Finally! A morning that we didn’t have to be on the road at the break of day. And the bed the night before was especially comfy. We stayed at the Holiday Inn.   Breakfast was leisurely and very good.

We had a different van now and it ran much more easily and, most important, it had a spare tire!
We set off for Lindisfarne and arrived in the mid afternoon. The day was the first one that wasn’t bright with sunshine. It was cool and misty with a lovely bluster. That was good for me because I was still susceptible to sunshine and I got to wear my cable knit pullover sweater.

From the parking lot, the site of the castle on the promontory seemed very far away. There was a large sign giving the times each day when it was safe to drive onto the island and off of it. The tide comes in so quickly that a car cannot outrace it. There’s actually a safe house up on stilts halfway along the road where people who get caught by the tide can call for help. Their cars are ruined. It’s a hard lesson to learn.
The parking lot was in the village. It’s a special little village where people live year round. 

We all got out of the van and made our way to different spots on the island. Kathleen, Ann and Latoya went to see the ruins of the abbey that had been sacked by the vikings, and made the climb to the castle. Darlene and Richard got something to eat and then went to St. Aiden’s church.

We walked the path that led to the castle but only went halfway. And it was perfect! We sat on a bench and watched others make the climb up the path. There were birds and wildflowers and sheep and I found one blown dandelion! After that we went back to the village and had tea and scones. I went into the bakery and bought a few yummy things and then we visited the post office where I bought a postcard to send to my son in Philadelphia. The postage cost about 3 pounds!

Our final destination that day was St. Aiden’s church, in Lindisfarne. We all gathered there and offered up our prayers for renewed faith.
The abbey that was sacked by the Vikings had been a place of great faith and a sending out place. Monks went there to prepare to go out to the nations and spread the Gospel. That was at the very end of the Dark Ages. 

​The castle was built in the 1550s and was refurbished in the 1920s by a wealthy family who kept it as holiday retreat. Now it's a museum that you can walk to.

I think it was the second most spiritually infused place we visited. Holy Spirit was so strong there and He was so glad to show us what He wanted us to see.
​

Saturday evening, very late, (or was it Sunday morning very early?

I climbed into the bed I was given at 1:00 Am and was rousted at 4:00 Am. We were driven to Dublin Airport for an 7:00 Am departure.

We and our luggage came through the front door where we were supposed to check our bags. The airport was pretty empty. Richard announced that he couldn’t find Darlene’s and his passports.

So we methodically opened all their bags and suitcases and then we did it again, and then we did it a third time. All of us together couldn’t find the missing passports. All this time the time to depart of Edinburg  crept closer and closer. 

Eventually, he went to the help desk that was just around the corner from where we and our sad selves were clustered. At the help desk they told Richard that the American embassy would be open Monday morning and then he and Darlene could get temporary passports.

After our third time of looking, Richard sat on the floor with his back to a pillar and simply stared straight ahead. There was no more room in his head to think about what should be done next.

I sat down next to him and said, “OK, Richard, what do we know to be the truth?

And we ticked off the list of things that were undeniable.

1. The embassy would open on Monday morning and they could temporary passports then.
2. They would have to find a hotel near the embassy 
3. We could go on without them and have them catch up with us.

 It was decided that we would cancel our plane tickets to Edinburgh and stay close to Darlene and Richard instead of splitting our group in two. So he went off to cancel the airline tickets at the help desk around the corner. We sadly watched them as they disappeared.

All of a sudden, Richard was walking back toward us! He had found the passports! They were in the money belt he had on under this shirt.

Praise God! He headed back to the help desk and asked if we could still use the tickets he had just cancelled. And the wonderful lady behind the desk said, “Yes!” So we checked our luggage, got the boarding passes and headed to Security. By that time the airport had filled up rather dramatically.

We got on the line that was slowly creeping along and each of us  checked our phones and wristwatches way more often than was good for us. Finally, we reached the conveyor belts and filled our plastic bins. I handed my baby Martin over and they took it to a separate table to thoroughly search it. And I mean THOROUGHLY!

It took 20 minutes for them to open the case, take the the guitar out, completely swab, wand and peek through every bit of  everything…three times by three different inspectors!

We rushed toward the gate but we missed the plane. It was taxiing away from the gate. We would not be visiting the Hebrides.

Now, all this time Darlene had sat in her walker/chair and we had made mad dashes from one of the airport to the other.

When we found out we had missed the plane and would need to go back to the very beginning and purchase new tickets, a wonderful man came and took us most of the way behind the “magic curtain,” that is, in hallways not open to the general population, and getting us back to the beginning in much less time.
So, we got new tickets, went through security again. The guitar was handled much more quickly, and finally we were able to sit down and have a bit of breakfast.

We made our rescheduled flight and landed in Edinburgh after an hour of flight. We rented another car at the airport (and Tom made sure we had a spare tire!) and headed into the heart of the city.

Our hotel was a Holiday Inn next to a venue where there was a dog show just as we were sitting down while Richard got our room keys.
We saw, dachshunds and Irish wolf hounds and lots of border collies.

Now, some people might have thought these were terrible days. And maybe some did.
But when the group stuck together, prayed for the best possible outcome and saw the results of those prayers we knew we were victorious. Did we miss the trip to the Hebrides? Yes, we did. Were we sad? Yes we were. Were we filled with the ineffable joy of God's presence? I did! I think the others did too. Would I have exchanged the joy of God's presence for that trip to the Hebrides? Not on your life!

There are no photos that go with this post. You'll see why in a moment.

Right around 4:00pm We were on the highway and  we came to a toll plaza. As we approached the booth there was a sudden Boom! and the van made really big hop  So we pulled over to the grassy side of the highway. We had blown the right passenger tire and bent the rim. Tom didn’t remember seeing anything but several cars after us pulled over and got out to inspect their front tires.

So he gets out and looks in the back for the spare tire. No spare tire. There was a place to put it but nothing was in it.

We started making phone calls, first we tried to figure out if our AAA would work in Ireland. Nope!
By the time that was over we tried Alamo. It was after 5:00. They were closed for the day. Who closes an airport rental car office at 5:00??  We tried calling the other rental offices at the airport and none of them were open.

Finally we got ahold of someone from Alamo who said they were sending out a tow truck. It would be here in about an hour. So we waited, in the van, on the side of highway. After two hours we called them back. They told up that they were on their way but it would take longer because they had to go through two toll booths in order for them to be on the same side of the road as us. And we waited another two hours. No tow truck. 

Somewhere in between 7:00 and 8:00 there were other urgent things going on that needed our attention right away. There was just ignoring Mother Nature.  So, she who will remain unnamed and I headed up the grassy slope next to the van, on the side of highway, with heavy late afternoon traffic. There was a hedgerow at the top of the  slope so we headed that way. I stood as guard and wall as my friend went as quickly as she could.

Now, we had been on the side of the highway for four hours. In that time we called a local towing business who said they would come but they couldn’t replace the tire until Monday. So we sat and waited.

By the time we got back to the truck there were two lovely traffic police women who kept us company for a little while. They called the private tower to see if they were on their way. Well, no, because it was well past closing time. ((??))

About an hour later yours truly could no longer ignore nature's call and she who will remain unnamed followed me up the slope and played the role of screen for me.

Ann got on the phone to one of the numerous number we had already called and told them that we had an elderly disabled woman with us (not for the first time) and the ball started rolling, very slowly but it was rolling.

By the time the tow truck finally got to us, we had been on the side of road for six hours. And it was 11:30 at night.

We had already called a ride share place and they were sending out 2 vehicles that would be big enough for us and all our luggage.  They arrived before the tow truck left and we got in our ride share cars We hadn’t eaten anything substantial since breakfast. We stopped at a highway plaza and got stuff to snarf down while drove for 2 hours to our AirB&B. The grace of God allowed me to remain calm all day and when we were gettin into the cars I noticed the beauty of the deep velvet nighttime sky. The two drivers were Pakistani cousins who had lived in Ireland for 15 years. Our driver was really nice and told us about his family. The two cars cost us $300.00.

We arrived at the B&B at 1:00 the next morning. We had to get to the Dublin Airport at the ridiculous hour of 5:00am which gave us 3 hours to sleep. I slept in my clothes.  I don’t know what Tom did. I hit the pillow and didn’t wake up until the alarm went off 3 hours later.

5:00 the next morning we got into two more ride share cars and went to the airport for a 7:30 flight to Edinburgh, Scotland.

We were bedraggled and surly. But we had done it! We would make the flight to Edinburgh! 

Or would we?

Up bright and early and on our way to Cashel Rock in the republic of Ireland.
It was a wonderful day! Almost.
The weather was superb with blue skies and gentle breezes .

We got a little lost trying to find Cashel Rock There were several people in the van who said they could get us up to the ruins at the top of the hill and after a couple of twists and turns we finally got there, to the very top of the hill so we could get Darlene out without worrying about tight parking spaces.

We got a little lost trying to find Cashel Rock There were several people in the van who said they could get us up to the ruins at the top of the hill and after a couple of twists and turns we finally got there, to the very top of the hill so we could get Darlene out without worrying about tight parking spaces.

There was a good and gentle man that we spoke to asking about handicap parking spaces and he told us we could stay where we were, right outside the ruins. There would be no problems. That was a gift from God because Darlene would never have been able to climb that steep hill.

So, we gathered together, formed a circle and said prayers for revival.
And I started looking for a dandelion. There it was in the lawn, where there weren’t any others. I picked it. The wind was very strong at the top of the hill so I didn’t even need to blow on it. I danced around in a circle and it just left a beautiful arc. God is so good

Cashel Rock was the place where St. Patrick baptized King Aengus, High King of Ireland. (During the ceremony, Patrick accidentally put the bottom of his staff right through the the foot of the high king! Not knowing the traditions of the Christian church, The poor man stood there with his foot nailed to the ground. He figured the impaling of his foot was part of the ceremony!

​So Darlene and Richard sat by the van while the rest of us wandered around and took a guided tour. The man was nice and knew some really neat stuff but he got a few things wrong. I didn’t challenge him on the engraving but when I asked about what plant was growing in the walls, Someone in the crowd told me because he didn’t know. (It was ivy leaved toad flax)

After the tour I beat feet for the restrooms halfway down the hill and poked my head into “Woolery” hoping to find some wool knitting yarn. There was none to be found but I bought myself a wonderful news boy cap that I thought looked pretty good on me. Kathleen was with me and she bought one too.

WW

Up bright and early
We had a really nice breakfast ( but no black pudding. 😥)
​
On the road early and a drive to our first stop of the day, 
North Down Museum.
The North Down Museum is the repository of artifacts from Bangor Abbey, where St. Comgall, (c 510- 597) an Abbot with a hunger for missions, mentored Sts Columbanus and Gall both of whom established monasteries throughout Scotland and Europe. At the museum you’ll see artifacts from early Christianity in Ireland. 

We visited the Museum in order to “pick up” seeds of revival to carry back to the USA. It was a little humbling to know that such giants of the saints found their wisdom at Bangor Abbey.
There’s a really nice eating establishment at the museum with tables set out with umbrellas in a stone courtyard.

​After lunch it was back in the van and a stop at Bangor Abby itself.

Such a stately church and in continuous use since 558AD The current pastor is Rev. Nesbitt, who will be retiring next year. His congregation is small but faithful. The ladies made the three quilted wall hangings shown here. Rev. Nesbitt was kind to let us in and see the inside of the abbey. He gave us a bit of the history and we all prayed together. It was a very sweet time.

Just outside the abbey door there is a small grove of maple trees. On a hot day like this was it was cooking tol sit on the lawn and it was greatly appreciated. We were praying together and sharing communion when I heard the Lord say, “Find a dandelion in the puff ball stage and blow all the seeds off. That will be your prophetic act of spreading seeds of revival.” And there, just like that, I found a puff ball dandelion. I plucked it and blew the seeds away on a gentle breeze.

Then it was time to find our lodgings for the night. We were staying in an AirB&B in Northern Ireland, really beautiful surroundings. Sean and Elaine were our hosts.  Elaine told us the crops that were growing in the next field were potatoes. She also told me that the mountain in the photo is called Slievenagloch, part of the mountain range known as the mountains of mourne and the meandering stream was called Carlingford lough

There were four poster beds in the rooms and the atmosphere was quite cozy, until we woke up. There was a nice selection of breakfast items and I chose corn flakes with milk. Not a good choice. I vomited. The refrigerator seemed to be on the fritz and although the milk didn’t smell bad, it turned my stomach. But after our van pulled away I felt better and better and that experience was over.

There’s something special about being on a journey with likeminded people. We talked and we laughed and sometimes we got a little cranky. We were staying true to our instructions. And so far, everything was going smoothly.