R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 67

Ireland — Making a Stop in Kinsale

A short distance south of Cork and Cobh, Cork’s port city, lies the historic fishing port town of Kinsale, Ireland. And what a charming and colorful place it is. Today you’ll get a hint of the color, but return Wednesday to see this town in it’s full Technicolor glory.

Kinsale, Ireland

Below is the Market House of Kinsale, formerly a courthouse and now the Kinsale Museum. And though it doesn’t look it, this structure was built in 1600. It’s more recent claim to fame occurred in 1915, w...

Fun Photo Friday — Blarney Favorites 2

Blarney Castle — Caretaker’s house?

Our last look at Blarney Castle:

Ireland — Blarney Castle Stable Yard

Blarney Castle structure

Time to move on to the next Blarney Castle view — the stable yard. To get there we head westward from the South Wall of the castle. Let’s enjoy the views:

Back view of the Coach House Café at the Stable Yard

One of the buildings within the Stable Yard is the coach house, which on the second floor houses the Hay Loft gift shop:

Blarney Castle coaches Coach House and Hay Loft gift shop

Outside the Hay Loft sign are seating areas to take you refreshments f...

Ireland — Blarney Castle Poison Garden

Blarney Castle Poison Garden — Please Don’t Eat the “Daisies”

A short stroll from Blarney Castle, located behind the battlements, is a rather recent edition to the ground. This is the Blarney Castle Poison Garden, which we’ll view today on the blog.

Warning Signs Abound!

Some of the plants here are not so much poisonous as they are beautiful to behold:

Multi-hued tree

While others are cordoned off more for being recreational, albeit illegal, rather than outright dangerous:

WARN...

Fun Photo Friday — Blarney Favorites 1

Stones have the texture to make for great Black & White imagery

Today I present Part 1 of two Blarney Castle Fun Photo Friday favorites:

North Wall Lookout Blarney Watchtower is a bit of Sculpture Blarney Castle framed in Irish Emerald

Ireland — The Blarney Stone

Kissing the Blarney Stone — not for the faint of heart

We’re today going to take a look at the famous Blarney Stone, a structure some tourists feel the need to kiss. Planting your lips upon this rock, you’ll forevermore have bestowed upon you the gift of gab (great eloquence and skilled flattery). And who doesn’t want to become a silver tongued devil?

How “Blarney” came about

The Blarney Stone is actually atop the east wall of the castle keep. You’ll recall the north wall from last Mond...

Forty Years Ago Today — A moment in history

Forty years ago today, 3 August 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization — PATCO — went out on strike against the Federal Aviation Administration, and by extension the U.S. government. I was at the time an staff sergeant and an air traffic controller in the U.S. Air Force working at a control tower and precision approach radar (PAR) at an Air Force Base in the western United States.

It was quite a ride that year, and the year following. Weeks before the strike, just...

Ireland — Blarney Castle

Another day, another port. Brilliance of the Seas had left Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the next day we made Cobh, Ireland, the port serving the city of Cork. This would be our last port of call in Ireland before heading west to the Azores. But before heading across the pond, Ursula had us set up for a tour of Blarney Castle, home of the famous Blarney Stone (about which you’ll read in Wednesday’s article).

Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle is about 38 kilometers/20 miles from Cobh, and ...

Fun Photo Friday — Giant’s Causeway favorites 2

Today is our last look at the Giant’s Causeway before moving on to our next destination aboard Brilliance of the Seas:

Northern Ireland — Giant’s Causeway; Mosaics in the ground

We begin Week 2 of our look at Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway. Today I’ll be concentrating, but not completely fixating, upon the basalt mosaic patterns seen in much of this area rather than the columns.

Giant’s Causeway mosaic pattern

It seemed to me that most of the columns lay further from shore, and the ground level mosaic patterns were closer to the water.

Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

This didn’t appear to be solely due to erosion, as the tops of the exposed colu...