Alison's Visit & Ireland!

Preparing to kiss the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle.


A Celtic Cross found in the lake near the monastery on an island we rowed out to.


Stealing a kiss at the waterfall in the national park near Kilarney


Our picnic spot with the islands far in the background.


A distant picture of the two islands


The bird island- most of the white is either birds (about 10,000) or their poo :)


One of the Skelligs- you can just barely see the 600 steps leading up to the ancient monastery at the top.


Stacey and Alison on the boat. I barely survived the trip due to giant swells- it was a 3-dimensional rollercoaster ride for two hours since the swells prevented us from landing at the island. I made it through, but it was pretty miserable on the way back! The upside was getting to see a few puffins- so cool!


The strangest coincidental meeting in Europe so far- out at the end of the Ring of Kerry we had arranged to take a boat trip out to the Skelligs, two small islands inhabited by 1,000s of birds and the ruins of a 6th century Christian monastery. When we were walking down to the docks in this 200-person town, I thought I recognized someone in line, and it was Sharon from my seminary out in Denver. She was on a guided tour of early Christian sites with John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg, two prominent Jesus scholars. So random!


Alison being introduced to the Sussex Cream Tea tradition by Stacey at the manse.

Alison, a friend of Stacey's from home, came to visit for a fortnight and we all spent a few days in Ireland together near the Ring of Kerry (Kilarney and Cork).