2ND DAY-GUINNESS & TAYLORS THREE ROCK

September 29, 2018

After leaving Rossbough House, we had several choices to do. We decided to go to the Guinness Storehouse, another must see in Dublin. We picked the wrong day to do it because it was Saturday. It was so crowded, but still fun and interesting. You start at the bottom and go up 4 floors. Along the way, it shows you the history of how they make Guinness. 

As with all beers, water is an important part of Guinness. This was taken in front of a sheet of water coming down.

Fun photo, good looking couple!

Interesting fact I never new. Seems amazing, 30 million bubbles in one pint

The bar at the top has the best views of all Dublin.  Included in your ticket is a free pint. We had to share because Denny lost his ticket.

We then went back to the hotel for a welcome drink with our tour. Nice to start get to know everyone. We were very lucky, everyone on the tour was very nice and friendly.  We talked to some that had been on other tours that hadn't been so lucky. There were several single ladies  and 2 Mother/daughters traveling.  We were one of the few that hadn't been to Europe before. One  of the single ladies  had been to 31 countries

Then off to Taylors Three Rock for a typical Irish dinner and dancing. It was very touristy, but fun. 

All of the sudden, several men jumped on the tables and started doing the Irish dancing. We were up close and personal because ours was one the the tables. He was moving so fast

2ND DAY-ROSSBOROUGH HOUSE

September 29, 201

First we went to Russborough House in Wicklow, about 30 miles south of Dublin. This was the largest private home in Ireland.  It is 700' long.  It  was built in 1740 by the architect, Richard Castle. I'll aways remember that because of the TV show, Castle (one of my favorites).  It has been lived in by only 3 families, from 1740 to 2005.  That is amazing to me, only 3 families in 275 years.  It opened as a museum in 1978, with the stipulation that no one would see the family quarters as long as they lived there. 

It is amazing the architecture and workmanship back in those days. Everything was so ornate. We saw this everywhere we went. 

I enlarged this picture to point out the small table to the right of the fireplace. This could lie flat or upright like it is in the picture. It would adjust to different heights. The makeup that people wore (even men) was mainly made up of wax.  If you stood too close to the fire, the makeup would drip off your face. They would adjust the table height so that it would protect their face from the fire. 

Notice how elaborate the floor designs were.

One thing I didn't get a picture of were the beds. They were very short. The reason for this  is everyone slept in a sitting position.  They had such elaborate hairdo's that people didn't want them to get messed up.  Sounds uncomfortable to me.

We did so much that day that I couldn't put it all in one post.

On to Guinness.........

1ST DAY- DUBLIN CASTLE AND CITY TOUR

September 28, 2018

We first took a tour of Central Dublin, then over to Dublin Castle. Dublin castle was the set of power and government for many centuries. There has been a settlement here for more than 1000 years. In 1204 King John of England ordered the construction of the castle. Over time, it became the most important fortification in Ireland and over the next 8 centuries functioned as the seat of colonial rule, the center of military and political power.  Sorry if this sounds like a brochure, but I wanted to explain it to you.  This is just a very short synopsis of it.  United States history seems like a minute in time compared to the history of Europe and the rest of the world. It was and is a beautiful place.

Dublin Castle still serves as a place of national Prestige, still hosting important events, including the inauguration of the Irish President every 7 years. The last international visit was from the Queen of England.  

This is a courting couch. The parents sit in the middle. The girl on one end, the boy on the other. Can you imagine 2 people getting to know each other like this. Certainly glad this  custom was lost thru the ages!

This is a wine storage chest.  Beautiful, but a little too big for our house

After getting back to our hotel, we decided to go to Temple Bar. We wanted to go to at  least  once to say we had been there. We took the Luaus tram, which I mentioned in the previous day post.  We got off 2 stops later than we had wanted, but it turned out for the best. I had wanted to go to the Brazen Head pub, the oldest  in Dublin. By getting off at the wrong spot, we were right there.  It  was a Friday night, so the pub was packed. After standing for a while, the only reason we got a seat was that I saw someone start to get up. I was there before they finished getting up. The is how the people after us got our seat. We had delicious Irish stew and, of course, a pint of Guinness. 

After finishing, we walked to Temple Bar. Oh my, what a crazy, busy place. I know now why everyone says you have to experience Temple Bar  at lest once. We went into the first pub. It was so loud, we walked right out.  It was shoulder to shoulder crowded.  Also the next one. Third time is a charm because we found one where the music hadn't started yet. You could at  least hear yourself talk. Then we took the Luaus tram back to the hotel. What an easy way to get around Dublin. What a great first day and night of our tour. 

BEATING THE JET LAG

September 26, 2018

Since our trip to Italy fell thru, we decided to go to Ireland. We had thought about driving, but they have a crazy law that you can't rent a car over 75.  That lets Denny out because he turned 78 on the trip. You can do it if you are 70-75 (me), but they make it cost prohibitive since they don't really want  to rent to anyone over 70. We decided on a 15 day bus tour, going all over the island. Ireland is about the size of Indiana.

I am certainly glad we took a bus tour. Both of us could sight see without having the stress of driving on the left hand side and following signs in another language.

We went over a day early to Dublin to try and get ahead of jet lag and certainly glad we did. I had heard the worst thing to do is take a nap, so I had a full day planned. We got to our hotel around 2.  After putting our things away, we took off for our first place, The Epic Museum. It tells the story of Ireland and the Migration to other places after the famine. I heard it was a must see in Dublin. After taking off in the wrong direction we finally got there. It was quite a bit further than I thought, so we were exhausted by the time we got there. 

After the Museum, we were hungry, so decided to go to our first pub. There was a highly recommended pub not too far. I'm not a beer drinker, but everyone says you have to try the Guinness. It tastes a lot different in Ireland than the states. I ordered a glass instead of a pint since I was leery. Then I ordered another glass. Oh my, it was delicious. I had a pint of Guinness every day of our trip. We ordered an Irish steak served on a hot lava stone. Well, at least that's what we thought. Luckily, our waitress explained it to us. They put a hot lava stone on your plate. Then they give you a RAW steak to cook yourself. I think not! We had never heard of that.  I don't want to go to a restaurant and do the cooking myself. We ordered a COOKED steak. 

We then walked back to the hotel and tried to stay up longer. By the time we went to bed, we had been up 22 hours. We were exhausted, but knew we could sleep in the next day.  We didn't have any jet lag, so it was worth it. 

We took Aer Lingus, the National Irish airline

We take our coffee black, but we had never seen milk served this way. It was in most of the hotel rooms

Instead of a little coffee pot in the rooms, all you get is a pot that heats water and instant packets. UGH, but at least it was caffeine. I never had a good cup of coffee in Ireland, even in the restaurants. I like it strong, every cup was weak to me.

We have never been to Europe so there was some surprises. When we got to the hotel room, we couldn't figure how to turn on the lights. None of the switches worked. I felt real stupid, but I called reception. You put your key card into a slot by the door. That turns on all the switches. It really is a good idea. No way will you accidentally leave any lights on in the rooms. This was also in most of the hotel rooms

Isn't there a tomato in a BLT anyway?

Except at the airport, this is the only Starbucks we saw in Ireland. It was  a few doors down from our first hotel. It was much larger than most. Thought we could get a cup to go for  the bus, but during the week, they don't open til 9am, the weekends, 10am. I was shocked, thy are usually open so early in the States

We have never seen a regular counter and long window like this in a shower. When the light is on, it shines into the room. At lest it is opaque, so you can't see in.

We saw this tractor trailer backing up into 3Areana.  3Arena is the large concert venue for all the big acts. It is right across from our hotel. That night Shaina Twain was there. Our hotel was packed because people have a drink at our hotel or stay the night. Notice the cab, it is a lot different than in the States. With this type of cab, the trailer can make a very sharp turn  to back up that ours can't.  We were all amazed when we saw it turn and back in. They all  like this in Ireland, probably Europe.

This is the tram that goes all over Dublin. The last stop is in front of our hotel, so we took it to Temple Bar in the evening.  Temple Bar is kind of like our Pioneer Square district in Seattle. Very touristy, very trendy.  I wasn't sure how to get the ticket at the kiosk in front, so asked a local. She was very nice and did it for us. Everyone we ever met in Ireland was so  friendly.  We certainly need something like this in our area.

This Volkswagen was part of the decor at our hotel. 

All of the walls along the escalator were covered in living plants. Thought it was very interesting.

Our tour starts tomorrow!!!  So excited

HOME AT LAST

May 17, 2018

We arrived home May 8th.  Denny was looking forward to it, me, not so much.  I think I could live in an RV full time, but Denny is really only good for 6 months at the most.

Here is a synopsis of out trip:

Left Nov 20, 2017
Returned May 8, 2018

gone 5.5 months
Drove 7897 miles

Stayed at 13 campgrounds that we had been in before

Stayed at 3 new campgrounds that we had never been at

Spent $3164.47 on campgrounds
Our cheapest campground was $23 per night Bakersfield, CA. This park belongs to Passport, a half price camp club that we belong to.
Our most expensive was $61 per night in Surprise, AZ.
There are cheaper ones around there, but we have many friends and family to visit and is is centrally located to everyone

Spent $2056.06 on diesel

We have a large 57 gal tank, so we only had to stop 26 times for diesel. That is actually  more than last year, but we did  alot  more geocaching.
Our cheapest diesel was in Surprise, AZ for $2.19
This price was before diesel stated going up
Our most expensive was in Palm Desert, CA for $3.65.
California always has the most expensive gas/diesel than another state. Also it has the worst roads.


The new areas we went to were Pahrump, Alamo and Wells, all in Nevada. We have really never  traveled much in Nevada, but we certainly made up for it this trip.

We like to go someplace new every time, but, not really sure where next season.  We are actually thinking of shaking it up quite a bit and going to Ireland instead of RVing next season. Will see... never  have been to Europe before and Denny has always wanted to see Ireland.

Hope you all enjoyed reading my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Til next year........

ON THE WAY HOME

May 4, 2018

We plan to be home May 8th.  Doesn't seem possible that this year's trip is coming to an end. Denny is looking forward to it, me, not so much. I could easily stay out longer, but guess we have to get back to the real world.

I really enjoy seeing different places in the United States and meeting new and old friends. It also amazes me how different the terrain is everywhere. From oceans and mountains to large trees to desert. I never get tired of it. 

Amazing to me the colors in the hills and desert due to  the different minerals. 

The local lore says the pattern on the hills is where the Indians got there idea for their Indian Blankets. What do you think?

We were driving in the middle of the desert and all of a sudden came across alot of green. Very unusual for this area, but there is underground water close by, enough to have a large date farm.

Just a mile before we came across all the green trees in the above picture, this is what we had been seeing. What a difference a little water makes

First time Denny had to drive through rain,  leaving Alamo, Nevada going to Wells, NV

Felt like we were home already 

This is our first glimpse of mountains since leaving Washington. I love spending the winter in the warmer climate of the desert, but it is always nice to see the mountains again. 

View from our campground in Wells, NV

Today I made our  reservation  at the last campground we will be in before we get home. Kind of a sad moment for me😢😢

ET HIGHWAY

April 29-30, 2018

In geocaching,  the ExtraTerrestrial  Highway is world famous. Cachers from all over the world take their vacations just to go on it.   It is a power trail  of several hundred miles with 2300 caches on it. They are every 550' apart.  The north side of the highway is the power trail that cachers flock to. The south side borders  AREA 51 in Nevada.   Area 51 is a top secret site that government still doesn't admit that it exists.  This is where  they supposedly found a spaceship with an Alien inside.  In 1996, Nevada officially designated highway 375 as the ExtraTerrestrial Highway. There have many sightings of UFO's on this road.  We were here for 3 days and I NEVER saw anything.

I had heard about the ET Highway for years. Since we are going home a different way than usual, I realized we would be close to it, so had to go on  it. We spent 2 days along the Highway. First day, we found 105, 2nd day, 113. That day breaks my record of 110.  I have to admit, it was kind of boring. Getting in and out of the car 218 times plus walking 50-60' to the cache  and back is very tiring. We could have done more each day, but my  whole body was exhausted.   The 3rd day, we just went up to a little town of Rachael (54 pop) that is a must see. It is the only town on the Highway to stop and stretch your legs and get a bite of food.

This is the Alien Research Center. Really just a gift shop to buy souvenirs and everything you need to   go on the ET Highway and Area 51

Wall inside the Alien Research Center that all visitors sign. I also did, but had a hard time finding a spot. Finally had to sign over somebody's signature. The wall continues around the corner. 

This is just a partial view of the power trail of the ET Highway.  This is probably only a quarter  length of the ET . All the little green dots are geocaches.  I haven't logged my caches yet. When I do, all the   green dots will turn into smiley faces.  The caches I found start at the right and go most of the way up 

There is geoart on the ET Highway That is when people put out geocaches in the shape of things. Below is an Alien Head and a Spaceship.   In the map above, the geoart is in the upper left corner.  Most of the geoart is usually a hike, the alien is about 10 miles, the spaceship 7 miles. 

If we go back this way again, I will do the geoart only. The power trail itself is too boring and exhausting. The yellow smiley faces are caches that I have found. The town of Rachael is at the very right hand bottom of the picture. We did a few caches while having lunch

The ET Highway is open range so you have to be careful of  cows roaming around. I took this picture from the car to show you how close they are to the road. Unfortunately, we saw a couple of dead cows alongside the road. 

This is the Alien Mailbox cache. All the Aliens check their mail here!! Wonder how much they get or is it all junk mail like humans usually find in their mailboxes!

Denny is checking out the spaceship in front of the cafe