Friday, August 1

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Today was our last full day here in Northern Ireland.

We caught the bus to downtown Bangor for one last breakfast at Ward's. We didn't order the "Ulster Fry," though, as we felt two of these in one week might result in immediate cardiac arrest. We opted for tea & scones. Ryan ate one Treacle & Ginger scone and one date & walnut scone (delicious). Treacle is like molasses. Kelly ate one of the treacle & ginger scones as well.

We walked around the streets of dowtown Bangor for a couple of hours. The highlight was the marina on Bangor Harbor. We saw an Irish seal pop his head up as we strolled by. He kept his head up for a good minute or two checking us out and breathing very loudly through his nostrils. We both are HUGE animal lovers, and this was a first for us as far as seeing a seal in the wild! Very cool.

Lisa took us up to Scrabo Tower in the afternoon for some INCREDIBLE views of the entire area. Just down the hill from the tower is one of those classic British Isles golf courses you see when they play the British Open. We snapped several shots especially for our golf-loving-brother-in-law, Ben. That's golf the way it was meant to be played.

We'll tell our host family "farewell" tomorrow morning. They've been fantastic hosts -- willing to cart us around wherever we wanted to go. We're looking forward to many more such trips, Lord willing, in the future. The church here -- and across the entire island -- is in great need of any type of support we can give. Colin and Lisa are doing a great job in a place that is as difficult as any we know of to spread the gospel.

So, it's off to the Republic tomorrow morning. Fortunately, Colin's sister-in-law, Denise, is a driving instructor here and was gracious enough to take us out for a while to learn the basics of driving in Ireland. This will surely come in handy as we'll be doing a lot of driving all across the countryside of Northwest Ireland. Hopefully, our cottage will have internet access so we can keep these posts coming. If not, they may be sparse.

Thanks for keeping tabs on us...we really love hearing from you!

-- Ryan & Kelly

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Photos

Bangor Seal
This little guy popped his head up right as we walked by!

Golf Course (1)
Seeing these natural courses cut right out of the terrain make me wish I still played golf.

For Dad's Wall
Dad...notice the strategic placement of the coffee shop's logo.

Comments

[Kate, Livi and Mommy]

Hi Guys
Hi Uncle and Aunt Kelly! We liked the picture of the seal!! We know you are having a great time. We just want to make sure that you are coming home...you're not going to just decide to stay forever are you? Maybe you will see Piggley, Molly, Ferny, and Dannan soon - I'm waiting for a picture. Hope you have the internet at your new place - this is my favorite time of day. Love you guys....

[Becky Barlow]

Hello Kelly and Ryan, I am from South Anna Elementary School and work in Special Education just in case you don't know who I am. I enjoyed looking at the beautiful scenery in Ireland. I hope you had a wonderful time. It looks like it in the photos. I just wanted you to know that I truely enjoyed the pictures. It was so beautiful. Becky