Day 8- June 18th
June 18th - Ballynastaig
Ballynastaig - History
When we reached the town of Ballynastaig, Leah began packing up our lunch in a picnic basket. We would be eating at the site after we walked around. It was about noon when we pulled up to the fort. Joseph found a great parking spot, and we hopped out of the car. Hannah grabbed the picnic basket, and we set out over the hills. As we walked along the rolling hills and tall trees, Hanna stopped taking pictures for a moment and remarked on the beauty and greenness of the place. It was almost as if we had stepped into a fantasy world. Emily tripped over a stone brick, which was a sign of our reaching the fort. We turned a corner, and there it was. A little ruined piece of history. We took turns posing along the ruined stone walls as if we were from the time of the fort, and took plenty of pictures. Hanna and Hannah made up stories about who could have walked or lived in the fort.
Cliffs of Moher - Nature
O'Brien's Tower - History
When we woke up on June 18 in the Redclyffe Bed and Breakfast, we ate our complimentary breakfast quickly, and packed up all of the things we had taken out. Today, we were driving to Ballynastaig to see a ruined fort. We would each lunch there, pack up, and then head to the Cliffs of Moher. It would be an busy day, but most certainly an exciting one.
When we had collected our things, checked out of the quaint Redclyffe B&B, and drove out of Blarney, it was about 9:30. It would take us about two hours to get to Ballynastaig. Hanna busied herself with taking picture after picture of the Irish scenery, Hannah and Emily had a Disney Princess sing-along (they sang every song from every Disney princess movie ever!!), Leah played a license plate scavenger hunt on her phone, and Joseph complained for the entire time about how unfair it was that he had to drive. The girls had majority ruled him our driver, and when that didn’t work, we did nose-goes. Joseph still lost. After finishing their hour-and-a-half sing-along, Hannah and Emily both watched the passing countryside for the remaining half hour.
Ballynastaig - History
When we reached the town of Ballynastaig, Leah began packing up our lunch in a picnic basket. We would be eating at the site after we walked around. It was about noon when we pulled up to the fort. Joseph found a great parking spot, and we hopped out of the car. Hannah grabbed the picnic basket, and we set out over the hills. As we walked along the rolling hills and tall trees, Hanna stopped taking pictures for a moment and remarked on the beauty and greenness of the place. It was almost as if we had stepped into a fantasy world. Emily tripped over a stone brick, which was a sign of our reaching the fort. We turned a corner, and there it was. A little ruined piece of history. We took turns posing along the ruined stone walls as if we were from the time of the fort, and took plenty of pictures. Hanna and Hannah made up stories about who could have walked or lived in the fort.
After Joseph finished his model shots, we stopped in a little clearing to have our lunch. We had brought some sandwiches, apples, lemonade, and of course, cookies. It all tasted great (especially the cookies), and we all told stories and jokes as we were eating. After we all finished eating, we walked back to the car. Emily offered to drive to give Joseph respite. We drove along a few neighborhoods in Ballynastaig. There were so many beautiful houses. Leah put it on her bucket list of places to live. We got out of Ballynastaig at about 1:30, and it took about an hour and a half to get to the Cliffs of Moher, our next stop. We all busied ourselves in our phones or books, but still payed attention to what was outside the car. We passed through some cute little towns, some green pastures, and bustling cities. We stopped in Doolin for a quick bathroom and snack break.
As we neared County Clare, where the Cliffs of Moher was located, we were able to smell the salty sea air. When we were trying to figure out where to go for our trip, this was one of the places we chose first. It was rated with best cliffs views, and everyone agreed to go once they saw a picture of it. The contrast of the bright green cliffs against the gray rocks and blue sea was too beautiful to pass up. 
Hanna was practically bouncing out of her seat as we reached the parking lot. She had already equipped her camera with a new SD card, so she could take millions of pictures. When we all got out of the car, Hannah took a deep breath and started coughing. The salty sea air smell had unfortunately combined with the smell of the cows that were grazing on the nearby hills, thanks to the wind. It was not a very pleasant combination, but we quickly got used to it. Leah had grabbed a drawstring bag with water, sunscreen for our fair skin, granola bars, and a first aid kit-just in case. We first set out along a path that went to the left. It was pretty crowded, so we knew where to go. The paths were made of stone, and there were wood and wire fences. As we strolled along the edge of the cliff, we were in silent in awe of the beauty of the place. It was a sunny day, and the sea was a shining cobalt blue. The sheer size of the cliffs and the waves breaking against them made you feel tiny. When we got about halfway along this trail, we realized Hanna wasn’t with us. She had stopped at the beginning of the trail to take picture after picture, and was lost in the groups of tourists. Emily stood on a rock and yelled her name until we saw her head pop up in a cluster of people that was about 25 yards away. She was so wrapped up in taking pictures she hadn’t known we left her! We reached the end of the trail, stopped for a snack, and headed back after taking a couple of pictures with the cliffs in the background. It was about 4:30 when we reached the beginning of that trail, and started down the other.
Hanna was practically bouncing out of her seat as we reached the parking lot. She had already equipped her camera with a new SD card, so she could take millions of pictures. When we all got out of the car, Hannah took a deep breath and started coughing. The salty sea air smell had unfortunately combined with the smell of the cows that were grazing on the nearby hills, thanks to the wind. It was not a very pleasant combination, but we quickly got used to it. Leah had grabbed a drawstring bag with water, sunscreen for our fair skin, granola bars, and a first aid kit-just in case. We first set out along a path that went to the left. It was pretty crowded, so we knew where to go. The paths were made of stone, and there were wood and wire fences. As we strolled along the edge of the cliff, we were in silent in awe of the beauty of the place. It was a sunny day, and the sea was a shining cobalt blue. The sheer size of the cliffs and the waves breaking against them made you feel tiny. When we got about halfway along this trail, we realized Hanna wasn’t with us. She had stopped at the beginning of the trail to take picture after picture, and was lost in the groups of tourists. Emily stood on a rock and yelled her name until we saw her head pop up in a cluster of people that was about 25 yards away. She was so wrapped up in taking pictures she hadn’t known we left her! We reached the end of the trail, stopped for a snack, and headed back after taking a couple of pictures with the cliffs in the background. It was about 4:30 when we reached the beginning of that trail, and started down the other.
After walking up hundreds of stairs, we reached another tourist attraction. O'Brien's tower is the highest place on the Cliffs of Moher. It was named for Cornelius O’Brien, who built the tower in 1835 as a tourist attraction. He hoped it would bring in money and help the local economy. The tower became an iconic sight, and still stands today.
We finally reached the tower, and eagerly climbed to the top. Joseph reached the top, and declared himself king of the tower. The girls ganged up on him to dethrone him. After a few minutes of arguing who was the “king”, Hannah claimed the crown by stating her Irish heritage and the fact of her red hair. We climbed back down the tower, and set off again. As we walked along the top of the cliffs, we could see green hills and blue sea for miles. We found a little beach at the bottom of the cliffs. We took off our shoes and waded in the icy-cold water. After running back out of the water squealing, we dried off our feet and kept going.
The Cliffs of Moher are home to many species of wildlife. It has Ireland’s largest population of puffins, along with many other types of seabirds. There are also many types of plants, including seaweeds, lichens, grasses and wildflowers. There are also seals, sharks, plankton, dolphins, badgers, stoats, rabbits, and hares. All in all, the Cliffs of Moher are a great place to visit if you want to see scenery or wildlife.
As we continued to walk around the cliffs, we noticed that the sun was setting. We hurried along to our prearranged spot of an overhang along the cliff’s edge. We sat down, got comfortable, and readied ourselves for the show. We had purposefully taken about six hours to hike around the trails, because we had wanted to see the sunset at the cliffs. Sunset in Ireland is at about ten o’clock, which is much later than in America, but we couldn’t miss this.
When the beautiful sunset finished, we carefully hiked back in the darkness to our car. We all collapsed in our seats, except Hanna, who was still hyped from the amazing sight. She drove us where we were staying that night, a cute little place called Blackberry Lodge B&B. We stopped for some fast food on the way, and when we finally got there, we collapsed in our beds and fell promptly asleep.
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