Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those peepers?

Day 2: Today was a long day. After a wonderful evening full of good food and even better friends, we were exhausted. Jo came and surprised everyone at the hotel last night and then stayed to eat dinner with us. I was so excited to see her! She’s coming back sometime within the next two days to spend more time, but we were all so tired, she left right after dinner (Monday).

Tuesday morning we woke up and ate a wonderful hearty Irish breakfast! I had half a grilled tomato, some toast, an egg, bacon, some sausage and fruit, yogurt with pumpkin seeds and raisins with some cranberry-apple compote. It was absolutely delicious; so delicious that Jon decided to pack some sausages for the road. After eating, we piled onto the bus to make our way to Powerscourt House in Enniskerry. It was originally owned by the Wingfield family and then after 360 years was purchased by an American tennis player named Slasinger. The entrance had rows of 1,000 beech trees on both sides and even though they were bare, they were quite beautiful. There was also a river on the way to the house that emptied into the largest waterfall in the country (about 150 feet tall). Once we arrived at the house, we spent a lot of time in the gardens exploring. Kristen, Micah, Michael, Hannah and I were there for about an hour and a half out of the two hours allotted to wander. We made friends with some ducks and discovered a cave at the base of the huge lake in the center of the gardens. We had such a great time snapping pictures of anything and everything we saw.

We then made our way back toward the entrance, filed back onto the bus and then drove to Glendalough. On the drive, we learned a lot about the Irish countryside. For example, have you ever wandered why Ireland is so green? Yes, it rains a lot, but the real reason is because the land is still used mostly for livestock: about 80% to be exact. You can deduce the rest… ha. Also, you will often see a lone tree in a field. Most likely, it’s a black thorn tree. Locals won’t cut it down because that’s where they believe fairies enter our world! By removing the tree, you’ll get rid of one of their portals and legend states they’ll come back to haunt your land, livestock and family!

Once we made it to Glendalough (Glen of two lakes), we visited the local monastery that is centuries old. The city itself was the intellectual center of the region in 600 after the Visigoths invaded surrounding areas. Undoubtedly, the most prominent feature in the monastery was the round tower. Over 300 feet tall, we were amazed to hear that the foundation only went 2.5 feet underground. It was made of stone and the entrance was between 12-14 feet off the ground. The monks would lift a ladder into stone holes to get inside. The youngest monk would have to wake up and ring the bell at 5 a.m. and then continue ringing every four hours for the remainder of the day! The round tower was amidst a cemetery, the ruins of a cathedral and a chapel. We actually ended up singing in the remains of the cathedral for some spectators… it was so much fun!

After leaving Glendalough, we headed to the sea town of Bray. Even though it was cold, we made our way down to the ocean and climbed on some rocks near the shore. Katie and I found a starfish and I ended up falling on an algae-covered rock, covering my right leg in green algae. I didn’t mind though; it was actually kind of funny! We explored a little more and then headed up to a gelato shop. I had sour cherry and lemon gelato; it was so delicious! Once we finished, we grabbed our things from the bus and then transferred over to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church where we sang our first formal concert. It went so well! Dr. Pittman and Dr. Whitley arrived about an hour before the concert and we were so happy to see them! The church was beautiful. Freezing, but beautiful. The concert was put on for benefit of two local charities— Five Loaves and the Bray Women’s Refuge. Before our performance, we rehearsed for a while then gathered to line up. There were a lot of people there for St. Andrew’s size. We sang our first half of the program and then a local women’s a capella group took the stage. They were all older ladies dressed in floor length sequin tops; at first we didn’t know what to expect. But they sang familiar oldies and were lots of fun. At one point, they sang “At the Hop” and we ended up doing the hand jive with them! Once they finished, we sang the last half of our set and then mingled for tea and cookies.

Since we made it back to the hotel a little after 11, pretty much all the local pubs were closed. Instead, we headed to KFC to order some dinner. Michael, our tour guide, inquired to the cashier whether they had any fish— the kid at the counter looked at him like he was crazy. We grabbed our popcorn chicken and then finished out the night eating on the window sill in Clay and Jon’s room. It was a great ending to a great day.

Today, we’re going to Maldahide; you’ll hear all about it soon. Hope you’re all doing well!

P.S. The women’s a capella group sang “Jeepers Creepers,” and prefaced with a story about how they originally thought the song was about a man with pretty eyes and not a horse. Too funny.

INFO ABOUT TODAY (Wednesday) WILL COME LATER TONIGHT, FRIENDS! We love and miss you!