Photos, etc.

So I will give you a brief overview of our trip, and then tell a very funny story.

I believe I left off with Travis's birthday. Wow, what a night that was. Travis and Mark had identical Drunk Sullivan grins on their faces for the entire evening, culminating in piggy-back rides at the bar. They had a LOT of Guinness. It was a very fun time, and we got to feel very old when we met Mark's friends, who were a lot of fun but I'm sure viewed us like a couple of college wannabe's. The next day was a quiet one, and we wandered around Cork during what turned out to be the nicest weather of the whole trip. The next day we took off for Killarney.

Killarney is actually near the area where the Sullivan family name originates, so we saw lots of O'Sullivan businesses, including the place where we rented our bikes (more later on that). It's on the edge of a national park, and is the most inland portion of the Ring of Kerry, which is just a beautiful coastline drive around the peninsula. Or, rather, it's beautiful when it's not raining / foggy and WINDY. We spent a day doing that drive, and Mark kept telling us what a nice view it would be if only we could see it. There was still plenty of beauty to take in.

After three nights in Killarney, Mark went back to Cork on a bus and Trav and I went on to Shannon to catch a plane early the next morning. We spent that day taking the scenic route up the coastline, through Limerick, and then on to Shannon. We had actually seen some of this area last year so it was an anticlimactic way to end the trip. Our B&B in Shannon was really nice, especially after roughing it in a hostel in Killarney, and we got to watch some Gaelic football (wild!) and rugby the night before our flight home.

Okay, now the funny story:
There are two lakes near Killarney, and two of the most popular ways to see them are to rent a horse and carriage or take bikes. We opted for bikes and decided to try out a ~25km ride, which is down the same path the horses take (and where there are horses, there is horse shit. Fun!). I got a hybrid bike with dorky fenders and a rack to carry the water bottle, while Trav and Mark got sleek mountain bikes. The day was bright and sunny, so we were having a nice time. The trail led us past a house that apparently some rich person lived in and we could've paid 7 Euros to tour, but I thought it seemed like MTV Cribs 1850's style so we passed. The grounds were beautiful, though, so much in bloom, and the lake was still and gorgeous:















We started to get a little lost, though, because the map we had didn't line up with the maps that were marking the trail along the way, so we ended up taking a walking trail that was so hilly that I had to push my monstrous bike up the hills. Riding down was perilously fun, though. That's about when it started sprinkling, but we thought we could probably make it to a nearby cottage that was at about the halfway point of our loop. We were wrong. It poured, and the trees we stood under were only good for a few minutes before they were dripping on us too. Turns out we were very very close to the cottage after all, but the only thing there was a coffee-shop and we didn't feel like we should break out our picnic lunch that we'd brought in their restaurant. Neither could we eat in the still-dripping outside, so even though it was after 1:00 at this point we decided just to push forward, get back to town, and then eat. So as we biked, I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice to not be cold, wet and hungry on my vacation??". Here is a picture of us after the ride:















And now, remember back to the key details I mentioned about the horses, and the bikes we had. Those of you who have biked in the rain know that the tires kick up water on the road onto your backside. Now remember that it's not just water on the road, and here is the result: (remember, I had fenders ;) )















After the ride, I was feeling pretty smug because I wasn't covered in horse shit. But the joke was on me. Most likely, while I was huddling near a tree for cover during the rain, a tick crawled onto my leg and decided to nest itself in to my ankle:










Yeah. OW. I didn't see this until the next day, when I noticed something black on my ankle in the shower and it seemed sore. But I didn't have my contacts in yet so after I got dressed and put on my glasses, I took a look and totally freaked out. I cried, I worried about my baby, and I cried some more while Travis dug it out of my foot. Then it was really really sore for the next two days, but fortunately they were spent mostly in the car anyway. And apparently it's incredibly rare for Irish ticks to have Lyme disease, so I'm not so worried (neither is my doctor). It seems to be healing up fine. How's that for a funny story??

This entry is getting quite long, but I will devote a few more lines to another pregnancy-related emotion: identity crisis! As I'm walking up hills and trying to keep up with two boys on bikes, and worrying about that the tick might hurt my baby, or ordering flat 7-Up instead of Guinness, I'm thinking that every single thing I do now is affected by my pregnancy. For some reason, several times on this trip I got really upset - on the plane, after the tick, in the rain - and just couldn't stop the tears. I knew that this baby would (will) change my life, but I didn't expect that it would already affect who my person is. It's hard, because after 25 years of building up self-confidence in myself, suddenly I have limits and exceptions that I have to follow, and painful burdens to bear (These sideaches just do NOT QUIT!). And yet, Travis is the same, only perhaps more watchful of me. He's really very understanding that I am more fragile than ever, physically and emotionally, so I'm very, very lucky to have that support. But I never pictured myself becoming this fragile, or needing so much help. It's not the requiring support that bothers me, it's that I didn't expect to, if that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, if you're still reading to this point of the blog, you are one crazily devoted friend and I love you that much more!!