Sunday Stealing on Halloween

 Thanks to Bev at Sunday Stealing for today's questions!!

1. Have you ever played with a Ouija Board? Yes – I think our kids had one for a short time and I remember playing with one when I was a teenager.

2. Favorite horror monster or villain? There is a big difference between horror monster and villain. We watched Young Frankenstein last weekend so I guess I’ll go with Frankenstein. I watched Cruella recently and I think she and Ursula would win my favorite villain awards.

3. If you were dared to spend the night in a “haunted house”, would you do it? My husband would probably jump at the chance to stay in a haunted house. We stayed at the Elliott House Inn in Charleston and I thought they told us there was a ghost but I can’t find anything online to corroborate my story. Our friends stayed in a hotel one time and they and their twin daughters experienced SOMETHING. We had another friend who felt firmly that her house was haunted and she literally dusted her feet off when they sold it and moved. All that to say, I’m not sure I would stay in a real haunted house (if there is such a thing).

4. Are you superstitious? I try not to be superstitious but every once in while, I will catch myself thinking something superstitious. As a Christian, I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be superstitious.

5. Do you ever see figures in your peripheral vision? Only real ones – as in my husband or someone at work.

6. Ever made a potion of any sort? I don’t think so . . . but a good Irish coffee is like a potion!!

7. Do you get scared easily? I jump easily. I startle easily. I’m not sure I get scared easily. I tell myself that anyway!!

8. Have you ever played Bloody Mary? I don’t know about Bloody Mary so I’m assuming I haven’t played it. I’m debating on googling it!!

9. Would you ever go to a graveyard at night? I wouldn’t wander around any cemetery here in town because they aren’t safe – from real people not from any other sort of being.

10. Would you rather go to a Halloween party or go trick or treating? We haven’t been invited to a Halloween party in so long – I can’t remember the last time I dressed up. We hosted a Halloween party for our young adults one year and I think I did wear a witches hat. I might need to host a Halloween party next year just so I can go. I love to give out the candy while others trick or treat. I have purchased 1200 pieces of candy . . .and yes, I’ll give out one piece per kid probably.

11. Whilst watching scary movies, are you the person who yells at the characters, the person with their eyes covered the whole time, or the person who falls asleep. I would be the person who covers her eyes.

12. Favorite scary book? I don’t think I have a favorite scary book. I do read lots of mysteries and thrillers!

13. How old were you when you saw your first horror movie? I was probably a teenager or a young adult. Does The Shining count as a horror movie? I remember going to see that and running to the car afterwards. My daddy forbade me to go see The Exorcist and do you know that I have never watched it to this day? It was a rare thing for my daddy to forbid something and he has been dead over 30 years . . .and I still don’t want to watch it.

14. What was your first Halloween costume? I’m 63 years old – I have no idea what costume I wore. I remember having some costumes with those weird masks with eye wholes and the string to go around the back of the head . . .oh those masks were hot! I also remember dressing as a hobo one time which would be politically incorrect today. I remember dressing as a cat when I was a young adult – black leotard and tights, a stuffed homemade tail, and homemade ears.

15. If you could have a spooky Halloween pet (black cat, owl, bat, rat, wolf), what would you pick? Could I have a talking owl, please? Or a talking black cat like Thackery Binx in Hocus Pocus.

You didn’t ask but Hocus Pocus is my all time favorite Halloween movie. I’m going to see if it is on Amazon Prime or something this afternoon.

I would love for you to come back and visit tomorrow and read my last long post on our recent trip to Ireland.

Last but not least, Happy Halloween from our house to yours!!

What happened on Tuesday in Ireland??

We repacked our suitcases and placed them outside our door at the Trident Hotel and after breakfast we boarded the bus. 

We headed to the Rock of Cashel - or St. Patrick's Rock.

The Rock of Cashel has over 1000 years

of history.

According to old legends, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil's Bit, a high mountain located

20 miles from Cashel. The legend says that St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave. Satan was furious and took a bite from the high mountain and spit it where the Rock of Cashel now stands. 

It was originally built in the 5th century but most of the buildings that remain were built in

the 12th and 13th centuries.

The photos are so cool that very few words are needed.

 

The tower is the oldest structure
still standing. It dates from
12th century.

We stopped for lunch at one of those locations where there were several different food courts. I know that we were in Ireland but Mark and I ended up eating Chinese food. This normally wouldn't require any words BUT you chose the size of your "box" (medium) and then you picked your base. The choices were fried rice, noodles, or CHIPS . . .which are french fries. The locals in front of me ordered chips as their base and I decided to give it a try. So there were chips (fries) on the bottom and then I chose sesame chicken and mixed vegetables. I don't plan on making this to serve at home but it was a neat thing to try!!

After lunch, we headed to the Dublin airport because Mark and I, along with two of our new friends, had to get covid tests so that we could fly home on Thursday. This was the first covid test I've had!! The four of us were separated and put into separate "rooms." The employees administering the tests were in full hazmat gear. We were thrilled to get our results a few hour later - negative for covid.

After our tests, we drove through Phoenix Park. Phoenix Park is one of the largest enclosed parks in any capital city in Europe. It was originally formed as a hunting park in the 1600's. There are still fallow deer in the park and some of the deer are descendents of the original deer. We saw some but were unable to get any good shots. Mark was excited to see the deer. The park is 1750 acres!!!

 

This is the papal cross and it is 116 feet tall. On September 29, 1979 Pope John Paul II celebrated mass in the park and there were a million people there. The cross was built just for that occasion.

The leaves were beginning to turn! There is a zoo there and I would have loved to go to the zoo. There are 700 animals from all around the world. 

We then headed into Dublin.

Downtown Dublin is full of people. The European headquarters for Facebook, Microsoft, and many other companies are located in Dublin. The price of gas is over $7 a gallon so there are tons of bicycles.

We arrived at our hotel - the Academy Plaza and walked over to Carroll's to do a little more shopping. Then we had dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Elaine, John, Brian, Michelle, Des, Peggy

Jim, Gail, and Lisa

Our room in this hotel was so tiny. We literally couldn't open both of our suitcases at the same time!! The bathroom was also tiny - you couldn't open the door wide enough to get to the toilet . . .so you opened the door, slipped inside, closed the door, and THEN you could get to the toilet. We decided that we were on an adventure and had a good chuckle about the room.

Ireland Monday October 11

If you are just now joining us, please feel free to go back and start at the beginning of my Ireland posts. I will warn you that the posts are day by day of our trip and they are wordy and have lots of pictures but I'm enjoying chronicling the trip.

We woke up on Monday, October 11 and made our way toward the restaurant for breakfast with the group. We were surprised by this incredible sunrise over the harbor at the Trident Hotel.

Mark loved the breakfast at the Trident because he ordered Eggs Benedict both days! 

After breakfast, we drove to Cobh (pronounced Cove). We had a walking tour with a different tour guide who knew all sorts of details. John Wesley visited this town and said it was basically a “den of iniquity” – I can’t remember his exact words. Rather than share all of the info, I found another blog with lots of info about the Methodist Church in Cobh.

The church (was a pub and just
sold again) is the last building
with the columns in front

The small town was beautiful and right on the water. 

After the tour, we had a couple of hours of free time and we walked up and down the streets and then ate lunch at Cuppacity – paninis. 

Cuppacity is building with cute
orange awning

We were waiting to go to lunch
Lisa, Gail, Jim

Guess who sought out the fishing
family? You are correct - Mark!
He saw them fishing and headed
straight toward them. I don't
think they were catching
much

After lunch, we went to the Titanic Experience. We were each given a name card – I was able to get  Nora Murphy. I was a third class passenger, 31 years old, and I survived. Mark was Maurice O'Connor who was 13 years old. He did not survive. Did you know that this town was the last port of call before the sinking of the Titanic? At that time, the town's name was Queenstown. Some passengers disembarked in Queenstown (Cobh) and some new passengers boarded the ship. The museum/experience is located in the same location where the White Star Line is located now.

Here are a few photos:

She was welcoming us onboard.
You can tell we are still living
in times of Covid. She was behind
a plastic shield plus had on a clear
facemask.

Mark ringing the bell

the space behind her is the 2nd 
class sleeping arrangements.
They had running water and
electricity. 
Many homes in Ireland didn't
have running water at that time.
They even had running water
and electricity in 3rd class
accomodations.

The original White Star office with lots
of passengers

This is a reproduction of first class accomodations.
It wasbigger than my photo shows.

My history (Nora Murphy's) was quite
interesting.

It was shocking to see the difference between first class and third class. 

The food selections and the bedding were also very different.

We also learned that the captain didn't listen to the warnings about the icebergs (I think I remember that from the movie!). The other concerning thing is that the lifeboats weren't filled to capacity because the first class passengers refused to allow the 2nd and 3rd class passengers to get in the lifeboats with them. Many more people could have been saved. 

After our Titanic experience, we boarded the bus and headed to Charles Fort, one of the finest examples of a 17th Century Star Fort. There were all sorts of interesting stories and legends. Supposedly it is even haunted. A bride and groom were spending their wedding night at the Fort and went out for a walk. The young man was shot. You can read about the legend of the White Lady of Kinsale here. It is a very interesting story. Once again, we experienced glorious weather and beautiful views along with lots of historical significance.

see the star shape?

This house was built for the commander
but it stood taller than the fort walls. This
would present a problem when
others were shooting at them!
It was never used for its
original purpose but was used for storage.

We were told a story about a "powder monkey" -- a young boy who carried the gunpowder to each of the cannons. Supposedly he lived his whole life there inside the fort and finally moved away when he was in his 50's and that first night away was literally the first night he ever spent away from the fort!!

The fort was literally across the harbor from our hotel. When we had walked all around and heard all of the stories, we headed back to the Trident Hotel. Mark asked our tour guide (Des) if our bus driver (Derrick) could stop at the beginning of the town portion of Kinsale and let some of us out so that we could meander down the streets and look in the shops on our way back to the hotel. They graciously agreed and 6 or 7 of us got off the bus. I don't think I took a single photo of the little town and there were some cute and colorful streets but I found one cute one on Mark's phone.

Mylie Murphy Fish Tackle & Cycle Hire

When we made it back to the harbor, we walked to the edge of the water for our new friend Gail to have a moment to remember her husband who had died just two years before. He had always wanted to travel to Ireland and she was able to fulfill his wish.

Another tour group had arrived at our hotel and a large local family was in the restaurant so we didn't have a private dining experience on this night! I think we ordered Hake Fish for dinner. Check back soon for our last two days in Ireland.