Yes. It’s that time of week again. <\/p>\n
More from our family trip in Ireland, when I was 14. There are many italics<\/i> here, and many underlines<\/u> and much punctuation!!!!!!<\/p>\n
I like this one because it’s about my first trip to Glendalough, which is now one of my favorite places on the face of the earth. I’ve been there 4 or 5 times now, and any time I go to Ireland, I will make sure to stop by. Words can’t describe the magic of the place. Here are some pictures <\/a>… but you just have to GO to really get it.<\/p>\n My last time in Glendalough<\/a> I had one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life.<\/p>\n Moments like that are a power-surge. You remember them, and you are filled with strength, gratitude. How lucky I am to have experienced that.<\/p>\n What I love about this diary entry is that I somehow knew, even then, what Glendalough would end up meaning to me. I fell in love with the place immediately.<\/p>\n So here I am in all my embarrassingly gushing 14 year old-ness. I will have to interject snarky comments from time to time, just to stave off the mortification.<\/p>\n I am writing here from Glendullough and it is so wild!!!! I love fresh air! [Wow, Sheila, that’s funny, because most people love polluted dirty air. Hm.<\/i>] But it is SO SO SO windy here!!!!!!<\/p>\n We got out of the car and walked down a path with green fields on both sides with trillions<\/u> of cow doadies on it. [Oh boy. That’s cow dung in O’Malley parlance. How embarrassing. As a matter of fact, I underlined the word “trillions” twice, just to make SURE I got my point across to posterity.<\/i>]<\/p>\n We went towards this dark dark blue lake with white caps. [What? A lake with white caps at Glendalough? I know there’s a lake … but white caps? What am I talking about here, Dad?<\/i>]<\/p>\n It is SOOOOOOO windy! [Uhm, we got it, Sheila. It’s windy.<\/i>] I almost couldn’t walk! It’s cold too. The lake is choppy. I went over this quaint rumbly stone bridge over a rocky stream. A girl was hopping from rock to rock and she fell in. She was laughing, though. We had to climb up one big step to come to this old church – Reefert Church. [Ehm, I don’t think that’s the right name.<\/i>] It was stones with no roof, and not crumbling down, surrounded by graves. It was built in the 11th century and all of the O’Toole’s are supposed to be there. It was really breezy there [Not windy???<\/i>] and the inside had these arched doorways and windows.<\/p>\n We then went on, up and up and up this steep stairway through the woods. It was exhausting but the view was breathtaking. All the other mountains around, and everything down there looked like toys. We stopped at a sandy plateau to look at a waterfall – a typical mountain waterfall. [Okay, this makes me laugh. I had never seen a “mountain waterfall” in my life. I’m from Rhode Island. We don’t have mountains there.<\/i>] The waterfall splashed down from shiny rocks through moss and ferns.<\/p>\n Dad said that all St. Kevin’s Cell was was two rocks!<\/p>\n We sat down to have lunch. I wasn’t that hungry so I just had a sip of Coke.<\/p>\n [Why does that crack me up? Just one sip, Sheila?? Why not have two? Live a little!<\/i>]<\/p>\n Some girls my age had climbed all the way up one of the mountains and they had reached the top and were screaming and capering around. Birds flew near — strange ones, with blue heads, orange crests, and black and white feathers … they wanted our crackers.<\/p>\n We got back into the car and a short way away we stopped at a round tower. We went through iron gates and through a graveyard with pretty new stones, and the tower was SO high! It was probably the highest one we’ve seen yet. It was used as a bell tower to summon monks to prayer. It was 100 feet high with 6 floors. The door is 12 feet off the ground and the monks used a rope ladder to get in.<\/p>\n Jean and I stood straight at the foot of it and arched our necks looking all the way up and the tower looked like it was going to fall on us! [Note: My sisters and I, as adults, came to Glendalough on what turned out to be an INFAMOUS night. We had such a shrieking laughing fit in the graveyard – it was a real “you had to be there” moment, that we basically are still laughing about it. We even have a picture of it. The three of us, teary-eyed with laughter, standing in the open crumbling courtyard of the “cathedral”. The other tourists must have hated us because we were literally HOWLING with laughter. Anyway, it’s funny to think of me and my sisters, as little girls, walking through Glendalough … and then flash-forward 25 years … and there we all are again.<\/i>]<\/p>\n I ran down through the overgrown grass to the Cathedral, also surrounded by graves. These stones were grey and splotched with white like all church stones are. It is the largest church in Glendalough. It was built in sections, see, and the oldest part is the Nave from the 900s<\/u>!!! In the 1100s they built a new arched doorway.<\/p>\n This place isn’t spectacular or anything. [hahah That is so ridiculous! After going on and on about the place, I have to get “cool” again and say, “This place isn’t all THAT.”<\/i>]<\/p>\n There was another church and it was St. Kevin’s Church. These stones were dark gray and it had a small round tower attached to it that looks sort of like a chimney which earned the place the name “St. Kevin’s Kitchen.”<\/p>\n We came over a wooden bridge over the prettiest rushing stream with clear clear water. I was a little behind everyone and when I came up I saw this dirt road with a woody hill rising up. Mum and Dad were sitting on a rock and Brendan, Jean and Siobhan were up a dirt path in the woods on a mossy rock like a ledge. I went climbing up, it was so slippery.<\/p>\n I sat on the rock with the breeze on my cheeks [Oh, Jaysus, listen to me narrate my own life…<\/i>] and the trees all around us and my feet dangling over the edge. Siobhan and Jean started to play some game of theirs.<\/p>\n It was really nice there. I think I could have sat there all day. It is a perfect<\/u> place to write stories. If I lived in Ireland around here, this would be a perfect place to come to if I wanted some peace and quiet or if I wanted to be by myself.<\/p>\n I got a souvenir from Ireland at Glendalough too – a claddagh ring. The most famous symbol here. Mum said it’s about the best thing I could get here.<\/p>\n [Then I drew a picture of the Claddagh ring.<\/i>]<\/p>\n That’s what it looks like. The hands symbolize love, the crown symbolizes prosperity. [Heh. I’m wearing a Claddagh ring right now!<\/i>]<\/p>\n We didn’t do much the rest of the afternoon.<\/p>\n Wednesday is a terrific day on t.v.<\/p>\n — Falcon Island: kind of dumb but with lots of kids<\/p>\n — Sullivan’s: sentimental, but good<\/u> acting, cute guys, and realistic plots [I mean, really, what more does one need?<\/i>]<\/p>\n — Greatest American Hero: one of my most favorite shows on t.v. I love Bill Maxwell. He’s hilarious. I also adore<\/u><\/b> Michael Pare. [Yes … I wrote over and over the word “adore” until the pen went through the page. <\/i>]<\/p>\n — Taxi: What can I say? It was hilarious. Oh, I love that show. I laughed so hard and so long.<\/p>\n — Callan: spies, really exciting, funny. I would love to be a spy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes. It’s that time of week again. More from our family trip in Ireland, when I was 14. There are many italics here, and many underlines and much punctuation!!!!!! I like this one because it’s about my first trip to … Continue reading GLENDALOUGH – IRELAND<\/h3>\n