TLDR – Leaving Belfast, Glenoe waterfall, Cushenden caves, a beach until it rained then a cool treehouse Airbnb.
Belfast Exploring
The local kids were back last night to hang out and destroy the bus stop in front of our flat. Not sure why the bus stop is the hangout spot or why they hate it to the point they are compelled to do it harm. They finished breaking out one of the glass panels while climbed all over the thing until some cops drove by and flashed their lights at them. – Poor kids must have one hell of a negative childhood to need to destroy that much and be out at night with no parents giving a care. Some of the kids look to be Maddex’s age; sad face.
Our well-behaved kids were all awake around 07:30 watching a cartoon movie about neglected kids. We let them snuggle on the couch and finish their movie while Michelle and I started packing. After the movie, the kids rushed packing their rooms and eating breakfast. They were in a rush because they wanted to visit a park down the street from the flat with a spinning teeter-totter thing they love to play on
Of course, the first stop of the day is the park the kids want to visit. The kids played the bottle moonwalk game where they spin around and try to drop down near a water bottle to pick it up. – love how they can create games and have so much fun together. Next stop some shopping; we would like to get Maddex some fins and the girls want some boogie boards. Looking online there does not seem to be many places to buy them.
We tried a shopping center about 15 minutes from the park. Sadly sports direct did not have swim fins or masks, but Iceland had some good snacks for lunch. The shopping trip was mostly a bust for Maddex. The girls came away with two small boogie boards they are happy to use. About 2 minutes away the kids noticed a playground on the side of the road. We’re in no rush so we pulled off to play. The place is called Jordans town playground and beach Plenty of fun for the kids and public toilets to use.
Michelle walked to the beach while the girls were playing. From the beach, she texted me to tell Maddex to come down for a swim. I told Maddex, pointed at the stairs and he was off running for the water. Eventually, the girls and I stopped playing on the obstacle course and went to the beach where we found Maddex chest-deep in the water. Before the girls begged enough for us to let them in the water we called it and headed back to the car.
Glenoe Waterfall
Now that all of the random unplanned distractions are over our first real destination for the day from Michelle’s notebook of planning is Glenoe waterfall. The falls are about a 30-minute drive down typical narrow windy roads. Not sure if we are taking the most effective or most direct route. The GPS gets us there but we ended up on some one-lane roads making more turns then I believe are needed. The falls have a nice parking lot with room for our car to social distance from other cars.
It’s a quick muddy walk to the bottom of the falls. Of course, Maddex jumps right into the water. It’s pretty slick and fast-moving, we don’t let the girls in. We take the muddy winding stairs up and over the top of the falls to see a few smaller falls above. Waterfalls are rad. Walks in the mud are groovy. Then back to the car on to our next stop.
Cushenden caves
Next stop, about an hour away, Cushenden caves and beach. About 20 minutes into the drive Roxi vomited all over herself and some blankets. Poor girl is car sick again. Don’t blame her the roads are bumpy and windy. We pulled off and cleaned up the mess using some seawater. Roxi sat in the car topless the rest of the drive to the caves.
We arrived at the caves and were greeted by the local goat next to a statue of a goat. Looking at people’s videos and pictures from the area the goat is a regular part of the experience. The Caves are a filming location for Game of Thorns making them a popular tourist attraction. From the caves, we set up on a great beach for the kids to play. About 18 seconds after we setup we broke down camp and ran back to the car. Epic downpour. – No beach today the rain is too cold. Off to our rental for the night.
TreeHouse AirBnB
Treehouse – we are staying over the garage of an American style Mc mansion. Next to where we parked is a brilliant 2 story treehouse with a slide the kids played on. There is another little girl, Sophie, staying here in one of the cabins with her dad. The girls tell me at tuck in their favorite part of the day was making new friends with the two dog friends and one human friend.
The owner of the place is outback digging holes with a 12-tonne excavator. The sounds of the digger and all of the projects around the property make me miss the Olalla house.
Downhill beach
After breakfast and packing the car we took a 30-minute drive to Downhill beach where we parked on the sand. Always fun driving a rental car across a sandy beach. On the way, it was Mad Libs time. The kids are into butts, boobs, and poop – and they bust-up laughing at the results.
Big waves, big wind, and a gorgeous sandy beach to play on. Sadly it was only 15 out. With the wind and the wet Roxi and Khaleesi were shivering and turning blue in about 30 minutes, and now it’s starting to rain a bit. Sad face, we packed up and headed into the large town nearby. Parking at a Tesco for lunch and free parking.
We found Tesco did not open until 1300. We decided to walk around and look for something else. Exploring the no-car street in the middle of the town turns out nothing opens until after 1300 on Sunday. Walking around Maddex is sad and complaining we left the beach due to rain and cold. a
Until he gets cold in wet shorts and sandals and comes up with something new to complain about. Mutter, guess it’s time to head back home. Along the way, we stopped for Fries and MIlk shakes at McDonald’s to improve morale. While the kids ate in the car we stopped at the subway to feed mom and dad. Back at home, it was sunning for about 20 minutes then started lashing rain; Oh Irish weather why do you change your mind so often
Bonus pictures
