Day Six: Dublin

One more beautiful day in Dublin, we’ve only had one day of rain. Lucky us! After another round of Irish breakfast, Justin and I hopped on the bus and back into the City Center. We went through the streets that are becoming quite familiar to us, and wandered to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Were Thomas Swift’s grave is located (author of Gulliver’s Travels) The stained glass and monument’s inside were a walk through history.

The next place we visited was Christ’s Chruch Cathedral’s Dublinia exhibit. This exhibit walked us through the Medieval history of Dublin, and even some of the artifacts found on the archeological dig that was done in the city. That was so cool to be in a city that held so much history. After the museum, our feet were realy barking, so we took in a show. Yes, I mean movie. Our feet appreciated the break and so did our back’s as we enjoyed the movie Stardust. It was a bit strange that today was the opening day of it in Dublin, when it’s been out for a bit in the US. Oh well we enjoyed it, before making the trek back up to Dublin Castle. Unfortunatly the tours of Dublin Castle ended at 4:45, and we arrived at 5:30. That’s the bad thing about seeing a movie I guess. Maybe next time then ;)

Day Five: 10-18 Dublin (Happy Birthday to Me)

We woke up this morning in a chill. For some reason our radiator stopped working in the night, but I think Justin survived well, since he had all the covers on his side of the bed. We decided to stay under the warm covers a little longer before going down to another wonderful Irish breakfast. They sure know how to fill a belly over here.

We talked with Moira, the Springvale owner, about the bus and how to get into town. Once we got our route planned we headed off to join the morning rush. It’s been great to ride the buses, and not fight our American driving instincts. So into town we go, and then jumped on the Dublin Tour bus. The morning was a bit chilly, and a restless night’s sleep kept me from taking the pictures that I should have, but that just mean we’ll have to come back another time J

Our tour guide was pretty funy, and serenaded us with some Irish tunes along the way. At the end of the nearly two hour tour, we jumped off and headed over to the Writer’s museum. (Hehehe- a good place to go on my Birthday, I dare say) It was a joy to hear the stories of the Irish greats. To see first editions, even some with hand written notes, of such names as James Joyce, Orson Wells, Bram Stoker, William Yates, and many more that have written from or about Ireland. Justin let me get a couple of books, even though I secretly wanted to buy the shop. It was encouraging to here how each author struggled through their art to create something that held a truth of Irish History and it’s people. I love my Husband so much, cause he fell asleep during the tour, and him willingly going into the museum proves his love to me. Yes, it’s silly, but if he does something I love and he hates, and he doesn’t fuss about it I know he’s still in love we me. J

Next we headed up to Trinity College. The Book of Kells (ancient illustrated version of the gospels) is held here, but I felt Justin had seen enough books for the day. So we walked the campus and then headed over to the Hard Rock Café. Granted not a very Irish place to eat, but it is a traveling tradition of mine. After having a bite, and a pint of Guinness we picked out my Dublin Hard Rock T-shirt and head out to wander the streets. It’s pretty fun to start to know your way around a town in another country, makes you feel like a real world traveler. We walked over and took a picture or the hotel owned by Bono, and down to the historic Custom’s House. Once thing about wandering the streets is my feet are tired, so back to the bus and the B&B for hopefully a warmer night’s sleep.

Day Four-Keady/Maladahide/Howth/Dublin

We started our day with another serving of Irish breakfast, which meant we didn’t eat anything else till 4PM. Such good food. Then we packed our bags and headed off to a viewpoint Larry told us about the day before. Carrigatuke Viewpoint looks out over six Irish county, and we could even see the twin spires of St. Patrick’s in the distance. The wind was quite chilly but the view was wonderful.

We once again set off on the back roads of Northern Ireland destined for Dublin. After winding through the back country and seeing a couple spray painted IRA support notices we eased on to the motorway and off to our next destination. We drove down the coast to Maladahide Castle, where the residence had lived for 800 years. The grounds were beautiful and it was amazing to imagine the history. Oliver Cromwell even stayed in the castle back in the days of over throwing the British throne. We even watched a few raven’s on the lawn, and we could see why they are evil omen’s in Irish folklore. They look like they could tare you to pieces if they decided to.

After touring the castle we headed over to Howth Cliffs. As Justin put it we had to go through the round-a-bout maze to get there, and once we did we were not disappointed. The coast was beautiful, the wind crisp, and the food delicious. I had a plate of Fish-n-Chips along with some calamari, but Justin couldn’t steer away from the steak. He tried a bite of my dishes, and had to admit they tasted really fresh. After wandering the sea side with our feet aching, our eyes drooping, and our bellies full we headed off to our B&B. Well we took a nice tour of Dublin Port, almost taking the ferry somewhere we weren’t planning to go, before we had to stop and ask for directions, and then call the B&B. Just as the sun was going down we pulled into the B&B. Praise the Lord. Now it’s time to rest before our big adventures in Dublin tomorrow.

Blessings.

Day Three: Armagh

An exciting day, the day I go see the town my novel takes place in, which made it hard to fall asleep last night. But when morning came we got ready for the day, and went to enjoy some Irish breakfast. Bacon, toast and jam, eggs sunny side up and soda bread. So yummy, and so filling, we didn’t eat lunch until three in the afternoon. Larry also introduced himself, and shared a bit of the history of Dundrum house. His accent is fun, but I think I’m only getting about 60% of what he’s saying, while Justin is making out about 40%. It’s amazing all the work they did on this old farm house, and they still have plans of expanding the B&B in the future. After taking a break from the last ten years of renovations, but luckily some of the family have helped fix up the place.

With breakfast settling nice in our bellies, we headed off to Armagh. We weaved through the narrow hilly streets, keeping the spires of St. Patrick’s Catholic cathedral in our sights. We arrived at the church just as morning mass was ending, and a nice gentleman that was going up to the church told us about the school, the archbishops house, and the front walk way which was renovated in 2000. Which is a good tidbit since my story takes place before then, so I’ll need to be careful when I construct my climax.-

After touring the cathedral and taking a lot of pictures, we decided to walk the streets a bit. It was great to get a feel for where my characters could walk, go and do. We walked in the Mall, which is not for shopping, but a park in between the courthouse (which was recently renovated from a bombing in 1993) and the prison (women’s prison now). There were a couple of monuments to the Irish that fought in World War I, and a great row of Georgian style houses lining the park.

We walked around the streets some more, surprised at how many people were our and about on a Tuesday morning. Around noon we got back in the car to go see the Navan fort, which holds a lot of Armagh’s history, but it was closed. Apparently their website had not been updated. But we continued on toward the small village of Tynan, to see a high cross. The village didn’t even have a stop light it was so small. But the large Celtic cross on the road was beautiful. Ireland has about 270 free standing Celtic crosses in the country side. We weren’t able to see the Abby (which has two other high crosses), since it is still a working private abbey, but we were able to see some of the small grave yard and the architecture over the wall. After stopping in Tynan, we decided to head back to Armagh and wander the streets a bit more.

We went into the tourist information center and were told about the Armagh museum, so we walked over and went through the history of Armagh tour. It was very interesting to see what affected the growth and development of this beautiful city, but then we got locked in the tour. The last door was locked, so we had to feel our way back through the dark exhibit before we could enjoy the final movie, luckily they let us in by another door. After we walked about some more, stepped in to a chemists’ (like a Walgreens) to get Justin some cold medicine, he’s doing better but the congestion is keeping him tired, which is probably helping him enjoy such a slow paced trip. Then we headed back to Keady and the B&B.

Once we dropped off our day’s treasures, we decided to go on a little walk. We found Larry getting ready to feed the cows, so we jumped in the jeep (truck) and joined him on a tour of his farm. It was amazing to hear about his family’s history and even some of the situations they ran into during The Troubles. He even showed us the small stone house his father was born in. Most of the Irish we’ve talked too seem to compare The Trouble’s to the war in Iraq, which brings about a wealth of interesting discussions. After touring the farm, and seeing the three day old calf, Justin and I are settling down for the night. Our feet are ready for a rest.

Blessings.

Day Two: Dublin/Newgrange/Keady

The morning started late. I was able to get a full night’s sleep, but Justin seems to be fighting a bit of congestion. We took the morning slow and headed out of Dublin about noon, going up to the Valley of the Boyne. We took the back roads into the valley enjoying the rolling hillsides, stone and bush fences, plus the scattering of sheep along the roads. It was a lovely way to travel, and even seeing the leaves change add to the beauty. We arrived in Newgrange just in time to enjoy the museum and join the next tour. The valley of Bru na Boinne holds the oldest Neolithic tombs and structures in the world. Dating back further than the pyramids or Stonehenge, which as our tour guide said is ‘not’ something the Irish like to brag about. ;) After enjoying the ancient stones and the green countryside we headed up to Northern Ireland, back roads of course. Justin is dong a great job at driving on the left side of the road it’s a little weird when going around tight bends in the road, but I think Justin’s a better driver in Ireland than in the states. ;) We had a bit of trouble finding our B&B so we took a longer tour of Keady than we planed, but we finally found it and were greeted by a black farm dog, and the mooing of a few cows. The owners, Lisa and Larry, have spent ten years renovating this historic farm house, it has a lovely view. A Canadian couple have been staying here for the last seven weeks, with two more left on their adventure. They are researching their genealogy, which seems to be the most common reason for people from the states to hope over the ocean. For dinner, the owners directed us back into Keady to a restaurant called the Caledonian. We enjoyed a large helping of food, but we were the only ones in the place. Apparently everyone eats earlier than 5PM, or doesn’t eat out on a Monday. We sat and talked with Dorothy and Walter for a bit, and are told that Larry is a bit of a story teller, so I look forward to meeting him at breakfast. I just hope I can cut through his accent.

Blessings

Day One- Dublin

October 14th, 2007

After a full day in airports, airplanes, and very little sleep we arrived at Dublin Airport. Just before we landed we were able to watch the sun rise over Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean, which was a beautiful start to our trip. We took stairs out of plane on to the tarmac, to the bus, and once we got our bags (Thank the Lord that they made it with us-after three plane jumps) we started the adventure of driving on the left side of the road.

Wow that’s a mind game, and the round-a-bouts are a bit confusing ‘cause the street signs are hard to find. But after heading the wrong way a couple times, we made it to our hotel and made our first trek into the city center. We decided to walk the streets and enjoy the people, since we’re still tired, and save the bus tour for when we come back.

We had perfect weather, and the architecture made our afternoon very enjoyable after hours of sitting. Looks like their might be rain tomorrow though, hopefully it won’t hinder our plans

State Side!!!!

YAY, Justin and I have arrived back in the US of A, and are enjoying the internet in NC. We have one more flight to go before we can get home, but the long stretch is over. We had a great time in Ireland, and God was so good to us on the trip. Even though we were without internet the whole trip. So my daily blogs of our adventures were not posted, but I did write so over the next week I'll be sharing our adventures.

Blessings!

Emerald Isle Here we come

Ladies and Gents. Boys and girls tomorrow (10/13) Justin and I will be off to IRELAND!!! The excitement is building, and I just hope I can sleep to night. We are in final preperations, and we ask for your prayers for safe travels.

And for those who like to be in the know. I hope to blog, while on our trip, to share our adventures and some pictures along the way.

Enjoy the Fun (and probably goofy pictures)

Blessings to ALL :)

Beware or Be Amazed

I just got done reading Michael Crichton’s State of Fear, which is just as intellectual as it is roller coaster ride. I won’t give any spoilers if you haven’t read it, but on thing absolutely amazed me when I got to the end of the book… there was a bibliography.

Not only that there were footnotes and references throughout Crichton’s work of fiction (Yes, Fiction not Non-fiction), he goes on to say his take on the global warming subject that is addressed in State of Fear. And then Crichton writes that he spent three years researching before starting State of Fear. THREE YEARS! That is Amazing, and a little daunting if I think through how much research I’ve put into my own WIP.

It makes me question the amount of time I spend researching before I place my characters in the first scene. Would you count your research time in hours, weeks, months, or years?

I think this is an important thing to think about, when joining in the insanity and fun of writing a manuscript. If Michael Crichton didn’t do his years of research would we believe: Dinosaurs can be brought back from the Jurassic Age(Jurassic Park, The Lost World), Time travel is possible (Timeline), or Global warming doesn’t exist (State of Fear). The amount of time he puts into researching his novels is what makes them bestsellers time and time again. His story worlds are so in depth and you can’t help but see them as truth on some levels.

This should be the goal of all writers.

To present a story world that makes us think about our own place in this universe. That is the joy of Fiction, and what I hope to be the goal of all my manuscripts.

Happy Writing!

Question for James Brausch

Just about everyone in the CBA knows the Snowflake Guy, Randy Ingermanson. So when his blogs said he takes his marketing advice from James Brausch. You have to take notice. I jumped over to James Brausch's blog and found that he is taking questions from us mere mortals and to quote Randy Ingermanson,

"Brausch has built an extremely successful business around his blog, and the information he sells is based on hard empirical data. When he tells you to do something, he’s basing his advice on real experiments he’s done. Ya gotta respect that."

So my question is.....

If you're a beginner in world of marketing yourself and your products would you recommend building trust aka establishing crediblity, or pushing your products and building crediblity over time?

If you want to ask James Brausch a question, here’s how it works:
You ask a question related to generating an internet business, and he will answer all questions on Monday.

You ask your question by posting to your own blog and linking back to this blog entry. He'll see the link or trackback and therefore see your question. He will answer questions in a post on his blog.

Good Luck!