No hauntings. No strange noises. No bump in the night. I slept soundly through the evening and awoke around 10.
I tiptoed up the stairs, hoping not to awake any of my fellow castle mates.
Once I reached the “great-hall” I saw Lea and Jenay hanging out on the couch around the fire and felt comfortable making some noise.
Michael was up in the kitchen too, and he made a cup of coffee for me while we waited for the other two children to wake up.
Payton and Tanner eventually scurried upstairs as well, and Jenay made a great breakfast…breakfast burritos with eggs, bacon, and sweet potatoes. After everyone ate she gave her announcement of the plans for the day:
“It’s noon, and we are eating dinner at 4:30. Everyone go explore outside, shower, and get ready at your own leisure. See you then.”
Explore we did!
Tanner, Payton and I ventured out after changing quickly. We walked around the lake, kicked the soccer ball (or futbol) around our enormous courtyard, and last but not least, ventured into the thick wooded area directly next to our castle. I found an amazing walking stick, but ended up breaking it trying to use it as a baseball bat by hitting the soccer ball. I was legitimately upset, but was consoled by Tanner, convincing me that it would be perfect for kindling.
After about an hour of adventure, Mr. and Mrs. Gifford appeared on the road and we all headed inside to clean up. The kids showered, and because of a lack of warm water the adults decided to remain smelly.
While we were getting squeaky clean, Michael and Gram went to the store and Jenay began making stew for dinner…it only seemed fitting while we were in a castle.
Side-note: we really are living in a castle… a legitimate CASTLE. It has a spire equipped with battlements and everything. A 3-story, spiral stone staircase containing, medieval times castle. Only in Ireland I guess.
Anyway… the kids took their showers and hung around the main hall until dinner. The stew was delicious.
After a hearty meal we prepared ourselves to head into Galway (the nearest main city to us) to shop around for a little bit and pick up Bronte and Trevor.
We piled into the van/bus again, and took off.
After around 25 minutes we arrived, dropped off the girls, and went to park.
Tanner, Michael and I only took about 15 min to find a spot that would fit our ridiculous vehicle. Not only did we find a spot, all we had to do was turn to get into it. Pulled straight through. Easy as pie.
A short walk put us at the Christmas market where the women were posted up at.
Now…not only was OUR three-generation of women there, but a multitude of beautiful young women to gawk at.
Tanner and I were happy that this trip wouldn’t be a complete waste of time.
We found Payton, Jenay, and Gram shopping, but even they were done with it so we headed to the nearest coffee shop to get some wifi and message Bronte to see where she was.
Drinks were ordered, only to find out that they weren’t going to arrive in Galway until the next day. People wanted to be disappointed, but we couldn’t be…even the coffee shop was full of attractive women. Customers and employees.
Everyone finished their drinks and we all piled into the van/bus once more to head home
Another 25 minutes and we were back at our gorgeous castle.
We all sat around a fire (built by Tanner) while we watched some tv, and drank a bit of wine.
Tomorrow we planned on hitting up some stone ruins, picking up Trevor and Bronte, and checking out a little bit more of Galway.
Until then, this is Joe on behalf of the entire clan…