Ireland - Cliffs of Moher

Ireland Day 3 - Aran Islands

We took a bus from Galway to Ros a' Mhil and a ferry to Inis Mor and spent the day exploring the island. According to the bus driver who lead our tour, there are about 850 people living on the island, and the main industries are farming, fishing, and tourism.

More From Galway

Ireland -- Day 1 and 2

First day in Ireland was wet. It rained -- hard -- in Dublin most of the day. We had a mediocre lunch in the hotel, took two hour naps (much needed after sleeping badly on the plane), and then caught the bus to the City Centre. Had another, slightly less mediocre meal and then headed back to the hotel for a nightcap before bed. An uneventful day overall but probably just what the doctor ordered. I didn't take any pictures, as there was just too much rain.

The second day was much better weather-wise. Drove to Galway with the intention of going to Connemara National Park. After HOURS in the car without reaching the park, we gave up, drove back to Galway, checked into our hotel and walked around town. I love this city! Took about 200 plus photos here. And we had our first decent meal, so a good day all around.

Ireland

Off to Ireland tomorrow. I hope to post some pictures from the road.

Random Pictures

Agate Beach, Oregon and Klamath National Forest, California

Downtown Oakland, Ca

Oakland gets such a bad rap, but this is the view of downtown Oakland from my apartment building. I love it here.

Rewind: More Photos from the Roadtrip

Dog and Butterfly

Dog notices butterfly . . .



Dog says "hello" to butterfly.

The butterfly, one of the biggest I've seen, survived the encounter undamaged. It just flew over to another part of the lawn before flying out of the yard.

Random

The view from the living room in my Oakland apartment.

More Pictures from Cape Meares

More Random Photos

Cape Meares Lighthouse, near Tillamook, OR


Near Cape Meares Lighthouse


Cemetery outside McMinville, OR

Stanley, ID

This place had the best huckleberry milkshakes. The dog is asleep, not dead. And he did not move once while I was taking his picture.

Challis Lanes, Challis ID

Historic St. Mary's Mission -- Stevensville, MT

Random Pictures from the Trip

All of these were taken somewhere in Oregon

Ice Cave Ranch

And some apparently abandoned property has its own story. I ran across this fascinating development on I-93 in Idaho. This is Dugout Dick's Ice Cave Ranch (not to be confused with the Shoshone Ice Caves). For a while, Dugout Dick, who built these homes into the side of a mountain, rented them out for $5 a night. Reportedly, Dugout Dick, who is 92 years old, has been institutionalized, and the hillside homes are no longer for rent. Many in the community apparently consider these to be an eyesore, and I can't say I blame them, but it really is something to see.

Abandoned Property

One thing you see a lot of if you take a road trip through California, Oregon and Idaho (and probably other places as well) is apparently abandoned property. There are deserted and broken down houses everywhere. It's so curious to me -- who up and leaves their property to rot? Living in an area and a socioeconomic category where owning a house is so deeply valued (even when it makes no sense), it's amazing to see a house abandoned, falling down from years of neglect. There must be some deep psychological meaning behind my attraction to abandoned property, but it really fascinates me.