Northern Ireland (round five?)

I don't even know how many times we have been to Northern Ireland.  And in all honesty, we always visit the same places.  It doesn't matter though, because it's one of my favorite places on earth.

John loves nothing more than to head out for a run anytime we arrive at a new place, and seeing as he knows the paths around the Giant's Causeway so well, it took him only a few minutes to put on his running shoes.  And he convinced Ethan to head out with him.

Honestly, is there any place more beautiful than this?

 Meanwhile back at the ranch, Rebecca and I had a nice chance to take naps and relax.  Our home was named Aird Clachan, and I do believe it is the nicest place we have ever stayed in Ireland.  I mean, c'mon, how can you go wrong with a cheery yellow front door?

One of the best parts about the house was the kitchen table.  It was nice and big, and we spent every night playing games around it.  Namely one game.  A game that should be named "John always wins this game", but instead was given the boring title of "The Village".  Funny thing--we haven't played it since!

We headed out bright and early the following day to (again) one of our favorite places:  Carrickarede Bridge.  Like I said, we've been here before, but we still love it.  The thrill of going over the chasm on a rope bridge is unparalleled.  This time, however, the wind was so strong that the people in charge were about to close the bridge for safety reasons.  We have learned though that the Irish think nothing of litigation (or early death for that matter), so they naturally left it open.

Um yeah, just a wee bit of a breeze ;-)

Lots and LOTS of wind.

But totally worth it for the spectacular view!

We also spent part of the day at Old Bushmills Distillery.  You wouldn't think that a family of Mormons would find it interesting, but it is.  In fact, it's the picture on the back of the Northern Ireland pound sterling:

The distillery itself has been around for longer than our country has been a country.  Much longer in fact.  However, it was bought out by a Mexican beer company this past year, so we'll see what happens to it.

At the end of each tour, everyone gets a complimentary shot of whiskey.  Lucky us--we get Fanta and Diet Coke.  I'm thinking that there should be some kind of Mormon discount!

This is one of my favorite places to take a picture.  Something about the colors and cuteness of it all.  Glo pointed out that if you look closely, I'm actually holding John's phone upside down.  I guess that's what happens when I want the picture on my own phone, and John's phone is a portable laptop! 

The next day (Wednesday), we were off to the Giant's Causeway.  It's been amazing to see the way this park has been transformed throughout the years.  While the actual Causeway hasn't changed (why mess with thousands of years of success), there's now a new visitor's center, complete with the best gift shop in Northern Ireland and some pretty great tour guides.

It's always difficult to get a picture on the Causeway without some stranger in the background, but I think we did a pretty good job!

I can't remember exactly, but I think this might be the first time I've walked out to the Giant's boot.

Awwwww memories.  Giving Cheeser piano lessons.  Or in this case organ lessons.  I'm surprised Ethan isn't displaying symptoms of PTSD....

And finally, Dunluce Castle.  The locals pronounce it Dun-loose (rhymes with pro-DUCE), but I like to say it Dun-lucee (Dun-Lucy), because it just sounds cuter.

Goodness, it's just gorgeous.

We actually spent time in the Visitor's Center.  I think it's geared more towards children and field trips, but when isn't a Kennedy up for something a kid would do?  I do believe John was about to crawl out of his skin, wanting to get hiking out to the castle, but I made him wait while Ethan completed a large slide puzzle.  Seriously, if I'm ever on Survivor, or The Amazing Race, and I must complete one of these, I will lose the entire game for my team.  I can't wrap my head around how to do them, and at one point, I told Ethan to just pull the tiles out, but he persevered!

And yep, we just love to try on the kid-size castle clothes.  Every time we go :-)

Once again, it was a windy day, but at least it wasn't raining!

I could come here every year and not grow tired of it.  The scenery is amazing, the people are so friendly, and our rental home is always an adventure.  But I love it.