We are home now...Ireland was great! In 8 days, we were able to see some amazing scenery, drink our fair share of Guinness, walk enough to make Chuck happy, watch a few rugby matches, and do some adventuring.
The trip started and ended at the Shannon Airport and covered the northern 2/3s of the island--basically draw a line from Shannon to Dublin, look north. The majority of our time was spent on/near the coast with a bit of exploring in Galway, Belfast, and Dublin. I've included a few pictures, some for the beauty and some for a laugh...of course, I took almost a 1,000, so there were a couple to choose from.
*Please note that in all pictures we have on at least 3 layers of cloths*
We spent 3 days in Galway (see previous post by Chuck). One thing we learned in Galway, if the average age in the pub is under 35 we should leave and find a pub with the average age of 45+ so we could hear traditional music. Luckily the weather held out as we headed north to Connemara National Park. We hiked to the peak of an Irish "mountain", drove up the Inagh Lake valley, and drove Sky Road just outside of Clifden to take in some additional coastal scenery. We spent the night in Westport -- cute B&B and of course a pint of Guinness.
We headed north once more to County Donegal--Ireland's northern most county--for more coastline, Europe's largest sea cliffs Sieve League, and some walking. We spent the night in Ardara with a bunch of locals, some Swiss, and more Guiness. Nancy's pub was a young crowd in a very small town--the songs were fun, the people entertaining, and the food delicious.
Our great weather finally gave way to fog, gale force winds (literally), and rain. Most of the day was spent in the car. We found a B&B, a bar to read in, and some delicious Italian food. You can only live on fish & chips and Guinness for so long! The weather cleared up on Friday as we headed into Northern Ireland. Giant's Causeway was our first stop and it proved to be amazing. The wind was so strong at times we couldn't stand up or if we tried it blew us backwards, waterfalls were blowing uphill, and the Atlantic seemed like she was having a bad day. I can't put into the words how angry and strong the ocean looked at Giant's Causeway but we were happy to be on top of the cliff watching the waves beat the rocks. It was truly amazing. From the coast we drove into Bushmills to try some Irish whiskey, unfortunately it was Good Friday so many stores were closed including the distillery. So off to Belfast...still enjoying the sunshine. In Belfast we roamed the neighborhoods to look at the political murals in the different sections of the city.
Our final day of exploring led us back into the Republic for a day in Dublin. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. We stood in line for over an hour waiting to guide ourselves up to the Gravity Bar for a "free" Guinness and a 360 degree view of Dublin. Great beer, great view...great day for a Guinness. Then we roamed around Dublin for a few hours...Temple Bar, Trinity College, and the River Liffey...before making our way back to Shannon.
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He also appears to love power plays like standing guard in Pibb's litter box and standing on top of the table where he can pounce.
This is at the Barracks Row Oktoberfest. For us city dwellers that don't get out the farm, they have 'Squeals on Wheels' who brings animals in to fairs, fests, parties, etc... to show us what they look like.
We were out for a nice walk to the National Book Festival when we looked up at an office window in the Rayburn House Office Building to see our little sister (in-law) waving her arms around like a crazy person. Congress was in session this weekend to deal with this bailout, and Ashlee drew the short straw to come in and deal with it. The life of a staffer.....
Andi went TDY to Wichita Falls, Texas earlier this month. While browsing at a local sports store she found the perfect gift for Ashlee and every Texas Tech alumni out there--red sequined slip on's with the TT logo. Don't be jealous...there were plenty!
Lighthouses!!!
We hurried back from Alaska to make it to San Francisco to see our good friend Buster get married. He and Jennifer were married at Domaine Chandon - a sparkling wine vineyard in Napa. It was a fast trip for one night with good friends and good wine. See pics.
In the middle of August we flew up to Alaska with our sister - Ashlee. The three of us rented a house in Homer with our good friends - Beth and Rich, along with their son Luke. Chuck's brother, Mike, and his family drove down to Homer to meet us too.
Well the combination of a great snowpack in Oregon and unseasonably warm weather made for a high flow on the Sandy River last week. Chuck made a last-minute trip out to 'his' river in order to join in an effort to sample bedload on the river (or in plain English - to pick up rocks off of the bottom of a raging river). 
Chuck had a nice two weeks, skiing with good friends in Whistler, BC, visiting Tumor and Jen in Burlington, VT, and finally spending 5 days out in Oregon doing research. Of course his research site is a scenic portion of the Sandy River, between Portland and Mt. Hood. They just removed the Marmot Dam off of the Sandy River, so of course to reach our research sites, we needed to raft it.... Here are some more photos from that trip.
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