(A PS at the beginning. Dave mentioned that he thinks I should post more photos. I will. I was thinking of going back to the posts and adding some. Hope that works 🙂 )

Time flies and so does this trip. We only have a few days left of our Europe portion. On Monday we fly to Los Angeles, where Dave leaves us un flies to San Francisco.  He will fly back on Friday so we can have a good family decompress until he flies back to San Francisco and we fly home.

Today we dialed it down a few notches, but still managed to hike all over Killarney National Park.  People were swimming, which was something I did not expect, and of course there was an abbey on site. Yes, it was spectacular. The abbeys always are so cool. Tomorrow we hit the road for Dublin, and I am trying to think of something cool to see between here and there. Thoughts?

Oh and about yesterday, I am feeling better. Davy and I had a talk-it-out session while the boys found really awesome caves and through stones into the lake. We connected and I feel better. I am simple like that. Wait, the last thing Dave would call me is simple.

Aside from Kyle’s whiny-teenage-meltdown (I love this kid), today was good. He and I pulled through. Sure, I swore and then walked out of a Thai restaurant. Nevertheless, we maid it through, bought candy, and he ate. Once  you feed a teenage boy, even ones who persistently insist that they are NOT hungry (got to love defiance), once fed, all is right in the world.

Onto today’s highlights (in the form of bullet points, of course).

• Loud not particularly good hair dryer. I am writing this while drying my hair, by the way. As I type, Davy is lying on the bed with a pillow wrapped around his head.
• Brown towels in our B&B seem out of place.
• Good breakfast accompanied by some good breakfast indigestion.
• Pink soccer ball/(football). The Innkeeper’s daughter was mortified to share her pink soccer ball. She thought boys would be traumatized and embarrassed. After a lengthy discussing on how American boys have embraced the color pink, especially hot pink, she started to believe. I even told her about Kyle and his pink hair, to which the innkeeper responded, “If her went to my girls’ school with pink hair, they would hold him down and cut off this eyebrows.” When I relayed the story to Kyle I could see his eyes light up and feel him take the eyebrow cutting as a dare. That’s my boy!
• I keep trying upload photos and my laptop is not liking this. (hours later I figured it out and have successfully uploaded my iphone trip photos). I was motivated to upload my photos because (1.) Dave thinks it would be fun to see some trip photos online, and (2.) I had maxed the space on my iPhone.
• Today I sat in the front seat of the car. In total I believe I have logged in about thirty minutes in the front (that is a generous estimate). I grabbed my USB cable, plugged my phone into the car, and turned the music on.  As we drove into Killarney National Park the boys and I were singing the cheesy, “Sail,” by AWOLNATION. It was a great moment.
• Once in the park we went all European-picnic-y and had PBJ out the back of the car.
• My grocery list: Soap, Pepcid, Stevia
• Finding understanding with Dave (goal). And I found it along the lake, or at least I think I did 😉
• As Kyle, Eli and I walked the street s of Killarney, we hear the following, [Insert little Irish boy screaming voice here], “The balloon is on my road. The balloon is on my road.”
• Kyle had a meltdown and I stomped out of a Thai restaurant.
• Eli has been great and I love walking around with him.
• After Kyle’s whiny teenage meltdown I took my boys to the candy store and bought us all some candy, because that is good parenting. And in the interest of full disclosure the candy store was promised to Eli, the non-melting down child.  Follow through, you know what I mean?
• Today is Killarney Race Day. We discovered a new species: The Trampy Young Irish Girl. Note. Must be wearing extensive make-up, very short dress, and extremely high heeled shoes. An old Irish dude and I had a collective laugh when he yelled to one of these ladies, “You are not going to be able to walk tomorrow.” Indeed.
• Dave dropped Kyle, Eli and I off in Killarney so we could kill time and get something to eat. As the boys and I were walking back to the Bed and Breakfast these words left Eli’s mouth, “Mom if I’m ever homeless…”
• Dave found us on the road. He turned around and order Chinese. It was the weirdest Chinese Food I have ever seen. And of course, he had Chips on the side.
• After listening to John Legend’s, “All of Me,” while waiting for Dave’ Chinese food, Eli says, “I don’t know why people like these songs (pause) I mean girls. Girls. Why do they like these kinds of songs?” Love that kid and wanted to share with him my teenage love for Jounrey’s, “Open Arms.” Nothing is better than that song. Really! 😉
• Eli wanted everyone to play a game and everyone bailed. I feel bad for him. When I asked him what I could do he responded, “I just need to say it. I just need a minute to talk about why I am upset.” I love this kid (and yes, I love Dave and Kyle too, but this was Eli’s cool moment and it was very cool indeed!)

At the end of everyday I claim that I am beat. Today is no different. Yesterday we decided to cancel our Galway Hotel reservations.  We arrived and realized how lame our hotel was so we moved on.  The Ballinalacken Country House and Castle was something out of a movie. I only wish we could have stayed more than one night. So we, this Adams Family, had the brilliant idea that we could find another hotel near Killarney. We are currently in…wait. I do not know the name. Dave didn’t either and just looked it up. Ah yes, the town is called Glengarriff. It is an hour drive south of Killarney.  We drove through misty darkness and castle ruins on the side of the road. Because I hit today’s wall, I also pulled out my headphones.

We are hear and suddenly the internet is down. In hopes of keeping my goal I am still writing. Moments later: Dave stayed awake long enough to give his lady a little help. We are back online. Houston, do you read me? We are back online! High fives to that!

Bullets away for today:

• Ballinalacken Castle tour. Abandoned coolness. In the moment I called it off-the-beaten-path magic. Who needs to pay the big bucks when you can find something like this?
• Cliffs of Moher. Beyond amazing. The cliffs remind me of Kauai’s Napali Coast. They are rugged, severe miles of precipices. We feel lucky that we are here. As we walked from the parking lot to the cliff hike we discussed top tourist attractions in the world.  We think this is one of them. We also thing places like the Great Wall of China and Mecca are probably top spots. What do you think?
• Ok, so of course at the Cliffs of Moher we saw billions of warning signs. I took pictured of them. If the internet every gets back and running fast than a slow snail’s pace, I will post them. In the meantime smattered throughout today’ bullets I present, “What the Warning Signs Mean.”  Here is the first: “Don’t moonwalk on fire when birds are present.”
  
• Warning Sign Number two: “Speed skating near the cliff will cause rocks to appear.”
• And Warning Sign number three: “Do not scrape your leg against the wall so much that it falls off.”
• Traveling with a former English Professor and her son lends itself to all sorts of grammatical corrections.  Eli was teasing about the Jam Shop and talked about getting, “my jams,” at the Jam Shop to which Grandma corrected, “my jam,” to which Eli responded, “No, my jams.” This went on all day long. Hilarity.
• Oh, Oh, Another Warning Sign (We thought it was more of a process scenario type of warning sign): Please place all boats on the hill, and then, beware of radio waves under the train.
• A most helpful Warning Sign: Twerking platform with support bar
• Best part of the day: The boys skipping rocks at the Cliffs of Moher, which equals awesome harmony. As I sat there watching them skip rocks on the tiny little lake that had formed near the cliffs edge, the boys exclaimed, “This is the best part of our trip so far. We love Ireland!”
• A little while later Dave joined us at the tiny Cliffs-of-Moher lake.  As he and I sat there watching the boys a little bird hopped in the water and took a bird bath. Yes, it was beyond adorable.
• After seeing a women wearing a pair at the cliffs I realize that I want tall socks with cat heads on the top.
• It is always nice to have a minute with Dave. He asked the boys to go with Grandma while he and I walked a little further. I believe we saw the best view of the day.
• With this convergence of people from all over the world there was definitely constant confusion about which side of the path we should walk on. Lots of people smashing ensured.
• After Dave had me look for info on the ferry we saw the billboard telling us how to get there.
• Quilty, Ireland. Just passing through and love your name.
• In Killrush, there was a dog crossing the street alone, walking to the one armed man.
• Hungry, we decided to stop in Killrush, and then decided to move on.
• Our ferry from Killarush to Tarbert was called the Shannon Dolphin.
• Sometimes when I am all the way in the back of the van, I miss Dave and think, “I want to be your backseat driver.” I jus told him I missed him and wanted to be his backseat driver, by the way.
• Eli just asked DeAnne, “grandma who is the superior brother?”
• I finally saw a rainbow.
• After hours without food, we finally at and had a failrly decent meal at Salvdores in Killarney. My favorite review of Salvadores stated, “Remember, this is not a Mexican restaurant.” 😉
• The Candle in restaurant reminds me of color crayon fire from my childhood.
• There were thousands of crows in Killarney.
• As we drove to tonight’s hotel, there was a castle ruin on the side of a dark, rainy road. Dave and Eli decided it was time to pee, (of course on the other side).
• Me sitting in in the back seat is getting to me and Eli. He is sitting in front of me and is always the one who has to let me out. I am glad. By the time I get out the car, everyone else is far, far away.
• I am tired and decided it was best to get my headphones at the end of another long and action packed day.
• All in all it was a really good day.

Day 11 of our adventure.

You probably have noticed that I am still going easy on the editing. Commas are just for entertainment purposes, right?

I think we have settled in to this here vacation. Tomorrow we fly to Ireland. Ahoy!

Last Day of Bullets in England.  We have enjoyed your quiet restraint, England. Your roadside rest stops are more than we can hope for, and your endless stream of historical sites completely blow are mind. We wish we had stayed in Brighton longer. We love the Chalk Cliffs! And like all of you keep telling me, London really is the bomb. I could have stayed there for days. Until we meet again, I will say adieu (because I know how much you love Paris!)

And now today’s bullets:

• (It’s an all caps moment) HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE PHIL!
• Morning: Eli and I taking some space from dad and Kyle. Dave and Kyle when to a weapons museum, Eli and I had breakfast.
• Starbucks with Eli, and never have I asked for so much ice
• Eli and I were all ready and waiting
• Eli has the best sense of direction and helped me find the cash machine.
• I will be honest. I was not impressed with York at first, that is, until we made it to the Shambles.
• As I walked away from the Ghost-Tours dude, I was scolded by a woman on the street. “He really does give the best ghost tours,” she said. Apparently I did not give the situation the proper response. Still not sure what it should have been.
• Everyone in England prefers London
• Settling in
• Holding Kyle’s hand in the car
• Clifford’s Tower and looking for the big red dog.
• The things I cannot post online
• I’m sitting in Clifford’s Tower high above York, England.
• There was a disgusting bathroom in the parking lot. Pictures in The mirror made it all better.
• Lunch at the Nook. Gin Rummy with Dave and Eli
• Glow and the Dark shoelaces.
• York Minster is where we turned it around and climbed to the roof.
• When Kyle and I went to use the bathroom in York Minster we saw a Priest, who was about to conduct a service, texting. Kyle and I looked at each other and smiled. As we walked into an area where we could speak, Kyle said, “Are you thinking what I am thinking?” And I was, “A priest texting, how awesome is that?”
• I lay on the floor of York Minster so Dave could take my picture under the sleeping priest.
• The purple man said inappropriate thing to my sons as I took their picture. Ew!
• Ice cream on the river.
• The boys chasing the geese. The gees were so fat that one of them fell on it side when it tried to fly.
• Time with Dave walking through Leeds
• Brinda the front desk clerk who reminded me of my sister, Brenda.
• French food for dinner in the mall attached to the hotel was actually really good.
• Everything closes so early here, especially on Sunday.
• Packing for Ireland was a little stressful. We had to compress five bags into four. I think we did it.
• Kyle’s feet are touching me while I write. He is asleep and I am sitting at the foot of his bed.
• The desk is a hilarious mass of charger chaos. Thank goodness for adaptors.