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| A cow in a field with her two white calves. |
“Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland”
of the castles are still standing, and some can even be visited by tourists.”
On November 8, 2019, we’ll arrive in the US via a cruise from Southampton, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From there, we’ll head to Minnesota to spend time with family, staying a few weeks, and then off to Nevada and Arizona to see more family members.
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| From this site: “Livestock ear tags were developed in 1799 under the direction of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, for identification of Merino sheep in the flock established for King George III. Matthew Boulton designed and produced the first batch of sheep ear tags and produced subsequent batches, modified according to suggestions received from Banks. The first tags were made of tin. Ear tags were incorporated as breed identification in the United States, forming the International Ohio Improved Chester Association as early as 1895 and stipulated in the Articles of Incorporation as an association animal and breed identification of the improved Chester White. However, ear tags were developed in Canada as early as 1913 to identify cattle when testing for tuberculosis. A significant increase in the use of ear tags appeared with the outbreak of BSE in the UK. Today, ear tags in a variety of designs are used throughout the world on many species of animal to ensure traceability, to help prevent theft[citation needed] and to control disease outbreaks.” |
Currently, we aren’t sure how long we’ll stay in the US but anticipate it will be for 60 days total. Our following booked venues are for two upcoming cruises. At this point, we don’t have any holiday homes or hotels booked in between.
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| Another cow on a hill. |
We have no intention of stopping our worldwide travels. These gaps in our itinerary are merely a result of the challenges we’ve faced over my health in the past three months, which prevented us from taking the time to conduct research and book future venues.
In addition, the precarious nature of my long recovery caused us to wait to arrange further bookings with a fear we’d pay deposits, and my recovery would result in further delays with travel becoming an issue.
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| Although they all may look alike, we only share one photo of each of the ruins we encounter while driving through the countryside. |
After our 25 hour travel day between last Saturday, May 11th, and Sunday, May 12th, we knew we’d be able to continue. How I managed the long trip (especially with a wheelchair) made it all possible. We won’t need to book Business Class on our next flight to Amsterdam on August 9th, when it’s a short flight only lasting for a few hours.
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| A red door on the ruins of a barn or outbuilding. |
Our next flight from there will be on August 23rd, the day the Baltic cruise ends. We’ll fly from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to Exeter, England, which is a less than a two-hour flight. Soon we’ll be booking a holiday home in the UK for a total of 60 days ending on October 24, 2019, when we’ve booked a cruise from South Hampton, England, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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| There doesn’t appear to be any information about the various ruins of houses, barns, and outbuildings in Ireland. Although, data may be found regarding the castles and larger structures. |
When staying in holiday homes, medical issues become less of a burden when close to quality medical care. Recovery can easily transpire in any location like Marloth Park, South Africa, and continues now in Connemara, Ireland.
Am I fully recovered now while here in Ireland? No. My left leg continues to be painful and requires sterile care every 48 hours. Tom does this for me, and it’s working out well. We continue to see some improvement and, as I walk several times a day, the progress has accelerated.
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| In Connemara, with many sea inlets, we often see bogs and waterways during low tide. |
In the next few weeks, we’ll begin research for the next leg of a journey as indicated above for the 40 days in the UK and consider where we’ll be going after we wrap up the time in the USA.
There’s no doubt there’s a degree of uncertainty about where we’d like to go after our time in the US ends. We considered many remote locations before my heart issues, but now, we’ve begun to rethink some of these.
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| This could have been a house and a barn, all constructed using readily available stones on this rocky island. |
There’s no certainty regarding our health or the increased potential of sustaining a debilitating injury as we age. We have no idea what the future holds, but then again, neither does anyone else. My objective now is to continue to regain strength and stability, which will take time and patience.
Tonight, we’re heading to a popular pub/restaurant in Carna, which has live Irish music. We’ll be back tomorrow with photos of our evening “on the town.”
Photo from one year ago today, May 18, 2018:
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| Three Egyptian geese on the shore of the Chobe River. For more photos of Chobe, please click here. |