Ireland, Day Three--Carrick-A-Rede Bridge

We all agreed to just sleep in.  After all, a vacation isn't really a vacation if you don't relax a bit.  We were all feeling mighty fine when we collectively woke up at 10 am, until we discovered that Sarah had already gone RUNNING that morning!  Yep, she put us to shame!

After a quick breakfast, we drove ten minutes to Carrick-a-rede bridge.  The Carrick-a-rede rope bridge was originally built by salmon fishermen as a way to connect them to their nets (and the island, Carrickarede) from the mainland.  It's 68 feet long, and 98 feet above the rocks and water below.  Of course, the bridge didn't have the safeties and security originally and was rather dangerous, but now it's just a test of courage as one crosses over the gap.

I love this place.  It's just such a fantastic experience...and the pictures aren't bad either.  The only downside is that the bridge is cleared to hold only eight people at a time, and there is a guard (armed with a train whistle) who will call you out if you spend too much time on the bridge or accidentally have too many people on it.

We had grand plans of me staying behind and taking a picture of the family on the bridge, but once they got there, the guard dude rushed everyone off.  I was pretty darn mad, and unfortunately I took a bit of it out on John.  I assumed that he had forgotten, and I witnessed he and Glo going at it on the bridge.  No doubt we take our picture taking a bit TOO seriously in this family.

I got across and scowled my way around the island.  Looking back, it's ridiculous that I wasted that time there for such an inconsequential thing, but it's easier to have that attitude when I got the RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME picture I did of everyone when we headed back!  The Morans were incredibly helpful in watching out for the best time to walk across, and I have a feeling that some of my grumbling about the guard was carried across the bridge by the wind, and he heard it (because he couldn't have been nicer as we headed back).

Yes, he's king of the world!

Hannah took this picture as we were walking to the bridge.  Do you see how incredibly beautiful the backdrop is?  

No joke, this should be a postcard.  And I took it with my IPHONE!
It was really cute, because this bird kept flying along the trail with us.  It kind of reminded me of a scene from "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe."  I could just hear him talking to us.

A family selfie at the top of the bridge.

I mean, c'mon!  If this isn't a sign of God's love for us, I don't know WHAT is.

Almost everybody.

The BEST picture of the trip.  You can just see the guard house on the opposite side of the bridge.
And the people ON the bridge?  My favorite people in the world <3

Hannah didn't forget about the photographer :-)

Jared and John--best friends and (secretly) brothers.

After that little adventure, we decided to head into the nearby village of Bushmills.  I would have given my right arm to go eat at the restaurant from the previous evening, but we opted instead for a local bistro.

Then, we just walked the one street of the village where the girls and I found three pieces of artwork that we just ADORED.  I mean, who doesn't like paintings of cows, pigs and lambs? :-)  Actually, the picture of the lamb didn't exist, but the shop owner called the artist and convinced him to paint us one by Friday (the day we were planning on leaving).   They are now proudly hanging in our kitchen, and we can't help but laugh every time we look at them.

Too, we visited a small grocery store, and Sarah miraculously found the necessary ingredients for dinner that evening (it's incredibly difficult to shop, looking for food that has labels you have never seen).  Lemon chicken, garlic bread and salad.  It was delicious.

I wish I could say that we did something else spectacular that day, but in all honesty, we needed time to get down to the real business of the trip:  GAMES!  I believe we might have spent close to six hours playing games that night.  And eating.  Lots and lots of eating.