December Skies

There are lights and decorations everywhere you look this time of year.  But look up, the skies are amazing!  Here are some that  I've seen this month while out running, walking and cycling.  Tuesday, December 3rd:

 

Thursday, December 12th:

Saturday, December 14th.  I was riding my bike when I saw this and had to stop for pictures!

This morning, the moon was still almost full.  It was stunning when we were driving to church last night and still spectacular this morning!

And more color as the sun started rising this morning:

Wordless Wednesday

We were in Hawaii for almost two weeks, I'll share more details tomorrow, but here are some of the pictures I took:

 

 

Lunch and the Irish Countryside

On our way to the Giant's Causeway Richard had passed a lunch menu around the bus.  This was optional, but after our exploration, we were definitely ready to eat. The Fullerton Arms in Ballintoy did not disappoint!  We both ordered burgers, the meat was locally sourced and these were the tastiest burgers either of us had ever had!  Richard even helped bring the food out.

Prior to lunch there was a discussion on the bus about which way we would return to Belfast.  There was an option of visiting a Guinness brewery or taking a more scenic route back.  There were a few people loudly cheering for Guinness.  Of course Les and I weren't interested in that.  Fortunately, Richard took a vote and the majority preferred the scenic route.  Cheers for the silent majority!  Instead we got one more stop - the Portaneevy Viewing Point.

 

From here we could see Rathlin Island:

 

This little one is Sheep Island.

The views were spectacular!

On a day that included some very dark history, we were rewarded with amazing weather and unbelievable views.  I can almost understand why someone would want to take over this land - it's just beautiful!

Would you believe that the only time we got any rain was on this day?  We got just a few sprinkles while we were in the bus!

We got back to the ship around 5:00 p.m.  It was a fun, full day.  We were definitely too full for dinner, but had a surprise in our cabin - chocolate covered strawberries courtesy of our travel agent, Paula!  We eventually split a personal size pizza at Alfredo's and finished the night with gelato.

 

Even our stateroom cabin celebrated our anniversary! 

 

The Giant's Causeway (Day 9, Part 4 of 5)

 

Our taxis returned us back to our bus and we were headed for the next part of our day - The Giant's Causeway!  This was something that came up frequently while I was researching excursions and there was very good reason for that - it was AMAZING!

The drive from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway took just over an hour, but Richard kept us entertained.  One of his favorite sayings was, "Don't panic."  It was his Irish take on "don't worry."  He also talked about being happily married - "she's happy and I'm married."

 

We had a brief stop to view the Dunluce Castle before we got to the Giant's Causeway.  Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle.  The first castle on this sight was built in the 13th century.  Some time in the 18th century the north wall of the residence building collapsed into the sea. The east, west and south walls still stand. 

 

 

 

About 10 minutes later we were at the Giant's Causeway.  Richard parked the bus and told us when we needed to return.  We just took off walking and it seemed there was something new around every curve!

 

According to Wikipedia, the Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.  Of course the theory is that this happened 50 to 60 million years ago...

The Institute for Creation Research has an excellent explanation.  While evolutionist scientists believe that the lava could not have cooled quickly enough for them to only be a few thousand years old, good scientific research provides an answer, and it has to do with water. 

 

While much heat is removed by simple conduction from the lava to the surrounding rock or air, a surprising amount of heat is removed by water.  The catastrophic event of Noah's Flood provided all the water that was needed.

 

 

According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant...

 

 

The story goes that the Irish giant, Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two could meet...

 

 

In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner.

 

In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realizes that his foe is much bigger than he is. Fionn's wife, Sadhbh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the "baby," he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down.

 

 

Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this.

 

 

The site first became popular with tourists during the 19th century, particularly after the opening of the Giant's Causeway Tramway.  Visitors can walk over the basalt columns that are at the edge of the sea, a half-mile walk from the entrance of the site.

 

The Organ...

Can you find me in this shot??

 

There are a number of routes to take to enjoy the beauty.

We walked for about 40 minutes before we headed back to the bus.

 

We could have spent an entire day there!  It was so majestic!

 

Have I mentioned the beautiful weather?

We ended up walking just under 3 miles.  We were a happy and hungry duo when we got back to the bus.  Fortunately, Richard had a wonderful lunch place for us.  I'll share the final part of our day in the my next post.