Top o' The Mornin' . . .

We've been home for weeks, yet I still haven't managed to blog about a wonderful vacation we took to Ireland and Scotland last month. We traveled with other family members on a driving trip across Ireland and around Scotland, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of these countries.

Between Lindsey and myself, there are about 1500 photos in our files...and it's hard to choose what to blog about, but I thought I'd just put in a small sample of the highlights:


Because of flight issues, the rest of our group arrived a day late. Scott and I took advantage of the day alone to enjoy some sites outside of Dublin, driving north to Newgrange, then west of the city to this beautiful area where we visited the Irish National Stud.


We did a day tour of Dublin, but found some delicious meals, including fish and chips, and Guinness stew in the Temple Bar district.


There were wee leprechauns lurking about in Dublin as well....


We headed south and then west out of Dublin along the coast road, which was peppered with golf courses and beautiful coast line scenery.


After driving south of Dublin, we overnighted in Waterford at a four bedroom "condo" here at the Waterford Castle area.


A trip to Ireland wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Blarney Castle, where each of us made the trek to the top, only to be hung upside down to kiss the Blarney stone...and we will forever be blessed with the gift of eloquence!


We stayed at the Kilarney resort, and used the next day to travel around the Ring of Kerry.


This is what the roads around the Ring of Kerry were like, and Lindsey snapped a photo of our car as we passed one of the many tour buses we encountered on the very narrow roads.


The next night, we attended the Bunratty Castle Banquet in the Shannon area...an authentic meal served in a real castle with some talented entertainers.


We traveled to see the Cliffs of Moher and continued into Galway, where we caught a flight to Edinburgh.


Edinburgh Castle was an absolutely breathtaking edifice, and we went into Edinburgh several times...enjoying the city a great deal more than we ever anticipated. In addition to the tour of the castle, we went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, toured the Royal Yacht Brittania, and shopped along the Royal Mile.


The men could not resist a quick side trip out to St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf, to have their photo taken on the famous bridge on the 18th hold of the old course of British Open fame.


We drove north then, up through the Scottish Highlands to visit the Balmoral Castle, and spent the night in Inverness. We stayed at St. Anne's house, a darling bed and breakfast near the city center.


The proprietors at St. Anne's prepared a lovely breakfast for our mother's day treat, and then allowed us to enjoy their beautiful gardens for a bit.


We took a cruise on the beautifully calm Loch Ness, and saw the Urchhart Castle.


A highland cow (pronounced "Hee-lund Koo")!

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The Falkirk Wheel is the only of its kind...a mechanical wheel system which moves boats up and down the canal and replaces 11 locks.


Glasgow Cathedral has the most beautiful stained glass throughout.


A stop to Stirling Castle, where we had a great tour and learned about Queen Anne.


Our bags were overweight on our flight back to Dublin to return home, so Lindsey put on half of her suitcase to lighten the load--she had on 5 pairs of pants and a skirt. Recruiting Ron to help her out, he donned one of her colorful scarves, and wore in proudly through the airport. I'm sure we made quite a scene!


Before we left, we managed to make a quick visit with Ron and Annette to the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh--a beautiful end to a wonderful trip.