April 1, 2009: Memories and Munchies......

Addendum to March 31, 2009:

Forgot to mention, yesterday we also went to Bonamargy Friary, a stone's throw from the sea front in Ballycastle. Bonamargy Friary was built in the 1500's and is nothing more now that a few walls and several graves. The graveyard appeared to by still in use, there were several headstones with what looked like merchant seaman emblems on them, thry all seemed to be relatively new. The Friary now sits pretty much in the middle of Ballycastle golf course, which adds a whole new dimension to the game, obstacles, etc. I wonder if they have a specific rule section for listed ruins....

While we explored the ruins, there were several golfers playing the nearby holes. Tourists and golfers coexisted in happy harmony until three hitchhiker-backpacking-euro-hippies appeared, walking down the fairway towards the tee, map in hand and completely oblivious to the barrage of incoming golf balls heading their way by hostile golfers. One of the euro hippies (we'll call him "Deiter" because he looked like a Deiter) made the mistake of asking one of the angry golfers where the friary was. I watched as the golfer very patiently explained that Dieter and co were in fact on a golf course, and that the friary was extremely easy to find, if someone would take the time to, say, turn his heard to the right and walk 12 feet in that direction, stopping when he hits the big stone wall that surrounds the friary. I can see why Dieter missed it, those pesky medieval ruins can be SO easy to misplace....

Sorry about that. On we go now to....

April 1, 2009: Memories and munchies....

Was awakened at holy-crap-it's-early-o'clock by daughter number one, who wanted to take more photographs of more stuff, only this time at holy-crap-it's-early-thirty, something about the light being better. Conor wanted to do it too, so I pulled some jeans on and off we set. It's just as easy for me to sleep in a van like a homeless person as it is to sleep in a bed....

One snooze and two happy photographers later, back home to start the day.

Todays destination: Coleraine and Portrush.

Coleraine is probably the nearest city to Ballycastle with all the big city conveniences. The convenience we were looking for however was a cobbler.

Our oldest, Lauren, had a pair of boots that needed mending. Cobblers it seems are a dying breed all over, but we found one in Coleraine, and in ten minutes, Lauren's boots were made for walking once more. We stopped in a cafe for sausage rolls and tea (a.k.a. the breakfast of champions). Nom nom nom nom......

Back to the Craig-bus again, stopping off first to ogle over all the really nice chocolate easter eggs on the shop shelves. In the U.S., really nice chocolate is sold by Godiva, and requires a bank loan to purchase. In the UK, really nice chocolate jumps off of the shelves in the form of Flakes, Smarties, Minstrels, Yorkies, etc, and costs nothing more than pocket change. Mmmmm, yorkies.......

It's a cold day, one that blows through you and stings your cheeks, one that makes your nose and eyes water. We're all bundled up against the cold, and here comes a class outing from one of the local high schools. Not a coat to be seen, and the girls walking around in skirts on the north end of mid-thigh. My kids all commented on how they want to wear school uniforms, becuase it means they don't have to think about what they have to wear to school each day. All I know is that I had to wear school uniform at my High School (Regent House, Newtownards) and we learned ways of self expressing with the confines of a uniform. we doctored our ties, we wore these goofy bright orange cornish pasty shaped shoes, some of the cool kids wore "brothel creepers", big thick rubber soled suede shoes, fred perry sweaters, etc etc. We had to find ways to stand out, while still coloring in the lines of the school sanctioned uniform.

In my day (listen to me, the old man now!) but in my day, school uniforms were somber affairs, typically blacks or dark blues, with maroons or hunter greens, all depending on the school. The uniforms we saw today was purple. Not like a deep shade of something like a royal purple, but a "Harold and the Purple Crayon" purple. A "kool-ade" purple. My kids loved it.

After leaving Coleraine, it was on to the seaside resort town of Portrush.

Portrush has been the annual mecca of holiday-goers ever since the proverbial Hector was a proverbial pup. Many of the sights of Portrush are iconic, none more so than Barry's amusement arcade.

Barry's was shut, it wasn't due to open until Easter.

We walked along the strand (we have done a lot of walking, and will do a lot more no doubt before the trip is through) and made our way to the Harbour Bar, in search of some fish and chips. We found a restuarant on the harbour with a nice view of Portrush strand (a strand is a long stretch of beach). The restaurant sat on the Harbour (thereby making it appropriately named) with the Portrush lifeboat in full view.

Mike Rowe should do a stint for his "Dirty Jobs" show with the Lifeboat men (all volunteers, by the way) that man the lifeboats in Portrush, Donaghadee, and numerous other seaside towns. Those guys are bravery through and through, often having to put to sea during raging storms (20 ft plus waves) to rescue some unfortunate. I have never heard tell of the lifeboats refusing to go out due to inclement weather. Their boats are state of the art, self righting affairs, and by golly they need every bit of them when the seas get up. I like seeing the lifeboats.

It was odd, the restaurant sold fish and chips, but the fish was monkfish, and not cod or haddock. Cod and haddock are both very tasty fish, as is monkfish, I just found it odd to put in on the menu.

A monkfish looks like a cowpat with fins, gills and a tail. Most of the fish is inedible, except for the tail, which is often used as a replacement for scampi (battered prawns). I like it when it's prepped and looks like something to eat, but often wonder who looked at a monkfish fresh from the sea, all lumpy and gnarly and thought to themselves "MMMmmmmmmmmm, Monkfish......" Probably the first guy who looked at an oyster and thought "Now THAT looks tasty, nom nom nom nom....."

A very pleasant drive back along th coastal route, past Dunluce Castle (the remains of a 16th century castle set on the cliffs, part of it slipped in the sea in the late 1600's) and back home for the evening. Tonight was homework night for the kids, with Lauren prepping for a college interview tomorrow with the University of Ulster in Belfast tomorrow afternoon.