Safe and Sound on the Emerald Isle

 We’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, particularly the top view of the ones over London Heathrow where we spent an inordinate amount of time in a holding pattern, to be followed by an equally lengthy time on the underside of those same clouds as we sat in our plane hoping for a gate to become available.  All this cloud appreciation would have been fine except that it seriously eroded the available time before our connecting flight to Belfast.  We got lucky, though.  We did not have to change terminals for our next leg and just barely got aboard in time.  We made it to Northern Ireland safe and sound.  But now we have a rental car and are driving around on the wrong side of the road so all bets are off.

 After a day of this sweat-inducing activity, I have this observation to offer.  Elon Musk has never been to Ireland.  Mr. Musk has been telling us for some time that it will be just fine to have automobiles driving around autonomously based upon their interpretation of the lines painted on the road.
Hah!  The lines on Irish roads, if they exist at all, are just as likely to be painted three quarters of the way across the road as down the middle.  To compound that, the locals choose to park three quarters of the way into the roadway.  To follow the lines guarantees you will hit something.  We have survived day one, but it’s early.

Our first accommodation here is in a community called Killyleagh.  We have a fully appointed apartment and there is a castle at the end of our road, which we believe is the norm here in Ireland. Also extremely normal for Ireland, we have found a very convenient source for a pint of Guinness.  The Dufferin Arms is a short walk away, and the chaps in the pub there last night seemed quite enthusiastic that there will be an accordion on the premises on Saturday and they want Debbie to come and play it.

Today we travelled to Comber and connected with Debbie’s relative Hilda, whom we had not met before.  Hilda has been a pen pal to Deb’s parents and her aunt and uncle for many years.  It was kind  of cool to deliver greetings to Deb’s ancestral stomping grounds.

Beyond that, it was a fairly low key day.  We poked around the grounds of Bangor Castle, which seems not to be a castle at all.  We didn’t have the heart to tell them.

Tomorrow we’re slated for a visit to the Titanic Museum.  We’ve been told it’s excellent.  That will be a subject of a subsequent blog.

In the meantime, take care, and we’ll post again soon.
Cheers.
Chris & Debbie

The retired Concorde is an interesting tarmac ornament when you are stuck on the ground in London Heathrow

The beautiful green rolling hills of Northern Ireland. By the way, the speed limit on the road behind Chris is 60 MPH!! I don’t think we made it over 30 and even that was with gritted teeth and white knuckles!

Killyleagh Castle (actually a private residence but they leave the gates open so you can see how the other half lives)

Reward for the first (and second) days’ safe arrival at our accommodation! Chris is a bastion of calmness on the roads of crazy here in Ireland. The well-earned Guinness never tasted better😉

The grounds of Bangor Castle

Meeting Hilda for the first time. 

And the green goes on!

Another couple of photographs from Killyleagh Castle

The Dufferin Arms, home of our rescue pint of Guinness