Winter 99/00 Photo's - Page 2

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DownPatrick Head and Beldberg, Ireland (10Oct99)- On the weekends we try to get out and see the countryside of Ireland as it is so beautiful.

and then some walking along the cliffs by Beldberg with Mark and Chris (yes, it's a windy day).

I still can't get over the peat harvesting. They dig or mega-tons of ground a year!

Oh yea, in case you wondered. This is the apartments I live in:

and the building and work area (at least for the moment,,, we move to site after Thanksgiving).

Donegal, Derry, Giant's Causeway, Belfast (Northern) Ireland (16-17Oct99)- We take a Saturday off and venture north. First, we stop by the legendary town of Donegal! The castle was a bit disappointing, but the town was cool enough. A place to come back to for a bit of Saturday night fun.

We travel on to Derry in county Londonderry. One of the worst towns hit by bombings and demonstrations over the years. We see signs of the struggle, but the town is a great old walled city. AND - no, we had NO problems at all. If you think it's dangerous, well, go have a look at my Asia travels.

We stop by a National Trust site to see the remains of a manor house and a bit of the coast.

The main reason for coming north -- the Giant's Causeway. Just have a look at the place and try to figure out how this was formed. I'll explain at the end.

Mark, Chris, and Don

The causeway was formed by cooling pools of lava. As the lava cooled and contracted it formed the checker pieces that make up the formation. It is a world heritage site. Fantastic eh? But, the coastline all along the area is very beautiful. Just up the road a bit, a great castle - Dunluce.

We stopped by one of the major distilleries in Ireland - Old Bushmill. It's the oldest licensed distillery in the Ireland. Chris volunteers for a scotch, whiskey, and bourbon taste test.

We travel south to Belfast. We only have a few hours left in the day to enjoy, but it's still nice to be back in "civilization". The crown does make it's presence felt. Plus, the signs of an armed state are still around.

Crough Partrick - 765m/ 2509 ft., Ireland (24Oct99)- On a cloudy Sunday we make our climb of the holy peak. It's rumored that St. Patrick climbed this peak and then cast all the snakes in Ireland into the sea from it's summit. The more classical story,,, St. Patrick spent part of 40 days/nights fasting on it's summit. It is a holy pilgrimage site. On St. Partricks day and the end of July pilgrims climb this peak bare footed. It's a rocky, bloody climb I'm told. Yes, we used our shoes!

The chapel on the summit.

We are above the cloud's!

Halloween party at Balleek Castle, Ireland (30Oct99)- The Sequencia and Lockwood Greene gang get together and attend a Halloween party. It was a costume party, but we had just been working to much. Oh well. The castle is pretty cool. It has a lot of wood from a Spanish Galleon that went a ground near Ballina.

The day after, a nice walk on Inniscrone beach for help the hangover pass. It was a windy day. I shook sand out of my clothes for the next several days.

Achill Head, Ireland (7Nov99)- Another Sunday, another walk. We venture to Achill headland, despite the in-climate weather. Up the hill and along the ridge line. At the crest are the remains of an old Marconi radio station. Pretty cool (for us nerds!).

But we get rained out and can't ascend the big peak. In the left picture it's summit is lost in the clouds. We have a bit of a play on the beach and eat some lunch. Brent, Rorik, and Don.

We take the scenic route home where I see Clare Island. A near religious experience for a Saw Doctors fan!

Dublin weekend, Ireland (13-14Nov99)- The gang takes the weekend off to see the sites of Dublin. I did not take many pictures as I already shot pic's of most of the places. We see the book of Kells at Trinity college, Christ Church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Guinness brewery, and the bus tour. Last trip I did not get to see the inside of St. Patrick's. A great church to see!

The gang at the Brewery. The tour, well, no tour inside the brewery. It's 3 floors of pictures and information on history of the place and how the beer is made. Pretty disappointing.

That's all for now!

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