We started out the morning with pulling HG out of bed at 9 a.m., and she was happy to hear pancakes (which ended up being more like crepes) were waiting on her at breakfast (which she and I rolled up to with wet hair). After a delicious breakfast upstairs at the Lodge with a beautiful view of the lake, we headed off to our packed day of adventures.
First, falconry class! The center is home to over 20 hawks, probably 10 falcons, and an owl. Did you know that the falcon is the fastest animal alive and can fly over 200 mph?! We got a tour of their sleeping area and learned how they weigh each bird every morning to make sure they feed them juuuust enough that they’ll still be hungry enough to come back to the teacher/walker while on an excursion with visitors. Their favorite snack? An intact chick (which our guide readily pulled out of her pocket within one second’s warning of ‘Are you squeamish?’). John and Granddaddy officially participated in the walk, and the rest of us tagged along. They were able to carry a hawk on their hand, raise their arm to send it off, and ask it to come back with a little meat in their hand. Amazing experience! At the end, HG asked our teacher if she could hold one, and the teacher gladly let her. The bird flailed a bit during handover, and our brave girl just held still and powered through that much action so close to her face until it settled down. I would never have made it! We were so impressed.
After our falconry class, we followed HG around as she explored the wonderfully intricate gardens (including a secret one that you found through a tunnel) and made it back to the castle in time for lunch in the castle’s drawing room. The staff surprised her with singing and bringing her a birthday cake!
Then, we headed to the equestrian center for a riding lesson for HG. I don’t think they really knew that she had taken lessons before, so they held the horse pretty close. They soon realized that she knew what she was doing and complimented her on her posture and how she controlled the horse. Proud mama moment! They took her on a bit of a trail ride and then let her trot around the ring.
We then set off on some trails of our own to find HG a cave (which was a bust) and then the Guinness Tower (which was really cool; a grand tower, alone by itself in the middle of the woods). By that time, we were starving and headed toward Cong, the nearby village, to find some dinner. What an amazing day of exploring new adventures and celebrating our favorite six year old!
Wake up, sleepyhead. This is after both John and I had taken a shower, throw open the drapes, and turned on the tv.
Breakfast with a view at the Lodge
Listing of the birds’ daily weights
John got the one bird that you couldn’t look in the eye. Talk about some pressure!
HG is a little excited as we set off for our walk.
Now we head into the woods with the birds…
Watch out, HG- DUCK!
Granddaddy was being bad by walking out on this fallen, spiky tree, hanging over a big ditch…
Photographers being photographers…
She found the secret garden
And we rounded a corner and saw THIS- a castle!!!
We found this piece of the fort wall with a turret and thought how cool it was that you could walk all the way into the wall for a good long ways…
…and then John looks up and sees a BAT!!!! hanging from the ceiling! Spiffer and I ran away like we were on fire!
Exploring the castle on our way to lunch
The drawing room (which only sounds appropriate if you say it in your most snooty British/Irish accent)
Happy Birthday, Helen Grace!!!
Breakfast with a view at the Lodge
Listing of the birds’ daily weights
John got the one bird that you couldn’t look in the eye. Talk about some pressure!
HG is a little excited as we set off for our walk.
Now we head into the woods with the birds…
Watch out, HG- DUCK!
Granddaddy was being bad by walking out on this fallen, spiky tree, hanging over a big ditch…
Photographers being photographers…
She found the secret garden
And we rounded a corner and saw THIS- a castle!!!
We found this piece of the fort wall with a turret and thought how cool it was that you could walk all the way into the wall for a good long ways…
…and then John looks up and sees a BAT!!!! hanging from the ceiling! Spiffer and I ran away like we were on fire!
Exploring the castle on our way to lunch
The drawing room (which only sounds appropriate if you say it in your most snooty British/Irish accent)
Happy Birthday, Helen Grace!!!
Now we headed to the equestrian center for HG’s lesson
GD had the idea to take the horse some sugar cubes from our lunch. BIG HIT.
On the hunt for a cave
And we stumbled onto the Guinness Tower
And on the way back to the castle, we explored this gate
From the top of the gate
Getting a kick out of locking in Spiffer
And then we headed back to the castle to be American tourists on the lawn…
Walking back to the Lodge before dinner
On the hunt for a cave
And we stumbled onto the Guinness Tower
And on the way back to the castle, we explored this gate
From the top of the gate
Getting a kick out of locking in Spiffer
And then we headed back to the castle to be American tourists on the lawn…
Walking back to the Lodge before dinner
No comments:
Post a Comment