Day 31 (Day 2 of Haggerty Clan)

8:00 am As penance for my horrible hotel accomodations and organizing, I decide to get groceries. Turkey is 12 euros per pound. What?? I guess there aren’t very many Turkeys in Ireland. Ham sandwhiches it is.
10:00 am Pack lunches and set outout to drive a very scenic route in Connemera. This is a very rustic area of Ireland. It is of course very green and very filled with sheep. The sheep have right of way and know it. They have no desire to get off the road and honking has no effect.

12:00 pm We bump into Ashford Castle and I remember TK (my host) has a friend who works there. This isn’t a touristy castle, but more of a high, high price hotel. We are of course grossly underdressed and under cultured, but TK’s friend Robert still shows us around and sets up a lovely tea and crumpets snack for us.





The grounds are phenomanol including a Falconry area. How cool is getting a falcon to obey your command. We kinda listened in to a falconry class but did not spend the hundreds of euros the full class would require. It would be neat, but I don’t think that’s a skill most people would care about on a resume. “So Mr. Haggerty, I see you have a degree in falconry. That’s exactly what we are looking for here at Smith, Bartles and Weinstein.”


2:30 pm We toured the interesting little town of Cong. Apparantly a John Wayne movie called “The Walking Man” was filmed there.


3:30 pm More beautiful mountains, lakes and sheep. If only wool were as valuable as diamonds, Ireland would be the richest nation on earth.
4”30 pm We drive past Kylemore Abbey. It was built so that some rich guy could impress his wife. Tragically and ironically he died before it was complete. Now it is a boarding school for filthy rich young girls. There was a gothic church where we found out that gargoyles are supposed to represent the ever present danger of the devil even when you are at church.




5:30 pm Dipped our toes in the Atlantic after a stop in a quaint little beach town. Now the beach isn’t what we are accustomed to. It was a quarter mile long, nobody on it and cold as crap. But it does have sand and water, which I guess all beaches have in common.



7:00 pm It is Galway races week in Galway, so finding a place to eat in that town is very difficult. We eat at Monroe’s pub and I again have the delicious traditional Irish stew. The kids sat together and the parents at a separate table, since the wait for five could be all night.
9:00 Have a few Guiness at a pub with some Irish music and call it a night. The drive home is super scary since the speed limits are 60 mph on roads skinnier than the width of two ford f-250s. Just an amazing day of seeing the beauty Ireland has.

Day 30 (Day 1 of Haggerty Clan)

7:00 am I am totally thrilled that my family will finally be here to enjoy the birthplace of half of our heritage. After their long plane flight and my 3 hour bus ride (which due to Kelly’s great flight attendant hook-up and the high cost of everything here cost about the same) we will meet at the Cliffs of Mohr. The cliffs made the first cut of 50 places for the “New Seven Wonders of the World.” Even though the cliffs have been here since roughly the Ice age, there must be some reason for the need of a revote.

9:30 am It is cool, windy and rainy. My family’s first experience of Ireland is one of sideways rain and gale force winds. Better to not have a flawed first impression. The cliffs are amazing, but they don’t let you get that close to the edge. Don’t think they will make the 7 wonders, but they are worth seeing.

Luckily I snagged some hooded jackets they were throwing out in Clare-Galway, since the Haggerty clan did not heed my warnings to dress warmly and dress for rain. So now the three girls have matching white jackets and appear to be the Clare-Galway cheerleading team, since they are obviously too short to play basketball.



11:00 am Head down the highway to see the Burren, an interesting geographical area where grass grows out of rock.
11:02 am Dad is asleep in back seat.
11:05 am Kate is asleep.

11:15 See a few more of the old castles and cemetaries and then stop to see some interesting parts of the Burren. Very serious in that it seems grass grows right of this rock.
11:45 am After going down a road that is supposed to be a shortcut and show us the most famous part of the Burren, it appears there is no way this road could be what we are looking for. I mean it is barely wide enough for one car, how can this be a main tourist thoroughfare. So we pull off at a house to turn around and possibly ask directions. And the house ends up being a holistic center with these hippies sitting around some rock and meditating intensely, if intensely is the right word for being really into your meditating. Luckily a loose hippie who isn’t yet meditating informs us that the road will indeed take us where we want to go. I thought hippies were an American thing, but it appears they are an international craze.

11:50 am Dad and Kate are again asleep
12:05 pm The burren is very neat especially the limestone mountains that look like smaller and smaller pancakes stacked on one another. Pancakes sans syrup of course which is always disappointing.



1:00 pm Dinner at a diner just above a turlough. A turlough is a disappearing lake. How does it disappear you ask? Well a leprechaun drinks it up. Actually, because the bottom is limestone the rain water literally slips between the cracks and pops back up in nearby springs. But in the winter months when the water table is higher the rainwater has no where to go. So like the Canadiens that visit Florida, the lakes disappear ever y summer to return again the next winter. Some are actually tidal and will disappear and reappear twice a day.
1:30 pm We all have a hot toddy, the famous hot whiskey drink with lemon juice. It is good! After lunch we see the huge Dolem. They think this was a religious thing for the ancient pagan Celtic people. How the heck do they get that giant rock up there? No one knows. And to compare I pick up a rock the size of a shoe box and it is easily 50 pounds. These were either really strong people or they were helped by the same aliens who helped build the pyramids and Stonehedge.

Day 29

Day 29 9:00 am With not much else left to do in Ballina, TK suggests I head down to Knock, Ireland. I’ve never heard of the place, but he tells me it is the setting of a religious “miracle.”
Here’s the gist of Knock:
The Story of Knock began on the 21st August 1879 when Our Lady, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of Knock Parish Church. The apparition was witnessed by fifteen people, young and old. From this miraculous Apparition Knock has grown to the status of an internationally recognised Marian Shrine.
The personal pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II in 1979, commemorating the centenary of the apparition, inspired an even greater devotion to the Shrine and endorsed the indelible seal of Vatican approval. Mother Teresa of Calcutta visited the Shrine in June of 1993. One and a half million pilgrims visit the Shrine annually.

If that sounds like what you would see on the Knock website, then you would be correct.

Anyway, I had nothing else to do and it looked interesting. All it cost me was bus fare. Once there it was kind of cool. All the stories of every witness were so accurate and similar that the Catholic Church gives it “miracle” status. Another interesting thing is all the stories of Knock holy water curing all kinds of people. Of course I believe this proves the power of the mind and why we need placebos, but still interesting. But, I still grabbed a bottle. In a funny related story. This bottle remained in the Haggerty rental car until it was apparently drank by my Father. So if his next colonoscopy comes clean we know why.

Here is a depiction of what everybody said they saw


Here's an areal view of the whole grounds.


11:00 pm Having trouble going to sleep since I am excited about the oncoming Haggerty clan. Should be a great and wonderful week.

Reek Sunday CONTINUED

DAY 28 and Reek Sunday
Here is the mountain as you drive up on it

12:40 pm So now I am at the base of the mountain. I’m a little curious as to what I’ve got myself into, so I slip into the visitor center to catch some info. Well, there are people everywhere. They are all cold, wet, flithy and exhausted. I figure, ha, I’m in pretty good shape. This can’t be that hard, after all it is just walking. Anyway, most people are using the hot showers in the locker rooms or drinking hot chocolate. Yes, hot chocolate in July. It’s a different universe.
So now to begin the climb. The sign at the base says to allow at least two hours, usually more like between two and three. I figure with my raw athleticism I will do it in an hour and a half. The first thirty minutes go fairly uneventfully. I have the adrenaline that comes with the excitement of a new experience. The trail is just a collection of large rocks. It’s still fairly dry so it is an easy walk without a ton of inclination. You can see the trail stretch ahead and doesn’t look all that far up, but looks are very deceiving. The sun was out and it was enough of a work out to shed the jacket. But within thirty minutes gale force winds forces me to rejacket.

There is 'ol St. Pat (legend has it spent 40 days on this rock)

1:10 pm At the thirty minute mark the climb starts to be a little steeper. There aren’t that many people heading up, but there are a ton coming down. I mean like a constant line of people two or three abreast. It’s amazing how many people think this is a good idea. I’d say about one out of every two hundred is doing it barefoot. One guy was in dress slacks and no shoes and easily 65 years old.
As I get a little higher I feel winds I have never felt before. They literally move you. I am leaning forward just to stay upright. This adds a certain level of intrigue to the event since at any time a few feet to your side is a steep fall to a most painful rocky death. Now a bit of rain. As Forrest Gump says, “It was sideways, stinging rain.”

1:35 After about an hour I’m almost trying to walk backwards, because the view of the ocean from this mountain is amazing. One of the best views I’ve seen in a country full of breathtaking scenery. The bright green land hitting the blue ocean dotted with other small islands of more bright green land. Also, now a helicopter is landing to help evacuate an injured climber. It’s funny to see the hair on the sheep get blown by the chopper as they stare in confusion at this random intruder.
2:00 pm At the hour and a half mark I am realizing my athletic limitations. It will take at least the two hours as they claim. Now the ascent begins to be brutally steep. Each step is tiresome. I find it better if I burst up the mountain for like a minute and then rest for a minute.
2:25 pm At the two hour mark, it is so beautiful. I am only 100 yards away, but 100 yards straight up. This last part is slippery soft rock that seems like limestone. This is a bizarre part of the climp. Imagine climping on loose gravel, but each piece of gravel is like the size of a softball. It’s hard to describe but each step is an accension and a slip back down at the same time. As you can imagine it is slow going. I’m very impressed that many senior citizens can make this part of the trek.

2:30 pm Finally, I get to the top. WORTH IT! TOTALLY WORTH IT!! The skies have cleared and I am looking at one of the most breathtaking views. You have the ocean on one side and now we are along a ridgeline overlooking some other mountains and green farmland. I use the facilities and enjoy the view for another two or three minutes and it vanishes behind the quick moving fog. You can’t see ten feet in front of your face. They have a mass every thirty minutes and I made it for the last one of the day. The priest gets to say mass inside a small glass enclosure, but us poor souls stand in the rain. After mass, I then notice a monument marking where they think St. Patrick slept on his concrete bed. Hope he had a rain coat. I have packed two pb and js and two waters and some carrots and some chips. I am starving and need some rejuvenation before I had down. You haven’t lived until you eat PB and J from a mile up.
3:00 pm Going down, the first 100 yards were a ton of fun. It was wet, steep and a ton of fun. The rocks were so loose and slick it was a lot like skiing and most of you know how good I am at that. The descent was long and exhausting. I’ve never climbed a mountain before and now I know why. The desent is just as tiring as the ascent, because you are constantly trying to keep yourself from involuntarily running down the mountain. At many points I am so tired I want to just fall over. But I make it to the bottom. Now as weird as it sounds the adventure begins.
4:30 pm I can’t find a cab to get back to Westport. Luckily, I find a woman and her mom who pick me and take me into town. So now I’m at the bus stop. I am starting to panic, because I didn’t notice that the only day there isn’t a 5:00 bus to where I want to go is Sunday. I’m joined at the bus stop by some gross teens repulsively making out. When I ask them, “Do you know when the next bus rolls through?” They reply in a very impatient and angry voice, “FRENCH!”. That’s all he says. You’d think he would learn the term, “Me no English”, but I guess just saying FRENCH! is easier. So, now I have a true adventure, since I have to ride to Castlebar to then take a LATE bus home.
6:00 pm In castlebar, I realize the next bus to Ballina won’t be until 11 pm. So with five hours to kill, I eat and drink at a pub and one of the bartenders has a friend who works for Jetblue (the continuing sponser of this trip). Keep in mind I am filthy. My shoes, pants are covered in mud. I spend twenty minutes in the bathroom trying to at least be somewhat presentable. In there I have a long chat with a local. Very weird since A. it started in the bathroom B. I look ridiculous and C. He had had enough whiskey to kill most non Irish folk. It is funny how everyone who sees that I climbed the Reek assumes I flew all the way over to Ireland just to do it. While it was a great experience, I don’t think it would be enough to warrent me crossing the pond.
8:00 pm At another pub I meet my first version of Irish ditzes. These girls were hilarious. They were both veteranarians and one convinced me at one time they had actually put braces on a hamster. The other one actually claimed to have slept with Hugh Heffner. I immediately kept my distance as I didn’t want her Herpes jumping onto me.
11:00 pm Finally I made it the bus stop and was in my warm house and finally showered by 12:30. What a day.

ENGAGEMENT

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE http://www.weddingwire.com/shaunandchristie for hotel info, venue info and GREAT music.

Since some of you want to know the details and not all of you had the chance to hear my story telling ability, here it goes. On Saturday September 4th, 2010 Christie experienced her first day of college football tailgating (that is the real date worth remembering). She was a very impressive 3-1 in corn hole including throwing three straight in the hole on the first three throws of her tailgating career. Christie experienced her first “running down the hill” and I believe she said, “Oh my God, that’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced.” That might not be a direct quote, but I could sense that feeling in her facial expression.
The day after the Clemson Tigers took care of business in Death Valley, Christie and I went to church. I had my wallet in my front pocket and figured the ring would be well hidden behind my George Costanza sized wallet. On the ride there Christie put her hand on my knee and I snatched it to hold her hand and keep her away. She alleges this was not a giveaway that something was amiss. I came up with the BS line that my throat hurt from the game and didn’t feel like talking as much as normal. My lack of conversational motivation was actually due to my severe nerves. At church I played a constant game of keep her hand away from my pocket to the point where I could barely focus on the service. Finally, I decided after mass to move the ring box from my front pocket to an extra pocket lower on my cargo shorts. With all my focus on this, Jon and Julie pointed out when we got to the car that I really needed to XYZ. I did indeed need to examine my zipper, as it was Wide Open.
NOW TO THE BOTANICAL GARDENS

Then we took a nice trip to the Botanical Gardens. We saw coy, turtles, a waterfall and a cute old couple who were nice enough to take our picture. After seeing my Clemson shirt, the lady asked, “Did we win?” After I answered in the affirmative, she said in a high pitch and funny octogenarian voice, “OH YEAH!”

NOW TO THE "USUALLY" SECLUDED DIKES OVERLOOKING LAKE HARTWELL
We then traveled to a place I thought was very secluded right along the picturesque Lake Hartwell. It was secluded usually when I went out there as a student, but I guess I never went out there on Labor Day weekend. So, we end up walking three to four hundred yards longer than I wanted to and had to duck into the woods (picking up a few thorns along the way) to find a little privacy. Risking the loss of my man card (and unknown to most of you) I have a small amount of skill as an amateur poet. To keep myself from being a bumbling mess, I used poetry as my script. I read the first half, and she read the second half which ended with these lines:
Now is the time and here is the place
To do something I hope puts a smile on your face.
Because I have a question you see,
And then all I had to do was get on one knee and say, “would you make me so happy and marry me.”
HERE IS THE RING
Then I slipped the ring on her finger. It got very stuck on the knuckle and thankfully fit on. We then traversed the thorny non-path back to the dike. We had a few kindly folks snap a few pictures and headed back to the lake house. On the road I lost track of my speed and Officer Greer is now our first weeding invitee. He did reduce the ticket, but was not overly compassionate; informing me “I still need to control my emotions.” Well, he better bring a pretty good gift to make up for his heartless ticket. Anyway, even with that, it was a pretty phenomenal weekend.
AND HERE ARE THE COOKIES LINDSAY WAS NICE ENOUGH TO MAKE

DAY 28 and Reek Sunday
So now I am at the base of the mountain. I’m a little curious as to what I’ve got myself into, so I slip into the visitor center to catch some info. Well, there are people everywhere. They are all cold, wet, flithy and exhausted. I figure, ha, I’m in pretty good shape. This can’t be that hard, after all it is just walking. So most people are using the hot showers in the locker rooms or drinking hot chocolate. Yes, hot chocolate in July. It’s a different universe.
So now to begin the climb. The sign at the base says to allow at least two hours, usually between two and three. I figure with my raw athleticism I will do it in an hour and a half. The first thirty minutes go fairly uneventfully. I have the adrenaline that comes with the excitement of a new experience. The trail is just a collection of large rocks. It’s still fairly dry so it is an easy walk without a ton of inclination. You can see the trail stretch ahead and doesn’t look all that far up, but looks are very deceiving. The sun was out and it was enough workout to shed the jacket. But within thirty minutes gale force winds caused me to rejacket.
At the thirty minute mark the climb starts to be a little steaper. There aren’t that many people heading up, but there are a ton coming down. I mean like a constant line of people two or three abreast. It’s amazing how many people think this is a good idea. I’d say about one out of every two hundred is doing it barefoot. One guy was in dress slacks and no shoes and easily 65 years old.
As I get a little higher I feel winds I have never felt before. The literally move you. I am leaning forward just to stay upright. This adds a certain level of intrigue to the event since at any time a few feet to your side is a steep fall to a most painful rocky death. Now a bit of rain. As Forrest Gump says, “It was sideways, stinging rain.”
After about an hour I’m almost trying to walk backwards, because the view of the ocean from this mountain is amazing. One of the best views I’ve seen in a country full of breathtaking scenery. The bright green land hitting the blue ocean dotted with other small islands of more bright green land. Also, now a helicopter is landing to help evacuate an injured climber. It’s funny to see the hair on the sheep get blown by the chopper as they stare in confusion at this random intruder.
At the hour and a half mark I am realizing my athletic limitations. It will take at least the two hours as they claim. Now the ascent begins to be brutally steep. Each step is tiresome. I find it better if I burst up the mountain for like a minute and then rest for a minute.
At the two hour mark, it is so beautiful. I am only 100 yards away, but 100 yards straight up. This last part is slippery soft rock that seems like limestone. This is a bizarre part of the climp. Imagine climping on loose gravel, but each piece of gravel is like the size of a softball. It’s hard to describe but each step is an accension and a slip back down at the same time. As you can imagine it is slow going. I’m very impressed that many senior citizens can make the trek.
2:30 pm Finally, I get to the top. WORTH IT! TOTALLY WORTH IT!! The skies have cleard and I am looking at one of the most breathtaking views. You have the ocean on one side and now we are along a ridgeline overlooking some other mountains and green farmland. I use the facilities and enjoy the view for another two or three minutes and it vanishes behind the quick moving fog. You can’t see ten feet in front of your face. They have a mass every thirty minutes and I made it for the last one of the day. The priest gets to say mass inside a small glass enclosure, but us poor souls stand in the rain. I then notice a monument marking where they think St. Patrick slept on his concrete bed. Hope he had a rain coat.

3:00 pm Going down, the first 100 yards were a ton of fun. It was wet, steep and a ton of fun. The rocks were so loose and slick it was a lot like skiing and most of you know how good I am at that. The descent was long and exhausting. I’ve never climbed a mountain before and now I know why. The desent is just as tiring as the ascent, because you are constantly trying to keep yourself from trying to run down the mountain. At many points I am so tired I want to just fall over. But I make it to the bottom. Now as weird as it sounds the adventure begins.
4:30 pm I can’t find a cab to get back to Westport. Luckily, I find a woman and her mom who pick me and and take me into town. So now I’m at the bus stop. I am starting to panic, because I didn’t notice that the only day there isn’t a 5:00 bus to where I want to go is Sunday. I’m joined at the bus stop by some gros teens repulsively making out. When I ask them, “Do you know when the next bus rolls through?” They reply in a very impatient and angry voice, “FRENCH”. That’s all he says. You’d think he would learn the term, “Me no English”, but I guess just saying French is easier. So, know I have an adventure, since I have to ride to Castlebar to then take a LATE bus home.
6:00 pm In castlebar, I realize the next bus to Ballina won’t be until 11 pm. So with five hours to kill, I eat and drink at a pub and one of the bartenders has a friend wheo works for Jetblue. Keep in mind I am filthy. My shoes, pants are covered in mud. I spend twenty minutes in the bathroom trying to at least be somewhat presentable. It is funny how everyone who sees that I climbed the Reek assumes I flew all the way over to Ireland just to do it. While it was a great experience I don’t think it would be enough for me to cross the pond.
8:00 pm At another pub I meet my first version of Irish ditzes. These girls were hilarious. They were both veteranarians and one convinced me at one time they had actually put braces on a hamster. The other one actually claimed to have slept with Hugh Heffner. I immediately kept my distance as I didn’t want her Herpes jumping onto me.
11:00 pm Finally I made it the bus stop and was in my warm house and finally showered by 12:30. What a day.

Annual ACC PREVIEW

After last year's prediction of 9-3 and going to the ACC Championship game being pretty close, I am going to try again. Being the Clemson homer and quite the optimist when it comes to Tiger Football I am again predicting 9-3. Am I sure that will be good enough to get to the ACC Championship game, maybe. So, I'll make a prediction and say YES!!
I hope this can finally be the year we run the table at home. There are the 4 duds of N. Texas, PC, Mary and NC St, but also coming to the Valley are Miami, GT and SC. Both the ACC teams will probably be ranked and SC is pretty good, but it is about time Death Valley becomes the type of venue it was in the 80's. Plus, it appears the talent level is moving back to the 80's level.
So, the prediction is again 9-3. I think this team surprises people, because the Tigers lost a lot of skill position players, but return almost all of their OL and DL. Not to mention, another year in Coach Steele's aggressive defensive system should help the Tigers play faster on defense. I think this Defense (if it can stay healthy) has a chance to be top 2 or 3 in the league and maybe top 20 nationally.
On offense, Spiller will be missed and almost as much, so will Jacoby Ford and Michael Palmer, since between those three they probably caught 90% of all passes last year.
Of course this prediction is predicated on Kyle Parker staying healthy. We'll see, but I would be shocked if the November game in Tallahassee doesn't decide who goes to Charlotte. I do think we could lose that and still go, but FSU's schedule is pretty easy. Like always, as painful as it is, Tiger fans need to root for Miami in the Canes-Seminoles annual battle to see which set of punks and criminals can win.

I think the Atlantic is:
1. Clemson
2. FSU
3. Wake
4. NC St
5. Mary
6. BC

And the Coastal:
1. VT
2. Miami
3. GT
4. NC
5. Duke
6. UVA