Thanksgiving Visit with Mike!

I was lucky enough to have Mike come and spend his Thanksgiving leave with me in Ireland! We had a blast exploring Galway, but the best part of the trip was driving up to Northern Ireland to see the "Causeway Coast" in County Antrim.  We stayed in Portrush, which looks like it is a bustling surf town in the summertime.  Even the drive was amazing and we got to drive through plenty of counties including Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Derry, and Antrim.  Even when it rained it didn't last long and Mike did a great job staying on the left side of the road!  Here are just some of the pictures from our visits to Dunluce Castle, Giant's Causeway, and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (which was closed due to dangerous weather conditions, but we still got to have a look at the coast).  It was also so windy out that we could barely catch our breath and I nearly got knocked over a few times by some gusts that caught me off guard.  Giant's Causeway is a natural rock formation of columnar basalt that formed about 50-60 million years ago after a volcanic eruption.  Most of the columns are hexagonal but some vary.  The legend says that the Irish giant Finn MacCool was challenged to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner and so he build the causeway to meet the giant for a fight.  Versions of the tale differ but Benandonner ends up breaking the bridge so that Finn cannot come back over again. 

Dunluce Castle

Dunluce Castle

The white dots on the grass are actually pieces of sea foam blown up from the shore below.  We thought they were big snowflakes until Mike caught one in the eye and felt the salt.

The shore near Giant's Causeway

Dipping his hands in the North Atlantic

Giant's  Causeway

Looking out at the coast where the rope bridge parking lot was

Driving in the little tin can