Just a couple of pictures of the snails we saw at Bunbeg yesterday and the shells we brought back. The smallest shells we saw were about 2/3 the size of the smallest shells in this picture and the biggest snails were probably 1.5 times the size of the larger ones. I especially like the pink shell.
As we were heading out to take M to the birthday party yesterday, we heard a bumping sound at the front of the Passat (or, as we've nicknamed it, the land yacht). We got out to have a look and, sure enough, the front bumper had developed a crack and started to pull away from the car at the left (passenger) side. Steve got the original paperwork out and there is a cryptic mark on the previous damage diagram that makes us suspect that the problem was already there before we got the car. But, over the course of the weekend, it has gotten much worse. Steve took it in this morning and it sounds as though we'll get a loaner tomorrow while they replace the bumper.
We got a slow start Saturday AM, after being out late at the Derry F.C. game on Friday night. Once we were all up, we went to Wetherspoons for brunch. We all had variations on the traditional Ulster Fry. Yes, Wetherspoons even has vege sausage for their vegetarian breakfast.
Steve and I dropped M at Laser Space for the much anticipated birthday party. The birthday boy, who was turning 8, is the 2nd oldest in a family of four kids, so there was a big crowd of kids between the ages of 2 and 9. They played laser tag and had treats. It must have been quite the time because, as soon as we picked M up and started our drive to Donegal, he fell asleep! That's the sign of a good party!
We drove for about an hour to get to Glenveagh Park and Castle. We decided to tour the castle, which was built in the 1870s as a hunting lodge. The tour was very informative but long and by the time it was done, we were running out of time and hurried out to get back on the road to the hotel. We will definitely go back to walk the grounds.
We spent the night at Bunbeg House, on the Atlantic coast. For dinner, we went to the Seaview hotel. On Sunday morning, we walked the beach in Bunbeg before heading home. M and I like to collect seashells. We didn't see many but we did see lots of snail shells. We brought home a few empty shells and watched snails on the rocks. M felt that snails move faster than we give them credit for and I was surprised by the variety in size and color of the shells.
We started the weekend by going to the Derry F.C. game against Bohemians F.C. (who are one of three teams based in Dublin). The game is a big rivalry. Our taxi driver helped us find the shop that sells tickets, saving us from wandering the neighborhood, and a family of season ticket holders showed us a section of seats near mid-field that were marked "Reserved" but which are always empty. The stadium isn't as large as I had expected and I think all of the seats would have a good view of the field.
One section at the end of the stadium was reserved for Bohemians fans, who were a noisy and aggressive crowd. At the end of the game, we met Caroline and Mike, Derry residents and avid fans, who told us that because of the rivalry, the defection of the Derry manager to Bohemians, and a little racist attitude on the part of a few Bohemians fans toward Derry's top scorer Eamon Zayed (who scored two of Derry's 3 goals on Friday and who M tells me is the league's top scorer), the visiting fans on Friday night behaved much worse than fans usually do at the games. Caroline was worried that a fight would break out in the street after the game and insisted on giving us a ride home rather than have us wait for a cab. Another example of how kind people are here. In talking, we learned that Caroline has several aunts in the Minneapolis area. What a coincidence!
And, of course, it's always good when the home team wins.
Yep, we're still here. It's been a quiet few days after our trip to Portrush on Tuesday. This morning, we checked out another branch of the Northern Ireland libraries, one that is walkable from our townhouse but in a direction we hadn't walked before this morning. While the Waterside branch is smaller than Derry Central, Waterside does have a larger children's area and M found many books he'd like to read.
Now we're home for a quiet afternoon, before the start of a busy weekend. Tonight we are going to see Derry F.C. (football club, football meaning what Americans call soccer) play and tomorrow M is going to a birthday party. After the party we are driving to County Donegal and spending Saturday night in Bunbeg. I'll post photos on Sunday or Monday.
M and I took the train to Portrush today. The train ride was an hour long, beautiful ride along the coast and Portrush is a fun seaside resort town. Unfortunately, I left the SD card for our camera in my computer, so was left taking pictures with my phone. Just means I have to make another trip there, right? :)
We went to Barry's Amusement Park and Arcade. Since it's the middle of the week and school isn't out for summer yet, we mostly had the arcade to ourselves. M rode the carousel a couple of times (and was the only kid on it both times!) and we collected loads of tickets on a ball dropping game. M turned the tickets in for a pullback racer and a plastic dinosaur.
We walked up and back along the beach and collected a few seashells. M played on a playground, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was a wonderful day but we came home so tired that this was dinner.
When Steve was helping M floss his teeth the other night, one of M's fillings popped out. No pain to M, just a hole where the filling used to be. Steve asked one of the Springtown managers, who has four kids, for a dentist recommendation and learned that the manager has a cousin who is a dentist and whose practice is five minutes from our townhouse. Katherine, the dentist, was able to see M this morning. She quickly cleaned the tooth and filled the cavity, in much less time than it has ever taken a dentist to fill one of my cavities. Steve and I were impressed with how good she was with M. Before we left the States, I scheduled an appointment for M with his regular dentist for a cleaning and now am glad for the timing.
After the appointment, Steve went back to work and M and I filled our day with postcard writing (M), cleaning (me), and a walk to the playground at St Columb's.
We also learned that M will be invited to a birthday party this weekend. He is excited to meet some kids and to play laser tag.
