Ireland, Day Four--The Giant's Causeway

Again we slept in.  And I think we had convinced Sarah to do so too, especially after staying up until all hours the night before playing games!

The weather forecast proclaimed Wednesday the sunniest and warmest day of the week, so I figured it would be the best day to head to The Giant's Causeway.  Turns out that it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site (we were keeping track and feeling rather accomplished about visiting so many of them).

I'm a map person.  I have loved maps since I learned to read.  Our cottage was Kilcoobin, and you can see it marked on the map.  It proves how close we were to the ocean.  We were only a five minute drive from The Giant's Causeway.

The Giant's Causeway is an area of interlocking basalt columns that run along the uppermost coast of Northern Ireland for about three miles.  There is nothing else like it in the world.  Depending on whom you speak with, they were either formed by a volcano 50 million years ago, or by feuding giants.  I like the idea of giants creating them ;-)

The legend tells us that the Irish giant, Finn McCool (awesome name, by the way) had a rival, a Scottish giant named Bennandonner.  Finn decided to build a causeway to Scotland so that he could challenge his adversary in battle.  When the work was completed, the causeway stretched from North Antrim in Northern Ireland to Staffa, a Scottish Island.

Bennandonner accepted the invitation to walk over to Ireland and fight for supremacy.  As Bennandonner appeared over the horizon, Finn McCool realized in horror that he had taken on a rival much bigger than himself.  He ran home to his wife, Oonagh.  What to do?

The quick thinking Oonagh disguised Finn as a baby and made him curl up in an enormous cradle.  Bennandonner, faced with the sight of this huge "child", took fright at the thought of the size of his father and fled back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway in his wake.

After that story, why would you think it was a volcano that created the Causeway??

The columns.  Some you can walk on....

....and others are completely exposed and rather high!

I love giving my girls the camera because they get some rather cool shots.

I have such fond memories of this place from when we visited back in 2005 with the Daileys.  There really is nothing like it, and it left a lasting impression on all of us. In fact, when I was planning the trip, this was one of two places that John mentioned he wanted to revisit again.

We began by touring the new visitor center and informing ourselves about what we would be seeing.  Then, we took a short guided tour with Catharine, a dark-haired little Irish woman who, as John says, spent more time talking about the visitor center than about the Causeway itself.  It didn't matter.  We needed to walk down to the Causeway, and having her along, teaching us a bit, wasn't so bad.

The columns kind of remind me of Superman's Fortress of Solitude--they rise out of the ocean in random columns, many of which we could climb on.  It was definitely easier to step on the ones that had convex tops (versus the ones that were concave)!  Having bad balance with the ankle, back and hip, I especially watched for the easier route.

Three miles of these.  Aren't they amazing?

Last time we visited, we were seriously the only visitors.  This time, seeing as it was St. Patrick's Day weekend, it was far more busy, and we had a hard time getting photos in the prime spots.  In fact, we completely MISSED the Giant's Boot (ugh, it still kills me...)  However, we edged our way out.

My once-a-year shot.

Hannah took this picture of John and me.  One of my favorites of the trip.

Back in 2005, Celly, the Dailey wife/mom, took this picture of Glo and John:

I have absolutely no idea what John was thinking, but it was probably good that I didn't know about this.  In honor of Celly and fond memories, we recreated the photo for her:



This was actually a pretty funny moment ;-)

I was trying to take an epically awesome picture of Johannah.  Just as I snapped the shutter, I noticed that Hannah was not alone.....

Another favorite ;-)

We spent quite a bit of time down on the coast, but then decided to take the "challenging" route up the cliffs to the top.  It wasn't really difficult for anyone who has two legs....and is willing to climb 167 stairs ;-)  Plus, it's completely worth it--the view is amazing.

Coming up the stairs.  I was ALWAYS bringing up the rear.

Once we got there, several of us were more than happy to sit and take in the view.  Not John of course.  There was the most challenging trail heading away from the visitor's center, and you better believe he was going to hike it.   Or run it.  On his newly operated-on knee.

Jared, being a good sport, went with him, although from what I hear, he got John to stop running (thank goodness).  John just happened to be wearing his traffic-cone-orange Baltimore marathon shirt, and despite being barely visible, we could still spot him at the end of his trail.

You can JUST see John's shirt in this picture.  Jared is there too--trust me!

The amazing view.

Looking back on it, I wish we had spent more time there.  For some reason, it brings me really happy feelings.  Plus, it was the first time that I had a chance to talk to Sarah one-on-one.

I snapped this photo of Hannah when she was unsuspecting.  I think it's stunning.

I can't explain it, but there is something about Ireland that just brings peace to my soul.  As we were waiting in the customs line at the airport on our way home, there was a woman behind me who is a native born Irish woman.  When I told her that Ireland was one of my favorite places in the world, she told me that ALL of her American friends say the same thing.  There's nowhere else they would rather go in the world.  For me, I think I know why:

I really do believe that one can feel the hand of God in the Creation in Ireland.  There just isn't an ugly place, and there are vistas and views that couldn't possibly be conceived of by man.  It's like Heavenly Father decided to create Ireland to remind us that he loves us.

Seeing as it was the Kennedys' turn to supply dinner, we opted for the easy route and bought frozen pizzas, more frozen meat pies and Clementines.

There was more laundry to do and more games to play.  Good times!