering if Maggie was on hsb and would like to keep in touch. Hope you are good and at some point, read this.
Deb x

Quick update

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:21:00 +0000

All alive and well here. Have a fried mother board on the laptop so hoping the USB - IDE adaptor I've sent away for will enable me to retrieve all my files and photos from the hard drive *sigh*

I will get this blog updated soon. Meanwhile, I've just launched my daughter's fundraising blog. Please visit and pass the word around. If you could put her button (as seen on my sidebar) on your blog, I'd be really grateful.

Thanks for popping in.
Deb

Arlington Court and Church

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:22:00 +0000

Zoo fun

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:08:00 +0000

EJ was really taken with these peacocks. He is animal mad and I'd a hard job convincing him that he most definitely could not cuddle the cheetah :)

Croyde Bay Devon

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Well, we're back over a week so thought it was time for a quick update. I keep tossing up whether or not to can the whole blog thing but when I do get around to updating them, I find it enjoyable. I'm working on my time management and computer time has been slashed. I find reading and learning when online more beneficial than anything I have to say!

The trip to England was enjoyable although we did have a character strengthening weekend on the way back home :) I blame Land Rover although I guess they weren't even remotely at fault. Hubby this year, switched allegiance to Toyota and picked up a '97 tidy Landcruiser which would have lasted for years to come ... or so I thought. After less than two months, he was pining for a Land Rover and bought this old defender on ebay in September, to be picked up on our way home. If the house ever does sell and we move back down under, the plan is to drive part of the way and ship from the middle east. If we're stuck here, we may take a tiki tour round the interior of Turkey next year. Either way, I guess we'll need more space.

An object of great beauty - in the eyes of my husband

As the Landy didn't have a gear box- among other things, we hired a car trailer in Portadown, unhitched it in England and then drove it home. Hubby figured that one of the tyres was suspect and chugged along fairly slowly next to the hard shoulder on the motorway. On the Sunday morning we had a blow out and what should have been a three hour trip to Wales, turned into an eleven and a half hour endurance test. We'd spent a hairy night in the Birmingham F1 the previous night with youth of today running up and down the corridors banging on the doors (although a close encounter with this crabbit old thirty something woman at 4am put an end to that) so it was lovely when we finally arrived at the home of our friend's to celebrate their son's birthday. Thank you again guys for your kind hospitality. We had a wonderful time.

And now, as they say it's back to porridge and I'm sitting here playing with photos, some of which I'll share here.

The coast around north Devon is pretty. We'd never visited this area before and the kids don't get to the beach often at home so they really enjoyed themselves. It is great fun doing all these things again with an inquisitive two year old.

Checking in from Devon

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:12:00 +0000

I've been without internet access for a whole week now! No noticable withdrawls.
We're in north Devon by the sea and the weather has been favorable. Tomorrow we hope to drive on down to Cornwall.
We ended up not camping. At 4.30am on our way to the port, it dawned on dear husband that he'd forgotten to pack the one (only) thing he was in charge of - the tent! We had sleeping bags, new inflatable mattresses, replacement foot pump etc. - just no tent. So we ended up staying in a friend's mobile home on their farm. I felt awful as we had planned to pop in on them for an hour after arriving in Wales and ended up as house guests. Still, it was lovely to catch up and the kids had a blast.
My internet credit is almost done. I'm allergic to radio and it's blaring in my ear so I don't think I'll feed this any more coins. Will be back on the 20th God willing.

Home away from home - will she ever camp again!

England

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:03:00 +0000

At 3 am we plan to drag everyone out of bed and drive for four hours to catch the morning sailing to Wales. We had originally planned to camp near the port this evening, however it is freezing cold and blowing a gale outside. Here's hoping it calms down a bit as we're booked into a campsite in Wales tomorrow night to break the journey down to Devon.

Once in Devon we've managed to hire a cheap caravan - off season is great - and will do the same again in Cornwall. On the way home, we will attempt to camp again. When you have this many kids, the budget dictates it. They on the other hand, view it as a huge adventure.

The reason we're heading to the south west of England is that our daughter is due back at the institute for brain injured children where she attends, for her bi annual review. TG was sustained a traumatic brain injury at three months of age due to a series of hospital blunders (of course, they're not saying that) which has left her with severe cerebral palsy. Someone asked me recently if I wasn't bitter and mad. The answer is no. I believe that this happened in the permissive will of God. I've been following a thread on another blog lately and am grateful that I understand and believe in the sovereignity of God. But that is by the by and probably a topic for different blog.

We plan to make this as educational for the kids as possible. I've been saving my Tesco coupons and have enough to pay for one of the ferries and a couple of days out. In Devon we hope to use them in Exmoor Zoo and visit The Big Sheep. We also have our NT membership so have packed the guide book and will plan as we go - weather permitting. In Wales, all the museums are FREE which is brilliant. A few years ago we did the Big Pit. This trip we hope to do the Museum of Welsh Life in Cardiff which is an open air folk park. In Cornwall (the reason for heading down there) we will revisit the Eden Project.

So, hopefully wifi permitting, I'll get some blogging done on the road but for now, it's off to bed.

The country came to town ...

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:12:00 +0000

And so did 3 million people ... or so it seemed while trying to navigate one toddler through the thronging crowd.

There were ladies in bicycles ...

animals galore ...

tractors and steam engines ...

tanks (hey this is N Ireland) ...

wagons ...

and an American preacher

Award

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:28:00 +0000

Thank you Flomom for the award :)

Around Armagh

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:43:00 +0000

Another humble abode

I'm determined to get the most out of my NT membership but it just won't stop raining. A couple of Saturdays ago, we drove to the coast thinking we'd do the Giant's Causeway and beach. Although not quite biblical proportions, the deluge must've been getting pretty close. For those of you who don't have the privilege of inhabiting this cold, damp island, we've had the worst flooding for over 40 years (or something like that.)

One afternoon the last weekend in August, it did stop raining and the sun actually shone so I took a walk around the grounds of The Argory which is an old country estate in the county where we live. Here are some snapshots of the well watered garden.

I'm not sure what these great plants actually are. The leaves are huge and the inside intriguing ... to little old me anyway. Any clues? I'd love some in my garden.

Next weekend our local shopping town hosts 'The Country comes to Town' - one day a year when they close the town off and bring in animals, tractors and stalls etc. Usually it's the same old stuff from the previous year, even down to the layout of the stalls but this year is the 10th anniversary, so there may well be subtle changes. EJ is tractor and animal mad so it will be nice to go with an enthusiastic charge. The full report shall appear here.

Award

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:33:00 +0000

Kim at The Narrow Path and Pam at Mom's Mutterings have blessed me with the Sharing The Love award. Memoirs of a Mommy created this award in honor of the donor that saved Noah's life. The purpose of this award is to raise awareness about organ donation and to share the love.

Thank you both, I'm honored to receive it. Had Miss T's cardiac reconstruction surgery been unsuccessful, she would have required a transplant. We know how difficult it is.

Cliffs of Moher

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:37:00 +0000

I'm guilty of blog neglect. Nothing new there. Thought I'd wind this up with a blurb about the cliffs of Moher but found a nice website that tells ye all about it. You can even take a little tour.

These photos were taken in Doolin with the cliffs in the background. The ferry to the Aran Islands run from this quaint little village. The volcanic rock around the sea front was pretty amazing.

I'm not sure what will be happening in September. Miss T is due for a reassessment in the south of England which is temptingly close to the channel and Europe. I was severely tempted to try and squeeze in a trip taking in Pompeii in Italy, old Corinth in Greece, Ephesus and Cappadocea in Turkey and Iran (the border crossing is a bit of a nightmare but once there, the country and warmth and hospitality of the people is amazing), however budget and my cute little night owl have scuppered that plan. At the minute I'm trying to arrange a home exchange in England although couples that can travel in school holidays don't necessarily want a pile of kids in their homes, and the ones with a brood like us, have them in school. Maybe Dad and T will just fly over. We'll see.
If I can get the old scanner up and running, I'll score the archives for past exploits. Thank you for visiting.

West coast of Ireland - Connemara

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Photo album

Connemara National Park was founded and opened to the public in 1980. It features 29.57 square kilometres of mountains, bogs, heaths, grasslands and forests. Dotted throughout are peat bogs and mounds of cut turf that are being harvested for burning. The scenery closely resembled that of Skye and the Scottish west coast.

More to follow ...

West coast of Ireland - driving dangerously!

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Total gridlock

Almost a head on collision

West coast of Ireland - Murrisk

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:12:00 +0000

Just as the big blue blue skies in America are amazing, the light in the west coast of Ireland is equally as fascinating. The first campsite we pulled into was at the foot of a fog engulfed mountain. Behind us was the sea and sunny blue sky. By late evening, the fog turned slowly black and the sun shone brighter. It never rained.

View from the tent

The following day we walked around an old abbey and stopped by the National Famine Monument and Croagh Patrick, which was only a couple of minute's drive. The bronze sculpture is monument to the Great Famine of the 1840s and depicts a 'coffin ship' with skeleton bodies in the rigging. This was of particular interest to the dc as they've been reading about it over summer.

We were trialling a tepee tent. Fantastic! Having looked at every other type out there, this is the only thing that ticks all the boxes. It's amazingly cheap, easy to put up (less than 10 minutes), has no inner tents to mess around with, has a sewn in ground sheet, is water proof and mould proof, exremely spacious - can sleep 12 and is lightweight to transport around. Cost £295 with free postage to Ireland. Total saving on equivalent - £1500! If you need details, get in touch.

West coast of Ireland - Drumcliff

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:29:00 +0000

We're back again after a whistle stop tour of the west coast of Ireland. Had three full days sight seeing - it was unanimously decided that after a second grim night in the tent with junior that we'd spend all day Friday tiki touring around and then do a long drive home late evening. Once we sort out his night time thing at home, we'll pick up where we left off :) Despite the sleep deprivation, it was a really neat and refreshing couple of days! I guess I'm used to running on not much shut eye.

We lunched in Castle Coole but didn't hang around for a tour as they were pretty booked up then drove to Sligo stopping in Drumcliff to see the high cross (above) and round tour which are all that remains from a monastic settlement founded by St Columba in 574.

The poet and writer WB Yeats is buried in the churchyard which houses the high cross where his grandfather was once the rector. Athough originally buried in France after his death in 1939, his wishes were granted in 1948 when his remains were brought back to rest at Drumcliff. I confess to knowing absolutely nothing about his work. The location is pretty with Ben Bulben visible from the rear of the church. The sun broke through and was hitting the mountain when we were there which was magical. The epitaph is taken from one of his poems which is entitled "Under Ben Bulben". Another excerpt from the same poem reads "Under bare Ben Bulben's head In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.

From here we headed south and set up camp in wild and woolly country at Murrisk.

Trips on the drawing board

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:17:00 +0000

Next weekend we will be tripping around the west coast of Ireland with our tent for four nights. The joys of hubby working pt and having a flexible boss! I've been trying to check out camping grounds as we've never camped in Ireland before despite living here for the past 11 years. We haven't even been down that coast either. Anything linked to the caravan club charge upward of Euro 24 per night for a pitch but I've managed to find some modest but adequate sites between 6-10 Euro - much more sporting.
We hope to visit Castle Coole in Enniskillen - I really do intend making the most of this NT membership, Drumcliff Celtic cross in Sligo (birthplace of W.B. Yeats), Connemara National Park, The Burren and Cliffs of Mohr which will take us down as far as County Clare. I'd like to visit the lakes in Killarny but time does not permit.
We will be trialling our new tent which we hope, current non existent budget permitting, to take to Europe in September.

Around Ireland - Mount Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:36:00 +0000

Monday it was dry so we decided to head to County Down for the day. Hubby is off Monday's and usually takes Miss T for therapy but things have been closed for the July holidays.

First off we visited the Ark Open Farm. They are now taking Tesco Days Out coupons so I paid with them which was very handy indeed. Every quarter, the points you accumulate are converted into shopping coupons. If you chose not to spend them in store, you can quadruple their value for travel, dining or days out - so £2.50 becomes £10.00. Earlier on in the month we went to the Ice Bowl and the kids did bowling, skating and romped in Indiana Land - all paid for with my coupons. Makes it easier to shop there, although I'd rather support a local organic farmer's market - if we had one.

After we'd seen the animals, fed the lamb, stroked the chicks and played in the park, we went for a walk through the grounds of Mount Stewart - another National Trust Property. I thought it would be best not to drag the little ones through the actual house as we can only fit Gracie's chair into the car which left our 2 year old on foot and bubs in a sling.

Lakeside walk with Temple in the background

We love walking through gardens and the lakeside one was stunning. Dotted throughout were a lot of New Zealand natives - ponga ferns, club palms and the pohutukawa to name but a few. Very nostalgic. I was surprised that they were suited to our climate.

club palm

Ponga Ferns

Pohutukawa or 'New Zealand Christmas tree' is found in the North Island of New Zealand around the coastal areas. It blooms from November to January but peaks mid December, hence the nickname. One year we visited the Coromandel in the North Island and they were putting on a fine display.

Cj and I walked through the formal gardens en route to the car which very pretty too.

As usual, I took way too many photos but seeings I like flowers, I'll put yet another slide show on my blog! As sole author, I reserve the right to bore my readers with whatever takes my fancy.

Around Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:25:00 +0000

If the housing market picks up and we get our house sold, this summer could well be our last one in these parts. So, we plan to make the most of it and take day trips all over ... that's if it stops raining long enough!

I joined the National Trust so hope to check out all their properties and visit the beaches and Giant's Causeway on the north coast. Further afield we may drive south to Kerry and Clare, taking the tent with us. In saying that, the cost of diesel is crazy here - over £1.33 (roughly $2.70 ish US) per litre and set to rise.

So watch this space ... weather and fuel prices permitting of course.

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I took a walk around Ardress House which is near our home in County Armagh.

Believe it or not, this used to be a farmhouse. I think the owners must have had delusions of grandeur or something, as it has been extended in all directions in neoclassical fashion. Note fake wing at front. No European bureaucratic rubbish in these days. We can't even convert our roofspace without having to almost rebuild the entire house.

There is a fantastic old cobbled farm yard to the rear, complete with chickens and a couple of peacocks which EJ thought were amazing although they took one look at him and fled. Mustn't have fancied being rugby tackled by an over enthusiastic two year old. The out buildings are unpretentious and date from around the 1850's. The equipment is simple and built to last. I reckon that I could have lived back then :)

Next week we hope to make the most of our membership and call in on the Argory (another NT property) which is a couple of miles further up the road from this one. Armagh is known as Orchard County due to the milder climate and fruit produce and dotted all around the countryside are large houses and estates like this one. Makes our teeny wee house feel like a garden shed!

American Legacy

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Miss TG never misses a beat! When she was a tiny tot, we'd have to smuggle food past her - she'd even spot you chewing a mile off.

On Monday she was returning from her weekly hyperbaric oxygen therapy session in Belfast with Dad when suddenly a huge cheer went up from the back seat. She'd spied the golden arches and must've remembered all the McFlurry's she'd eaten on holiday. At home we tend to keep her dairy free but when you're on the road doing fluid balance, you do what it takes. There was nothing else for it but for Al do a u-turn on the middle of the dual carriageway and drive on through.

This super duper funny kid obviously has her priorities sorted.

Colonial Williamsburg

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Set in 301 acres, Colonial Williamsburg is the country's largest live, interactive history museum. There are 88 original buildings and more than 500 meticulously reconstructed ones which include colonial homes, government buildings, trade shops and taverns where Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and others conceived the ideals of liberty and independence.

I could ramble for a long time about this place but have to finish up here. Our weeds are 7 ft high in the polytunnel so I'm going out shortly now that hubby is home from work to make a start. If I'm brave I'll post a photo of the jungle on my very neglected homestead blog. *Note - we are not home steaders but aspire to one day be as self sufficient as possible. It may inspire me to get out every evening for an after shot.
Sometimes my own stupidity knows no bounds! When we were on the road I'd planned to use this blog as a journal, however most of any computer time was spent resizing photographs. It was only when I was almost done the other night that I saw the 'multiple file uploader' tab on the pix resizer feature that I've been using for over a year now! You live and learn!

Ferry to Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:28:00 +0000

After a drive around Jamestown Island we took the free ferry to Scotland! I noted a lot of familiar sounding names on my map ... Kilmarnock and Irvinestown among them. The ferry leaves from the Settlement near the Riverside Exhibits.

Once across we took a short drive and came across an old plantation, before heading back over. Our evening temperature reading in the car was 83 degrees. Overall, our weather was fantastic. The previous evening we'd driven over to Virginia beach, taking the tunnel under the sea. I had planned spending Gracie's birthday at the beach as she really enjoys the water, however it wasn't really our kind of place. We ended up doing Yorktown and our drive this evening instead, then headed to cracker barrel for tea, stopping at Walmart on the way home to pick up cake.

Smiths Fort Plantation house

I plan to do a short project this month on slavery. Check out our home school blog to see how we get on!

Yorktown

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:49:00 +0000

On October 19, 1871, the decisive military campaign of the American Revolution culminated with the British surrender to combined American and French forces under the command of George Washington. The Siege of Yorktown effectively ended the six year struggle for American Independence and set the stage for a new government and nation.

The Yorktown Victory Center is located near the battlefield and has re-created a Continental Army encampment, complete with sleeping quarters, supply tents and cooking fires. The boys really enjoyed themselves and got to try on military uniform. All the staff here were fantastic and made is such fun!

In the gallery exhibits, we learned a little about the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution and the development of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

After the encampment, a short walk lead us to the 1780's Farm which provided a glimpse at home life after the Revolution on a typical Tidewater Virginia farm. We saw tobacco being grown and I really enjoyed walking through the re-created buildings.

photo album

The historic triangle

noreply@blogger.com (TG) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Jamestown Settlement

Prior to flying back we had four nights in Newport News Virginia, which allowed us to explore the peninsula. This place is amazing! If you want to see living history, come here.

Jamestown is part of the 'historic triange' (along with Yorktown and Williamsburg)
Thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys made a four and a half month voyage to the banks of the James River to form this settlement. It had been their intention to make a profit from the resources of the New World for the Virginia Company's shareholders in London, however once they confronted the harsh realities of their new home, the focus shifted to survival.

The first place we visited was the Powhatan Indian village. Had it not been for these people and their willingness to pass on survival skills, the first settlers would most certainly have died.

From the Indian village, a short walk let us to a reconstruction of James Fort which was fun!

Our last stop was the riverfront discovery area where the kids got to walk through replicas of the three English ships that brought the settlers to the new world.

Now that we'd seen the start of Colonial America (1607) the following day we'd witness the end (1781) in Yorktown, a 30 minute drive to the other coast on the peninsula.