Ireland

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to go to Ireland.  It has long been a place of imagined magical beauty and wonder. I'm not sure if I expected leprechauns to be hopping around the cities or lucky clovers to be blowing around in the wind, but I had really high expectations. So, as sometimes can happen when we set our expectations too high, I was a little disapoodisap in Ireland.  To be fair, we went in October and it was starting to get cold. There also been in a drought, so perhaps some of the areas weren't as green as they willw have been in other years. Don't get me would, Ireland has some beautiful sights and gorgeous landscapes, we just had to look harder than I expected to find them. Many of the towns we drive through lacked the charm that the English towns have. In general, there was more litter, graffiti and places in need of maintenance than I expected to see. That being said, we went to several destinations that were very pretty and helped Ireland earn more points in our book! 

Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland

Ross Castle, Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park and The Ring of Kerry are very famous destinations and scenic areas.  We spent a couple days in this area. We really enjoyed seeing the waterfalls and Autumn colors on the trees. We toured the Ross Castle and learned some very interesting things about how the people lined in that time period.  If you get the chance, be sure to ask the kids about how the people would "sanitize" their clothing in the days of the stone tower castle living. Very interesting and eye opening about the realities of life at that time. 

The last place we went in Ireland was definitely a good one.  After several cold rainy days, we spent a beautiful sunny day at the Cliffs of Moher. It was verrry windy, like brace yourself and don't get blown off the cliffs, windy. But it was beautiful and it felt so nice. The Cliffs were everything I imagined. Very majestic and beautiful! 

Burned out.

So, it turns out it's harder than I planned to keep up with traveling, planning, exploring, documenting and being a homeschooling Mom on the go. I didn't last long with keeping track of our wandering.  We visited about 12 countries, and 16 US states, but I stopped blogging about the travels only 2 countries in and even those weren't very thorough.  I'm hoping to gradually add to the page with some more details of my favorite adventures but for now, here's an update about what we're doing these days....

https://theestradafam.blogspot.com/

We almost didn't go to Scotland.

Originally, the only reason we went there was too ride this one particular special train.  The best airline tickets were in and out of Edinburgh, so that's why we ended up there.  I'm so glad we did!

 We loved Edinburgh so much that we ended up changing our plans and going back to spend several more days there.

We loved Scotland. We spent time in the highlands, the coastal areas and our favorite city, Edinburgh. Scotland has so much to offer and we would love to go back and explore it and spend more time there someday.

The beach in Ireland is ccccold.

We love the ocean. We love the beach . It's beautiful and majestic and in Ireland.... cold.

And windy. But beautiful!

Seagrass is so soothing, no matter when or where, it is just beautiful. I love it.

Thank you Ireland for sharing your beauty with us. We didn't see you at the best time but we'll have to visit again someday when the weather is warmer.  🍀🍁

Trying to make our days count in Ireland, hope you are too, wherever you are. 

🌍🌎🌏

Until next time. . . . enjoy the journey! 

Angela

Lucky surprise

While there are many great things to see and experience through travel, I also want the kids to enjoy some regular childhood activities, such as playing at parks and playing with toys. They also sometimes miss interacting with other kids and doing group classes/ activities. I have been meaning to look for classes or activities that they can participate in at some of our destinations, but haven't quite gotten that organized yet.  I was so excited to stumble into a kids drawing class unexpectedly this week!

We only stopped in this little town to use the bathroom and the nearest bathroom (toilet as they're called in Ireland) happened to be in a little community center.  In the same hallway near the bathroom, there were kids going in to an art class - that was just beginning. I asked the teacher if he'd allow the kids to join and he said it was no problem. Yay! 

Cam and Hailey were both hesitant at first because they weren't familiar with the place and didn't know any of the kids. They joined in though and participated for the whole class.  They did 2 sketches and colored them with oil pastels. They didn't make a bunch of new friends but they were friendly with the other kids and it was great for them to see that no matter where we are in the world, kids are still kids. They still like to draw, they still do similar activities and we have lots in common. 

Hailey was a little nervous and frustrated at one point, so as is usually the case, Brooke was there to support and encourage her. They finished the second sketch together. Sisters are the best. Especially this one.

Cameron wasn't thrilled with his end results but I love them and think this is one of the best souvenirs ever.


I'm so glad the timing worked out like it did and we had this little unexpected stop.
We must have had a little Irish luck come our way.  ♥️🍀

Some days are easier than others, but we are still trying to make our days count....hope you are too.

Until next time, enjoy the journey!
Angela

Keeping it real...

This is a post about keeping it real. Traveling and seeing new things is awesome!  It's also exhausting at times. We are in our 4th accomodation this week and there's always some kind of surprise about each place.  We've had issues with power, we've had "farm smells" we've had crime and attempted robbery and now, water issues.  Each place requires a little adjusting to.

We've had some weather delays. We've had some unexpected closures of sights we wanted to see. 

We've had traffic jams. We've had sick days and a few melt downs. In short, life is still life, wherever we may be.  I've learned that things aren't always what we expect, but they can still be enjoyable. Sometimes we have to just roll with things even if they aren't ideal. Sometimes it's amazing and sometimes there are bumps in the road. It's all part of the journey!

I've also learned that even though we packed up so much stuff at home and have multiple storage units full of stuff... We still brought too much!! I'm seriously considering packing a box and shipping it back to the states, just because I don't want to lug it all around and pack it up every time we change locations. That part gets old fast! 

There have been a few overwhelming moments when I've second guessed this idea of traveling full time, but the experiences and memories we are collecting far outweigh those. 

We're learning that down days to catch up on school work, laundry, play time and sleep are very important to keep things balanced. 

Dublin, Ireland

We're constantly learning as we go and trying to 

Make Every Day Count. 

I hope you are too, wherever you are. 

Until next time.... Enjoy the journey. 

Angela