April 30

2003/04/30 - Wednesday

• 7:57 am: Waking up
• 9:08 am: Breakfast (yummy and probably very unhealthy), Bob took a few minutes to recommend some places to see and stay on our way to Donegal and beyond.
- gallery in Churchill
- Castle Murray in St Johns Point
- Old mill, Dunfannahy 074 36985
- Whins, dunfannahy
- music, Leos tavern Bunbeg
• 10:27 am: Leaving
• 10:49 am: Dunluce again, getting a rock for John

• 11:31 am: Stopped in Portrush and got some caffiene. Portrush is still asleep and actually seems to be a bit mothballed perhaps waiting for the bank holiday this Monday. The town itself is in a pretty area but is a bit grubby around the edges. We also posted cards to John, Emily, daddy, Susan's parents, San Fran cards to Liz & Susan. We're planning on skipping the coast and heading right to Coleraine.
• Write about the cats at whitepark, the rooms, the garden outside, all the different plants and items brought back from their travels in india. Is shoiban shy or does she just not like being a b&b host? She was largely invisible but I did run into her last night and she was ready to "go out" for dinner although Bob still needed to change.
• 11:46 am: We've just bypassed Coleraine and are headed down the a37 towards Limavady and Derry.
• Write back to Bob and recommend Greenmount in dingle. It was a nice place and a good walk to town.
• 11:52 am: We're being mizzled on just outside Coleraine
• 11:54 am: Just passed the turn off to Articlave
• 11:55 am: Dark grey clouds are moving in from the west. I wonder if we'll get pounded. Just entering Springwell forest. Lots of pretty pine trees as well as a bit where they've been cutting trees.
• 11:57 am: Now we're getting rain like at home. In some ways the country here looks a bit like Scotland.
• 12:03 pm: Entering Letterkenny
• 12:04 pm: Just passed a sign for the Letterkenny Cemetary Lesuire center (can't get more leisurely than dead), Shanendoah bar with barrels over the entrance.
• 12:09 pm: Leaving Limavady and saw some horses all along the pretty river. One horse was standing on the hill that borders the river and nibbling on the grass.
• 12:14 pm: We're now six miles from Derry, just outside Ballykelly
• 12:15 pm: We just passed something on the town side of the forest that looked like a cross between a slum and prison. It was surrounded by gates with cameras and fences with barbed wire.
• 12:27 pm: In Derry and headed toward the city center.
Climbed uphill alongside the historic Derry wall only to see political grafitti painted in huge letters on it.

• 1:28 pm: We've been wandering Derry for a while and hopefully we'll stop for a drink soon.
• 1:44 pm: Hail while eating at a java shop. Chicken and slaw on white bread. took milkshakes to go - 1 choc, not very rich, and 1 strawberry, tasted like strawberry Quik

It's a bit hard to see here but those white dots are rain and hail. The hail never got very large but it was fun to watch it "appear" as it hit the ground.

• 2:00 pm: Blue Bayou & hanky panky stanky music. It's going to take a while to explain that comment. So I'm not going to right now :-)
• 2:12 pm: It's still raining & there was even strong lightning

Susan poses next to one of the gates of Derry.

• 3:14 pm: Leaving Derry. stopped at an internet cafe for 30 min to check email. Susan filled out her work time card and checked on due date of the electric bill. the internet can be useful.
• 3:21 pm: Passed the turnoff to Burnfoot - sounds like a Hobbit place name. On the way to Letterkenny and back in the Republic. To the right a castle ruin sits on top of a green hill, surveying farmland divided by hedgerows. Michael is pleased to see stone walls again.
• 5:57 pm: Checked in dinner @ 7 33lb, room 38, The Old Mill. At first we thought we wouldn't be able to get a room there as it was locked up tight. We hung out for a bit and one of the owners showed up and we were able to get their (last?) room.

What do you want?

Beautiful view right in front of the Old Mill

• 6:28 pm: Off to tour.
• 7:45 pm: Getting a room I have no idea what that means.

• 8:15 pm: Horn head drive, halfway to top?

• 8:28 pm: higher now & a sunset is coming
• 8:48 pm: top

• 9:32 pm: Danny Collins bar, french group, beer, bread, cheese & two guinesses. missed opportunity to make a sale. We got back from the head (driving, not the other one) we went looking for some place that would serve some food as well as drink. None of the places were still serving and we ended up going to the grocer and getting some dark break and cheese and going back to Danny Collins and sitting at a table drinking and eating and looking through the books we've got, trying to decide what to do and where to go tomorrow. The sandwiches weren't my first choice but they've turned out to be good with the Guinness. The bartendresses are kind of sour faced people but they serve quickly and so I've no complaint. There was a large group of French people in here earlier but they left a little while ago and now it's just us, another couple (irish by the sound) and the staff. They've just turned on some rap music that will probably chase out the other couple (or us)
• 10:08 pm: Just finished writing that last bit
• 10:14 pm: Got another Guinness and the waitgirl put a shamrock on the top of the foam. She's now fussing at the man who apparently does the handiwork around the bar. I can't catch everything they're saying with the accent they've got but she's clearly not happy with the work he's been doing.
• 10:21 pm: During the yelling at the other end of the bar, Susan's said that she's catching a lot of "for fucks sake" and "fuck" in the conversation. Takes us back to the Commitments.
A trio of guys have come in to play snooker in the corner. A movie is playing on the TV. Neither of us can remember the name but it's the one with Arnold and Vanessa Williams.
• 10:28 pm: The jukebox has just come on again and is playing music to kill yourself by.
• 10:58 pm: Back at the Old Mill.

It was a dark and stormy night... The Mutant Sheep were gathering in their regular meeting place...

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