Day 14

It's been a long trip so far. Nothing like the last trip to Costa Rica. Really. Things have been taking up my time completely. It's been really nice. Today's blog was a little less action packed tho.  What did I do... I may start writing these blogs the night of. That was I don't have to try and remember what happened the day before. Maybe I'm getting old? Idk. Haha. 

   Ok so I know we woke up and went out in service. For the morning we went out with this funny old couple. The brother was old and grouchy. We were all meeting at his house before we go out in the field to preach, and on the way into the house I jumped over fence. I thought It was pretty Impressive, he... Didn't. This is the same brother that I met at the hall that kept starting at me and Chelsea. Like we had something on our heads. Idk. Funny dude. I asked to work with him and his wife as its just been us and the Kingdons alot. I like change. You guys know that. Anyway the morning was great. The old mad actually was pretty funny despite the few times he was a little scary. His wife was super nice and put up with him better then Chelsea puts up with me. If you know us well then you know that's alot. In service we saw these huge wind turbines. Very cool! I was told that the blades can spin up to 200 mph at the tip of the fans. There are these things everywhere. Cuz it's always windy!! 

   So anyway. We went out in service till late in the day. Then there was a small party at the Kingdons. I'm not sure if it was a small going away party or just everyday party life for them. :) I meet this lady from the hall, super nice, and she has family and is moving back to Venice Italy. So we exchanged information. She said ANYTIME we would like to visit there we have a place to stay. Idk. Looks like Chelsea and I have our next place to visit. ;) its cool how any witness in the world would take complete strangers into there house for a week or so. Well i guess yoi have to be a witness yourself. Lol. she has been all over the world. She gave us tips on some things to see in Ireland. Oh ya!!! We went thrift shopping! It was awesome!!! I got a beautiful authentic Italian suit for €15 oh man. This thing is a beauty. Just need a little fitting and I'll be good to go. Also got a authentic Irish hat. 100% wool. I'm gonna were this thing everywhere. And for only €2 I can't go wrong. :)   

   Anyway that's it. It was our last day in county Mayo and the county will sure be missed. Tmrw holds some fun for me and Chelsea. Can't wait to tell you guys about it! 

  This is the only pic I'll post for now. I'm on data on my phone and don't wanna waist too much uploading. ;) but look at the cows in the road. Haha. So funny. 

Day 13

Oh today was another day of going in the ministry. Oh but such a great day. Lots of very interesting Irish things to see. 

   So we wake up to the smell of fish. Stella a very lovely lady cooked my fish I caught. I was excited to cook it as I've already caught it and even gutted it. I wanted to do the rest... Cook then eat. Then... Well you know. Lol. Anyway she cooked it. I'm not mad at her but like I said I was looking forward to cooking it. Even tho it was over cooked and the skin tasted like smoke. ;) it has been cool tho to eat like the locals here. Eat the veggies and fruits and fish and chickens. Everything home grown and not much purchased at the local supermarket. 

   So we went to a small island for service today! This is in there territory and about 1.5 hours away! Really amazing views. It really can make even the most unappreciative teenagers jaw drop from the sheer beauty. 

   On the way out we stopped for many pics that I can't wait to show you guys! But as I've said before. There not loading very well here. 

   First, how cool it was to see the sheep in the middle of the road. Mile after mile one sheep, two sheep, three sheep. Enough to make you fall asleep. Lol (dumb counting sheep joke reference) anyway. There were everywhere. We would have to slam on the brakes or dodge them so there wasnt any cotton on the windshield. Btw one funny side note... All the farmers have been painting the sheep red and green. For the colors of the local football team (soccer). 

   Second we come across some beautiful beaches! All full of rocks. Pink ones! We were told that there are pink beaches in Costa Rica and they were not pink. Here tho I was never told about these beaches but they were PINK so funny. Haha. This def came as a surprise. 

   Third random castle in the middle of nowhere. It seems like we haven't seen a car in ages. Just a few misc homes on the way out. This was a small castle but it stood on the edge of the ocean overlooking some cliffs across the way. They had a good view back in the day. Very cool. 

   Fourth, still not even in the territory yet! Well we were, it is just a really really big one. Some very good response out there. I wish we had days to work that territory. Everyone was so nice out there. Ok so fourth, it was gorgeous!!! These gigantic cliffs. Must have been over 1000' high. The earth was falling beneath your feet. One of them was over looking the site of a ship wreck from back in the day. Still with the crane (tiny) hanging over the edge that was used to save the lives of those down below. On top of these extremely tall cliffs were these cute little sheep running around wild. It's amazing how many sheep that are just running around. I must have seen tens thousands of them. 

   Fifth, finally got to the pier. We were supposed to go fishing out here but things didn't work out to take a brake for a few. 

   Such a great way to spend the day. See the country side. Talk about Jehovah and see his beautiful creation. All at once. There is no congregation out there. But I would say if someone was willing to be sent as a special pioneer and serve on this island there could be a congregation started within 6 months. Boy would that be a privilege. :) 

Anyway we got home at 6:00pm or 7:00pm I forget. We ate and tried to go to bed pretty early. I'll post a pic for you guys. Hope you enjoyed! Talk to you tmrw! :)

Day 12

Day 12.... Lets see lets see oh ya. This is Monday. 

Not much to say but I said I will write one for every day. This was a good day for me tho. Kinda ish lol. 

So lets see where to start. Again when I wake up right? So the night before heather said she wants to go out in service not at 9:00am but at 7:00. Uh.... I'm on holiday (vacation) so... No I'll sleep in an extra hour or two. But a little before 8:00 I get a knock knock knock at my door. Hey are we going out in service. So  we woke up to get ready. Mind before everyone else was. Chelsea and I waited in the kitchen, read the daily text and ate some breakfast. The hospitality here is extremely over the top. The Kingdons, as well as everyone we have meet so far has been so nice. Kinda like a little twilight zone episode. 

   Service was really fantastic. It's not like every door you can start a bible study with someone but there so nice that they won't turn you down. Not like being out in the ministry back home. Where as soon as a householder sees you thru the crack in the door it's closed. I feel really bad.... Some people were clearly not interested. And I'm waiting on them to say have a nice day and shut the door. But they keep listening... Haha. It's really kinda cute. Anyway what ended up happening was I left. And told them to have a nice day. 

   No one hear reads there bibles. And about half of them don't even have one. Kinda weird to adjust to the diff style of preaching because its nothing like home. I placed some mags but will not be coming back to them. As they weren't interested but still want the mags. Everyone knows who the witnesses are and everyone wants the mags. But they don't want them coming by. Kinda silly if you ask me. 

   We got back from service at 3:30 I think. Then Chelsea and I went on a walk. Pretty cool walk. About 1.5 miles. We went to a burnt down house from a long long time ago. I think I have a pic....  

Kinda creepy.  It was very neat. In the middle of the woods. No one was around  but me and Chelsea. We went to the back and there was a tunnel into the back of the house. I went inside the window there and it was pitch black. I thought there was going to be zombies coming out of the darkness. I took a photo with a flash. Just so I can see nothing inside was going to jump out at me. We walked over to the old garden and around the trails a little. Btw the house was built in 1795. 

   After that guess what I did. I went out to redeem my fishing skills. Mike says there are tons of fish out there. But I would say there is maybe 5 in the whole lake. Anyway I caught a 14" fish. I even got it before mike did. It was so weird. I had to pull out the hook, untangle the net and bop the fish on the head to kill it. Well after fighting the fish for 10 mins, it was time to kill it. And I couldn't bring myself to do it. Haha. So instead I watched him suffer. Mike did catch one. About 12" and he did kill it. Lol 

   Then we came home. And I had to gut the fish. Wow. People do this on a daily basis. Just for sake of pride. I'll just say I didn't do so good at that. Kinda acted like a little school girl. ;) the next day I cook it and eat that mad fish I got. 

That's it. Thanks for reading guys. I'll keep in touch. Btw so many details I can't wait to tell you guys! And sorry I can't post too many pics.      

Day 11

Ok here is the intro for the day.... This is Mike Kingdon and he will be writing yesterdays blog as a guest. :) I hope you enjoy a break from me. :)

   Boy, can these guys sleep!
'Just taking a nap...' Three days later and naps are interspersed with infrequent bouts of activity - moving to the fridge in search of recognizable food. Yes, our chicken still has its bones in and those round things really are Irish Potatoes, warts and all. We even have cabbage, which ought not be surprising in this country where many people try and grow at least some of their own food.

Bryant wants to fly-fish, so we went for lessons on our local lough, Carra. Not bad, actually, despite an untidy start. After an hour he managed to get a line out, but nowhere near a trout.

Carra is a beautiful lake, clear water, green islands (everything is green here, thanks to the generous climate we enjoy) and the finest fattest trout that were never caught.

We fished until dark and cold, which is generally the best time to stop. Nobody caught anything worth mentioning, apart from Bryant, who caught his coat several times and the boat once. We shall try again this evening. There is a bit of a breeze so hopefully there will be a wave, which gets the fish on the fin and high in the water.
I guess B told you all about falling out of a shrub and getting poked in the ribcage with a thin stick on his way to the ground, where he feigned death while we watched with something approaching apathy. That was Saturday. Today is Sunday. His recovery is slowww in stricken-by-small-stick terms, but by the time he gets back to the States all limbs should be functioning once more.
That was in Cong, home of one of Ireland's more impressive medieval monastic settlements and the location of Ashford Castle, a strikingly renovated building that is now an exclusive hotel with a man on the door to keep Bryant and Chelsea and the rest of us out.

The Cong River runs past the castle. It is full to the brim with wild Atlantic salmon, indeed, this part of Ireland is one of the last strongholds of this finest of fishes. The angling season has finished for this year, but next year we shall be back to catch them by the score. (I got one this season; it wasn't big, although what it lacked in stature was more than adequately compensated by the flavour of its succulent, pink flesh.)

Numerous fish-eating birds squabble along the banks of the river, vying for the best fishing posts. Of these, the grey heron, an ancient-looking bird with reptilian features and a murderous, croaking call is the largest and most prominent. Kingfishers, small azure birds that plunge for small fish, inhabit the overgrown riverbank, and numerous species of waterfowl dibble and dive for their various foods.

Cong village ought to be well known on account of its extremely picturesque setting. However, it is for that stereotypical Irish film, "The Quiet Man" that it is best known. The Quiet Man was filmed locally and now the village boasts a Quiet Man pub, cafe, restaurant, budget accommodation hostel and numerous other similarly titled tourist attractions which, combined, put this otherwise unremarkable place firmly on the tourist trail.

Hidden away among the tall pines at the top end of Cong Woods stands the Guinness Tower, a replica of an Irish Tower House built in the 1860s by members of the Guinness family, who owned Ashford Castle and the adjoining estate at the time. The tower can be climbed by means of the spiral stone staircase that winds around the interior. The steps ascend at such an incline as to reduce the thigh muscles of the uninitiated to a trembling, quivering mess - something that may well have been a useful defense mechanism during the Middle Ages, when tower houses of this sort were common throughout the strife-ridden Irish countryside.

Olive has joined us for the next week and a half, and will perform sister-in-lawly babysitting services over the next ten days, allowing time for further fishing excursions and historical expeditions, including a visit to the Guinness Heritage Vault, otherwise known as the local pub.

I fully intend to hijack this blog sometime over the next week... See you then.

Day 10

Can't believe that I've been away for 10 days! Doesn't even seem like it we have been so busy. Having loads of fun so far and been really enjoying Ireland. So since I'm writing this post for yesterday I need to think about what I did yesterday.  Haha. Ok give me a sec... Just woke from a nap ;)

   Ok so we wake up.... The best sleep we have had so far. The Kingdons have turned there living room into a bed rom for us. Even building a bed. Extremely nice people. Just think about it. Irish people are known for being hospitable. Irish Jehovah's witnesses now and just over the top. 

    Chelsea isn't feeling the best. She is feeling sick. So she stays home. Tries to go back to bed while I get ready to leave for service. Service is alot like it is back home.  You drive to each house and there all really far away. No house is right next to the other ones (unless your family)   Anyway. I drove! Scary right. Ya. It is. And it was. Something a little diff here. They don't really have driveways. So most everyone is just right off the hwy. (hwy is any road that has a speed of 80 km/h or more) its really neat and easer to get to. Unlike going out in the ministry back home. And there "mountains" are really hills for us. So since it's sat. they go out at 10:00am lots of Irish ppl sleep in on this day. So that was a little funny. Because people will not even be up. It was nice to go out in the ministry. Such beautiful scenery. 

    Ok so lets skip forward a few hours after my nap now. We go to a castle! Very cool. It's called ashford cong. First we see the old monastery. That was very neat. Still ruined and not rebuilt. It was originally built in 1200 or something like that. We walked inside and were able to see all the places that they would hide the booty. Booty is treasure. Really to look close at parts of the masons artwork was truly amazing. Then we walked over to the tower. Just a watch tower built by Guinness.  This was built in 1886. So not a real castle. Still cool to see. It may have still been in battle. 

On the way to the tower I came across a branch sticking up from the ground that seemed to be dead. So I say to micheal. "can I break that?" He said "no" that it would be impossible to brake it. It was only 4" in diameter so I said ahhhhh let's see how easy it is to brake it. Well I pull my weight on the branch and nothing. Then the kids take there turn... Nothing. So I ask Chelsea to take a photo of how much the branch is bending. I get back on the branch... Pull pull lean. My whole body up in the air... Waiting for Chelsea to shoot the photo... Then... SNAP!!! The branch broke! It hit my rib cage and hurt me really really bad. Took the breath out if me! It's the next day and I can now breath without pain. Slightly. Then mike looks at the branch and said "this is rotten" ya!!! Haha. I said "that's why I thought it would brake!!! Lol". Well... That was that. Time to move on. 

   Next we walked over to the castle. Just a short walk in the mud. Ya it was raining the full day! It never let up for a sec. But that's normal I guess. Not too many people made a big deal about it. Anyway, the castle was beautifully. It was altered a little bit tho. Put windows in and stuff. Put heaters and better ceilings. But pretty much all of it is the real deal. We have lots of photos that you would like. But not alot will post. As the Internet stinks. And the computer isn't working well too here. But here is a pic of the castle for you. 

   Ok guys let you know what happens tmrw! Take care ttyl. 

Day 9

My computer isn't working at the house. So I gotta use my phone. I think it working. So this will kinda be a test I'm not gonna put too many details out. Because I know what happened last time I did that. When the Internet wasnt working too proper. Lol lost 2 hours of my time is what. 

   Anyway. Can't wait to tell you guys about what went on yesterday. Lol. 

   Fun fun fun.  Not really fun things. But it's not home and work.   

   Ok. So we wake up Friday morning. 4:00am! We went to bed at 2:00am. So not much sleep. Don't forget that we're 5 hours ahead. So getting used to sleeping at diff times has been a challenge. Ok. So anyway we go to hotel reception and ask. What are the bus times. He says the bus is over there.... (Behind some bushes) and it comes at 5:29. So we scurry eat our food (Starbucks breakfast sandwich. {bacon egg and mushrooms}) now it's dark outside and 5:10. We wanna be a little early to be sure not To miss it. Well we read the sign and the "308" bus, the one that goes to the airport, isn't on the sign. So... Well we 

decided we should wait a few to see if it comes at 5:29. Well it starts to rain... And we didn't pack out rain jackets. Haha so here we are 19 mins to go till the bus comes. And it's dark and raining. Ok. Well 5:29 comes around. And no sign of the bus. And cars are zooming past us. And it's in a blind turn. So we can't flag the few cars and trucks that go by and ask them where the bus is. Anyway.  So I start to look a little more and behind the sign is another that says our bus will come at 5:39. So that was fun.  :) the rain stopped at 5:35. That was a trip. Had to tell you. 

   So we go to the airport check in and 45 mins after getting there we fly out to Dublin. It was 65 F leaving London and landing in Dublin it was 55F. Quite a bit different. Ok. We land get our luggage ($60 to leave it there for a few days!) and go pick up our rental car. 

   Ok, this was weird. Haha. Got out little car called a "cilo" it's made by some French company. Logo looks like this "<>" haha this was so weird. Immediately I was shocked when I tried to sit in the driver seat but it was the passenger seat. Also the shifter is in the middle of the car but you shift with your left hand. I'm still used to it. We drive over a few miles to a store owned by "best buy" to get a phone card. Which now I'm using. We have data unlimited text and call for €30. We got this because of GPS. Because where were going to be going to is 3.5 hours away and he last hour doesn't have signs and road names and it's out in the middle of nowhere. :) but pretty much all of Ireland is like that. I've seen movies and cars on the wrong side of the road before. But it is just so weird getting used to this. :) so funny. 

   So we get to there house. Bu the way The address is a name, a town, and a county. That's how you type it in GPS. Meet Stella (very nice English lady.) we hang out with her for an hour until the kids and dad gets home. Anyway we talked a bit all of us. Very fun and nice family. There very proper. The dads name is Mike the daughter of 16 is Hannah. And the son Creag is 17.... Anyway. The dad. First impression. Very funny. The jokes are a little lame. :) if your reading this mike sorry. ;) but the humor is just a little diff. It's very much fun btw. The daughter Hannah is pretty funny. She is like me as-far-as the hyper part. She talked alot and is pretty loud. The boy Creag is cool too. He like games and is pretty quite like. Well compared to his sister. He actually is funny. 

The parents are English and the kids are Irish. And you can deft see a difference in the way they speak. We played some games on the Xbox watched ice age 4 and went to bed. I'll let you know what happens the next day guys.  Take care and talk soon!!!    

Here is a pic of the family. Haha. Pretty hard to get this photo. In mikes hands is a stuffed "easog" it's Irish for stote. I'm still not sure what it is. Anyway this is them. Ttyl guys! 

Morning ya'll!

    Just thought i'd say hi! Apparently I already have almost 600 views on this stupid blog. haha makes me want to try and do a better job. I see some ppl looking at it from Ireland, Russia, Argentina, UK, and Siberia. Tanks guys for looking into this stupid blog. Makes me feel good about it. Because of that I promise to try and do a better job writing this thing and try to make it less boring for you guys! :)


What do you think about this as the new Ireland trip profile pic?