Ryall Cousins

Our ancestors go back to Ireland, and while some of the family have been here and met some of the Ryall relations, and one of our cousins has been to Ballina twice (when I was not there), I have never met any of them. So it was such a thrill to meet 4 of my cousins, a sister in law, and 3 of their progeny. 

First of all in Killarney, I met my cousin David's wife Teresa and two of their three children, David and Sinead. What a lovely family. We had dinner together. 

Me with Teresa

David, me and Sinéad

The next day our bus tour took us to the pretty seaside town of Tramore, and there I meet my cousin Ellen and her daughter Clodagh. We didn't have much time together, but Clodagh had been busy baking us delicious cupcakes to have with our cup of tea, and then Ellen took me for a dip (feet only) in the Celtic Sea!

Clodagh and her mum Ellen

Then today in Dublin, Murray and I got to meet three other cousins (sisters of Ellen) Brid, Mary and Joanne, and enjoyed getting to know them while we devoured an enjoyable Italian meal in Dublin. Thanks to each and every one of you for such a warm reception - hopefully our next visit to Ireland will allow us more time to catch up with you all. 

L-R Brid, Mary, me and Joanne

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Although we had visited Ireland previously, we did not visit Northern Ireland. So we were thrilled to note that this tour included an overnight visit to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. It was a beautiful sunny day on arrival, but it turned out to be the coldest August overnight temperature on record. Thankfully we were snug and warm in our hotel room, so no complaints from us! As Belfast is part of the United Kingdom, we were still using British Currency. Unlike our next destination in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) which is part of the European Union and uses the Euro.

In the city is the old Sinn Fein HQ and there were numerous wall graffiti paintings to depict the actions and also to signify the end of the protestant - catholic aggression or 'the Troubles' as they are known. 'The Troubles began in the late 1960's and despite occasional outbreaks of violence, the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998 saw the end of that era. Basically the protestants (see themselves as aligned with the British) want to stay with the United Kingdom, and the Irish Nationalists and Republicans (see themselves as Irish) who are mainly catholics and want Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join a United Ireland. 

The people just want to get on with their lives, but there are a handful who keep stirring the pot. Some protestant villages in the county still taunt the Catholic Irish by painting their footpaths in the British red, white and blue colours as seen in this photo. 

You may recall that Belfast is where the ill-fated ship The Titanic was built. It hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of 1500 people. The slipway that it was launched from is still preserved in Belfast. 

Scotland

After we left Edinburgh, we still spent several more days travelling around Scotland. Murray and Bill bought 'Jimmy' hats and entertained the others on our bus with their caps! I do try to keep him in line, but I am not always successful.

We called into the upmarket town of St Andrews, the 'Home of Golf', and Murray was thrilled to putt 9 holes of golf on the famous course. He squirrelled away a few momentos as well. St Andrews is also where Prince William and Kate went to college and fell in love. Kate was lucky she met her prince, as otherwise I have no idea how she could afford to eat out -  I bought a cup of coffee and a scone with jam and clotted cream, and it set me back ￡6 and 15 pence. That equates to about $11 Australian. The cream alone was ￡1. Worth it though...

If any of you have read the Outlander Series - some of you may know it as Diana Gabaldon's series of books starting with 'Dragonflies in Amber' - you may recall that some of the scenes were set in the Culloden Moors. Our tour spent some time in that battlefield area where historical markers are displayed depicting the positions of both sides of this last rising of the Jacobite rebellion. So many Scottish highlanders were slaughtered there on a fateful day in 1746 while standing strong for their Bonnie Prince Charlie. 

The next day we enjoyed our Loch Ness experience. No sign of Nessie, but we did spend about an hour out on the loch and heard all the history and saw a beautiful rainbow!

Loch Lomond

No rest for the wicked - the next day we were back in the bus and caught a ferry from the Isle of Skye back to the mainland and drove beneath the towering mountain of Ben Nevis. We stood on the 'Bonnie, Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond' and heard the true story behind that sad song.

Everyday we see several old castles along the route - they would have once been significant buildings, but many are in ruins today - although still impressive looking. The bonus of doing a bus tour like this is that when you see some historic building or pass some scene, the tour guide fills you in on the significance or the story behind it. If we were driving on our own, we would have passed through countless towns and seen numerous castles and have been oblivious to the interesting history and some personal stories behind them.

This time of the year is beautiful in Scotland as the Heather is blooming. Every grassy area was lush and green.

Look at this colourful heather

Even when the sky is overcast the views are still beautiful

Glen Coe - wild and rugged nature at its best

We stayed a night in Glasgow at an impressive Hotel/Golf complex that overlooked the city and the River Clyde. The next day we said farewell to Scotland and boarded a ferry to cross the Irish Sea over to Belfast in Northern Ireland.

British Isles in Depth

Somehow this blog entry got out of sequence. It was supposed to come before the one of meeting up with Kim in Scotland. Oh well….

As many of you already know, the reason we flew into London was to connect with a 21 day Cosmos tour of the 'British Isles in Depth'. Murray and I had done a 7 day fly-drive visit to Ireland in 2004, and we had been to London City, but other than that, we hadn’t seen much of the British Isles.

When our friend Nadia mentioned that she was doing the trip and invited us to join her, we thought what a great way to see it all. I hadn’t done a tour like this before, so I was keen to see what they were like. It sounded like a dream come true to be met at the airport, hotel accommodation sorted, breakfast and many dinners provided, and being driven to many places that we had only ever heard about. Sadly the dates that Nadia was travelling did not include seeing the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and as that was on our list of things to do, we decided to time our tour to include tickets to that event. If you look at the itinerary map, you can see the red dot where we start in London. If you follow the black line north, you will see a black dot with the number 1 inside it - that means we stay there one night. Where you see the number 2, we stay there 2 nights. As you can see, we go as far north as the Scottish Highlands, then meander south along the west coast of Ireland before passing through Wales and the far west of England then back to London. 

So on Saturday 16^th August, a group of 42 people plus one driver and one tour guide set off north along the east coast of Britain on our British Isles in Depth adventure. Most of the group come from Australia, and a couple from Canada and 2 couples from the USA and a gentleman from New Zealand. 

We stopped off at Hampton Court Palace and went past Runnymede where King John sealed the Magna Carta. We did a walking tour of Oxford and lunched in a market place normally buzzing with students who gained a coveted entry to this prestigious college. We walked past the hallowed halls...We drove through the pretty Cotswold area and ended up having afternoon tea in Stratford on Avon – home of Shakespeare. In fact we had our bus group photo taken in front of Shakespeare’s wife (Anne Hathaway’s) cottage (see it behind the group?) and then spent our first night in Coventry. 

The next day I walked a bit of the section of the old wall around the ancient city of York while Murray visited a railway museum, and we stayed that night in Newcastle. The following day our drive was past remnants of Hadrian’s Wall which the Roman’s built as their first line of defence, and then we crossed the border into Scotland, and met our first Scotsman playing the bagpipes to welcome us. By this stage I was getting excited, as Kim was flying in to meet us in Edinburgh the same day that we were driving in.

Our group walking towards the centre of York

Sitting on an ancient section of Hadrian's Wall

En route the coach stopped for lunch time stops, and we enjoyed walking around quaint villages and enjoying their culinary delights. 

One of the many delicious lunch selections

Edinburgh, Scotland

We only saw Kim a few weeks ago in North Dakota, but we were excited to be seeing her again in Scotland. She had been there before, but we hadn't. Our coach had no sooner dropped us off at our Hotel and hadn't even unpacked our bags when Kim walked in the room - she hadn't expected us so soon, and we hadn't expected her so soon either. We hugged and laughed and then got down to unpacking for the evening - we were to attend our first Haggis tasting! 'Not bad' was the verdict - quite tasty in fact. We enjoyed an evening of Scottish entertainment with bagpipes, accordions, drums, dancers and fiddle playing. An enjoyable evening for sure.

Our visit coincided with the largest Art Festival in the World - held every year right here in Edinburgh. We couldn't believe the crowds. Everywhere you looked in the city there were shops selling 'cashmere' - so nice, soft and warm. The scarves were in every hue - Scottish hues of course!! I was very tempted, but I already have 2 cashmere scarves, and living in Ballina doesn't really qualify me for a 3rd! 

The real reason for the timing of our visit was to attend the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. The Tattoo began at 9pm, but that morning we did a tour of the Castle. So much history…Here is a view looking down at the city from the castle.

Before we attended the Tattoo, Murray did a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. He thoroughly enjoyed it. During his outing, Kim attended a whisky tasting and I meandered around the city.

So typical of the British summer, we had a few sprinkles of rain during the Tattoo. But it wasn't enough to dampen anyone's spirits. 9,000 people attend the tattoo for the 3 weeks it is held every year. Every performance is sold out. The displays were fabulous and the way they light up the castle to reflect the military presentation on the parade ground at the time was spectacular. The lone piper played a haunting tune up on the castle as a fitting finale to the night. Another thing ticked off my bucket list - thanks Murray and Kim for making it more memorable.

London 2014

We arrived in London and almost immediately jumped on the underground to meet Ken and Ros in the city. We walked over London Bridge and behind us we could see the Tower and the impressive Tower Bridge. Before long the rain started but not before Ken and Ros led us up and down the historic parts of the South Side of London. Talk about history. Amazing stuff. I knew it wouldn't be long before Ken would find us a suitable watering hole - it happened to be a coaching inn, dating back to 1542. We sat there and just absorbed the aura of the place - imagine what a bustling inn it would have been for travellers in bygone days. After an initial drink there, we walked and saw some more sights, before escaping the rain and enjoying a good old nosh up in a local brewery. Murray ordered bangers and mash - they had americanised it with the battered onion rings on top - see middle right photo in collage above. The green on the bottom is mashed peas - very British menu! Despite the weather, the area was buzzing with people all out with their brollies. it was a Thursday night, but you would think it was a Friday or Saturday night as every hotel, brewery or restaurant was chock full of people. After our evening out, we caught the underground back to our hotel, ready to do it all again the next day, but travelling in the other direction!

The following day we paid a visit to the beautiful Windsor Castle - our entry tickets were courtesy of Ros and Ken's daughter Jenny who works there with the art collection and other historical collectibles. We spent several hours there, walking through the grounds and the state apartments. Mind boggling history once again - Windsor Castle, originally built in the 11th Century, is the longest occupied royal palace in Europe. Ten kings lie buried in St George's Chapel that we toured as well. More than 500 people live and work in the castle. 

North Dakota Summer 2014 - Shared with Benn, Kim and Daina

Daina, Benn, Murray, Trish and Kim

For the 8th year in a row, Murray and I found ourselves back on the beautiful Audubon Lake in North Dakota. A very special summer place for us as we met some lovely people there and catch up with them each year. This year was even more memorable, as my son Benn, his girlfriend Daina and my daughter Kim arranged to meet us there. Yes, I am sure you are asking - North Dakota?? Of all places to meet. Considering Benn and Daina live in Japan, and Kim lives in Denmark, it was way out of left field. They only had 2 days with us, but it was great to see them and have them experience our lake side campground and meet our North Dakota friends. On their first night, we caught up on each other's news before Murray put some huge T-bones on the BBQ. After that we lit a campfire and enjoyed the lakeside ambience. 

Lakeside dining - well, pre dinner drinks at this stage...

Avalyn and Kim at rear, Trish, Daina and Kathy in front

The next day, while Murray and Benn went off fishing with Milt, us girls went to town. Avalyn, Kathy, Kim, Daina and I jumped into Avalyn's suburban and visited the Malt Shoppe in Garrison. We then looked through a few gift shops before we were done - a successful girls' day out!

Daina, Trish and Kim

On the kids' second night with us, we held a fish fry for 18 people. Everyone contributed to the meal and there was so much food that a lot was taken home. Clint, Amanda and their 4 daughters Taylor, Hayley, Emelie and Macey were the last to arrive. Clint and Amanda had both been working all day and had a long drive to get to us, so I thought they would pick up some BBQ chickens and potato salad from Walmart. Not a chance: Amanda had cooked potatoes before she went to work, and each of the girls was tasked with something to do to convert them into a family potato salad recipe. Clint got in from cutting hay, and began a chicken casserole in one dutch oven, and a roast chicken in another. Neither were cooked before they were due to leave their ranch for the 50 min drive to our RV - so he simply put the dutch ovens in a drum surrounded by coals in the back of his pick-up truck, loaded up the family, and drove out. En route he stopped to test if they were cooked, and when they were, he removed them from the coals! He pulled up in front of our RV with steam and a delicious aroma emanating from the dutch ovens in the back of his truck, and carried the dutch ovens to the table. An impressive entrance Clint! As well as the chicken and potato salad (old family recipe) from the ranch folk, there was Murray's freshly caught and expertly cooked Walleye fish bites, Avalyn's chili taco salad and strawberry shortcake, Kathy's green pea salad, sliced kohlrabi (fresh from her garden), rhubarb pie and a pineapple slice, Irene's brownie slice and potato salad, Frieda's freshly cooked corn on the cob (Lenny set up the cooking pot and Frieda supervised as he cooked the corn while we sat and chatted), plus asian salad and s'mores. A great night. People started arriving at 4pm and the last group left around 10.45pm. The weather was perfect - got cool after the sun set, so a campfire was called for. We needed that to toast the marshmallows for the S'mores anyway. Kim showed Clint and Amanda's girls how to insert the chocolate bar into the marshmallow before toasting over the coals - a trick she learnt while living in Canada.

Kim showing Macey how to insert chocolate into the marshmallow

Hayley and Emelie toasting marshmallows for the  S'mores

Macey entertaining Benn and Daina

Clint in foreground and Macey up the pole - entertaining us

The day after Benn, Daina and Kim left, it was time for us to say goodbye to our North Dakota friends and head south to store the RV in the cave for another year. The countryside was as beautiful as we had ever seen it. We passed fields with flax, sunflowers and wheat abutting one another - I just had to take the photo below. So pretty. Farewell North Dakota. God willing we will be back next summer. 

Blue flax in foreground, wheat at the back on the left, and sunflowers at the back on the right

Badlands and Bully Pulpit Golf Course of North Dakota

Oil Derricks

We drove north from the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Badlands of North Dakota. The 'badlands' are so named from the American Indian's name of 'land bad' due to lack of water, extreme summer temperatures and the rugged terrain. To get here, we had the most picturesque drive past fields of wheat, corn and what looked like potatoes. Small, medium and large buttes were scattered along our route. Oil derricks dotted many fields. 

Farmer mowing wild prairie grasses

Farmers were making the most of the wild prairie grasses that grew beside the road - they mowed them and rolled the grasses into bales - just like hay. They will use these to mix with the more nutritious hay during the long winters experienced in the Dakotas. 

We passed a lot of antelopes, mainly bucks, and two lots were in groups of 3. In this photo there are only 2 bucks, but the third one was a bit further back. 

When we stopped to get fuel, Murray called me to take a photo of this 1929 A-Model Ford. He said Joe Bill might be interested.

We stopped for morning tea in a small town, and the only place open for coffee and pancakes at 10am was the town saloon! The service was very good, and a coffee and a pancake each cost us $4 for both of us. Happy with that! However, I got a bit of a shock when I went to the Ladies. Thank goodness there was a lock on the door! Reminds me of our experience with Mike and Cindy when they took us to Mamou in Louisiana to enjoy some Cajun culture! Same deal there.

Entering Medora

Yesterday, around 12.45pm we arrived in Medora, North Dakota just as a thunderstorm hit. We had thunder, lightning, rain and some tiny hail. By the time we had checked into our campground and backed into our site, the water was so deep by our front steps, then we couldn't even get out to hook up to power and water. Thankfully our RV had a door on the driver's side (an optional extra in many RV's), and there were no puddles of water on that side. The same storm moved north east and hit right where our friends were camping at Lake Audubon. The storm caused a tornado a bit south of them - they got a lot of rain, and lost their satellite reception for a while, but it soon passed. Ready for us to arrive there tomorrow!

Today we drove the RV out the to the Bully Pulpit Golf Course, listed as one of America's 100 Greatist Public Golf Courses. A golf course architect says that of thousands of potential golf courses he has seen, this one is probably one of the best courses without an ocean view. Murray played 9 holes while I took photos, chatted to other visitors and took a walk - some of it uphill. Yes Clairie, I'll add it to my activity list! I have put several photos here, but no photo can capture the beauty of this place. 

Tonight we caught a shuttle to a Cowboy Cookout. It was very similar to the one we did with Jenny and Peter in Jackson, Wyoming, only instead of the back-in-time wagon ride we just took a shuttle. However this cookout had the spectacular view of the Badlands as a bonus. Unfortunately it was overcast when we got up to the site, so the colours of the hills are very muted. Then while we were eating dinner, a thunderstorm passed over. Luckily for those staying on for the Medora Musical (we had seen it on a previous visit) the sun came out in time for the show to start at 8pm. 

Cowboy Cookout time

Take a look at these steaks...

View from the cookout site