Giant Steps, Deep Roots

Sam:

We woke up in our hotel and went down to have breakfast. After breakfast, we went to get a rental car so we could drive out of the city.

First, we went to the Giant’s Causeway. It is lots of different pillars with different layers. It is right beside the ocean and the pillars are shaped like hexagons. There is a legend about how it formed:

A Irish giant challenged a Scottish giant but then realized he couldn’t get across the ocean. So, he there a lot of pillers into the ground to form a bridge. When he saw the Scottish giant, he ran back home because he realized the giant was twice his size. He told his wife to help him. She dressed him like a baby and put him in a cradle. The Scottish came and saw him and thought that it was the Giant’s child. He figured if the baby was that big, the father must be huge, so he ran back to Scotland, smashing the bridge behind him.

We walked all around there and listened to audio devices.

We went to a place called Smugglers Inn for lunch. I picked it way back in June.

We went to a place called Dark Hedges. Dad wanted to see it because it was in the show The Game of Thrones. There were no hedges… just trees.

Then we drove to an area called Aghadowey. We went there because Grandma’s ancestors lived there and we were trying to find their house.

Later, we drove back to Belfast and had dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was really good.

Charlotte:

We rented a car in the morning and we drive to the Giant’s Causeway. It was a long drive. It was pouring rain, so Grandma bought us some huge plastic rain ponchos. I got to listen to a audio phone that I wore like a necklace. It told me about the Giant’s Causeway. It talked about the story of Fionn McCool, the giant. We walked around and climbed up rocks that were really high and I was scared.

After that, we went on a scavenger hunt to find Grandma’s grandfather’s cousins’ house. It was a fun and crazy adventure!

We drove back to Belfast and went out for dinner. Then we went back to the hotel for bed.

Mom and Dad:

Today was a day of adventures and unbelievable moments. It’s one I’ll never forget.

After breakfast at our hotel, we walked to a nearby car rental agency and picked up a car for the day. Then we left Belfast to visit the Giant’s Causeway. By the time we arrived, it was pouring out. We got completely drenched just going from the parking lot to the visitor’s centre. Luckily, being Northern Ireland, they are prepared for rain and sold very inexpensive rain ponchos at the gift shop.

We got some audio guides and headed along the “medium difficulty” path. The stories and information shared by the narrator were excellent. We learned all about how the different formations were made (both scientific and mythological explanations). The views during the walk down were wonderful.

When we actually arrived at the hexagonal pillars of the Causeway, it was so much fun as we took some time to climb the various sections. Being a bit afraid of heights and a very cautious person by nature, Mom was very proud of climbing quite a tall portion of rock. Dad was in his element taking pictures and exploring various nooks and crannies. Even Grandma was convinced to do a little “off-roading” with us!

We were so hungry after all the walking and climbing of the morning, so we stopped for lunch at a cute pirate-themed restaurant called “Smugglers Inn.” Sam had researched it at home and really wanted to go. It was very tasty and gave us enough energy for a busy afternoon.

Our next stop was a little roadway called “Dark Hedges.” It is an area used in the filming of Game of Thrones, which is Dad’s favourite show. The trees winding together across a road were beautiful and haunting. It is easy to see why this location would have been chosen as a setting. An interesting thing we noticed is that the trees had at one point been inside a barbed wire fence and had barbed wire embedded into their trunks as they had simply continued to grow right around it.

Next we set our GPS for the town of Aghadowey, not having any idea what it would be like. We were going there on a quest. The goal: find a house that belonged to one of Grandma’s ancestors on her mother’s side. We were hopeful but knew our success was unlikely.

So, did we find it? Let’s just say that the search deserves its own entry… Stay tuned to our blog to find out…