We're up!

After many many tries of doing a new post, and losing either the connection or the computer freezing up, this one feels hopeful! Yay! I was going to say my travel day (the flight) was uneventful and, for the most part, it was. Upon boarding the plane I was at the window, an an older Irishman, Billy, was on the aisle. A yound, kind of nerdy looking young man came and sat between us. He was acting a little wired and told us both that he'd been up for 28 hours with no sleep, had flown in from Seattle that morning and had spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Boston. He said he fell asleep in the sirport about 4.30pm (our flight was at 8.30) and that 'they' said he'd had a seizure and he was rushed to a hospital in an ambulence! I wonder if he discharged himself because a stewardess came and told him that he could NOT take the flight as he didn't have a doctors note, saying it was safe for him to fly. He said he had a discharged sheet from the hospital and the stewardess went to talk to colleagues while he showed me (who really didn't want to get involved) he sheet. I didn't read it, really I didn't but I saw it said "confusion" and "You MUST see a neurologist upon arrival in Ireland"! Yikes! Anyway, the next thing I know a security possie came and told him he had to deplane, which he did without incident. Billy and I chatted ab9out it (Billy believing him to be high on drugs, me just grateful for a bit of room in the middle to stretch my legs and not fall onto someone if I managed to sleep). It was the only empty seat on the plane! Billy and I had fun, learning about each other's life (he'd been in Boston for a surprise 40th birthday present for his son). He was a fun and happy seat mate. I LOVED Aer Lingus. All the staff were Irish and, I can honestly say, every Irish person I have ever met (and I've known a bunch) have always been super nice and friendly, as was the case on the plane! Billy eventually popped a sleeping pill and tried to sleep and I watched ALL IS LOST, the Robert Redford movie. After the flight and trip out here I checked in to Doolin Hostel. It's a cute little place, one of many hostels and B&Bs in the village. (In fact, as small as this village is, apart from a few pubs and souvenir shops, most of the buildings are hostels)) In the summer the area is a big draw for surfers, bikers, ramblers, cavers and sea kayakers. Lots of buildings have little stations outside them with a hose to wash down your gear (bike, board, kayak, etc) after a day of fun!

I wish I could post photos but until I get to a town with a phone shop I don't have the cable I need . . . I spent yesterday trying to stay awake until the evening to reset my sleep from jet lag. The big draw here are the Cliffs of Moher (I think it's one of Ireland's biggest tourist draws). They are about 9km south of Doolin. There's cliff walk/trail called The Burren Way that starts here, just outside the village, and ends at the Cliffs, so I set out yesterday to check it out. It was GORGEOUS yesterday afternoon, about 58 degrees and bright sunshine! As you walk on this beautiful trail, every turn brings you an even more breathtakingly gorgeous view. Farms and fields come down to the cliff top, all with old stone walls dividing them. There are ruins everywhere, old castles or old cottages. I used my phone to snap photos every step of the way. The trail is directly on the edge of the cliff, in some places you are 2 or 3 steps from the edge! The noise is incredible. The roar of the waves below as they come crashing in and hit the rock, sending spray up and over the top is awesome! One plus about coming now? Despite the amazing day, I only saw 3 people!The thing that happened yesterday was my battery light came on and my phone was almost dead! I think I had walked about 3 miles. In retrospect I wish I had just continued on and saw the BIG cliffs a couple miles further on. I was chatting to a guy on the trail, Steve from Alabama who is a grad student at Auburn and we said our byes, and I said I'd get the bus the next day to the Cliffs and walk BACK to my hostel. I walked the 3 miles back to Doolin and went to Fitzpatricks Pub for a vegetable curry, before crashing in my bed by 8pm! The moral of this story is "If you can do something today and not put it off, especially if it's weather dependent, DO IT TODAY!" Today I got the noon bus to the Visitor Center at The Cliffs and you couldn't see a thing! The fog was sooooo thick! Ha Ha! I was a little disappointed but told Charles we'll both just have to come back. I took a photo anyway and, once I get the cable I need will post yesterdays and todays so you can see the difference a day makes. To rub it in, this morning while eating breakfast in the hostel I see Steve, the Auburn dude who finished the walk yesterday. He said it was one of the most spectacular sights he's ever seen! Thanks, man. (LOL!) Well, I could ramble on all evening but pub times-a-wasting. Gonna walk over to O'Connors for a little bite and a bevvy. . . . I love having a pub one hundred yards away! Ha Ha! Not even gonna spell check as I don't want to jinx the computer!! I go to the farm tomorrow. . . check in soon!