Slainte! 2

So here are a few more highlights from my trip to Ireland...

3. The Cliffs of Moher: pronounced closer to "more" than "mo-her". These cliffs are located along the northern Antrim coast, and are one of the top sights to see when traveling to Ireland. It was a little cloudy, but God truly blessed us by keeping the mist and rain away just long enough for us to see the cliffs!







Some of us went up into O'Brien's Tower, which was breathtaking! We were up in a castle that was on the edge of the cliffs.... wonderful!!







4. Galway: This was the last major city that we stayed in. It was such a cute town on the coast, with great shopping, sights, and pubs! We even got one of the bands to play Galway Girl for us on the last night we were there. I think I can definitely say that I have fallen in love with Irish music - it definitely puts a smile on my face. :)







We also found a place that served the best fish and chips. Mmmm!!



All in all, I had an amazing time and made lots of new friends. I'm hoping to continue to build on those friendships this coming year, and I am praying that God would give me opportunities to show them how much He loves them. I just hope and pray that my pride does not get in the way. I know that God enabled me to go to Ireland for a reason, and I truly want to make the most of His blessings. :)

Slainte!

I just spent 2 amazing weeks in Ireland, and thought I would share some of the highlights - some being the key word here. We traveled around 1,500 miles in 2 weeks, and saw approximately 50+ sights. Whew!

1. Kissane Sheep Farm: Along the Ring of Kerry in the southwest corner of Ireland, there is the cutest sheep farm! It is actually the family farm of our tour guide's brother, and they gave us a sheep dog demonstration, sheared a sheep, and told us about farming in Ireland.







As a class, we adopted a baby sheep who had just been born 13 hours before we arrived, and we named him Prowler. He was sooo precious!



2. Giant's Causeway: The day we went to see this, we had absolutely gorgeous weather! This is an area where volcanic rock from years and years ago has been pushed up out of the ground. Curiously, the rock has come up in hexagonal pillars, and juts out into the sea. It reminds me of those toys with the metal pins that you push your hand in to make an imprint.









We hiked above the causeway along a cliff, and saw some breathtaking views.





I will talk about a few more highlights in another blog- this is enough image uploading for me for one day. I'm trying to get over my jet-lag and jump right back into normal life today. It's quite an ambition, let me tell you. I wish I had a week to get myself together, but life simply is not that kind. :) I will be working and job hunting (a combo I haven't experienced yet) this week, so wish me luck!

P.S.- Slainte is "cheers" in Gaelic. It's pronounced shlonta. :)Learn new things every day!

End-of-Year Getaway

Since I am leaving tomorrow to go to Ireland for 2 weeks without my wonderful hubby, I had decided to plan a special day for the two of us before I left. So on Thursday, I woke Chris up at 5:30am, which is never really a good idea, unless there's a promise of wonderful things. He actually did quite well :)

We drove to Hot Springs, NC where I had planned several things to do for the day. First, we went hiking to Lover's Leap above the French Broad River.



We made our mark on one of the trees (it was dead) at the top of the ridge.



Then we drove down Love Road to get to Paint Creek Falls, where we swam in the freezing water! It took us a while to fully get in, but we did it!





We had a wonderful picnic lunch, and relaxed by the river for a long time. Then we went to the Hot Springs Resort & Spa where I had reserved a private tub for us. The water comes straight out of the ground at 100 degrees or more, and the force is enough to make it like an electric jacuzzi! It was really nice and relaxing, and we had a beautiful view of the river. Of course, to make it a little more romantic, I added chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling grape juice. :)





Then we ended the day by driving back to High Point and watching the midnight showing of Iron Man 2. A wonderful day with my wonderful man!