How quickly things can change

Shortly after I published my last post, I received a call from the Hyatt in Rochester, NY offering me the job that I had Skype interviewed for.  I had only ever briefly seen this property in person once 22 years ago, so I decided to travel to Rochester to check the property out.  The hotel was kind enough to put me up for two nights and after observing the staff and really checking out the space, I had decided to accept the job.  I will be moving to Rochester, NY the first week of July.

Now, Ireland is not completely off the table. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I've wanted to move to Ireland for quite some time.  My original plan was when my daughter turned 18 (which is now 3.5 years from now).  I just thought with me being laid off/made redundant, that this would be a good time to try.  My ultimate long term plan is still to move to Ireland. It may be in a year or two, or it may be a little longer. This job will allow me to pay down some bills and save up so that making the move will be easier. 

I will likely not be updating this blog very often until the real possibility of moving is in sight.  I appreciate everyone who has been reading it it, and I hope to see you all again in the future.

Slainte

just a quick update

Time for a quick update.  I had two more interviews since my last post. I interviewed with a Marriott in Fairfax, VA and a Hyatt in Rochester, NY.  I went to university in Rochester, so that would be my first choice between the two.  I felt the interview for the VA hotel went better, though.  My interview for the VA Marriott was over the phone while my Hyatt interview was via skype and that was with the General Manager and Operations Manager.  The GM did state that he was happy with my interview.  It's another wait and see game.

However, I'm still pining for Ireland, and it's still at the top of my list.

I had a yard sale this past Saturday and sold quite a bit of stuff. None of it was big ticket items, so the cash that came in was not huge, but I did manage to get rid of a LOT of stuff. Just before the yard sale ended, my neighbour and his dad came over and said they'd be interested in the contents of my shed. They went to take a look and came back and said they'd take everything  Wow!  After the yard sale, I laid everything out on the floor and asked my neighbour to take a look again just to make sure he did indeed want everything. He said yes, and he said to come up with a price and don't make it low. :)  This just may make it possible for me to purchase my airline ticket!  Excited!

When it rains, it pours

Well, it certainly is not a soft day here in North Carolina.  I've continued to look for and apply to jobs stateside, just in case something amazing came up and my plans to head to Ireland didn't work out as planned.  Last week I received a call from the Biltmore Estate asking if I would be able to interview for a position I had applied to. For those not familiar with the Biltmore (see link), it is an amazing place.  To work their would be a great opportunity.  The Biltmore is located in Asheville, NC in the mountains.  It's a really beautiful area of the state.  I decided that it's worth a shot, so I drove 4 hours out to the estate on Tuesday. I arrived about 30 minutes early so I sat in the car in the parking lot. As I waited, I received an email from a hotel in Middletown, CT asking when I could set up a time to interview.  Late last week I also received a call from a Marriott in Fairfax, VA asking if I was still interested in the position I applied for there. To top it all off, just two days ago I received an email from a Hyatt in Rochester NY asking if I'm still interested in that position. Holy cow!!

So, I have interviewed for the Biltmore and have decided it's not for me - one down. I emailed the Hotel in CT and told them I was not interested.  I was not impressed with their facility after I had done some research - two down.  I interviewed with the Fairfax Marriott via ph9one today and they said they "will be in touch". I've heard that many times before with no response, so we will see where this one goes.  I tentatively have an interview scheduled for Monday with the Hyatt.

On Wednesday, I sat at the Brickhouse Sports Bar playing trivia with my friend George.  I was thinking a lot about this whole situation trying to decide what I should do. On one hand here in front of me I now have two very real possibilities of employment. On the other hand, I can fly to Ireland where I do not really have any opportunities and take my chances (oh, the job in Omagh in NI may not work out, as they are looking to fill the role ASAP). This is such a tough decision for me to make.  I have wanted to move to Ireland for years; this is not something I just decided a few months ago.  As Erin pointed out to me, when else would I get this opportunity to just pack up and move to another country?  I've sold almost all of my possessions already. This just might be my one and only opportunity.

I'm still waffling, though. I've pretty much decided I am going to Ireland, but there are just a few logistics holding me back from committing 100% quite yet. The main one being paying for an airline ticket.  When I first thought about doing this, I based the decision on the fact that if I made enough money from the sale of the house, I would go. Well, I am making enough money, but it occurred to me early this week that I don't have that money yet, and I don't have the money to buy a plane ticket.  I did however make reservations for 15 days lodging through Airbnb, I was able to afford that. I've also been in touch with the two recruiters I've been working with so they both know my arrival in Dublin (which is scheduled right now for July 2nd).  I'm hoping I can sell enough of my other possessions to at least get me a ticket.  I have a car to sell yet, but of course I need that until the very end. Do y'all see my quandary here?

So, no final decision yet, but yay, I have more interviews. I still wonder if they are worth my time and stress.  I wasted 12 hours and about $60 worth of gas going to Asheville.  Oh well...

The great sell-off!

Well, the time has come to really start downsizing. I can't take much with me, so it (almost) all needs to go. I posted a few things on Craigslist (I haven't had much luck with Craigslist lately) and I also posted on Facebook and tagged a bunch of my local friends. I have to tell you, the whole Facebook idea (thanks Erin) was the best yet. I had sold several things within 10 minutes of posting. I just found out that the town I live in has a Facebook page for buying, selling and trading goods, so I just sent in a request to join that group. My Neighbours (thanks Kevin and Jess) highly recommended the group, so hopefully I'll have some good luck with that.

Under Contract

It's official, my house is under contract! I received a due diligence check yesterday from my realtor and closing is scheduled for 27 June. In other news, I received an email from a recruiter I've been working with in Ireland. He emailed me to let me know of an opportunity in Omagh which is in Northern Ireland. Omagh is in County Tyrone, which is where my Grandfather emigrated from. In fact, when I looked at the map of where this hotel is, I saw Castlederg, which is the town he lived in. Now, I'm not against living in N.I. at all, it's just that all of the research I've done thus far has been for living in Ireland. I just need to do some investigating on living there. I actually think it would be really nice to live so close to where my family originated from; coming full circle, in a way. I've emailed the recruitment agency asking for more details on the position, and I will post more information once I have it myself.

Still waiting

I am still waiting for a contract for the sale of the house. The buyers agent is not being easy to work with. There is a clause in the contract that states if the buyers house does not close they can walk away from buying my house. My realtor feels this is not needed. However, the buyers were supposed to close on the sale of their house this past Friday and it got pushed back to this Friday. Something just seems odd about the whole situation. So basically I'm just waiting for the wording to be changed by the buyers realtor and I'll be all set to go. I just want some reassurance that this is actually going to happen; Dublin's been on my mind quite a bit the last few days.

Possible (hopefully) good news

Well, I finally have an offer on the house! There was a showing when I was visiting my Mom in Connecticut, and this is the couple who has put an offer in. There was also a showing on Sunday, and according to their realtor, the couple was very interested, but we have not heard anything back. I was hoping for a bidding war. Anyways, the first and only offer came in 12k below asking, so I obviously counter offered. They have since counter offered again, and so I did as well. I'm now just waiting to hear a response from my latest counter offer. Keeping fingers crossed they accept it, although I have a feeling they will counter offer yet again. If they accept my offer as is, I'm in a good financial position. I'll keep everyone posted.

Nothing to do with Ireland

Today was a good day. I shouldn't say it has nothing to do with Ireland as I did confirm my interview for tomorrow with the hotel in Cork. That's good news. But what I really enjoyed about today was taking a hike in Peters Memorial Woods in Clinton, CT.  PM Woods, as I call it, is owned by the Clinton land Trust and is set aside for recreation and can never be developed. I think it's about 54 acres, all wooded. When I was in Boy Scouts in the 80's, a friend and I built several hiking trails through the woods. I went for a hike today and was able to hike each trail, including one I made completely on my own. I was happy to see the trails are being used quite regularly and maintained well. I was also happy to see that Canadian Hemlocks are making a return after being almost completey wiped out by the Woolly Adelgid back in the late 80's to early 90's. I love coming to this place. I spent so much time there when I was a teen, and know every bit of it, even off the trails. 

Below are some pictures I took while there. The first one is a sign that I made and is almost 30 years old, and still standing. 

In CT

I'm spending a few days in CT. My brother is home from Norway and I'm helping my mom get some stuff done at her new house. I brought up 5 large Rubbermaid bins of stuff that I couldn't part with to be stored for an undetermined amount of time at my mom's house. We went to Lenny and Joes Fish Tale tonight and I had my usual clam dinner. Love fresh clams, and Lenny and Joes are some of the best I've ever had. 

More jobs applied for

Every day I get automated job searches mailed to me via a variety of sources, with indeed.com and jobs.ie being the two biggest. Yesterday in my jobs.ie email there were 2 positions listed for Conference and Banqueting Managers, which is what I'm looking for. Good news; I applied to both. Also in this email was several listings for managers of new Aldi stores in Cork. I think most everyone is familiar with Aldi; we even have them here in the states...in fact, there is one about a mile from my house. I thought it odd that they would have shown up in my email. The keyword I use for my searches is 'hotel'. Well, the job description stated that some of their most successful managers have come from hospitality backgrounds and they encouraged me people with that type of experience to apply. so, apply I did. The pay is fantastic, and they provide 6 months of training, all expenses paid. I'm kind of excited about this opportunity. Let's hope that I'm at least short-listed.

An Interview

I have an interview on Wednesday for the hotel in Cork that I applied to yesterday. Woot!

Keeping fingers crossed...three more jobs applied to

Well, I just applied to three more jobs. The position I'm interested doesn't seem to be coming up as often lately as it had been. One of the jobs was in Glasgow, Scotland, one was in Cork and the last one was in Kilkenny. Keeping my fingers crossed. 

An Opportunity? Update

On the 20th of April, I had written about a possible opportunity at a hotel in Dundalk.  Well, I heard back from the GM, and she stated to get in touch with her once I move to Ireland and if the position is still available, we can interview then.  What a bummer.  At least I have an interview lined up as soon as I arrive, as long as the position is still available.

I also looked at rent.ie today at house shares. Wow! reasonable rates for sharing houses right in the centre of Dublin. This will likely be the route I take when I'm able to move there.

House is still for sale

I've had less than favourable results in selling the house.  I think there have been a total of 5 showings since the house went on the market just over two weeks ago.  I've had 2 cancellations as well.  I really thought that there would be more interest, especially considering how well the housing market is (supposedly) doing in this area.  A couple of the people who did look at the house have stated that the kitchen is too small, one didn't like that it didn't have a very big dining area, and someone else commented that the lot was too small.  I had several positive comments on the landscaping, though, so that makes me feel good.  All that sweat and pain has at least boosted my ego a little.

Here is the listing if anyone is interested:  http://www.zillow.com/homes/1437-cedar-branch-ct-27587_rb/

An opportunity?

I received an email from the General Manager of a hotel in Dundalk today. She asked when I was moving to Ireland or if I was planning a trip so we could have a face to face interview.  Well, finances are a little low right now, so I don't think another trip is feasible quite yet, unless my brother can come through for me. My brother lives in Norway and flies back home to Connecticut two or three times a year. He as acquired a fair amount of frequent flyer miles from Icelandic air.  The problem is, I have not been to figure out a way that I can use them, although he seems to think I can.  I've emailed him to ask him to look into it for me.  If this doesn't work out, then the hotel will have to wait until I sell my house and move there, which: a) I don't know exactly when that will be, and b) I don't know if they are willing to wait. I emailed the GM back, so we will see what she says.  Fingers crossed for some good news.

Home repairs and clearing house

As I had posted in a much earlier post, I had a few things that I needed to get fixed on the house before I could get it onto the market. Well, that project to replace trim I had mentioned way back in January didn't get completed until just two weeks ago; I kept putting it off.  Once I started to pull the rotted wood away, I found more rot, so the project became just a little more involved than I had thought.  But, it still only took a few hours to complete. I must say, that I'm very happy how it came out.

The next project was the floor in the bathroom  This too went quicker than I had expected.  After laying down a layer of luan plywood, I filled the screw holes and cracks and began laying tile. As I mentioned, I used peel and stick tiles and then grouted.  I think it looks amazing and looks like real tile.

Next came some siding on the exterior of the house that had to be replaced. You see, when my house was built back in 1992, compressed fiberboard siding was the thing, rather than the Hardiplank that's used now.  Eventually, the fiberboard begins to break down and absorb water.  There was an area on the back of the house that had a piece that a chunk was actually missing.  This definitely had to be replaced, but I figured I'd replace some other pieces nearby that had started to "bubble" (expand due to water infiltration).  I was able to complete this project in about 4 hours time.  Unfortunately, I had to climb up on my roof and replace some trim and siding on my chimney as well. I hat going onto my roof because it's at a fairly steep pitch.  But, it all looks grand now and again, I'm very happy with the results.

After I completed each project, I stood back and admired it, and thought to myself: I sure wish I had just done this a long time ago.  Oh well. All projects are now complete.

The Clean-out

Over the past several weeks (well, months actually), I've been disposing of items I no longer need or want. I like the term Cory used in his blog: The Great Jettison.  It's really amazing when you stop to think about what you actually really do, or do not, need to live.  I've had two very successful yard sales and have made numerous trips to Good Will.  I've also made several trips to the local dump. In fact, I was just interrupted in writing this post by someone who has just purchased my table saw.  That's $275 to help me survive until the house is sold!  Earlier today I met someone to sell a sleeping bag to.  I have several items listed on Craigslist right now. I plan to have one final "Moving" sale once the house is under contract.

 I've got to say here that Craig and I have a love/hate relationship. I love that his list is free and it's a good way to get rid of unwanted stuff, but I hate half of the people, wait...more than half of the people who respond.  People have no common courtesy and don't show up when promised or just don't get back in touch with you. Ugh.

And finally, a bit of good news, I think. I had two showings on the house today. I have not heard any feedback from either one, though. I know there is another pending, too.

My First Trip to Ireland - Day 5

Monday was my last day on the island, and I was very sad to be leaving.  There is not a whole lot to really post about, but I do have a couple of pictures I took from the plane.  The first few are of Ireland.

The west coast of Ireland

The west coast of Ireland

The next two are of Prince Edward Island, Canada from 42,000 feet. PEI is the place I've traveled to most in my life, visiting 5 times.  In fact, PEI had trumped Ireland in the past because it was closer and less expensive to travel to.  I'm glad I made the choice to do Ireland this time.

PEI

PEI

And now, for a few comments on Ireland from my brief time there:

• I absolutely loved Ireland. I felt a strong sense of connection since my Grandfather was born there, so it made the visit that much more meaningful
• There is very little trash in Ireland.  Here in North Carolina, just about every street and highway is littered with trash, and when the mowers come through, they just mow over it and chop it up into even more bits. It's disgusting.  Yes, I saw trash in Ireland, but it was not near the amount I see in the states. Dublin had its fair share, but to be honest, I saw sweepers constantly trying to keep it clean.
• There are a LOT of roundabouts in Ireland. At first, I was annoyed by them, but quickly got used to them. I also realized how brilliant they are, as they keep traffic moving and don't require the expenditure and maintenance of traffic lights. I saw very few stop signs on my visit.  I'm now very pro-roundabout.
• I like the fact that there are not chain restaurants everywhere. Yes, it makes you work harder for your meals if you want to eat out, but it's worth it in the end because each restaurant has it's own unique qualities.
• I absolutely loved how bustling Dublin was. It didn't seem to matter what time of day it was, except very late or very early; there were people everywhere, and I like to see that in a city. It shows the city is surviving thriving.
• Just about every single road I drove on had reflectors embedded into the pavement. This is brilliant, especially in a country that can be very foggy and misty.  Those little reflectors help out tremendously at night, especially if you are on an unfamiliar road.  Here in NC, they glue reflectors on just after a road is resurfaced, and they never replace them once they are damaged or plowed away by a snowplow.
• I fell in love with Ribena.  I wish it was more widely available in the states, but then again, I hopefully will not have to wait too long before I can enjoy it regularly.
• As I mentioned in another post, I love that Irish drivers use the passing lane to pass, and don't use it as a travel lane. I also found the drivers to be quite curtious.

My First Trip to Ireland - Day 4

Sunday was my last full day in Eire. I had decided the night before that I wanted to see some castles; real castles, not fake ones like Gillette Castle in Connecticut.  I had chosen two that were easily accessible and could both be seen in a single day.  I chose Kilkenny Castle and Cahir Castle.  I also decided I wanted to take a somewhat off the beaten path to them, so I chose small towns on a map to plug into my satnav which forced it to take me on less traveled roads, rather than the motorways. I started my journey early, around 7am.  The day was gorgeous, and the travel was easy, being a Sunday.  On my way to my first way point, I stumbled upon the small village of Durrow.  Here, I found what looked like a gatehouse to a grand estate.

 

Upon closer inspection, it turned out it was a gatehouse, for Castle Durrow, a grand estate turned Country House Hotel and restaurant.  I decided to venture up the drive to get a closer look.  I was also really hungry at this point and I had no luck prior to this finding a place to eat (you won't find the plethora of chain restaurants in Ireland like in the U.S. such as Bob Evans, Denny's, IHOP, etc.). I decided to venture into the castle to inquire about breakfast. I met this cute fella in the entryway.

I decided to partake in the breakfast offering of the restaurant in the castle, which consisted of a lovely buffet of chilled items and breads, and what became my third and final full Irish breakfast.  I had some wonderful poached figs, fresh fruit salad and a danish from the buffet as well.  This was by far the best breakfast yet, and the presentation was amazing. This is the view I enjoyed while eating:

Just before I departed the castle, I used the toilets (yup, restrooms are called toilets in Ireland...because that's what they are) as finding them while driving is not as easy as in the states.  While it may seem odd, I just had to take a picture of the toilets, because one could not ask for a nicer place to do your business:

And here is a shot of the castle itself.  My little car is the red one on the right.

Castle Durrow

Next stop, Kilkenny.  Kilkenny is actually a fairly large town with very narrow and winding streets lined with shops and pubs on both sides.I made a short video while driving through the village.  Don't try this at home!

The castle itself was really amazing. It has been restored to when it was used as a home, rather than an earlier period when it would have been a fortress.  You were not allowed to take pictures inside, but of course I did.  Notice the thickness of the walls, as seen near the windows, in this shot.

Prior to leaving, once again I made sure I found the toilets. I loved the sign that they had on the disabled toilet.

And a couple of exterior shots of the castle. I just love this first one:

Onward to Cahir castle.  On my way I passed a thatched roof cottage, which unfortunately had seen better days. It was still really neat to see:

On my way, I went through the town of Clonmel, home to Bulmers Cider, which in the U.S. is called Magners.  I didn't realize I was driving past it until it was almost too late, but I did manage to snap a picture of some of their storage(?) tanks.

And here is a Google Earth image showing just how many of those things there were:

It was not long before I reached Cahir Castle.  Here was my first shot:

This castle was really neat, as it has been preserved/restored as a fortress, and they are not afraid to let you go into places that most would consider unsafe, including on the walkways along the parapets.  From atop these walkways, you got a great view of the village of Cahir, and I took many pictures from there. Here is one of the walkways. Notice the lack of safety features and the steps at the far end with no handrails!

And some shots of Cahir:

 And one of my favourites, looking through an arrow loop toward the village.

and a few more of the castle itself:

I still had some time left in the day, so I decided to head to the east coast, via Waterford. I found a spot on the satnav map and had it take me there, which ended up being through some beautiful mountainous areas.  The weather had started to turn a bit, and it was now very soft (misty and foggy); it was still a very nice drive.  After about a couple of hours, I reached the east coast and was able to finally see the Irish sea.

I continued to drive along the coast for a bit when I decided to finally start heading back.  I really had no idea where I was, as I only had the satnav and no map.  I decided to just use my sense of direction and try to head northish, toward Dublin.  Well, I ended up back in Waterford. By this time, I decided to just hop on the motorway, as it was beginning to get dark.  My stomach was rumbling shortly after, so I exited toward Carlow, as the sign along the motorway said there was food there.  Carlow is another nice sized village (and the County Town of County Carlow) and there were plenty of options to choose from. By this time it had started to rain and was dark.  Imagine this tourist, driving in a village he's never been in, in the dark, in the rain and on the left hand side of the road.  Needless to say, it didn't take me long to find a place to eat.  I ended up at the Bombay Diner Indian Restaurant.  I was the only person in there!  The food was absolutely amazing, though.  It certainly hit the spot. 

After dinner, I reluctantly headed back to the hotel. During my entire time in Ireland, I had been keeping my eye out for one of the specialty flavours of cider that Bulmers came out with a few years ago, but I was having no luck finding it. I stopped at a petrol station on my way back to the hotel to use the toilets, and what do I find? THIS:

Bulmers Spiced Apple and Rhubarb Cider

It was exactly what I was looking for. I grabbed two, one for tonight at the hotel and one to bring home.  I was so excited (you have to understand that I don't drink much, but I do love me some cider, and I'm always looking to try new varieties). Oh, and I also picked this up:

I'm a gardener, how could I not get it? 

This was my last night in Ireland. :(

Day 5 to follow...

My First Trip to Ireland - Day 3

Having woken up in Belfast, I had no concrete plans for the rest of the day except to explore Dublin and other areas a little bit more.  I partook in another full Irish breakfast, which was a tad different than my first.

Day 3 Full Irish

I really have no idea what the bread-like things were. One actually tasted a bit like a fried, breaded pork cutlet, the other like greasy fried pita points.  Either way, the sausages were delicious as well as the rasher.

I decided to explore Belfast a little.  I wanted to see some of the areas where The Troubles had taken place, and some of the famous wall murals, so I headed for The Falls Road area.  Unfortunately, this was a fairly busy street, so it was difficult to get good photographs, but below are a few of the better ones.

Notice the Red, White and Blue curbs. Union flag colours!

I stumbled upon an Asda store at one end of the road and stopped in. Asda is basically the UK equivalent to a Walmart, because unfortunately, it's owned by Walmart.  Anywho, I needed some hand cream because I didn't pack any and my hands were starting to get sore.  I ended up buying a few more UK food items, including the best flavour of crisps ever invented:

Roast Chicken & Herbs Crisps

I first tasted these little lovelies years ago in Canada. The US needs to get its arse in gear and come out with this flavour!  I also had the joy of seeing one of my favourite beverages, and favourite brands, in a jumbo size container:

Strongbow cider in 2 litre bottles...yes please!

Oh, and I found this stuff (No, I didn't buy one):

After leaving Asda, I decided to head to Kildare.  What I found very interesting was on the motorway heading to Kildare/Dublin, was almost every single car that had passed me was from Northern Ireland.  It seems they must all head down to Dublin on Saturday's! Anywho, Kildare is a town that I wanted to make a point of visiting as it's the town my daughter has chosen to move to when she moves to Ireland. She did a report on the town for one of her classes in school, so I figured I'd check it out for her, to make sure she'd be happy there. Will she? Absolutely!  It's a quaint little village with several pubs and a nice downtown area.  I arrived right about lunchtime so I popped into the Silken Thomas pub for lunch.  I ordered a BLT and cream of mushroom soup, with a Bulmers (Magners in the U.S.) cider.  The BLT had what we American's would refer to as deli ham, rather than bacon. After lunch I walked around a tad, and then headed out of town, north.  I wanted to explore some of the less traveled areas of Ireland, basically getting lost like my first day.  I drove around for a couple of hours before deciding to head back to Dublin for the evening.  But first, some pictures of Kildare:

On my way out of town I stumbled up an old graveyard that was down a worn dirt road.  I love Celtic crosses, so I snapped several pics.  Here are a couple:

By the time I arrived back in Dublin, it was about 4pm.  I found my hotel room (this time a Hilton which I found through Hotwire) and checked in.  My room was extremely nice, and the hotel itself was grand.  I decided to relax a bit and watch some TV.  When I checked in, I had inquired about the distance to the Grafton St area, as it didn't seem too far on the map. The front desk associate stated it wasn't really within walking distance. I decided to walk anyways, as the exercise would do me good. Well, it was quite the haul. It was a good two, maybe three miles.  One plus was that I did pass the Guinness storehouse on the way, but the back side.  That's ok, one of the gates was open and I saw what seemed like a million kegs.

Guinness

My goal was to try and find the pub I was looking for on Thursday night. I tried and failed again, however I did see some areas of the city that I had not seen the previous days, including the famed Ha'penny Bridge. I also saw one of the larger Cathedrals, Christ Church Cathedral:  an amazing Building. I walked the streets for a couple of hours with no luck finding the pub (I couldn't remember the name, so I couldnt ask anyone).  Nothing else was catching my fancy, so I decided to walk back to the hotel, where I ordered room service and enjoyed a nice plate of Fish and Chips.

Fish and Chips with mushy peas

After dinner I watched Mr. Selfridge...the current episode...on TV.  I love this show and was excited to be able to watch it "live".  I started making plans for Sunday, which is Castle day!

Day 4 to follow...

My First Trip to Ireland - Day 2

As I mentioned previously, I hired a car so that I could drive up to Northern Ireland. I decided to drive up there on Friday morning, which coincidentally was my 45th birthday. What a way to spend a birthday!  I got up fairly early as I didn't want to waste the day.  Castlederg in County Tyrone (pronounced TA-rone), where my Grandfather was born, was only about a two hours drive from Dublin city centre.  I partook of the included breakfast that came with my room. I enjoyed a full Irish, which was rashers, eggs, button mushrooms, black pudding and white pudding, sausage and roasted tomatoes.  This was my first experience with the puddings, which I've always, albeit a little hesitantly, wanted to try. You see, pig blood is one of the main ingredients in the black pudding.  I found it interesting, yet tasty. It's a taste that I cannot describe, as it's not similar to anything I had ever eaten before.

A full Irish Breakfast

After breakfast I began my drive. Traffic was terrible and it took me about an hour just to get out of Dublin. Part of my journey involved going through a toll to get to a tunnel. I mistakenly got in the wrong lane, thinking it was a cash lane with an attendant, but it was not. It was designated for what we call SpeedPass.  I tried to back up to get to another lane, but it was too late; there was already another car behind me. I pushed the help button to explain that I was a dumb tourist, and before you know it, the gate opened and I got a free toll pass!  I felt kinda dumb but I quickly learned the symbols at toll plazas, though.

On with my Journey. The drive was pleasant, without about half of it on a major motorway (highway).  What I like most about driving in Ireland is that people use the passing lane to pass, as it's designed.  You don't have stupid nobs driving in the passing lane like they own it.  The speed limit on the main motorways was 120kmh, which is about  75mph, which is fast.  The funny thing is, being such an agricultural country, even farm tractors were on the motorway, yet they tool along at a very quick pace. The lorry's, or trucks, over there are very intimidating.  Here is a pic of a typical Irish lorry, all decked out in copious amounts of lights.

A typical Irish Lorry

I have to say, though, that I love the design of these trucks.

So, after a couple of hours and a very uneventful crossing into Northern Ireland (which, remember, is another country!), I made it to Castlederg. The town centre was larger than I expected, and was very quaint.  I went into the local grocer to check out some of the UK offerings, and then found a chippy (Fish and Chips) and ordered lunch.  I couldn't even finish the whole thing!

After lunch, I took another brief walk through the village. Here is a short video showing the town centre.

As I was leaving town, I saw a small graveyard. I decided to stop to see if I could find any Wilson's (my surname), and I did. Of course, it's a long shot to whether or not they are any relation, but I snapped a picture of the headstone anyways.

Time to head to my lodging for the evening. It was just under a two hour drive to Belfast, where I was staying for the night.  I arrived around 3:30 and was able to check into my room at the Ivanhoe Hotel.  My room here was spacious and recently renovated (in fact, they were working on the front lobby renovations when I arrived; it didn't even exist but for an empty shell!) I inquired as to the distance to the Giant's Causeway, as I knew it couldn't be too far away from where I was.  I was told it was about an hour, so I decided to go ahead and make the journey. Well, it was more like an hour and 40 minutes, but I was able to get there with about an hour of daylight left.  The visitor's centre had just closed, but you could still access the causeway.  I'm so glad that I decided to go. There were only a few other people there, so it was very peaceful, and beautiful.

What an amazing sight this was.  I had read and seen many, many pictures and articles about the causeway, and now I was standing there. This was the moment that was the most emotional to me, as it was here that I really came to grips with the fact that I was actually in Ireland...Ireland!  I was so happy at this moment that I actually kissed one of the rocks.  I then sat down and enjoyed the roar of the surf of the North Atlantic crashing on the shores.  Now I was hungry. I passed a restaurant/hotel on my way here and decided to head there, but first I went to see a castle....well, I thought it was a castle, and it was, at one point.

As soon as I pulled in to a little pull off area, my mom called to wish me a happy birthday. It had been a great birthday that day.  Now off to dinner.  I dined at the Smugglers Inn. What I found really neat in Ireland is that many of the restaurants/pubs have guest rooms, and many of the Guest houses and hotels have nice restaurants. Dinner was a beef and Guinness stew with a rhubarb crumble with warm custard for dessert. It was divine.  After dinner I headed back to my hotel room in Belfast, passing through Bushmills, home of the Bushmills distillery.

I retired to my room and enjoyed a bit of telly before heading to bed. It was neat to be able to watch Irish and British TV live. In the states I watch, almost exclusively, TV from other countries, mainly the UK and Australia. 

Day three to follow....