Round the World Trip - June
2005
To Northern Ireland and Surrounds
(England, Scotland & the South). |
Round the World 2005
From the USA to Northern Ireland - June |
 We
made it to Northern Ireland safe and sound.
My mother drove us from Glenside to Brooklyn (NY) in the morning,
we took a cab from Shawn's place to JFK Airport and flew to London
overnight.
In the morning, in London, we transferred to a flight to Belfast.
In belfast Stewart & Carol picked us up and drove the hour
and half back to County Londonderry, in the North.
One of the first places we went was the beach! |
 Devon
is so cute when he runs so intentionally and playfully.
He loves the beach. |
We visited Northern Ireland
at almost the same time LAST YEAR.
Visit last
year's Round the World Trip (2004) |
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| Hanging out with the family again! |
 Rachel
and Matthew were some of the first people that we saw!!
They were both very giving, very loving.
Devon just loved being with Rachel and Matthew and them with
him. They are such great cousins. |
 Nannie,
Catherine and Devon enjoyed each others company.
We spent half of our evenings around at the Skeet house.
Thanks for your hospitality Catherine and family!!
(Me and Catherine Below) |
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 Devon
did lots of fun things back in Northern Ireland.
As, in America, he was truly loved and adored by all.
He got everything a little boy could want and more.
He acknowledged that by being as loving, generous and kind as
he is. He is a delight and I am honoured to be his mother. |
 In
this photograph Devon was rolling down hill on my parents driveway
in Coleraine, having a great time! >>>>>
It reminded us of the time my younger brother Russell did the
same thing at this age (30 years ago now).
Russell used to ride on a little red plastic dog with wheels
and zoom down the GIANT step hill, legs in the air. We all held
our breath! |
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| Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland.
This castle reminds me of a scene from Harry Potter & the
Half-Blood Prince...
It's spooky, yet entrancing, and it looks as if it is stuck on
the top of the cliff with magic. I'm sure this must be a leprechaun
hideout.
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 See
our walk around
Dunluce Castle.
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| Visiting Portstewart on the North Antrim Coast
of Northern Ireland. |
 We
went for many lovely long walks during our home in Northern Ireland.
One of our favourite places to visit is portstewart. This is
a wonderful seaside town in the North Antrim Coast and it has
a great atmosphere.
I spent many many hours of my life in portstewart
as a child. |
 Nannie
was, for many years, a teacher in Portstewart Primary school.
This is the harbour.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< |
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| There is also a great park there. In the summer there
is an outdoor swimming pool which gets packed! |
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Overnight Passenger Ferry to visit James
from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Liverpool,
England. |
Over to England on an overnight passenger ferry.
To have the opportunity to experience the newest member of the
Parkhill clan - James (son of Russell & Natasha) - we had
to travel to England.
I'm always moved to meet a new being. |
 Giving
another being the opportunity to experience this life... is such
a gift.
It's a miracle. It's good for us to remember that being alive
is a privledge. (Condisering how many
non-living things there are around!)
Look. Here's a new life>>
His name is James. Welcome to the world little James.
It's an amazing place.
For more about our visit click here:
Visiting the Parkhills
of Northampton, England |
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| Back in the old neighbourhood... |
 We
also visited the Boyde's of Chester, Gill & Darren, and Dorothy
(Lisa's cousin) her husband Steve & their new baby
Benjamin, as well as Punted on the river Cam in Cambridge.
<<< As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves very much.
Devon even wanted to try it ourselves.
Punting
on the River Cam
A First Punting Experience |
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The Giant's Causeway
The
North Antrim (Causeway) Coast, Northern Ireland. |
 The
Giant's Causeway is always a wonderous place to visit. We are
sitting on the Giant's wishin chair above the sea. Calms even
the craziest of minds.
We visited the Giant's Causeway several times during our stay.
Devon LOVED the rocks, climbing around and watching waves.
We also went with my best school friend, from my Foyle &
Londonderry College days, Niki (and her two beautiful children
Amber and Kieran.)
Visit the: Giant's
Causeway, N. Ireland 2005 |
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The Glens of Antrim Northern
Ireland
O fficially designated, "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" |
 Within
the Glens of Antrim there are many nature walks. It's the sort
of place you could spend ALL DAY (except when it it raining -
which it was).
So stayed for a short while.
We began with chips and hot-chocolate in the cafe, under cover,
and then ventured out to visit the Glenariff Waterfall...
See our hike over the wooden platforms in our photo diary of
the Glens of
Antrim.
View the Glens
of Antrim Historical Society website. |
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A Car Ferry to Ireland
with
the Parkhills. |
We took a ferry to the South of Ireland with my Mum and Dad.
We took the Buncrana to Rathmullan car ferry.
My dad spent many years in Rathmullan as a child. He even showed
me where his Sunday-school picnics were held down by the water.
We also visited dad's cousin James and the family as well as
tracking down churches with family connections. There was one,
overlooking the water... charming.
View our photos of our trip to the South
of Ireland. |
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The HSS - from Larne (N.Ire) to Stranraer (Scotland)
"The largest, smoothest passenger
ferry in the world!" |
 Last
year, my friend Tracey and her daughter Olivia took a flight to
Northern Ireland to visit us.
This year, the three of us took a passenger ferry across to Scotland
to visit Tracey, Derek and Olivia at their home in Ayr.
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The Causeway Railway
with
Grampa Parkhill. |
Grampa took Devon on the steam train that runs between Bushmills
and the Giant's Causeway.
The train travels along the coastline overlooking some of the
most spectacular views of the North Atlantic Ocean.
It reminds me of the Hogwarts Express (but smaller).
See the The
Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway Journey with Grampa. |
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Devon's Second visit to Coleraine
June 2005 |
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| This time he can walk, talk, run, throw, climb and
kick (soccerballs). See what Devon's visit was like, click: Devon's
2nd visit to Coleraine. |
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A Birthday Farewell
July 2005 |
 My
mum and dad took the whole family out for a beautifully delicious
Chinese meal for my birthday.
It was wonderful chance to spend my birthday with my parents
and family.
It was also a great opportunity for Devon to be in the presence
of so many of his favourite people. |
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| We then packed up and left for Chaing Mai, Thailand... click here. |
See the photos of the HSS and our 
