The Luck of the Irish

Okay, this is pushing it because, while our names are Kathleen and Maureen, we are technically only 1/8 Irish (a great-grandfather on our mother's side with the name of Moran). However, I still believe we have the luck of the Irish. When we decided to visit Ireland, Kath fussed about what the weather would be like. I kept telling her it would be what it would be and I reminded her of the adage: there is no bad weather; just inappropriate clothing. The last time I was in Ireland it was also in September and the weather could not have been worse, even though that month is supposed to be the best time to visit. While Kath and I were in Dublin and Belfast, it was a mixed bag of sun (not. much), clouds, and rain (also not much). Luckily, whenever it did rain, we were inside. Saturday, when we drove north to Ballintoy, it was sunny so we decided to visit the Giant's Causeway even though we had planned to do it Sunday. It turned out to be a good, not to mention lucky, call. The clear weather gave us views as far as Scotland. Many of the Causeway photos are already posted but a few more will give an idea of what it looked like

We also visited Ballintoy Harbour where, apparently some scenes from The Game of Thrones had been filmed. Lost on me because I don't watch the show. Despite the signs warning that the road was unsuitable for coaches, lorries or caravans, we ran into several of them (not literally thankfully) on the short narrow road to the harbour.

Sunday, because we'd already gone to the Giant's Causeway, we were able to just "chill" at the B&B until close to midday. (One thing we now know is that we could/should have built a bit more "down time" into our itinerary.) When we got moving, we went to the Carrick-a-Rede bridge about a mile from where we are staying. This is a rope bridge which was used by salmon fisherman for hundreds of years. Now, however, the fishermen have gone and it is very popular with tourists. The last time I was here, I walked across it so this time I didn't feel a high need to do it again - "been there, done that". To be honest, it was really because it terrified me and I didn't need that experience again! Kath was keen to do it and she is pretty fearless. So, I don't think she was prepared for it to scare her. Then, I watched her walk with a great deal of hesitation and trepidation across it. She did later admit she thought about turning around halfway and coming back. The coastline along here is fantastic and, regardless if you are on the small island on the other side of the bridge or not, you get fantastic views.

Kathleen on the bridge waving at me

Another view toward the bridge

Just as we reached the car, it started raining. Lucky us (again) for avoiding a walk in the rain. It was easy to figure out how to spend the rainy afternoon. We were only about 8 miles from the Bushmills distillery so it was a no brainer. We drove there, joined the 2:30 tour, and ended up having a whiskey tasting at the end of it. Thankfully, I am no whiskey lover because as I was driving and couldn't really indulge (at least much) in the complimentary tasting at the end of the tour. I must admit, though, I did have a sip or two of the Honey Whiskey but Kath who does enjoy it luckily got most of my share! The luck of the Irish was all around us!