Portrush
I think it is easier to believe a legend about giants then to understand how the causeway was actually created.
Ireland.
Say goodbye to brightly colored buildings, pub singing and great food. Sorry Portrush....you have the exterior beauty in your amazing attractions but are lacking on the lively feeling of the south coast.
The two nights in Portrush were quiet relaxing evenings. It was a good time to catch up on facebook. Our day though was packed with top attractions around Bushmills, which is the town where mom's family came from.
It was crazy visiting all these spectacular sights and then realizing that our family grew up with this in their backyard. Mom's family obviously came to Bushmills from Scotland (Gordon/Graham), but we will let her keep saying they are Irish.
The funniest moment in Bushmills was when someone asked why all the flags were at half-mast. And to be honest I thought it as well. Stephen shook his head at us like we were all stupid and said "cause the ladder only goes that high". Then someone wanted to know why the nationalist and unionist flags were the same height..."cause they buy their ladders at the same hardware store". Stephen said all the tours ask the same question...priceless.
Hands down THE attraction of Northern Ireland. We were so blessed with our weather all over Ireland, but to have clear skies and no wind on the causeway was perfect. I guess it is usually very windy, the audio guide at one point was yelling and telling us how windy it is...but in reality there was none.
The walk down to the causeway was also enjoyable...but for others it was too much exercise. Mike and Glenda actually tried to catch a ride with the little green bus on the way down. The young man kicked them off, said the walk was all downhill and basically called them lazy. Ha ha.
The Giants Causeway
Irish Whiskey tour?..its still morning! The tour was great though. There is a lot of history at Bushmills, which started in 1608. We learned everything from the production to the bottling. But the most useful thing learned was how the whiskey changes with only a drop of water in the glass.
Old Bushmill's Distillery
None of the O'Grady's actually walked to the rope bridge. I for one was not up to the 30 degree weather walk to be scared of heights, so I passed. But for those who made the walk, they said it was a hard walk but worth it.
Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge
Beautiful ruins right along the coast, literally, its perched on a rock off the cliff line and connected to mainline by a wooden bridge. In 1639 the yard and part of the house fell into the sea and later then being abandoned. Its worth a visit. And again, to have seen it with blue skies and no wind...unbelievable.
Dunluce Castle
The rest of the afternoon and evening was free time. Some tour members went golfing at Portrush, if you are a golfer you would know the significance of that. The rest just went back to town. Mom and I spent some time at an antique store and relaxed before supper at 55 North.
Next stop
