Another storm last night just after midnight. Lots of wind, lightning every where, lights blinked, but stayed on, and rain. We needed the rain, but not the lightning fireworks, thank you.
Lots of humidity today, looks like more rain. Hope that is all we get.
Watched an old movie on TMC last night - Yankee Doodle Dandy - with James Cagney. I had forgotten what a great movie it was. And how very appropriate for the 4th of July.
Friends from Sardis, Ohio probably coming this evening to spend the night - they are still without electric, live in the country, have a well, no power, no water, etc. etc. As they are going to the wedding tomorrow night they might as well come here and get one cool night's sleep.
Friends from Senecaville arriving tomorrow morning. Hopefully no more storms will make an appearance.
Now for happier things - Day 9 of our odyssey.
This was the day we did the Derry Walk, Dunluce Castle, and the Giant's Causeway.
DERRY WALK...we had a tour guide board the bus with us, and as we slowly drove around Derry he told us about the "troubles", and brought that period of their civil war to life. We saw the many murals through-out the city depicting that time of their history.
Both the Catholics and Protestants thought they were right. No one really won. They reached an agreement, and a truce was signed. In fact in 2010 a walking bridge across the River Foyle was completed. Called the Peace Bridge.
After we completed our drive-thru we walked the 'Wall of Derry'. Now for some history:
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Derry is also known as Londonderry. It is the second largest city in Northern Ireland, the 4th
largest city on the Island of Ireland. the old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle. The city now covers both banks.
Derry has the only remaining completely
intact walled city in Ireland. The walls were built during the period of 1613 to 1619, withstood attempted invasions from England and Scotland. The wall stands intact today, we walked the wall, our guide was great, what a wonderful way to spend the morning.
We had started early 8 a.m., so it was only mid-morning when we finished our tour, we re boarded the bus and left Derry for Dunluce Castle and the Giant's Causeway.
Dunluce Castle was built by Richard de Burgh, Second Earl of Ulster. It is surrounded by steep drops on either side, accessible by bridge connecting it to the mainland. Built in the 13th century, the castle changed hands many times Finally in 1690, following the Battle of the Boyne, the castle has stood empty and is gradually deteriorating.
Our final stop was the Giant's Causeway. This has been declared a World Heritage Site due to the unique nature of its geology.
Composed of 40,000 (you are reading this right) regular shaped basalt columns packed closely together as if forming a stepping stone pathway, stretching out to sea. the columns were formed by the cooling and shrinking of molten lava from a volcanic eruption over 60 MILLION years ago. Most of the columns are hexagonal, but some have 4, 5 6, and even as many as 8 sides.
The tallest coluns are 36 feet in height. Local legend tells how it was actually the Giant Finn McCool who created the Giant's Causeway to challenge his Scottish rival Benandonner.
Because of their curious shapes, some of the rock features at the Causeway have been given familiar names, Such as the Giant's Gate, the Witch Chair, The Camel, the Organ and so on
Every rock is unique and has it's own story.
From there we returned to Derry for out last night there before checking out in the morning heading to our next adventure.
Hope you are enjoying the odyssey, keep tuned in as my life never slows down. Take care and God Bless.
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