The nine seater vehicle that we had reserved had some engine trouble so Mike got to drive a 15 passenger van. The kids thought it was a blast and loved having the extra room.
It even had a logo on the side. It did mean that we were now classified as a coach and had to park the vehicle a little further away from some of the attractions. Just what we needed, a little more walking.
This is the sight we saw headed to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
Here's one of our first glimpses of the bridge that we are about to cross to get to the small island on the other side.
This video shows what Lilly thought of our intent to cross this bridge made of not much more than rope.This is a close up of the bridge as I prepare to cross first. You can see right through the floor. Nothing but net and a bit of plank.
You can see by this video of Reagan crossing the bridge that it was really windy. The wind continued to increase while we were on the other side so our return trip was even windier. Plus it was blowing the other way. Lilly walked half the way back blind because her hair had blown so that it completely covered her face.
We all made it across just fine and enjoyed the scenery on the other side. Today was the most breathtaking day of the whole trip. The scenery we saw on this day was without rival.
This view really shows the power of water, strong and persistent enough to cut through stone.
When were in the early planning stages of our trip, Mike had told me that he really wanted to see Giant's Causeway. It just wasn't going to work with our current plan which was to see Wales after seeing London and Southern England and then take an overnight ferry from Swansea to Cork. Following our crossing we would have then spent most of our time seeing either The Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula before driving up to Dublin. Giant's Causeway (and the fact that both Charles and I really wanted to see Scotland) was one of the main reasons I reorganized our whole trip.Giant's Causeway was created due to a volcanic eruption. The rock crystallized as a result of rapid cooling which in turn caused the cracking into the remarkable hexagonal basalt columns that we saw at the Causeway. Of course, many have even more sides than six.
The legend of the Causeway explains a different genesis. The giant, Finn MacCool actually built the Causeway so he could walk to Scotland and fight his enemy, Benandonner. There are several versions of this legend but the story ends with a trick played on Benandonner. Finn dressed himself as a baby and when Benandonner came over the bridge to fight Finn his wife told him that he was away and then showed him her baby (Finn) sleeping in the cradle. When he saw how large the baby was he was scared because if the baby was that huge, How big must his father be? He ran back to Scotland, tearing the Causeway up as he went.
This rock is called the Giant's Boot.
Just down the road is Dunluce Castle. This castle also has a legend, this one may have a bit of truth to it. A wedding party gathered for a celebration at the castle. A storm raged outside the thick walls of the castle. Suddenly, part of the castle falls into the ocean, taking the kitchen and some of the wedding guests into the sea.
What is documented is that in 1639, the Dunluce castle kitchen and many of the kitchen staff plunged into the sea. I guess it is just more entertaining to think that it happened during a wedding.
We took a detour for the trip home so we could drive home the scenic route. After we stopped to get dinner to-go in a cute little town we had to really rush to get back to Belfast so we could catch our train to Dublin. It's not easy to rush while driving since they have speed cameras everywhere. But we made it, again with a few minutes (~15 minutes) to spare.
And dinner, yet again, was yummy. After I ate my spicy hot meatball sandwich I got to be romantic and feed Mike his fish and chips while he sped down the narrow roads to Belfast.
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