A Trip to the Wee Country of Ireland

On June 16th my companion and I se t out for Northern Ireland. We were delivering a new car to the Elders in Belfast & driving home their old car, which will go to auction. We combined a sightseeing trip with church business. We drove 2 1/2 hours to catch the car ferry and it is 2 1/2 hours on the ferry to Belfast. These ferries are huge and have 4 levels of parking. Driving unto them is quite a challenge and then walking up the stairs 4 levels is quite a challenge. We could have used the elevator but decided the exercise would do us good. We bought a food voucher for the ferry and was surprised to find that the food was really good. Sister Call introduced me to a card game called "Nerd" to pass the time. She beat me every game!! We drove along the Irish Sea coast from Belfast to Portrush. We had booked a B&B in Portrush for the first night. There we met Frank the sole proprietor, host, cook, server, and travel guide. He thought we were Catholic nuns, so we explained about who we are, what we are doing and taught him Lesson #1. The place was very quaint & Irish on the outside--imagine our surprise when we opened the door of our room and found black & silver everything, including the towels, and bedspreads. Very CHIC! LOL We even had a NY skyscape painting--of course in black & silver. Frank told us we had the best room in the B&B. Which was true because all the rest of the rooms had to share a bath--we had our own! Breakfast was included & Frank whipped us up some pretty good food. All meals come with Irish Soda bread. Our experience was laughable and very enjoyable.

Saturday we drove the coast of the Irish Sea and it was magnificent. At one place we walked a mile, mostly uphill to a rope bridge that spans a chasm between an island and the shore. The bridge is 150 feet above the sea and there about 90 steps down to the rope bridge. Yes, folks, I did it!! I walked across and back. Going across I couldn't look down, but walking back I dared to peek and it was well worth it. It was built by fishermen in the 1800's and at that time there was only a rope on the one side. Can you imagine they had to carry all their fishing gear across (with the bridge blowing back & forth) and then on their way back home all their fish with their gear. I'm sure there were lots of lives lost. But what I  didn't mention is that on the far side of the island there is the North Atlantic Gulf stream and on the other side is the Irish Sea. Did I mention that it was a mile walk to the bridge? Well guess what, it was another mile back!

Each turn in the road brought a completely different type of beauty. 

• We saw limestone cliffs that were formed 145 million years ago.
• We saw sandy beaches with herds of cows walking on the beaches
• We saw a flock of sheep back up traffic on the road we were traveling as they changed fields to graze
• We traveled on roads less traveled so we could see old ruins of churches, abbeys, and castles.

My favorite part of the trip was seeing a castle that was built on a cliff overhanging the ocean. It was lived in until 1605 when a huge storm washed part of the castle into the sea. I hope the pictures I post will give you some idea of the beauty. 

We traveled to the "Giant's Causeway" which is a World Heritage Site. Again we walked a mile to get to the location, which is right on the sea. The myth is that a mighty giant, Finn McCool, carved the rocks from the coast and the tumbling sea and left behind a legend of mythical folklore. As you look at the formations your mind conjures up all kinds of shapes, figures & animals. This time we took a tram car back to our car!

We drove to a little Irish sea village in Ballybottom for the night and looked up a 5 star (LOL) authentic Fish & Chips beach hut that really did turn out to be a 5 star! That evening we drove into Belfast and met the elders to exchange cars. Oh my goodness, they were so happy! They just got in the car and sat for 10 min. On the other hand, the car they had was absolutely ready for auction. Banged up on both sides and didn't drive quite right--it gave us a code 9 all the way home. We were certainly driving an old "clunker" and tried not to draw attention to ourselves! We took the four elders out for supper and ice cream. They ate a lot of food!! While we were there we got to see where the Titanic was built but didn't have time to do the tour.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed for Antrim where a small branch of the church is located. There were about 30 people in attendance and they were so friendly and so happy to see us. We have two sister missionaries there as well as a senior couple. We met an interesting couple--the wife lived in DC and got her masters from George Washington U and met her husband (pure Irish) on an LDS dating site. His wife had died and they had 8 children. Her husband said, his site said, "a not too good lookin of a man, without great funds, wee small house & 8 children." Pretty cool huh? They've been married for 10 years. 

The Irish brogue is quite heavy but much easier for me to understand than the Scottish. The Irish dress much more American than the Scots.

I'm having technical problems so I may have to send this blog without the pictures. But I promise I will figure out the problem and blog them later. Otherwise, you might not believe I actually walked the rope bridge.

Love to all,
Sister Gifford

NOTE: Hi mom, as I travel to these different places I think about how much you would have enjoyed this traveling in your "good old travelin days!" There is just such beauty all around me. I don't think I have ever seen flowers grow more beautifully than they do here. The roses are absolutely gorgeous and everyone takes care of their very small yards, which are always called gardens. They are so proud of their gardens. Everyone keeps their hedges trimmed, even the farmers take great care with their hedges and gardens. I'm doing much better at understanding the Scottish brogue and I think I've picked up a couple of Scottish sayings. Hope you're feeling good. I think of you every day and pray that you are happy and well. Love you a whole bunch.

NOTE: Hi Sarah, been thinking of you and wondering how you are doing. Hope you are feeling well. I'll bet you had a wonderful time with Samantha being home! When I travel to these very old sights and villages I think of how much you enjoy antiques and how you would love seeing these castles and other sights. Everything in Scotland is very old--the oldest street in Scotland is very close to where I live. I really hope that you will consider serving a mission when you graduate. I watch the joy and happiness that these young missionaries are experiencing and I just wish that for you too. It is so much fun to see the Elders & Sisters every day as they come and go--they love stopping into the office because we always have really good treats for them. We have a whole shelf of treats that they can help themselves to.