Armagh OR Amuck!!

 

When Rita was planning this trip she wanted to go west of Belfast and see some of the inland countryside.  In fact, one of the little towns she wanted to see was Armagh.  After a brain splitting experience getting in and out of Belfast I thought we should head straight for the M1 and get the heck out of Dodge and head south for Dundalk.  I don't know what kind of connections she has with God but I took the M1 West rather than South and you'll never guess what town we ended up in about 1 hour later.  You've got it!! ARMAGH. She kept saying; "thank you God", but my prayer to make it to Dundalk WITHOUT incident was not answered.  After we got into the town I realized how beautiful it was. It kind of made me smile since there are two HUGE churches right in the center of town both named St. Patrick's.  One is Roman Catholic and the other is Church of Ireland.  As far as beauty is concerned, the Roman Catholic church won hands down, but I loved the secret garden at the Church of Ireland.

St. Patrick's Church - Roman Catholic Style

                             Interior Sanctuary - There is no way a picture can do it justice.

                                                 St. Patrick's Church - Church of Ireland

I discovered this little passageway into a manicured garden.  There were arches that led into arbors and other gardens with trees and flowers.

 

Breakdowns and Angels

Just a little side note to let you know that in the midst of this trip it hasn't always been easy maneuvering around especially in the cities.  We like to joke about it, but it can be extremely stressful.  Today was one of those days.  The young man at the Park Inn Hotel gave directions to go get my car.  It was about a 3 block walk.  He told me I could drive the exact same route back to the hotel so I could pick up Rita with the suitcases.  As I walked to the Car Park I realized that the route I was walking was a one way street going in the opposite direction of the hotel which meant I could NOT drive the same route and would have to make several detours and probably end up lost.  I was sitting in the car crying and asking God for help because I was scared to venture out.  A wonderful older gentleman came up to me and asked if he could help.  He showed me an alternate route and walked me down to the pay station for the Car Park.  If he had not shown me how to get the car out I would still be sitting in there.  I did make it back to the hotel as he instructed.  I wanted to kiss his sweet little head.  Thank you God. 

The next incident was in Armagh.  It was NOT a small town and like so many of these towns you can drive in circles forever.  By this time we needed to use the bathroom and we stopped at a little shopping area and NO TOILETS.  A beautiful young woman overheard me ask and she came up and said she would show us to one.  All we had to do is follow her in the car as she guided us through town.  She took us to a private business, waited for us and then drove another 5 miles guiding us to the highway to Dundalk.  Again, thank you God.

Not only are the people here unbelievably kind and will go out of their way to help you, but I do believe God put each of these people in our path to save my sanity.

Tomorrow we return the car to Hertz - THANK YOU!

We will spend he last two days in Dublin on FOOT - the only way to travel

 

The Heritage B&B - our last stay in a B&B.  So far the hosts have been delightful

 

This one is for you Rod.  I now know what I have been suspecting all along.  People do mow the grass along the road.  I wouldn't be surprised if they mow their little farm plots too.  This is the gentleman from the B&B mowing across the street.  He's retired and loves mowing grass too.

Mowing the side of the road.