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adventures / friends / history / Ireland / maps / Monday / music / photo / video — Comments Off on The Ring of Kerry, from Kenmare to Dingle
24
Jun 13

The Ring of Kerry, from Kenmare to Dingle

This was breakfast at Virginia’s Guesthouse this morning. Breakfast is the signature of the place.

Breakfast is what we do best at Virginia’s. Noreen is a dedicated “Foodie” and loves to cook. Therefore our varied breakfast menu is constantly changing from season to season, offering only the very best of produce and featuring lots of creative and personalised dishes, as well as the standard Full Irish Breakfast … Noreen’s signature dish is her award-winning “Blue Cheese, Pears & Bacon”.

Turns out the blue cheese on this plate came from the cows we heard mooing at the Rock of Cashel yesterday. They were just telling us we had something to look forward to.

I’d mentioned the narrow roads. This is common. If you convert this, that’s 50 miles per hour. You’ve no idea …

Today was a big driving day. This is our basic route:

The peninsula has several deep glacial lakes. People tend to bypass these if they aren’t careful, but they are peaceful and can offer some great views:

Here’s a brief video from there:

Ah, the old head-on-a-wall joke …

When was the last time you were at a glacial lake?

Evidence! I have it! She started the making-faces game!

We took several of these photos. My eyes are closed in all of them. Uncanny.

She’s showing off her ring, awww.

And now for some potty humor. We stopped at the Parknasilla Resort. The original place here dates back to the 18th century, and once included the Derryquin Castle, which was burned in 1922 by the IRA. The rest of Parknasilla’s history is … complex … and references Noah.

Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but you have to check out the bathrooms:

What was that logo?

Check out the handle.

Enough of that. Just outside of Parknasilla everything feels magical:

But then everything does here, even an hour in the car. You get great treats along the way:

There are wide spots designed for you to pull over every so often. Take advantage of them. Linger.

Or you could be like the typical tourist and hop out, snap a picture and then immediately pile back into the car. Be sure to take your time.

If you don’t you’ll miss a lot of little delights.

Our next stop on the Ring of Kerry was Staigue Fort. You turn off a country road and drive up what amounts to the loneliest private driveway in the world. There are two houses in this valley, and if not for the occasional tourist it would be the sleepiest place you’ve ever imagined.

Rick Steeves’ guidebook calls this a desolate high valley, but I disagree. This place has a lot going for it. Check out these next several shots before I finally show you the fort.

Staigue Fort is believed to date between 300 and 400 AD. It was a defensive fortification, a cultural center and perhaps had some religious significance. The walls are 18 feet high in places and almost as thick at the bottom. It is about 90 feet in diameter. There is no mortar, just stacks of stones, and is thus considered an impressive historical effort of engineering.

If you were standing where I am when taking this picture, you’d be surrounded by hilly terrain on three sides. Over my left shoulder, and down a long chute of this valley, is the sea. No one snuck up on Staigue.

And now to show you how quickly the light changes here, and to give you a slightly different view of the fort, here’s a 360-degree effort I shot on Photosynth. See how parts of the shot are over or under exposed as you move around in it? Cloud, sun, cloud, darker cloud, sun. The sky is very dramatic here:

Later we discovered, almost by accident and visited purely on impulse, the local Skelligs Chocolate factory. They give you samples, and it is delicious:

The next stop is “the best view in County Kerry” just outside of Portmagee. Check out these views:

Of course there is a video. It is the sort of place you could loiter at for a long time, after all.

A few animals we passed on our walk up to that view. There were horses and sheep, too.

And then we visited Cahergall Stone Fort. Some of this is still original, though the upper parts are a historical reconstruction. The sign says “It is likely that somebody of importance lived here about 1,000 years ago.” All of this must be frustrating for historians and archeologists. Some of these forts go back 2,500 years after all. Here’s The Yankee climbing the steps on the inside wall:

Adam demonstrates the height of this fort:

We arrived at Dingle, checked into our bed and breakfast — Eileen Collins’ Kirrary House and ventured out for dinner at John Benny’s Pub, I had a hearty, delicious beef pie. These guys were playing, and you can hear one of their songs in the slideshow below.

We had ice cream at the famous Murphy’s. I was not previously aware that an ice cream shop could be famous, but USA Today called it one of the best in the world. It was good.

Tomorrow we’re riding bikes.

adventures / cycling / I do not know what is happening. / maps / photo / weekend — Comments Off on Just ran a triathlon
11
May 13

Just ran a triathlon

I do not know what is happening.

bodymarks

About a month ago at dinner The Yankee says “I have a crazy idea for you.” This turned out to be “Let’s run a reverse triathlon.”

She’s a good swimmer. We’re both middlingly average cyclists. Neither is much of a runner. So that’s why we’ve recently been running. The trail near us, I mentioned, is safely removed from the road and conveniently measured at 5K. She did four installments on the Couch to 5K plan. I did three. We realized the kinds of in-shape we are does not fall under the “running” category. I also learned this same lesson over my three recent swimming adventures. On the basis of three runs and three swims, and not really knowing how my shoulder would feel about the whole thing anyway, I decided last night to run a triathlon.

We load up the bikes at about 4:45 this morning and head to the nearby Army installation where this will be held. We’ve read that it is a good race for beginners and for people just starting their training for the year. It is mostly flat and typically casual. Those were good things, both in our rationalization and in practice.

A reverse tri, as you might imagine, is done in the opposite order — running, then cycling, then swimming. She thought this would be good because we could get the worst part out of the way. So we start the run at 8:01 — which is a time I’d forgotten occurs on a Saturday. All of the military members, who run everywhere constantly, and the serious athletes take off at an inspirational clip. There’s one small hill to climb on the run, and that’s only a block into the thing.

I make it about a mile before my legs started to bother me. Told you I wasn’t much of a runner. Cramps in the calves tend to slow anyone down, though, so I took it in a limping stride through the rest of the 5K. The running-shuffling-fast walking thing was no fun, but I focused on the upcoming bike leg and before long there we were, changing shoes and chasing people down on wheels.

Which we did. I was happy to pass a lot of people on the bike. My calf complaints disappeared. I couldn’t figure out why my left hip felt numb. But the first half of the route I had a personal best pace. This without trying overly hard because after a 5K run-shuffle and a 20K ride I still had the matter of swimming to do. And I’ve never done all of these things before in one day, so I was consciously trying to save a little bit of energy.

Here was the bike route, which featured one section that made me feel like an actual, competent cyclist:

Got off the bike and realized I couldn’t put any weight on my right foot. I am standing there with one sock on. If I sit down I’m afraid I won’t be able to stand up. I contemplate swimming in a sock. But somehow, I forget already how, the problem was resolved and I made my way to the pool. This transition was long enough for someone who I caught on the first leg of the bike route to catch me again. I was nominated as the inaugural president of the “Runs like garbage but can ride a bike” club.

I take it as a high honor.

The pool was cold. The Yankee — who was also competing in her first triathlon and nursing some aches and pains herself — said it felt great, like an ice bath. The last part was true.

She got in the ice bath and had a fine swim. No one passed her. No one passed her on the bike, either, except me, and we just took turns going by one another. In the pool, though, I just scooted along with a breast stroke and a side stroke since I can’t freestyle very well with my shoulder, which felt good throughout the day.

We didn’t win any prizes — this time — but she was awesome. And we each achieved our individual goals.

I wanted to finish the triathlon and physically feel decent when I did. That was the real one. The silly, made-up-this morning ones included not being the last guy to finish. I also didn’t want to be the last guy in my age group. I didn’t want all of the girls to beat me. And I achieved all of those things. The other important goal was to establish a baseline. Now I have a number to improve upon, should I ever do this again.

The run was terrible, and something to work on, but everything else was pretty decent, considering.

The volunteers were all nice and encouraging. This sort of thing actually helped: “Go anonymous person I’ll never see or think about after finishing this sentence; you are doing a great job, which is to say we haven’t called the ambulance on you thus far, despite your inherent struggles as reflected in how many people are in front of you and your overall pace!”

I was surprised.

And by this, too: I think I want to do another triathlon.

Now we have this open question: How many triathlons must one complete to be considered a triathlete?

adventures / cycling / Friday / maps / music / YouTube Cover Theater — Comments Off on No filling those shoes
26
Apr 13

No filling those shoes

Rode this route this evening:

The Yankee is racing on that tomorrow and I was doing the scouting work. The opening rollers can get you. Your eyes will deceive you. Watch out for that pothole. When you get here shift up. You’ll ride along the top of the hills, so pedal hard.

Gear up when you hit that stop sign. Crush it here. Be careful of that intersection, it feels crazy on the bicycle. Get over your gears on that roller. When you come back in toward the park sprint the last leg. I was breaking 30 through there.

Tomorrow she’ll do her second aquabike, a swim-ride race. Last year, in her first one, she took third place. And now she has another 600-meter swim and a 14-mile ride at John Tanner State Park in Carrollton, Ga. It boasts 28 acres of lakes, the largest sand beach of any Georgia state park and the nicest state park restroom I’ve ever seen. And also really, really cold water in the swimming area.

Things are still unseasonably cool, which feels great in general. But if you have to swim in it at 8 a.m. probably is a different story.

John Tanner was a local business owner who opened and ran the park from 1954 through 1971, when he sold it to the state. Actually it is now a county park. Even better. The state was going to close the park in 2012, but it went back to the locals instead.

The ride felt slow to me, I started cold, I hadn’t eaten enough and I’d gotten right out of the car and on to the bike. But my computer disagreed. It said I had a fairly nice pace for my first time on that route. Nice for me, put still slow, we agreed.

That’s OK, because pasta for dinner! We found our way to a Carrabba’s after noting the local Mellow Mushroom was closed and avoiding the many Captain D’s that seem to populate that part of the world.

They are presently offering a menu that includes seconds. They know their audience, namely, me. Only they brought out both plates at the same time, which didn’t make me look very good I’m sure. Joke’s on them. I still had bike grease and tire dust on my face, apparently.

Badges of honor, I say.

Not much else to say after that. This week’s YouTube Cover Theater features covers of the timeless, brilliant George Jones.

Charlie W. uploaded this video from Belgium today:

Sitting on a porch with crickets buzzing in the background, playing a pretty Gibson Hummingbird and singing about drinking. That’s a George Jones tribute if ever there was one:

Jim Arkus here says he heard the news and sat down on his porch and put this cover of The Door on video:

There are a lot of Jones covers popping up today, and so their traffic is necessarily low. This one has been up for more than a year and I do not understand how it has less than 200 views.

The Opry dedicated their show tonight to Jones, who became a member in 1956:

George Jones had number one singles in four different decades. He marked 26 albums that charted in the top 10 and 72 singles reach such lofty places.

George Jones gets the final word, of course. This was a title track in 1985 and still a fan favorite a decade later, when he performed it in this 1993 concert. It reached number three on the charts as a lament and a criticism and it is even sadder today:

OK, Merle gets the last word, because it is likely the truth:

friends / maps / Thursday / video — Comments Off on Doing back handsprings
18
Apr 13

Doing back handsprings

I want to do a paper on Jon Stewart as the media’s ombudsman.

One day I’ll tell of my interview with CNN. It was enlightening.

So this young lady lost her leg in a car accident. Now she’s doing back handsprings:

“I get chills thinking about it now,” said White. “When you see a young lady go through what she went through and not just recover to lead a “normal” life, but to also get back to where she was as an athlete, there are no words to convey how it made me feel.”

There is video. And that’s the second cheerleader with a prosthetic I’ve seen now. Perhaps there are others, but they all suggest the same thing; we live in the future.

I wrote this two years ago today for The War Eagle Reader. Lt. Dean Hallmark would be 99 today.

You can grow from any story you write, but this one even more so. We made two nice friends out of the deal, Adam Hallmark, who was my source, and his significant other. Not bad for an afternoon spent writing in the recliner.

I’m listening to the scanner feed from Boston tonight. I miss scanners. But this is not the night to miss them. Apparently a significant portion of the country had the same idea. There are reportedly more than 80,000 leaning in to their computer speakers after the terrible shooting at MIT, the carjacking, the chase to Watertown “definite hand grenades and automatic gunfire” and whatever horrendous thing comes next.

Here is a map roughly approximating tonight’s events:

People listening in are learning that police work isn’t often like what we see on television. Maybe this terrible thing will end soon.

iPhone / journalism / links / maps / memories / photo / Samford / things to read / Wednesday — Comments Off on Took a field trip today
20
Feb 13

Took a field trip today

More trip planning, thing doing, list checking, check making.

As in the writing of checkmarks next to things on the list. If you’re looking for money, this is not your site. So sorry about that, too.

Received a visit from a former editor of the Crimson today. Nice to see Drew drop by, giving me grief about the state of the Auburn-Florida sporting rivalry and inspiring me about his plans. He’s a sharp guy ready to go out and conquer his corner of the world. (If you need a sports writer, this is the right blog. You should look up Drew.)

We do have the good fortune to enjoy a fine caliber of students in our program, to be sure. They keep us young.

My class today visited the Alabama Media Group, as I might have mentioned elsewhere. It was a chance to seeold friends in a new place, the first time I’ve visited with my former coworkers at al.com since they made the AMG shift last fall. This was the first time I’ve seen them anywhere besides the Martin Biscuit Building in Lakeview.

They are on the north side now, in the Birmingham News building — which is now for sale.

If you’re on the market for a lot of open floorspace in that is less than 10 years old, I know of a deal for you!

Anyway, lovely and talented folks. I always enjoy visiting them. I didn’t get to see everyone today, but I’ll be back for lunch tomorrow. Of course we heard from AMG’s director of community news, Bob Sims:

Bob AMG

At one point a student asked him a question and Bob used, almost word-for-word, the same answer I’d offered to this class on Monday about where they should be focusing right now. I love it when a plan comes together.

Anyway the sun was coming in through that light, over the church across the street and stretching out across this open work area and the AMG folks talked about their numbers and marketing and coverage and where they are planning to go in the future. Students asked good questions. It all came off famously. I was happy to see old friends and to see them looking well.

I did get to visit with Brian and Justin — guys I’ve known for almost a decade now — and some of my newer online friends today. We sat in a corner, the three of us, for a time and we made random references to pranks we once pulled one another and talked almost exclusively about how old we are. So it begins.

Things to read: Jeremy Gray, a local crime writer whom I admire, is doing a little bit of historist work. Journalism-history, that’s not a bad way to spend a slow night on the beat. This story reaches all the way back to the 1920s, involves ax murders, assaults on immigrants and interracial couples, truth serums, three death sentences, reprieves, new trials and several enduring mysteries, all nearly vanished from the modern collective memory. The story is a great read, which defies a brief and cogent excerpt, but do give it a look. I’ll just leave you with this from The trials of ‘The Axemen of Birmingham’: Drug-induced confessions lead to winding courtroom drama:

Descendants of some victims still live in the Birmingham area and at least one, Butch Baldone, a downtown tailor for 53 years, said black people were unfairly targeted in the investigation.

Baldone’s grandparents, Charles and Mary Baldone and their daughter, Virginia, then 14, were assaulted in their 10th Avenue North shop on July 13, 1921. All three survived, but refused to identify their attackers.

While the five black people injected with scopolamine reportedly confessed to the crime, Baldone said he believes the attack and “at least 90 percent” of the others were the work of an Italian mafia that was trying to plant roots in Birmingham.

“Black people got along with Italians because they were the only ones who would give them credit. The white man didn’t want their business,” Baldone said.

[…]

“The Baldones found the people who really did it and, to put it simply, they don’t exist anymore,” Butch Baldone said. “That was the closest the mafia ever came to Birmingham.”

Just so pat and perfect.

From Reuters, “Keep your so-called workers,” U.S. boss tells France:

The CEO of a U.S. tire company has delivered a crushing summary of how some outsiders view France’s work ethic in a letter saying he would have to be stupid to take over a factory whose staff only put in three hours work a day.

Titan International’s Maurice “Morry” Taylor, who goes by “The Grizz” for his bear-like no-nonsense style, told France’s left-wing industry minister in a letter published by Paris media that he had no interest in buying a doomed plant.

“The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three,” Taylor wrote on February 8 in the letter in English addressed to the minister, Arnaud Montebourg.

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S- … what’s that?

“Titan is going to buy a Chinese tire company or an Indian one, pay less than one Euro per hour wage and ship all the tires France needs,” he said. “You can keep the so-called workers.”

Oh, right, the American way.

Finally, some people in higher education have been writing about social media, lately, if you’re interested.

Tomorrow: Road trip.

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