My ASH!

I went to Ireland for a few days and have plenty of pictures to process, including ones of Dun Laogahaire (pronounced Dun Leary for the uninitiated), the coast, and the castle hotel I managed to get several days at. I did manage to even DRIVE on the WRONG side of the Road… (no pictures of this) without any drinking involved. (ha ha) It was fabulous – bright, sunny, and well, relaxing as heck. Just up the road from the place I was staying was a place called Victoria Park, where after much walking up the hill, you got a beautiful view of the Irish Sea coast and the surrounding town, including Dublin (cell phone photo):

Irish sea dun laoghaire from killeny oblisk. Note the sun!

Not far off from there I went into Dun Laogahaire proper, and went to the harbour where I got to see a pair of lighthouses – which were built in the 1800’s and walk along the harbor walk in shirt sleeves. I even got a bit of sun – so my cheeks turned pink (cell phone pic):

Dun laoghaire harbour lighthouse. Again- sun in ireland.

I was supposed to go home tomorrow morning. The problem? A big huge Volcano exploded in Iceland and sent lots of volcanic ash into the atmosphere – at between 20,000 and 40,000 feet (cruising altitude). The result? All the flights from ireland are cancelled and I’m stranded.

Oh well.
At least the sun is shining (6 days straight now!) and the ash makes for fabulous sunrises and sunsets, and truly, there ARE worse places to be….

Oh – and just something I thought was cool. 30 years ago, May 18, 1980, I remember Mount St. Helens erupting – and the 1/4 inch ash fall in Georgia. Thing is that I didn’t know I remembered the scent of the Volcanic Ash (very distinctive)- until Thursday night, here in Ireland when a window was opened and I went… yep – that’s the same smell – that’s the underlying scent of Volcanic Ash powder in the air.. Weird the things you remember, eh?

Volcanic sunset in Dublin over half penny bridge.

Volcanic Ash colored Sunset over half penny bridge (upper right) in Dublin.

BTW – if anyone is counting, I’ve now been through Hurricanes, Tornadoes, minor Earthquakes, Floods… and this makes a Volcano ash fall… so – that leaves… meteorite, major earthquake, and tidal wave. 😛 Isn’t travelling fun? (MY ASH it is!)

Howth (rhymes with Both) Ireland

In July I had a few days off, and found an inexpensive trip to a day spa / hotel just outside Dublin Ireland. The town is called Howth (Rhymes with Both), and it’s on the North side of Dublin Bay. Pulling up through the gates by taxi, I was impressed

by a pair of lovely gray stone gates. On one side of me was the sweeping view of the bay and on the other, Howth Castle. We were going up the hill, to the Spa at Deer Park. When I got there and was checked in – there was a bottle of Champaign and a lovely dish of chocolate covered Strawberries waiting (A sure sign of a relaxing time to come):

What I can say is that I’m glad to have taken several days enjoying the wonders of the spa and golf courses at Deer Park. Even though I don’t golf, the area is lovely – lush and green – the courses being made on the old Castle Howth Grounds.

Howth Castle

As I mentioned, the spa itself sits up on top of a hill – overlooking Dublin Bay on one side, (behind the castle below)

and a pair of islands dedicated to bird sanctuary on the other (My room had a view over the golf course down to the islands).

Unfortunately, while there, I managed to gunk up my main camera lens – which means that I didn’t get to take photos other than the first day. While I did get it repaired in the city – I didn’t get it back until the day I was leaving. So, I guess you could say I saw the sites, committed them to memory – and didn’t even get to take photographs of them all. It’s a shame – but here’s a few that I did take (all from the first couple hours) are now online with a sampling below. ( my flickr set is here for more).

St. Mary’s Church – Howth (anglican)

St. Mary’s Church Door with Roses

The Bloody Stream (I admit I thought it said SCREAM) where I had a tasty dinner of tomato soup, crusty bread and pasta.(It’s right outside the train station)