Rain. Driving on the other side of the road. Steering wheel on the other side of the car. Lost. Large vehicle on small roads. Stick shift. 7 backseat drivers.
Good luck Dad. Not a chance with this tough crowd!
It all began like this:
Bronte and I woke up slow, showered, had breakfast, and helped mom clean up the place a little. We were waiting, waiting on the boys (Joe, Trevor, and Michael) to get back from the rental car place near Dublin Airport. Bronte and I had given them directions on how to take the local bus (it was half the cost of the tourist bus) to the airport (Bus 41 or 16A works). We explained where the small yellow sign was to grab the bus to the airport, and they were on their way this morning. We got a ‘bus selfie’ or belfie sent from Trevor, since there was free Wi-Fi on the Dublin busses, but that was the last we heard of them. They were in charge of bringing back with two large sized vehicles since 8 people plus bags were not going to fit in one.
Waiting. Cleaning. Still no messages!
They eventually showed up, with one huge, 9-person van with plenty of room! In Ireland you can rent a car when you are 21, but you have to have had a license for at least 11 years if you are driving a larger vehicle, which we were, so Trevor wasn’t allowed to drive the second car, so we upgraded to one large one that dad drove out of there and back to the apartment.
This is where it all begins.
We packed the car, blissfully ignorant as to what was next.
WIDE RIGHT! DAD, There’s a raining….. RAILING! All 7 backseat drivers screamed. Poor dad!
The multitude of one-ways snaked us through Dublin on the way out, and after the Garmin(which Dad upgraded to thank goodness or we would still be in Dublin, lost) got programmed, we were on the way to Waterford. Trevor and Bronte were in the front and almost had a heart attack. Mom, Leah, and I were in the middle seat, and Joe and Tanner were in the back, eyes shut with headphones in due to the stress of how close each car was passing by.
Headphones in and eyes shut was probably the best option to get through the drive. It was about 2 hours to Waterford on the scenic route, but we made it, somewhat safe and sound I guess! Dad dropped us at the Waterford Crystal Factory and Retail Store. He drove around the corner to park.
This was definitely one of those stores mom would had told us to not touch a thing when we were little, or better yet, leave us outside haha. There was another 20 minutes until the tour of the factory started so we wandered around, ooing and aweing at the wonders of the Waterford Crystal retail store. Of course we needed a snack, and live down to the wire, so 5 minutes before the tour started, we just had to get bagels with butter that we all crammed down.
We did our tour with a senior citizen group, but thankfully got split up from them and moved through it a little more quickly. The let us into the actual factory where they were blowing the glass, then spun them into the molds. Once molded, they cool and the tops are cut (we saw a big bowl in production.) Then it is cooled, washed, and inspected. Imperfect ones are broken and melted back down. Then it goes through a marking process with a sharpie like marker. A grid is hand marked onto each piece. Then the artisans hand cut each and every piece (no one piece in the world is ever exactly the same) They all know aver 100 designs by heart, and based on the grid that is marked on the glass, they know what design to do. So crazy! They only use machine cutting when the lines are very curved and need precise curves to match up with one another, which would be too hard with a flat diamond tipped spinning wheel.
Each tiny line is hand cut! We also got to see the statue and figure carving room where the artisans start with a block of crystal and by hand create the masterpiece asked of them. We got to hold one of the 2015 People’s Choice award that will eventually make it to one of the celebrities, and a few other important crystal pieces!
Waterford Crystal is distinct to the higher than usual lead content in the glass (the only differentiating component of glass and crystal, crystal has a much higher lead content.)
It was very eye opening to the amount of work that gets put into every piece since they are not factory produced!
We grabbed a few pictures and dad picked us up in the van. We then went to Geoff’s, a place recommended to us for lunch! It was a pub with amazing food! Dad and I had lam hamburgers, Trevor, Joe, and Tanner had Chicken Chorizo pie, Gradma Leah had fish and chips, Bronte had creamy chorizo pasta, and Mom had a Panini! They were all good! When it was time to leave, dad offered to go get the car for us again. The boys felt like he was taking a while and left to go see if he was alright. They saw a long line of cars… praying it wasn’t because of dad….
It was dad. He was stuck wedged between cars, the wrong way on a one-way street. Tanner came back to let us know it was going to be a while and to not head outside yet. He had to back all the way out, with 6 inches on each side of him…. So rough!
Eventually the line of cars cleared and Dad showed up. I asked the bartender where the nearest ATM was, and a few of us got money, and we were safely on the way again.
Maybe not exactly safely though….The ride from Waterford to Cork was just as nerve-wracking, but we made it out with only 2 curbs hit and a scratch on the tire. Kudos to dad though having everything he knows about driving switched around on him.
The Garmin GPS got us to a grocery store, after it led us to a gas station that said it was a grocery store, but we eventually go to one! We stocked up since we didn’t know if there was a big grocery store in Schull, an area of West Cork along the water in the South of Ireland. Apparently a large cart full is only going to make it about a day with all 8 of us though!
After the grocery store (it was late and pitch black) we headed the rest of the way to Schull where the stone house is. There were signs for Limerick on the way to Schull. It prompted Joe to chime in from the backseat with a couple custom-made limericks of his own:
JOE:
There once were 8 people in a car
Today they had to drive real far
It started to rain
They all were in pain
At least they weren’t stuck in traffic like tar
&
Its not to difficult to make up a rhyme
All you need is a little bit of time
Im sitting in the back
So I gave it a whack
And it ended up being prime
MICHAEL’s response:
There once was a beer named Guinness
Joe drank it like nobody’s business
But when he filled up
He grabbed him a cup
And said – I think I’ll penis
(Now say penis pronounced in ebonics as “pee in is”)
The road got smaller, and smaller, and smaller until we were driving past the road with tires in the bushes and grass on both sides… in the dark, and we had no idea where we were going!
After a few hesitations… we made it! The house is two stories with two bedrooms upstairs, one bedroom downstairs, a HUGE kitchen and living room, and a very large fenced-in yard.
We unloaded, put Gram to bed, and settled in. We were going to then send some of us to another house we rented since there weren’t that many beds, but we didn’t want to venture out again in the dark in that huge van, so we canceled the other house and decided to just snuggle in to this one.
Then, the Jameson Ginger Ales. Bailey’s, Vodka, Wine, and all alcohols possible that we had were cracked out. It was too stressful of driving to not have a drink! Out new favorite is the Jameson with Ginger Ale and a splash of lime!
Trevor started the wood fire for us. Joe, Mom and I were on the couch and saw two people walking outside. We were so creeped out! Joe went out to check the situation for us, and found it was Bronte and Trevor down at the gate closing in since there are free range horses around that can come up to the house if we do not close the gate! (which I would love but the landlord said it is too hard for her to shoo them out later)
We drank the Jameson and all found our way to bed!
-Payton (on behalf of Bronte, Tanner, Joe, Trevor, Michael, Jenay, Leah)
Michael’s driving report:
Ok so we had a large tour like group. So, I sweet talked the local Enterprise Car Rental Manager into the Ford Transporter option that seats 9. I was euphoric! Then I saw that a) it was a stick, b) that I would be driving on the wrong side of the road and c) I had to shift with my left hand. THAT was all ok until I turned onto the road. I thought the one way street was a little narrow, but doable, when I noticed that a car was coming towards me going the wrong way. THT is when I was told that the road was two way. HOW was I going to drive this super wide, super comfortable Ford Transport on these narrow roads. I would soon find out…
Watch out! I heard as I careened between the rock wall/hedge/pole/other miscellaneous obstacle on the left and the oncoming traffic on the right. 400 kilometers later the passengers poured out of the car smelling of whatever they sweated (or worse) during the trip. We had arrived at the Stone House. (note, I left out the parts about being stuck going the wrong way on a one way street and having to back uphill out of a dead end street with cars parked on both sides and only a 1/2 lane road to navigate).
Good luck Dad. Not a chance with this tough crowd!
It all began like this:
Bronte and I woke up slow, showered, had breakfast, and helped mom clean up the place a little. We were waiting, waiting on the boys (Joe, Trevor, and Michael) to get back from the rental car place near Dublin Airport. Bronte and I had given them directions on how to take the local bus (it was half the cost of the tourist bus) to the airport (Bus 41 or 16A works). We explained where the small yellow sign was to grab the bus to the airport, and they were on their way this morning. We got a ‘bus selfie’ or belfie sent from Trevor, since there was free Wi-Fi on the Dublin busses, but that was the last we heard of them. They were in charge of bringing back with two large sized vehicles since 8 people plus bags were not going to fit in one.
Waiting. Cleaning. Still no messages!
They eventually showed up, with one huge, 9-person van with plenty of room! In Ireland you can rent a car when you are 21, but you have to have had a license for at least 11 years if you are driving a larger vehicle, which we were, so Trevor wasn’t allowed to drive the second car, so we upgraded to one large one that dad drove out of there and back to the apartment.
This is where it all begins.
We packed the car, blissfully ignorant as to what was next.
WIDE RIGHT! DAD, There’s a raining….. RAILING! All 7 backseat drivers screamed. Poor dad!
The multitude of one-ways snaked us through Dublin on the way out, and after the Garmin(which Dad upgraded to thank goodness or we would still be in Dublin, lost) got programmed, we were on the way to Waterford. Trevor and Bronte were in the front and almost had a heart attack. Mom, Leah, and I were in the middle seat, and Joe and Tanner were in the back, eyes shut with headphones in due to the stress of how close each car was passing by.
Headphones in and eyes shut was probably the best option to get through the drive. It was about 2 hours to Waterford on the scenic route, but we made it, somewhat safe and sound I guess! Dad dropped us at the Waterford Crystal Factory and Retail Store. He drove around the corner to park.
This was definitely one of those stores mom would had told us to not touch a thing when we were little, or better yet, leave us outside haha. There was another 20 minutes until the tour of the factory started so we wandered around, ooing and aweing at the wonders of the Waterford Crystal retail store. Of course we needed a snack, and live down to the wire, so 5 minutes before the tour started, we just had to get bagels with butter that we all crammed down.
We did our tour with a senior citizen group, but thankfully got split up from them and moved through it a little more quickly. The let us into the actual factory where they were blowing the glass, then spun them into the molds. Once molded, they cool and the tops are cut (we saw a big bowl in production.) Then it is cooled, washed, and inspected. Imperfect ones are broken and melted back down. Then it goes through a marking process with a sharpie like marker. A grid is hand marked onto each piece. Then the artisans hand cut each and every piece (no one piece in the world is ever exactly the same) They all know aver 100 designs by heart, and based on the grid that is marked on the glass, they know what design to do. So crazy! They only use machine cutting when the lines are very curved and need precise curves to match up with one another, which would be too hard with a flat diamond tipped spinning wheel.
Each tiny line is hand cut! We also got to see the statue and figure carving room where the artisans start with a block of crystal and by hand create the masterpiece asked of them. We got to hold one of the 2015 People’s Choice award that will eventually make it to one of the celebrities, and a few other important crystal pieces!
Waterford Crystal is distinct to the higher than usual lead content in the glass (the only differentiating component of glass and crystal, crystal has a much higher lead content.)
It was very eye opening to the amount of work that gets put into every piece since they are not factory produced!
We grabbed a few pictures and dad picked us up in the van. We then went to Geoff’s, a place recommended to us for lunch! It was a pub with amazing food! Dad and I had lam hamburgers, Trevor, Joe, and Tanner had Chicken Chorizo pie, Gradma Leah had fish and chips, Bronte had creamy chorizo pasta, and Mom had a Panini! They were all good! When it was time to leave, dad offered to go get the car for us again. The boys felt like he was taking a while and left to go see if he was alright. They saw a long line of cars… praying it wasn’t because of dad….
It was dad. He was stuck wedged between cars, the wrong way on a one-way street. Tanner came back to let us know it was going to be a while and to not head outside yet. He had to back all the way out, with 6 inches on each side of him…. So rough!
Eventually the line of cars cleared and Dad showed up. I asked the bartender where the nearest ATM was, and a few of us got money, and we were safely on the way again.
Maybe not exactly safely though….The ride from Waterford to Cork was just as nerve-wracking, but we made it out with only 2 curbs hit and a scratch on the tire. Kudos to dad though having everything he knows about driving switched around on him.
The Garmin GPS got us to a grocery store, after it led us to a gas station that said it was a grocery store, but we eventually go to one! We stocked up since we didn’t know if there was a big grocery store in Schull, an area of West Cork along the water in the South of Ireland. Apparently a large cart full is only going to make it about a day with all 8 of us though!
After the grocery store (it was late and pitch black) we headed the rest of the way to Schull where the stone house is. There were signs for Limerick on the way to Schull. It prompted Joe to chime in from the backseat with a couple custom-made limericks of his own:
JOE:
There once were 8 people in a car
Today they had to drive real far
It started to rain
They all were in pain
At least they weren’t stuck in traffic like tar
&
Its not to difficult to make up a rhyme
All you need is a little bit of time
Im sitting in the back
So I gave it a whack
And it ended up being prime
MICHAEL’s response:
There once was a beer named Guinness
Joe drank it like nobody’s business
But when he filled up
He grabbed him a cup
And said – I think I’ll penis
(Now say penis pronounced in ebonics as “pee in is”)
The road got smaller, and smaller, and smaller until we were driving past the road with tires in the bushes and grass on both sides… in the dark, and we had no idea where we were going!
After a few hesitations… we made it! The house is two stories with two bedrooms upstairs, one bedroom downstairs, a HUGE kitchen and living room, and a very large fenced-in yard.
We unloaded, put Gram to bed, and settled in. We were going to then send some of us to another house we rented since there weren’t that many beds, but we didn’t want to venture out again in the dark in that huge van, so we canceled the other house and decided to just snuggle in to this one.
Then, the Jameson Ginger Ales. Bailey’s, Vodka, Wine, and all alcohols possible that we had were cracked out. It was too stressful of driving to not have a drink! Out new favorite is the Jameson with Ginger Ale and a splash of lime!
Trevor started the wood fire for us. Joe, Mom and I were on the couch and saw two people walking outside. We were so creeped out! Joe went out to check the situation for us, and found it was Bronte and Trevor down at the gate closing in since there are free range horses around that can come up to the house if we do not close the gate! (which I would love but the landlord said it is too hard for her to shoo them out later)
We drank the Jameson and all found our way to bed!
-Payton (on behalf of Bronte, Tanner, Joe, Trevor, Michael, Jenay, Leah)
Michael’s driving report:
Ok so we had a large tour like group. So, I sweet talked the local Enterprise Car Rental Manager into the Ford Transporter option that seats 9. I was euphoric! Then I saw that a) it was a stick, b) that I would be driving on the wrong side of the road and c) I had to shift with my left hand. THAT was all ok until I turned onto the road. I thought the one way street was a little narrow, but doable, when I noticed that a car was coming towards me going the wrong way. THT is when I was told that the road was two way. HOW was I going to drive this super wide, super comfortable Ford Transport on these narrow roads. I would soon find out…
Watch out! I heard as I careened between the rock wall/hedge/pole/other miscellaneous obstacle on the left and the oncoming traffic on the right. 400 kilometers later the passengers poured out of the car smelling of whatever they sweated (or worse) during the trip. We had arrived at the Stone House. (note, I left out the parts about being stuck going the wrong way on a one way street and having to back uphill out of a dead end street with cars parked on both sides and only a 1/2 lane road to navigate).