Category Archives: Ireland

Ireland, United Kingdom

Aimless Felines and Fitted Sheets – UK and Irish Travel

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September 4 through October 6, 2019 – United Kingdom and Ireland

Written by Jim

Our choosing the U.K. and Ireland as our first destination outside of North America was, first and foremost, a journey to explore Diana’s ancestral roots. With that being said, there also was a certain comfort in knowing the people of these lands spoke the same language as us. That fact allowed us to acquaint ourselves to European culture with relative ease. In wrapping up our trip, I felt it would be fun to highlight some of the unique differences we encountered. If you ever find yourselves making a similar trip, perhaps this post will help in some small way.

Roadways and driving

In speaking with people about our trip, the first thing that usually comes up is the fact we drove a motorhome on the opposite side of the road. While I knew that travelers make that switch every day, there was a bit of fear involved before we got there. We learned early on that we were wise to refer to their style of driving as the ‘opposite’ and not the ‘wrong’ side. Why do they drive that way? Traveling on the left dates back to jousting days, when right-handed swordsmen preferred to keep their opponents on their right. It was the teamsters of the U.S. and France who changed our way of travel in the 1700’s. Using their right hand to whip the teams of horses meant they had to sit on the left. Defense of the wagon fell to the person in the right hand seat, hence the term ‘riding shotgun’. Anyway, the opposite side driving turned out to be a non-issue for me. Perhaps it was the physical act of climbing behind the wheel on the right side of the vehicle that caused me to think ‘this is different’. After a month of driving that way, I was so at ease that I began to fear I’d screw up when I got back home to the States!

So what about driving on the British Isles proved challenging? The biggest issue had to be the varying width of the roads. To be specific, the narrow side roads in England and Ireland which had tall hedges and walls within a foot of the edge of the pavement were the toughest. In a lot of situations, our mirrors were hanging over the lines on each side. I quickly learned to visualize my right front tire (which was under my right foot) tracking just to the left of the center line. Looking in the mirrors on an uncrowded straightaway, I was able to verify that we were centered in the lane. It worked, as we finished the trip with both mirrors intact.

Scottish roads were easier, as roads like this were wide open. If someone had crested the hill in the above photo, I would’ve waited just this side of the pullout to the right up ahead and given a quick two-flash of my lights. They would pull in, I would pass and we’d both give a wave and a smile. And before you think a motorhome doesn’t belong on a road such as this, semi-trucks (known as lorries), tour buses, and farm tractors all use these. Oddly enough, it works well. The main reason it does can be summed up with two words: patience and courtesy. I won’t say road rage is non-existent on the British Isles, but it is extremely rare. Grid lock ends up being a chance to say hi to your neighbors and share a laugh.

Freeways (known as motorways) also present their own challenges. Reverse everything you know, as the left lane is the slow lane. Entrance and exit ramps are also on the left. What is really odd is to look in your mirror as you are entering the motorway and see everyone moving to the center lane. That sort of courtesy is rare in the States. If you ever have the opportunity to drive in the UK and Ireland, its best to leave any aggressive tendencies you may have at home.

Signs take a bit of getting used to. Speed limit signs are round with a red circle around them. I like the red, as it is easy to spot. The UK…including Northern Ireland…are in miles per hour. The Republic of Ireland is in kilometers per hour. That took some getting used to during our five days in Ireland. One note on that: Our rented Tom-Tom GPS only worked in the UK. Once we left Northern Ireland and entered the Republic of Ireland, we totally relied on Google Maps.

Speaking of Google Maps; Diana used it extensively. We had rented a wireless hotspot from Tep Wireless that worked pretty well while on the road. In hindsight, we might have been better to get a SIM card at the airport. There are people in both camps on that subject. When traveling in the States in the same vehicle, Diana would often navigate for me. On this trip, she was more of a co-pilot than navigator, in that I relied heavily on the information she was sending me. She was constantly monitoring the route as if she was driving herself. Roundabouts are plentiful over there, and she developed a great way to get through them.

In this instance, If we entered below and exited at the right, she would say “Roundabout in a half mile. Enter at 6, leave at 3. It’s the 3rd exit, East on A-162”. It was very easy for me to visualize, allowing me to keep my eyes on the road.

A few more things: Signs saying “Slow Down” are there for a reason. The speeds posted going into corners are very accurate. We would go as slow as we needed to. Out of courtesy, we would pull over to let others pass when the opportunity presented itself. With that being said, rest areas are few and far between. In place of that, we found plenty of well marked ‘parking areas’…which are usually a paved pull off on the left. We found those a great spot to not only let people pass, but to also use the motorhome’s bathroom.

On the subject of signs: a few signs had us scratching our heads…especially “Cats Eyes Removed”. Our thoughts immediately went to some poor kitty who had to have it’s eyeballs taken out, and was wandering aimlessly along the roadside. Silly Americans….

These are ‘cats eyes’, the little reflectors in the middle of the road. Where we have a single reflector in the U.S., they have two…giving the appearance of a pair of cat’s eyes reflecting back at you. The U.K. puts up those warning signs during road resurfacing. 🐱

Groceries and Big-box Stores

If you are an American and you shop at Aldi, the experience of grocery shopping in the UK and Ireland will be nearly the same for you. They also have a chain called Lidl (pronounced like Little) that operates on the same concept. As far as traditional groceries go, Morrisons, CoOp, Tesco, Waitrose, and Sainsbury are similar to the U.S.

Asda stores are the most like a Walmart. They should be, as Walmart actually owns them. In general, not one of the grocery stores has the vast selection we have in the U.S. However, we found prices to be much cheaper than back at home. The greatest grocery success story for me personally was the gluten free selection and pricing.

Especially in the UK (not so much in Ireland), the stores had large ‘Free From’ sections. Bread was fresh (not frozen), tasty and cheap. A normal sized loaf of gluten free bread in the UK could be had for just over £2…around $3 US. That would cost me $10 at Publix in Florida. Downside to that is that I would be much heavier if I lived there. 😉

Check this out. All four wheels swivel on their shopping carts. When I first looked at them, I thought ‘how the heck am I going to control that???’ Oddly enough, I left thinking they were the greatest thing ever.

At the checkout, all of the cashiers are seated in desk chairs. Most foreign credit cards require a signature, unless your card has a ‘tap’ feature. Bring your own bags. This store was on the Isle of Skye, where Gaelic is first and English is second on all of the signage. This woman had met U.S. citizens from 48 of the 50 states, needing only Idaho and South Dakota. I told her we would send our friends Jim and Barb her way from the latter state.

Old Buildings

One thing the UK and Ireland do exceedingly well is to reuse older buildings. It is common to walk into a 200-plus year old structure and find it bustling with activity. Nothing nicer than to see modern wares displayed in a building with character. The downside to that is that they are, for the most part, not wheelchair friendly. Having dealt with Diana’s mom’s wheelchair, I thought ‘this isn’t ADA compliant!’ I then chuckled to myself when I remembered ‘ADA’ stands for American Disability Act. The other safety concern I repeatedly encountered was outside doors that opened inward. In a fire situation, that could be deadly. It’s rare to find doors on businesses that are like that in the U.S.

Discounts

In the U.S., most senior discounts start at either age 62 or 65. A bonus for those of us just below that threshold: concession admissions (senior discounts) begin at age 60 in the British Isles, for the most part.

Campgrounds

Almost every part of RVing in Europe is different than in the U.S. We stayed in campgrounds wherever we went, as we liked having services available to us. Where our fifth wheel in the U.S. has four 40 gallon tanks on it (fresh, galley, grey and black), our Scout’s tanks were much smaller. With a little effort, we could’ve gone two days without dumping or refilling. We chose to do that daily, so as to not run into any issues. Dumping the black tank is not as simple as attaching a hose and pulling a lever. Instead, we (Jim 🙂 ) had to physically remove the tank (called a cassette) and take it to a central dump (called a chemical waste point). Not fun, but not terrible either. Grey water was dumped by driving over a drain and pulling the lever. Fresh water required us to fill our tank; there was no way to directly connect a hose. Electricity was 10 amp, 230 volts…so we didn’t have a microwave or air conditioning. Nina at Wheelingit can speak to that better than I can, as I believe they just put A/C in their rig in Europe. We also had only a tea kettle, as drip coffee isn’t a thing over there. Neither are fitted sheets. You get one flat sheet and a blanket…which you sleep between.

Restrooms and showers all featured no-peek partitions. Europeans all think we are nuts for having gaps in our stalls. I agree. Who on earth came up with peek-a-boo stalls?

We also were asked when making reservations if we had an awning. There is an extra charge, if you do. We thought to ourselves ‘why would that matter???’ Well…

…this is what they consider to be an awning. We refer to these as add-a-rooms. Most vehicles are too small to haul trailers (called caravans), so people set them up seasonally in these parks, along with an ‘awning’.

And one of the few campground dryers that’s actually dried our clothes was made in the U.S.A. This unit had a traditional vent on the back that allowed the moisture to be released outside. Most dryers were condenser dryers, meaning the water would condense and fall into a tank in the bottom of the unit. They basically get your clothes hot and humid, but nowhere close to being dry. Our purchase of twenty cheap hangers at Tesco the first night proved to be invaluable. There were times our Scout looked like a rolling walk-in closet, with clothes hung from every cabinet handle. 😊

Most parks had well manicured sites that were gigantic. We rarely felt like our neighbors were on top of us. All in all, we really enjoyed the experience of RVing in the British Isles.

Well that wraps up our posts about the UK and Ireland. Next up, we detail our return to Michigan for a bit along with our trip to Florida for the winter. For now, we leave you with a traditional Celtic prayer:

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.



Especially that “May the wind always be at your back” part. 😊

Until next time, safe and happy travels to all!

Ireland

A Little Rain, Good Friends and Irish Whiskey

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September 24-25, 2019 – Southern and Western Ireland

Written by Jim

We are back from our U.K. & Ireland adventure, but still catching up the blog.

On the morning of September 24, we awoke to a fairly steady rain in Killarney, Ireland. This was more like the weather we were expecting when planning our trip, but it landed on a day where we were hoping to see some amazing scenery along the coast. We made the decision to forego our drive around the Ring of Kerry that day, and chose instead to visit the coastal town of Dingle.

We parked our little Scout near the marina. Donning our rain gear, we headed out to see what gems the little town might hold. As we weaved our way through the shops and narrow streets, we spotted a church up on a hill.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church was built between 1862 and 1865. By Irish standards, it’s a fairly new building. What was interesting to note was the new roof that was installed in 1963. A mixture of old and new…something that seemed unique to what we had seen thus far.

After exiting the church, we spotted a convent turned art gallery next door that we toured. As we were leaving, Diana asked if there was a pub in town that the locals frequented. Being married to a Catholic, she knew who to ask. :). The lady there said “either Dick Mack’s or Foxy John’s.” We chose the latter.

Talk about a place with character! Diana remarked how much the bartender looked like her Grandpa O’Morrow. She had a pint of ale and I chose a dram of Slane Irish whiskey. There were mostly locals in the place, besides us and a couple of girls from Ohio. That brought up a mention of the University of Michigan/Ohio State University rivalry. When another couple walked in sporting U of M clothing, I told the girls “Hey Ohio…you’re outnumbered.” 🙂 The other unique thing about Foxy John’s was that it was not only a pub….

…but it was also a hardware store! So THIS must be the place they came up with the drink called a screwdriver!

The next day, we pointed our motorhome towards the Blarney Caravan and Camping Park to meet up with some good friends, Linda and Steven from The Chouters. We first met them in Kentucky when the four of us were working for Amazon. Since then, these fellow full time RVers sold their beloved Travel Supreme motorhome named Scoopy, moved to France and bought a Hymer motorhome they have named Bijou. We caught up with them at the tail end of their two month-plus long adventure through Steven’s homeland of Ireland. After a quick tour of their rolling home, we piled into their rented car and headed off for the town of Cobh. How on earth do you pronounce that one? Steven informed us that the Irish language sounds out a ‘bh’ as a ‘v’, making this tiny port the town of Cove. That’s what it originally was called until it was changed to Queenstown in honor of a visit by Queen Victoria. It was changed to a Gaelic spelling of Cove after Ireland became independent of Great Britain.

Our destination was the White Star Line ticket office. Cobh (Queenstown at the time) was the last port that Titanic stopped at before sailing towards New York. The building is now used to house The Titanic Experience…a simulation of what it was like to board the great ship from there. Before the harbor was dredged, vessels as large as the Titanic had to anchor out in the harbor. Tenders would ferry passengers from this office to the waiting ships. It is interesting to note that the ship in this photo, the average sized Norwegian Spirit, is only four feet shorter in length than the Titanic.

Our tour guide Lynn did an excellent job of explaining the different classes of passengers and what their experiences would’ve been.

We were all issued a ticket from an actual passenger who boarded at Queenstown, which we used at the end of the tour to see if we survived. Most people on the tour didn’t make it.

These are the remains of the dock where the passengers boarded the tenders. Known locally as Heartbreak Pier, over one million Irish emigrated from this spot. Plans are in the works to restore it.

The last photo taken of the Titanic sailing was taken from the mouth of the harbor at Queenstown.

From Cobh, we headed to Midleton to tour the Jameson Distillery. If any of you know Linda and Steven, you are aware that Jameson Irish Whiskey is a favorite of theirs. It was pretty special to accompany them on this tour!

The buildings were quaint, the grounds were beautiful and the entire experience had a magical feel to it.

This huge water wheel, built in 1852, used to power the milling process in the plant. While it doesn’t perform that duty anymore, it does still turn.

This is the largest pot still in the world. At 31,618 gallons, it is too big to get a complete photo of!

And here is a link to my hometown…a Fordson tractor. Manufactured by Henry Ford and Son (that son would be Edsel), these tractors were made both in Michigan and in the U.K. Many people don’t realize that Henry Ford was a farmer before he was an automobile manufacturer. His disdain of manual farm work drove him to look for ways to make agricultural life easier. He was also of Irish descent.

The tour ended with a comparison tasting of Jameson against a Scottish whiskey (Johnnie Walker) and an American whiskey (Jack Daniels). The peat-smokiness of the Johnnie Walker was harsh as compared to the Jameson, but the Jack was pleasurable in it’s uniqueness. The Jameson was my favorite of the three though…I’m sure by their design. 🙂

Cheers to Linda and Steven and their travels throughout Europe! We had a marvelous day with this adventurous pair. 🙂

Next up, we head back through Scotland and into England in search of Diana’s Halstead roots. Along the way, we are treated to a very unique and fun connection to England’s recent past. Be sure to stay tuned for that post. Until then, safe and happy travels to all!

Ireland, United Kingdom

A Warm Irish Welcome

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September 22, 23, & 26, 2019 – Ireland

Written by Diana

We are back from our U.K. & Ireland adventure, but still catching up the blog.

Please note the dates.

September 22, 2019

My maternal grandfather was Howard O’Morrow. I have been able to trace this branch of my family tree to my 2nd Great Grandfather, Edward M. O’Morrow, who was born in Ireland in 1808. I’m not sure what town he was born in or what year he immigrated, but he died in Canada in 1880. Based on family stories and the fact that the years match up, I’m confident that he left Ireland due to the Potato Famine. Blight devastated the potato crop and during the seven years between September 1845 – 1852, one million people died, and one million people were forced to leave. 100,000 tenant farmers were exiled to Canada in 1847 alone. When we left Northern Ireland and drove to the Republic of Ireland, our first stop was Strokestown Park & The National Famine Museum.

This was the home of Denis Mahon, the first landlord to be assassinated during the height of the Great Famine of Ireland in 1840’s. The tenants and their families were starving and delivered this letter to him, but resorted to violence when their letter received no results.

The landowners were responsible for taking care of the starving tenants. They determined it was cheaper to assist in their emigration, rather than pay for their upkeep in the workhouse. The ships they provided were so crowded with already weak passengers, that the mortality rate was often as high as 40%. There is a memorial on Grosse Ile in Quebec, Canada to the 5,000 Irish who did not survive the voyage and are interred in mass graves on the island. The home of Denis Mahon, called Strokestown Park was musty and not well preserved. The National Famine Museum, on the same property, was well done. It took a sad, complicated tragedy, and presented it in a balanced and understandable way.

Edward M.’s son, Edward Dean O’Morrow (my Great Grandfather), was born in Canada in 1862, immigrated to the thumb area of Michigan as a young man in 1881, was a dairy farmer, and died there in 1944. The fact they were able to own their own land through homesteading and their own hard work, certainly shows they were successful in their new country. What pride they must have had in owning their own land and farm, when generations before them were at the mercy of the landowners as tenant farmers in Ireland.

September 23, 2019

Our second day in Ireland was an exciting one. It seemed like we fit three days worth of fun into one. The first thing we did was visit the Barack Obama Plaza. (If this makes you groan, just chalk it up to us needing diesel.😀) When Barack was President, researchers from Ireland determined that he had Irish heritage on his mom’s side. They decided to name a service plaza near his ancestral home after him. Michelle and Barack came in 2011 to the tiny village of Moneygall, where they met his closest living Irish relative. On the second floor of the plaza, there is a very nice museum that celebrates the many U.S. Presidents that have Irish roots.

Imagine how thrilled we were that Michelle and Barack O’Bama were back for a visit!

Next we visited the nearby town of Toomevara. Before computers and ancestry.com, one of my distant relatives researched the O’Morrow family. He put in a lot of effort, traveling, and even taking classes in Irish history. He still was unable to find much information. He determined that our Irish ancestors were not landowners. He also shared that his research showed that the O’Morrow name went back to either O’Mara, Mara, O’Meara, or Meara. Since Toomevara means “Tomb of the O’Mearas” we felt that this was a good place to start. Jim had a feeling that we should go to St. Joseph’s Parish and check out the cemetery. We were able to find O’Meara and Ryan (Edward M.’s wife’s maiden name), but they were too recent as we were looking for graves of their possible parents which would have been from the early to mid 1800’s.

We decided to go inside and check out the church, hoping the rain would let up some. A couple came in the vestibule and were putting out new bulletins, so I figured they were local. I asked if they knew how old the graves were in the cemetery and the man became very excited when he heard we were from America. He has a sister in California and he insisted that he help us. He wanted us to get in his car, so he could take us to the people in town that know about its history. We thanked him, but declined his offer. He said we could walk then and insisted we come with him. He was so determined to help us, that we took off for what we thought was to be a short walk with him. First we went to the post office, because the postmaster knows a lot of the area history. The post office was closed for lunch. So we continued on in the rain and wind several more blocks to the priest’s house who also knows the history of the parish. Unfortunately, the priest was not at home. Neither did he answer when our new friend called him on the phone. Next stop, back across the road, and down a ways to the gas station. Our friend William was greeted by the locals as we walked up in the rain and wind. While Jim and I were wearing our raincoats, he led this whole adventure in his sweater! Yes, we looked out of place.

William asked the young woman behind the counter if her parents were there. She called her father on the phone, and he came to the store to help us. We were overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. Her father Richie suggested we needed to go to Nenagh Heritage Centre and see Nora who is the genealogist. Richie said once I got the details from Nora, to come back to him and he would find the graves for me! Unfortunately, the museum was closed that day. When we got back in the motor home I broke down and cried. I couldn’t believe how these people had gone out of their way to make us crazy Americans feel so welcome.

We topped off the day with a visit to the Cliffs of Moher. The weather cooperated so we could get in a short hike. Beautiful!

September 26, 2019

On our last day in Ireland we went to the Nenagh Heritage Centre to speak with Nora. After some initial confusion, Nora was able to explain that (O)Morrow and O’Meara/Mara are two different surnames. Morrow is Protestant (which fits with my heritage) and O’Meara/Mara is Catholic. Morrow is now more common in Ulster than in England where it originated. This is important information and will help my further research.

Next up, we meet up with some good friends who are off on an adventure of their own! We spent a fabulous day with them exploring a distillery and a ticket office. That will round out our time in Ireland before we return to England. Be sure to tune in for that post. Until then, safe and happy travels to all!