Archaeology

Today we went to Trim Castle on our way to Dublin. There we learned what each room in the Keep was used for and how they defended the castle. On the tour, the guide mentioned an excavation site north of the castle. Little did I know, we were going there right after seeing the castle. I also didn't realize how awesome the site was going to be!

Once we got to the dig site, I thought we were just parking in a neighborhood to figure out where we were going. But then, we got out of the car and walked past a garden towards a building, where a woman directed us towards the site. There, we met a man named Denis, who was our very own, PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE! He walked us through all the digging and excavation areas, and explained what used to be there. We even walked past an area, and how he stopped to explain, they uncovered a full skeleton from the the 12 or 13th century!!!

After more walking and explaining, Denis told us how we (being Tori, Gianna, and I) could dig for some artifacts and bones. I was really excited. We went to a kid-friendly area where whatever we dug, wouldn't break easily. I found some bones, cool rocks, a pig's jaw (with teeth still inside!), and a seashell. After a while, Denis came back and asked us if we wanted to join the adults and see some cool findings. Tori and Gianna stayed behind to dig, while I went to check out the findings.

We headed towards a cabin that had a lot of digging equipment in it. We met a guy who showed us some cool stuff. We looked at 500-800 year old mugs, stained glass, book clasps, floor tiles, and old pillar pieces and stones. He also showed us a coin from the 1400s that was so well preserved, it looked like it was 15 years old. It still had the face on it, and everything. In the end, we had a fantastic time, that not everyone gets a chance to do.

Tayto Park

On Saturday, we went to a smaller version of Hershey Park. It was the only amusement park I've ever been to, that is entirely funded by a potato chip company. It did have the fastest rollercoaster in Europe, though, which was a plus. We went on that, and rode a ride called "Air Race" which was where you get in a miniature airplane, and you spin, and go upside down, over and over. Despite the twists and turns of that ride, Tori absolutely loved it. My mother didn't go, but the rest of us did, and we had so much fun. We also climbed an extremely hard rockwall. I originally tried to go up on the red and green route to the top, but it was so hard, that I needed to lower myself down and start again, and again. Eventually, I just converted to the yellow route, and made it up kind of far. I think that it is like an Irish version of Hershey Park because it has a potato chip factory tour, which was kind of lame. But, after, we went into a vortex tunnel, which made everything better.

My time in Meath ends tomorrow, and I knew I needed to have a post about potato chip land, so here you go.

PS, they give you a ton of free potato chips. Everywhere.

Checkpoints

I feel like certain places that I have been were very chaotic, with trying to cram everything into 3 days, or a week. But, there are places that I think are way more chill, and give me some time to think. This is one of those places. I am currently in a rental house in Donore, Ireland. I finally get a place with my own double bed! (In case you didn't know, that was my bed at home!). Tori shares my room with me, and she sleeps on a futon. Our rental house is incredibly nice, with three bedrooms, and a beautiful layout. It gives me time to myself, which I like very much. I can listen to music as well, which is great. I feel that this place is really relaxing and easy-going. Plus, there is amazing WiFi! Now, I can search the web as I please, and there is almost no buffering!!!

I feel that this place is what I have been thinking of as "Checkpoints". I consider checkpoints to be places or times that we feel relaxed enough to blog or do some homeschooling. Also, there has to be WiFi. But, like I said, this is a definite, 6 day checkpoint. I will probably blog a lot in this little time period.😃