Feel my pain

Driving through Ireland has been an incredible experience. We are in awe of the beauty of this country and, without an itinerary, we have been free to travel where we want, when we want, for however long we want. (Apologies in advance for the blurriness of some of the following photos - many of them were taken through the windshield of our rental car):

Driving on the opposite side of the road has been a bit of an adjustment, but it's gone very well. (My Jim is an excellent driver.) What wasn't anticipated, however, was that driving a 30 mile stretch in Oregon is very different, and much quicker, than it is here in Ireland. Due to the size and condition of the roads here, a destination a mere 30 miles away can sometimes take an hour - or more - to travel to and this is without any measurable traffic. Some days it is taking us a lot longer to travel the distances we plan each morning than we ever thought. This means we have had some really long days in the car.

What I'm about to write now is written with humor (in my heart, at least). It's a bit funny but, all the same, what I'm about to share with you is something that I normally wouldn't. It's really not the type of thing I like to disclose. It's a physical weakness, of sorts, and it drives me crazy. Normally, I would keep details like this under lock and key, but after this trip, I've reached a point where I feel ready to share.

Here it comes.

I suffer from extreme motion sickness.

Oh sure, over the years, I've learned to manage it. I rarely sit in the back seats of cars, NEVER ever in the back of buses, I don't go on any boats that plan to sit and bob on the water, and I can't do swings at the park.

But here, I've been caught off guard.

Between the windy curves:

the narrow roads...:

the bumpy, uneven surfaces...:

...and my sweet husband - a.k.a. Speed Racer (just kidding!) (but not really) flying over these roads, I've never been so sick in my life.

Add to all of these elements a little bit of sudden braking, say, when a sheep:

or a herd of cows:

or a baby deer suddenly crosses the road in front of us:

and this pretty much completes the nausea picture for me.

This is me, after 5 days of carsickness, just wanting to end the suffering:

Fortunately, I've found another solution...or at least something that helps a little bit: Pringles potato chips. They're very popular here. And now they're exceptionally popular with me. I've eaten 3 canisters of them since we've been here. Eating something salty seems to have a nice soothing effect on my tummy, though I shudder to think how much treadmill running I'm going to have to do when I get back home. But let's not think about that now. The important point here is that Pringles chips are my really good friends currently.

The Irish recognize the poor condition of their roads. They're even kind enough to warn us about them. Speed Racer and I always continue on, though, even despite warnings like these:


The pitch of Irish roads is different here, too. It's very steep at the center, so your left side is always lower than your right. I suppose this is to aid the swift removal of rain water from its surface. In addition to this, the edges of the road tend to crumble terribly, giving an effect as you drive over them similar to a twisty turny ride on a roller coaster that is driving over an uneven strip of bricks or cobble stones. It's jarring, to say the least.

The funny thing about these roads is the speed limit seems to be 100 kilometers per hour pretty much everywhere. 100 km/hr, which is approximately 62 miles per hour, is the posted speed even when you are also being warned about the curvy road ahead:

So, let's recap:

Windy:

Narrow:

Uneven, bumpy edges:

are all bad for my stomach. Thank goodness for Pringles and for the beauty of Ireland...

It really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been:

One more thing, though. Please think good thoughts for me tomorrow. This is what Jim's hoping we're going to do:

:-)

First impressions

Hello from Ireland! I have just a bit of time to write, but I really wanted to share just a few miscellaneous shots and thoughts since we began our trip last Sunday.

Here's Roxy, my farm pup, sound asleep on my lap as we drove to the airport. During our time away, she'll be staying with my mom. She *loves* being with my mom:

Our flight path was Portland to Philadephia, Philadelphia to Dublin. While we were in Philly, we decided to try Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. They were yummy:

My first glimpse of Ireland:

Look! A field of Canola:

Our rental car...steering wheel on the right:

We thought it best to write a small note for the dash to remind us that things work differently on the roads over here:

Jim's GPS doesn't have a map of Ireland loaded yet, but at least we could confirm we were in the country we thought we were:

Our first two nights were spent in a town called Kilkenny. We found a 13th century tower adjacent to a church that we just had to climb:

Going up was a lot more fun that coming back down. Talk about a tight squeeze:

Not being a real fan of heights, I sucked it up and thought of this as practice for the staggeringly high ocean cliffs I'll be peering over later in the trip:

They say things differently here in Ireland:

Another case in point:

This had me worried. Washed rooster - in a bag - really?:

Fortunately not. Seems they call some potatoes here "roosters":

Hunky Dory chips are big here in Ireland:

You have your choice of cheese and onion, salt and vinegar...

and...Buffalo. Jim, of course, had to try the Buffalo:

Third ingredient on the ingredients' list is "buffalo flavor", in addition to all sorts of other nasty stuff. It's important to try new things, right? (Once was enough, though):

We took a day trip off to the Wicklow mountains and to a small town that was featured in our very favorite Irish t.v. series:

Anyone recognize this place? (I'm high-fiving you, if you do):

The use of baling twine is alive and well here in Ireland. It's even the same color as ours:

Our favorite thing is the unexpected. We are travelling with virtually no itinerary and very few reservations. By venturing off the beaten path, we are encountering many lovely, seemingly hidden, surprises:

Look at this guy. Isn't he incredible?:

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post - I love that there are so many fellow Ireland-lovers among us! ♥

A place I've never been

After what feels like months of preparation, many, many to-do lists, and a whole lot of work, I'm leaving Critter Farm for a bit.

We - my man and I - are heading to Ireland, a place we've dreamed of travelling to for more than a decade.

Interestingly, getting to Ireland right now is a bit of a dicey proposition. Ever since the volcano in Iceland, known as Eyjafjallajökull ("AY-uh-fyat-luh-YOE-kuutl-uh"), started spewing giant, travelling clouds of ash, Irish airspace has been forced to close almost every other day it seems. The most recent ash cloud measures approximately 2,100 miles long and 1,400 miles wide and seems to be hovering just off the west coast of Ireland. Travel is always an adventure, isn't it? We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be physically possible for us to land in Dublin when we get there on the morning of 5/10.

Though I will miss my animal babies, rest assured, the farm will be in good hands. I'll try to post at least a few farm and Ireland updates while I'm gone. This is assuming that they actually have Internet over in Ireland. (joke)


Tá súil agam go bhfuil lá breá agat!

Standing in a field of canola

When I drive out of my small town currently, the color on the hillside to my left is startling:

This crop hasn't grown here before:

It's Canola (Brassica campestris). I have seen fields of this growing in the hills of Germany and in Japan but not in Oregon, yet I never questioned why this would be:

As I've watched this crop develop over the last couple months, I've learned a bit about Canola. Its growth is highly regulated and only since last fall has it been approved to be grown in our area. There are two varieties, canola grown for bio diesel and the type grown for edible oil. The two varieties must be kept separate to prevent cross-pollination and contamination. It is also not allowed to be planted in the same field for more than two years out of five to prevent a serious disease known as "blackleg".

The bees love it and for this reason it is not allowed to be grown in a number of Oregon counties. It is believed to attract bees away from specialty seed crops such as carrots, which require the bees for pollination:

Did you know the name "canola" is derived from the words "Canadian oil, low acid"?

Mostly, I just think it's pretty: