Happy Birthday - Irish Rain!

This week marks our little website's 6th birthday! I can't believe that I have been updating this several times a week over the last 6 years. In fact, this is my 980th post here. I have to say that this website has really been a lot of fun over the years... and it has often given me the chance to sit back and reflect on the world around me, and to see the amazing things that are going on all around me. I want to thank all of you who drop in on the website from time to time. Your comments and feedback really keep me motivated and encouraged!


In 2009 we averaged 97 hits a day from all over the world. Here is a map showing where all you guys are coming from:




Here is a graph showing the total number of visits over the year:




Our most frequent visitor (you know who you are!) came 1346 times. This was closely followed by someone who came 1240 times!

Wow... I am feeling the love! Stay tuned... we will keep updating!




.

More from Achill Island...

Our time on Achill island with my parents was great. We had a month's worth of adventure in a single day. It really seemed like every turn of the road brought us a new and beautiful sight, a mountain to be climbed, or some historic sight that we needed to explore.


Here is just one of the little hidden beaches we went to.

















.

a couple of more crosses

Here are just a couple of quick shots of other crosses in the Monasterboice monastic site.

There was on massive high cross... this lives little wonder as to why they are called 'high'.







This photo shows two of the high crosses (the one pictured above) and the round tower that still stand over the ruins of the monastery. The round tower (now in ruins) was once a refuge and hideout for the monks during viking raids. It was built about the same time as the high crosses (12th century).




.

More from our outing...

I have to say that the end of the day was my favorite part. We ended up finding a quiet little beach that was tucked away in the shadow of the cliffs. The waves were gigantic, but the wind was still, and there was hardly a whisper of sound. We climbed along the rocky shore and sat and watched the waves crash for a long time.







B watching the waves...




.

A visit from friends

We have some of our best friends here visiting this week! R & B are so much fun to hang out with, and we are having a blast getting to show them some of our favorite spots!

Here are just a couple of pics from today...

This is the most photographed dolmen in Ireland. This prehistoric site has been called many things over the years - druid's table, a stone table, portal tomb, etc... It consists of several large standing stones with a large capstone resting on the tops.










.