Third Day?

Today, the wake-up call was still late. I got up late and downstairs on time. Breakfast was about the same as yesterday. We had to pack up last night (and finish this morning) because Lynn was incessantly insistent that we not be late to the bus this morning due to us being on what she called "pressure time." Dad and I were on time (for a change) and most everyone else was, too (at least all the Goodpasture peoples - the gay snots were late).

After we got on the road to Dublin, everything was ho-hum. Two hours driving, then we had a two hour-long stop at Blarney Castle. It was bland, in my opinion. You go into the complex (beautiful grounds) and when you finally get to the castle (remnants), the staircases are TINY, STEEP, SPIRALS of DOOM, DEATH, and DESTRUCTION. I was fine. I still don't know how certain people got up and down the stairs at all...

Anyway, once we got to the top (about four stories up) there were great views and pictures. The castle itself is somewhat dull; it's just a tower - nothing compared to castles in Germany, Dad said. The Blarney Stone (which just looks like a hunk of mortar) is greasy and worn down. Apparently when the McCarthies lived there, some Scotsman conquerer man gave half of the Stone of Scone (what Scottish kings were ordained on) to McCarthy, who then had it stuck in a wall in his house. It supposedly gave him and his family eloquence (especially in speech) because when Queen Liz of England sent multiple men to get McCarthy to surrender his land and castle, they all came back with messages that they were "working on it," but nothing ever happened...until Cromwell came along. But that's another story entirely. Moving on.

After going back down the equally steep Blarney staircase and popping into some random rooms connected with it, Dad and I took a quick stroll around the grounds and got some pictures. I was trying to properly document the "Poison Garden," but Dad rushed me, so I apologize in advance to those who are upset by my incomplete reference guide to it. We also saw a man with two dogs playing in the stream that were exactly like Clif and Luna (if they were Labs) down to the white spot on Clif's chest.

After kicking Blarney Castle in the buttocks, we went into town to grab a bite before we ran out of the 4th dimension - time. Dad had a sausage (braut) and I had a beefburger (not entirely unlike a hamburger) and we split a coke (because I was cheap). With our remaining minutes we looked around the Blarney Woolen Mill. Dad found a sweater he liked for Erin (in one of the model pictures), but we couldn't find the color in real life. So sad, I know. It was knee length. And probably expensive. We went back to the bus at which point wee Mr. Shamus was inexcusably thirty seconds late. Shameful. Shamus.

Now, drive. For 2 more hours. Lynn sang. It was horrific. Mr. Johnson joined in. At that point, I brought out the noise-cancelling headphones. I listened to the entire Killers album Sawdust before they shut up. No, in fact, I DON'T care about Molly the fish monger. I really truly don't. Promise. I'm not marching to Tiparary, and therefore, I am not singing the song about how I left my heart there. But it's ok because I had three of the most important things in the entire Universe with me: good music, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and a towel. Also, we stopped soon after that (precisely one Kaiser Chiefs and half of a Matt Kearney album later).

That time, we stopped at Cashel's Rock. Basically, it's a huge limestone outcropping in the middle of very completely flat Irish farmland. There were ruins of a church on top. According to legend, it is where the Irish kings were ordained and also where St. Patrick converted the first Irish king to Christianity. We took pictures after hitting the toilets (I'm sure you wanted to know that.). On the road again.

Two and a half hours later, we arrived in the Dublin suburb where our hotel is. It's nice. It has internet in the room. We had dinner relatively early at 7 o' clock. The appetizer was some sort of split pea soup and the main course was a fried white fish with dill sauce, carrots and broccoli, and some whole miniature potatoes that were delicious. For dessert, lemon cake and, of course, tea. It was very good. We went back to the room for a bit before getting on the public bus and riding into downtown Dublin for a stroll (completely optional - almost).

The ride was fun. We sat on the second deck. I don't believe that the driver believes in slowing down for speed bumps or not hitting trees or not taking turns too fast. Where's the fun in that, right? We got out and walked around for about an hour. We saw the Guinness brewery and the Heineken headquarters and the Bailey's Irish Cream headquarters. We also saw a lot of drunk people in pubs. We walked down the Temple Bar (entertainment street - lots of pubs). Many of the restaurants had their doors open and you could hear the horns at football games booming out of their TVs. It was exciting. They were all watching the Mexico vs. Argentina game.

After I made an untimely stop in a four story McDonalds to pee (I went to all the floors before I finally found the toilets...on the ground floor) and bought a coke just to make it look like I wasn't complete disregarding their "Toilets for Customers Only" sign, which I would have, we rode the bus back to the hotel. Two guys were smoking in the back. Gross. We went inside and Mr. Johnson proceeded to show Dad the basics of how to work a Mac computer. And that was all we did today. The end. I love you all and will see you soon.