I saw the group off this morning, and asked someone to text me as soon as they got in to the US.  Hopefully they have made it made it ok!

I will post a few more pictures but I am sure you'll be seeing lots in the next few days. Thank you for entrusting your wonderful children with me, they were lovely!  Here's to the next Grand Adventure!

Sara

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Location:The End....

Made it to London!

We got to London last night after seeing Stratford and Oxford yesterday. Rainy day in London!

Everyone is shopped out, and I think they are ready to go home! More later!

Sara


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We made it to Wales!

We took the ferry from Dublin to N. Wales today. I am coming down with a cough....and spent a lot of the day sleeping on ferry and bus! I didn't get caught up like I said I would, sorry! Hopefully I can write some on the bus tomorrow. We are off to Stratford and Oxford tomorrow.

The kids are excited about our arrival in London tomorrow night!

I hope none of you are too adversely affected by the smoke that we have been reading about!

Best,

Sara




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Location:Holywell,United Kingdom

Playing cards on the ferry

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Location:On the Ulysses ferry!

Failte

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Location:Leaving Ireland

Wales!

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Location:Holywell,United Kingdom

Pooped!

Dublin!! Briefly, bus tour of Dublin; St. Patricks; Book of Kells; Phoenix Park; lunch; Archaeolgical Museum; Art Museum; Irish Stew at a pub, shopping.... = too pooped for details. We're off to Wales tomorrow on the ferry, so I'll catch up then! We had a GREAT day, and I am SOOOO proud of these kids! We are having a wonderful time and it was warm and sunny today! Life is good. Talk to you later.

Sara


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Blarney Castle

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Location:Blarney, Ireland

The view from the 'ladies view'

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Location:Ireland

Rain....and a wet Blarney Stone!

Friday

It's a very wet, drizzly day today! It's been raining ALL day so it's a good thing we are on the bus most of the day. We left the hotel at about 8:45 this morning and had a two hour drive to Blarney Castle. The kids were excited about kissing the Blarney Stone. They didn't realize they had to lie on their backs (in the open ramparts at the top of the castle-still raining!) and lean over, tip their faces back, grasp the two bars and kiss away. The Stone of Eloquence ensures that you will have the gift of gab! (i think most of them had it already! Lol!). Cameron had a fun time exploring the dungeon.

Near the castle was the Blarney Woollen Mill. We had a lovely lunch inside the old mill then had some time for shopping. The rain was cold, drizzly and miserable, and I'm so thankful we did the Ring of Kerry yesterday when it was sunny!

We just stopped at the Rock of Cashil for a break and photo op. We will be on the bus another few hours, then we will arrive in Dublin late this afternoon. I'm trying to get us tickets to the King Tutankhamen exhibit for tomorrow- it's on in Dublin and all the kids want to go see it. Tomorrow we will also see St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Book of Kells and have a tour of Dublin. Then the next day it's on to the ferry and over to Holyhead, Wales.

Margaret is our tour director and she is very efficient, funny, and has some great stories to tell.

Hopefully I'll have better luck with internet tonight and can post this and yesterdays, and post some pics!!

Later-

Sara


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Land of Legends, Myths, Faeries and SHEEP!

We had a wonderful day today! After breakfast we went on the "jaunting cars" which are horse and carriage rides. We went through the lovely Killarney National Park and saw deer, incredible mountain views and the 6th century Ross Castle, where we stopped to take pictures by the lake. Our horse was called Napoleon (Bonaparte not Dynamite!) Many of the kids said that was their best part of the day!

Then we went upon the Ring of Kerry And stopped at a Bog Museum, had lots of great photo op stops, and drove through the mountains; seeing lots of sheep, cows, celtic hillforts, and stunning water views. We loved seeing the leprauchaun crossing sign, and hearing the story of the fairy trees. The kids really enjoyed it, although it WAS cold!

We were back for a 6:30 dinner and now the kids have all gone in with the other kids in the group to an Irish music singalong.

This is really a sorry accounting of the day, but I am exhausted and the Internet is really spotty. Tomorrow we leave Killarney and head to Dublin by way of the Blarney Castle.

I hope all is well at home. We are NOT missing the hot weather! It's not cold cold but can be chilly at times!

Take care-

Sara


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Location:Killarney, Ireland

Top Of the Evening To You!

10:05pm

We made it into Shannon with little to no fuss - most of us were sleeping. We were met by the EF bus driver who brought us from Shannon to Killarney in about 2 and a half hours. Beautiful stunning vistas and huge puffy clouds, rolling green hills and beautiful scenery.....and some great stories from Newton the bus driver.

We arrived at our REALLY nice hotel at 7:15. Dinner was at 7:30. Delicious- squash soup, chicken and mashed potatoes and veggies, folowed by chocolate profiteroles. Mmmmmmmm.

After dinner we had a group leader meeting, and discovered that the Windsor Castle tour may not go, there weren't enough signed up. We are going to see some live Irish music tomorrow night. GUESS who is in Dublin for a stay???? That's right! KING TUT and all his treasures! Actually, not king tut, just his treasures.....but still, that's amaaaaazing! We are very excited! We may also get to see a show in London.

The kids are playing cards again. It's 10 pm and I am fading fast. My phone is not getting service for some reason. I'll try and work on that tomorrow!

The grand finale is..... We saw a RAINBOW over the green hills while on the bus! I told Cameron to jump out and catch the leprachauns....but for some reason he stayed put.

Ring of Kerry tomorrow- beautiful mountain scenery and water!! Now- SLEEP!

Sara

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Location:Killarney, Ireland

Here we go, here we go, here we go!

2:35am. On the plane. Somewhere over the pond.

I still haven't slept. I love Virgin Airlines but hate flying at night. Especially when there is a door right next to me, with a staircase leading down. Flight attendants were going up and down all night- and of course the door doesn't shut quietly! Off to the side somewhere was a Russian lady chattering away for a looooong, loud time. I finally asked her nicely to be quiet. It's so hard for me to sleep sitting up. I hope the kids did well. Cameron, me and Tracy ended up 20 rows in front of the group. The kids are all together. Soooo, rough night sleeping through the longest day of the year, BUT we did get a cool goody bag, with a pen, night mask, socks, and toothbrush/toothpaste. Also, when the flight attendant asked for lights to be turned off for takeoff, she said "cabin crew, lights to 'romantic'"- !!!! That was worth the price of admission! Also on the brighter side- we're landing in less than an hour. ENGLAND!!! <3

HEATHROW AIRPORT

We made it from terminal 3 to terminal 1, did the customs thing and then ate. The kids are now playing cards on the floor. They are being so sweet and including Cameron, which ofcourse he loves! we are heading over to our gate to board the flight for Shannon. I think most of us will be out very soon on that floght, we are dragging! Dr. Miller says she's still alive after being searched at Newark!

Everyone's fine......I just asked them all if anyone had any special messages and they all sort of grunted and went back to this noisy card game in the middle of Heathrow! Good sign, they aren't homesick yet! Cameron says to tell Daddy Sara N was feeding him icecream at lunch. Didn't even have to wait until Friday.....

Ok that's it for now...it might be a while before I write again. Oh.....Alexis just said to " tell my mommy I said hi!"

Talk to you later......

Sara

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Location:Cranwell Rd,,United Kingdom

Made it safely to Heathrow! More later! Kids are GREAT! ;)


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Newark!

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Location:Express Rd,Newark,United States

The Adventure Begins!

Monday June 21st 2011

We are just about packed! Cameron is in the shower, I am finishing up throwing the small things in the bags. I'll be meeting everyone at RDU tomorrow at 12:30. We fly to Newark, then will wait for the Virgin Atlantic flight at 9:20pm. The weather here in NC is in the 90's, and feels like the 100's. The weather in Ireland right now is in the 60's! What a drastic change. I am very excited about driving the ring of Kerry again and being in Killarney. I always enjoy seeing the reactions of the people I travel with.

Tuesday June 22nd

We have arrived in Newark after an uneventful ride from Raleigh. It was a bit bumpy which Cameron loved! We were spread out all over the plane, but most were near someone or sitting by someone. We got to Newark and took the train to Terminal B, grabbed something to eat in the food court, and are now sitting at Gate 55 waiting for our Virgin flight, which departs at 9:20. The girls are all playing cards on the floor, it's great seeing them all get along! Sean is jamming to music....Jayne is journaling, and Tracy is relaxing. We are READY!!! After the week long tour of Ireland, Wales and England, Cameron and I will be heading to East Anglia to see my Mum and Dad.....woo-hoo!!

I'll post some pics from my phone and then I'll post from Heathrow when we've landed!

Sara


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Location:Express Rd,Newark,United States