Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 was by far the best birthday I’ve ever had and possibly one of the best days of my life! I still can’t get over the fact that I was just in Ireland for my 26th birthday, that’s a pretty sweet gift right there. The place, the people, the presence of God made the entire day awesome.
For the past couple of months in Ireland the weather has been quite depressing. It’s been cold and rainy every single day. It wasn’t unusual to hear locals grumbling about it often. Waking up to sunshine on the 5th was a gift in and of itself. I woke up in my tent which had been decorated with blue balloons and beautiful paper flowers. At the campsite, you paid 1 euro for a 5 minute hot shower. I hadn’t showered since Boston and it was sweet of Kel to give me a euro to take a really good shower for a few minutes before going back out into the cold. When I got back to my tent, Kel handed me a birthday card from my team and a Ziploc baggie with money. My squad mates pooled together to pay for my bus tour! My teammates bought me a keychain of a leprechaun that says “kiss me I’m Irish”.
The bus tour of the The Cliffs of Moher and the Burren was fabulous!! Our driver, Desmond Murray, was the cutest and funniest old man I’ve ever met. He had a thick Irish accent and a great sense of humor and adventure. He’s probably in his late 60s (definitely retirement age), and he’s been driving bus tours 6 days a week for the past 13 years. I thought that I loved driving…but you have to have a passion for the road and the country like Desmond does to do that job. We stopped at various castles and scenic outlooks and got pictures of the amazingly green scenery. The Burren is a limestone landscape. The brochure for the tour says it is 320 square kilometers. We stopped and took pictures at historic landmarks like the Poulnabrone Dolmen tomb. It’s supposedly older than the Pyramids and was constructed by farmers. We went to a monastery built in the 6th century and walked through the cemetery. The Kilfenora Cathedral is called “The City of Crosses” because there are so many Celtic crosses there. I loved looking for the oldest date on the tombstones, but of course the oldest were the most difficult ones to read.
We drove by some amazing coast line. We left Galway (where we were camping in) and went all the way around Galway Bay and past the Aran Islands to the Cliffs of Moher. If you’ve seen the last Harry Potter movie (HP & the Half-Blood Prince), the cliffs are in the movie! It’s when Dumbledore takes Harry to look for the horcrux and they’re standing on a tiny, tiny island. Then they turn towards some cliffs…were were there!! (Not in the movie, but at the cliffs…obviously, hehe.) We hiked a steep pathway and took pictures from so many different points. I LOVED watching the clear green blue water hit the cliffs and make a white foamy mess. It was just so peaceful. There were a lot of people there because it’s a major tourist attraction. But I put in my iPod headphones and listened to some worship music. I rested my head on the barriers and sang in my head and watched the waves. It was like my private birthday party with God right in the middle of a crowd and the expanse of Galway Bay. We got to stay there for 1 ½ hours before having to load back on the bus. Before I hopped on the bus, I bent down to pick up some clovers. I figured I’d grab two and hope one was just pretty enough to stick in my journal. I got a FOUR leaf clover! How’s that for a nice birthday present…good luck eh?
We got the bus and Desmond to ourselves at the end of the tour. Megan had made arrangements with him the day before to have us dropped off and meet her in downtown Galway. We met her at the stop and gave lots of hugs and took pictures with Desi before he had to take off. I think he was on the verge of tears when we said goodbye. We just all had a great time together and it was a beautiful connection our group had with him. Meg arranged for the squad to meet at Monroe’s Pub for a drink and some food. I got to wear a huge “happy birthday badge” that Hannah and Leigh got for me. They sang the birthday song loudly for the whole bar to hear, good times. I ended up scarfing down my fish and chips because the Kellys discovered the last HP movie showing at the theater nearby was starting soon. Ashley, the Kellys and I hopped in a cab and left in a big hurry, but we made it with plenty of time to spare. It’s pretty sweet to say that the night I watched HP6 and saw the Cliffs of Moher on the big screen…I also saw in person that same day!! Unreal.
The whole day was just one good thing after another. I had so many laughs, was surrounded by good friends and family, was overwhelmed by the natural beauty of God’s creation and felt absolutely loved and appreciated for just being. I am blessed.
