Great expectations

Having travelled to nearly every country in Western Europe, but not Northern Ireland… I wanted to take advantage of my recent trip to the UK to check this country off my list, so to speak. It is not somewhere I can see myself seeking out as an individual travel destination for a holiday, yet I have wanted to see the Giant’s Causeway since I first saw a photo of its hexagonal basalt columns. Although it was interesting to visit Belfast and learn about what they call The Troubles, and see the 40 ft. peace walls who’s gates are still locked on weekends, it is still coming into its own after years of violence. Driving the Coastal Road to the Giant’s Causeway, however, was a slideshow of quintessential Irish countryside. I tried to manage my expectations as we arrived, knowing that often the real thing is not quite what the coffee table books show you… case in point, have you ever been to Stonehenge?! The Giant’s Causeway is a much larger site than I was expecting and the money shot is really just one of six components making up the site. However, the Wishing Chair, as it is called, satisfied my desire to see it, sit on it and stand on it. What we weren’t expecting to find was a gorgeous sand beach a short drive up the road with no less than 50 surfers in the ice colds waves… of Northern Ireland?! But, as we drove home silently sucking on our local Yellow Man candy I thought, this is why we travel. To see for ourselves... Sinn Féin. Photos coming soon