Fitzsimmons/Brown Family Blog

I've lost track of days now. We haven't had access to WiFi for a few days and it makes it difficult to remember what to write when I do. Now that I think about it though I could have done it in a word program and copied and pasted it. Something to remember for next time.

We spent a couple days visiting with relatives Marilyn and Mike Spillane. Marilyn is my mom's cousin. Marilyn and Mike were so welcoming and accommodating for folks they had never met before. I thank them ever so much for giving us a pillow to lay our heads on and a place to eat.

We learned that two of the new Star Wars films were filmed just a few short hours away from where they live. Jacob and I took a drive around the peninsula through Connor Pass and then along the coast line. We stopped at the ferry area to the Blasket Islands. Marilyn sent us here and it was very beautiful. Ironically the landscape and the islands looked a lot like the ones in the movie the shallows......now I know it was not done at this location however it was kind of spooky!

So Jacob and I spent 3 nights in a row in the car. We were lucky enough to find areas to park for the night. The car was like a little cocoon. Really quite comfy I think although Jacob might say otherwise.

It was definitely great to get back to our own schedule. No more major cramping in my calves. Jacob doesn't have that "mom you are going to be left behind" look on his face anymore so he can stop stressing. Yay! We have both learned that we prefer to do things our way, when we want. That is not to say that we hated the London part of the trip. We made some new friends, the Moonies, and visited some pretty cool places. And there is a lot to be said for having specific guides for the areas you go to because you really do get far more information from them than you ever would just going on your own. But.....large group.....not really our thing......or perhaps it was just this group, who knows......perhaps a better leader would have made a huge difference.

Our vacation is coming to an end and I am happy and sad. I think next time it would be really nice to go to one or two places and spend 4 or 5 days there. Both Jacob and I really enjoyed our couple days in Edinburgh and it was very comforting going back to the Abbey a few times rather than somewhere new every day. Our world also centred around trying to get wifi so that we could keep in touch with those at home as well as planning out our next few days of our journey. Having said that it will be nice to be back in our own beds not living out of a suitcase but along with that comes work. Oh well, got to make the best of it and be thankful for the time we had.