Today was absolutely amazing. We went sightseeing on the North Antrim coast. We left this morning about 9, and drove out the Coastal Causeway highway. It took us through beautifully green glens and valleys, past pastures of cattle and sheep and along a rugged coastline that varied between black volcanic rock and fine white sand. This was a trip that reminded us why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle!
Our first stop was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, literally a bridge that spans about 25 yards to a small uninhabited island in the Larrybane Bay. There were a LOT of steps down to get to the bridge, but, pretty much everyone made it and walked across the bridge without incident. There were some squeals and screams from a few of us, (DeDe :) :) ) but after all, we were on a skinny rope bridge about 30 metres from the water! Once we returned across the bridge, the really tough part started ... we had to climb back UP all those steps. Exercise programs will begin once we return ... HAHAHAHA!
We ate lunch at the Causeway Hotel, then, following that, we headed for Giant's Causeway, an amazing and fascinating formation of rocks. Irish legend says it was formed by a 54' tall giant named Finn so he could walk across the bay to Scotland. Science says that the unique hexagonal shaped rocks are the result of volcanic lava cooling and crystallizing at a much accelerated rate nearly 65 million years ago. Regardless, the stones are amazing and flanked by some breathtakingly beautiful rock formations, rugged cliffs and wildly green kelp covered mountains.
Back on the bus and we headed toward Dunluce Castle, a 15th century ruin built on the coast. It's hard to describe the feeling we had when we saw that indeed there were MORE STEPS! But walking down the steps we discovered the sea cave, an area under the castle where boats could either stay safe in a storm, or escape to safety if they were being pursued.
The really unique thing about the castle was that as we were sitting outside on the lawn a lady approached us and asked ... well, it's almost easier to just describe the conversation like this: (not exact, but you get the gist.)
Lady: "Where are you from?
Jill D: "Texas."
Lady: Where in Texas?
Jill D: Dallas/Fort Worth
Lady: Where in DFW?
Jill D: Arlington.
Lady: Oh my goodness, we're from Arlington too! Where in Arlington?
Jill D: SE, we're from St. Andrew's UMC...
Well, small, small, SMALL world, this lovely woman (who just happened to be named Melanie ... coincidence? I think not!) lives south on Matlock road on the Arlington/Mansfield border. She said she heard home when she heard us talking. Pretty cool.
Then we loaded up and continued our coastal drive with a stop in Portstewart for some Ice Cream!
All in all a very exciting, satisfying and TIRING day ... so much to see and tell you about when we return! Tomorrow we head for the Tullemore forest, then it is back to work as we are providing the Wednesday night service for our friends here in Glengormley. Keep on thinking of us ... we are thinking of you!
Our first stop was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, literally a bridge that spans about 25 yards to a small uninhabited island in the Larrybane Bay. There were a LOT of steps down to get to the bridge, but, pretty much everyone made it and walked across the bridge without incident. There were some squeals and screams from a few of us, (DeDe :) :) ) but after all, we were on a skinny rope bridge about 30 metres from the water! Once we returned across the bridge, the really tough part started ... we had to climb back UP all those steps. Exercise programs will begin once we return ... HAHAHAHA!
We ate lunch at the Causeway Hotel, then, following that, we headed for Giant's Causeway, an amazing and fascinating formation of rocks. Irish legend says it was formed by a 54' tall giant named Finn so he could walk across the bay to Scotland. Science says that the unique hexagonal shaped rocks are the result of volcanic lava cooling and crystallizing at a much accelerated rate nearly 65 million years ago. Regardless, the stones are amazing and flanked by some breathtakingly beautiful rock formations, rugged cliffs and wildly green kelp covered mountains.
Back on the bus and we headed toward Dunluce Castle, a 15th century ruin built on the coast. It's hard to describe the feeling we had when we saw that indeed there were MORE STEPS! But walking down the steps we discovered the sea cave, an area under the castle where boats could either stay safe in a storm, or escape to safety if they were being pursued.
The really unique thing about the castle was that as we were sitting outside on the lawn a lady approached us and asked ... well, it's almost easier to just describe the conversation like this: (not exact, but you get the gist.)
Lady: "Where are you from?
Jill D: "Texas."
Lady: Where in Texas?
Jill D: Dallas/Fort Worth
Lady: Where in DFW?
Jill D: Arlington.
Lady: Oh my goodness, we're from Arlington too! Where in Arlington?
Jill D: SE, we're from St. Andrew's UMC...
Well, small, small, SMALL world, this lovely woman (who just happened to be named Melanie ... coincidence? I think not!) lives south on Matlock road on the Arlington/Mansfield border. She said she heard home when she heard us talking. Pretty cool.
Then we loaded up and continued our coastal drive with a stop in Portstewart for some Ice Cream!
All in all a very exciting, satisfying and TIRING day ... so much to see and tell you about when we return! Tomorrow we head for the Tullemore forest, then it is back to work as we are providing the Wednesday night service for our friends here in Glengormley. Keep on thinking of us ... we are thinking of you!
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