family, and falconry, and castles. Oh My!

I should really be writing more frequently rather than less. There's no way I will be able to keep track of everything at the rate I'm going. And here I though my days would slow down once I met up with the family, but we've been continuing at a rather quick pace through the Irish countryside.
Yesterday our driver came to pick us up at 9 am, and on his suggestion we started to drive north through the Connemara region. We stopped first at a little beach, which Pat told us had highly unique sand. And really it was! It reminded me a bit of working with yeast, only larger. The sand was oblong and a creamy, off-white color. Definitely different from any sand I have encountered before, and the location smelled much better than the spot we had stopped at for photos of the Aran Islands a short while before.
After this, we had a lovely drive through the countryside, aiming for Kylemore Abbey. Not that this stopped us from stopping for pictures at beautiful seaside viewing spots, or old railway bridges, and streams. We even were able to see a guy digging peat moss by hand. He made it look so easy, but Pat explained to us some of the technicalities we weren't seeing when he shoveled out the bricks and tossed them aside; such as how heavy each of those bricks were. We did eventually make it to the Abbey, despite our pitstops, and enjoyed lunch next to the beautiful building.
As we headed back south towards County Clare, Joan mentioned some of the gifts she was hoping to buy for people back home. Pat quickly suggested a crystal store about ten minutes ahead, and we all agreed it could be fun. Not only did we get the history of all the designs they cut, but we were shown around by one of their glass cutting masters who now designs and trains and then were taken into the back room. Here, their master working that day cut a glass bowl with the claddagh design right for us (I had only learned the day before that the design originated in Galway). Talk about talented people! He didn't even mark the pattern, only three basic lines so that everything would line up appropriately. It was incredible to see. Mormor bought me a christmas tree ornament here as well as a vase for herself to be shipped home.
But was this enough for us for the day? Of course not! We stopped to admire a Galway Hooker and then headed up the Barrows into the hills. Here Pat dropped us off at the Poulnabrone, an over 3,000 year old portal tomb on the top of the hill where they found the remains of numerous bodies along with personal possessions. It's amazing to see these monuments!
Then, because this route was on the way, we decided this was the day to see the Cliffs of Moher. Wow, this was one of the highlights of the trip for me so far! I found the location for the Harry Potter movies, as well as the Cliffs of Insanity from the Princess Bride. The was even the remains of an O'Brian castle near the top. The view was incredible from up here, and with the sky completely clear it was a perfect view of the Aran Islands from here too! I just couldn't believe how vast the cliffs were. And it was so windy, though this I did expect. It almost blew you over from time to time up at the top. I had so much fun running from spot to spot trying to see the view from all the different angles.
Eventually though, we made it to our hotel for the night. One of the nicer ones I have ever been in! Right on the beach, it was out of the city a little ways, but it was very impressive. The bathroom was easily one of the nicest ones I've seen in a hotel. We think it might have been time shares, or seasonal properties for the most part, just because of the courtyard setup and overall structure it had. We did get to see our first peat fire though, which was exciting, and an interesting, though rather pleasant scent.
Before breakfast this morning, I went for a quick walk down the the shoreside to get pictures of the the water. It's amazing how large the waves are round here, even if it is the ocean coming in! We had a quick breakfast, and got ready to head out. Today was the day we were looking for the Austins, my great-grandfather's family who were in the states by 1870.
We started out, with a couple names, and a Parish area to search in. The pastor of the church we tried first was in a huge rush for a meeting he had set up, but he managed to point us in the direction of a cemetery to search in, as well as a man who lived not far away who might know information for us.
After searching the cemetery for awhile, we found the Austin headstone, with five different names. None of them were familiar to us, but it was a start. Then a man walked in to through the gate and hollered, "I hear you're looking for Austins!" Talk about a small town, the word had already spread through Cross about who we were and what we were doing. Turns out this was the man we had been going to find next, Keane. He informed us that there were only three Austin families in the immediate area, and that it was a fairly uncommon name. Then he sent us down the road to a descendant of the tomb we had found.
Anne had only just arrived to her house from New York, where she lives, for Easter. She invited us in and we started talking. Unfortunately she knew very little past her grandfather, but she and her husband were very nice. We have no way of identifying whether they are our family or not, but it is neat to think they might have been.
Keane had also told us about a lighthouse at the point that we could likely go up, so we followed the coastline around searching for Tom, the lighthouse keeper. He was there, but couldn't let us in at that time unfortunately. Still, what another amazing spot. I really just can't get over the cliff sides on the west coast here. We were able to go right to the edge of the cliff and look down at the caves and crashing waves. Sometimes the spray was so large you could see it clearing the top of the cliffs! Quite incredible, because we were definitely a ways up.
We tried to stop for lunch at the last bar before New York, but it was closed for the week. We ended up at a little pub across the street, and the gal there was able to point us toward the other church we had been looking for. This was another one which we had heard may be affiliated with our family, and while there were no records here, it was interesting to see this portable church from when they weren't allowed to worship. They had found loopholes to this rule though, and the movable church that they could carry to the beach was one of them. They were certainly determined people.
Pat told us at one point that one of the trademarks of the Irish, is that if you tell the not to do something, they are almost guaranteed to do it. Now I know where that trait in the family comes from! It's our Irish heritage showing through. Extreme stubbornness and determination to prove people otherwise. At least now I know why the whole lot of us behave this way. It's just bred into our blood.
Tonight we are sleeping in a castle. Yes. An honest to goodness castle. The part we are sleeping in was built in 1730. How cool is that? I think it's very much so. In fact, I am beyond excited about this fact. The registration desk has suits of armor next to it. The building has turrets. I a stoked.
We started off our stay here doing falconry. Mormor was especially excited for this, and Joan and I were happy to join in. Wow, what an experience. Jim met us at the front door to the castle, and as soon as we stepped outside, we saw Bruce waiting for us. Bruce was a Harris Hawk we soon learned, as we would spend the next hour and a half with him. Jim taught us to catch and toss Bruce as we went on a walk through the woods. At one point, poor Bruce got his leather traces wrapped around the branch he was sitting on. This was on ordeal, simply because he had flown just high enough into the tree that we couldn't reach him. Eventually we got him loose by getting him to flip back around the branch in reverse. He got an extra treat for being good during it. The funniest part was when he was on the ground though. He would chase after Jim doing this strange run/waddle because he knew Jim had treats in his bag. Then, right before he would try to jump on Jim's arm for a treat, he would crouch and wiggle his tail like an excited dog. It was adorable!
Finally, we had go take Bruce back to his roost though. Here we got to meet the other hawks and falcons they keep here. There was even a peregrine falcon, which has been clocked diving up to 250 mph. Talk about a fast bird! Once Bruce was all settled and happy, we moved on to the owls. There was one right up front which had the funniest fluffy feathers. He was name was Alvin and he was a real talker. There was also an Irish Barn Owl, which was a beautiful white color. We learned that this is the only type of owl which has all black eyes.
Then came Peggy. Peggy is an African Spotted Eagle Owl. While she didn't hoot, she did talk quite a lot too. We took her to the Walled Garden where Jim would take her to the opposite side. Then, when he gave a piece of meat a wiggle and whistled, Peggy would come swooping down to land on our arms, one by one. So many people stopped to watch. It's amazing how owls just draw the attention like that. Such an amazing experience. And the top of Peggy's head was about 3 inches deep of feathers. Like a big down pillow on the back of her neck. She would also nibble on our fingers for a moment every time we pet her. Jim said it's because she though we had food for her, so she would nibble, realize we had nothing, then let us pet her.
Finally, we had to say goodbye to the birds though, and go meet Sam for dinner, which we were about an hour late for now. We had spent two and a half hours with Jim and the birds. Sam was a good sport though, and we had another delicious meal, followed by some excellent creme brulee. What really astounds me is how every day somehow seems to manage to surpass the last. This was such an incredible day/evening, and I really don't know how tomorrow could top it. We will be heading toward the Dingle Penninsula though, and we will see what we will see. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to bed. In a castle. Yes!