Howth

I know I have been falling behind on these blogs, so this one is going to be a little longer so I can catch you followers up on what I have been up to lately. The weekend before this, a group of about 15 of us went to Howth Pier; an hour train ride east of Dublin. We arrived at around 11am, and split into two groups to adventure our new surroundings. My group first went to the pier, walking down the boardwalks looking at all the fishing and sailing boats. At then end, we had a great sight of a tiny island about 1 mile off shore.

We then started our hike up the mountains, making a few scenic stops along the way. About half way up, we saw a trail that veered off the main road. It brought us to a patch of grass, and an overlook of the whole pier. It was beautiful.

Above is a picture of me and my good friend Emma

At the top of the city, was a little pub called The Summit. We stopped in for lunch and a few beers as we watched Manchester United play Liverpool in the FA cup. We left at the half, and continued to our final destination. From the top of the cliffs, this is what we saw.

It was just amazing. We could hear the waves smashing against the large rocks and the seagulls crowing above us. As we came closer to the beach, I saw a tiny mud path leading down to the beach. The path was not man made and was probably at a 45-degree angle, making it very hard to walk down without hiking boots. However, after about 15 minutes of mayhem, the boys made it down to the beach first.

Joe and Jake making their way down the slippery slope.

Me on the pebbly beach

We hung around for a while taking photos and trying to be artistic in the way we posed and took them. The sun was beginning to set, and that was our cue to start heading back to the city for some dinner.

Jake trying to stay dry on the rock.

Jake and I on a rock a few feet from the shore.

Before we left the cliff side, we took one more detour to find a good view. Through the high grass and between two large hills, I was able to take this photo of all my friends in front of me.

The picture reminded me of something out of the TV series Lost or maybe even some album cover. It was an awesome sight, and we watched the sun set off in the distance over the water.

We ate dinner at a local pub in the city and shared the photos we took that day with everyone at the table. It was a long, but great day. Everything was planned well and went according to plan.

That pretty much wiped us out until the Thursday coming, where it was Jersey night at a local club in Dublin. I wore my Celtic soccer jersey, and it just so happened that the pub/club was known for their Celtic fans. The manger saw my shirt and was amazed that an American was wearing it. He bought me a free drink and we talked soccer for a while. It was a good night.

Joe, me, and Jake showing our colors at the club. The lights really make our shirts look cool.

Our next trip planned would be to Galway, the next big city in Ireland about 200km West on near the Atlantic Ocean. My next blog will be about the Cliffs of Moher and our adventure to new city.