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August 30th
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As the trip started we felt right at home as the round bales rolled by
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agriculture, cattle, sheep and hay everywhere
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and just about as many ruins around
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and horses ... of all make and size
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August 30th
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the scenery is spectacular
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these made us wonder ... but it was all good at the Temple Bar Hotel
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a great half day tour of Dublin with a lunch stop on the coast
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Billie and Hugh head back to the bus with Elgar and Annie following
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August 30th
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ruins photos right from the bus window
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and old, old buildings!!
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a few of the group overlooking Dublin
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the oldest light house site in Ireland, Baily Light House
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August 30th
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Gerry, our guide, with Bonnie and Larry Speers
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Billie and Hugh with Jim & Barb Bauer
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a pretty good map of Ireland showing us where we were
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and of course some of the group had to check this out
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August 30th
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we had to know ... "what makes Guinness special"
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and even Guinness has branding irons (to mark the kegs)
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the view from the top of the Guinness Storehouse
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at the Temple Bar Hotel Bar for happy hour
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August 31st
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how to make a barb wire fence look good - grow a hedge around it
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a castle built in 1400s right in the middle of the barns
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Jim brought this bull in for us to see - snorty until I took off my hat
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Jim (dad) answering all the questions about cattle, hay, etc, etc
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August 31st
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Jimmy Cosgrave (son) took the group out to see the cattle in the fields
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a couple of us held back talking to Jim who invited us into the old castle
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view from the 3rd floor the round barn was designed by Temple Grandin
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the barns to the left and the riding arena to the right
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August 31st
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a pretty cool old castle - if you look carefully you can see Kathy in the 3rd floor window
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this is the house that Jimmy and his family live in
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most of the group in the field learning about cattle in Ireland
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a couple of the horse out playing in their large paddock
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August 31st
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another old castle as seen from the bus window as we head to lunch
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one of the larger groups of cattle we've seen on route
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canals (tow paths) used in the 1800s as the main freight way till trains
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lunch on the group tour was included at Silken Thomas in Kildare
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August 31st
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one of four large tables that sat the whole group comfortably
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three choices on the menu and all were really good
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so good that people wouldn't stop to look at the camera
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and then we are off to the Irish National Stud & Gardens
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August 31st
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the stalls, and the whole facility actually were immaculate
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our guide was great and everyone learned a lot as we walked the grounds
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we cropped this so you can see the stud fees - wow!!
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the whole group listened intently
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August 31st
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Invincible Spirit - stud fee at only 120,000 Euro
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but he is a pretty nice looking horse
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note the double fences around his paddock
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and most all of the other paddocks around the farm - and so nice
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August 31st
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Hugh trying to get an interview from a man of few words
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the walkway through the gardens to more horse paddocks
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looking back at the stone walkway
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and the waterfall in one of the gardens
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August 31st
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Monistic cells or beehive huts made with a technique called corbelling
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they used no mortar and the cells were water tight
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they date back to early medieval times for monks seeking solitude
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one of the 4 foals that had been left with their mothers
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August 31st
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looking to nurse but not really hungry ...
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they were pretty much self weaned but were left for the public to see
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our guide explaining how they use markings for id as well as chips
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as well as an amazing tour we lucked out with the weather too
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August 31st
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I think Hugh is telling Billie which one he wants to take home
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a tiny part of the beautiful Japanese Gardens at the farm
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back on the ship the waiter clowns around with Hugh's hat
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Dave Rogers with Hella MacDonald & her twin sister Sella Balzer
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August 31st
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Bev Thompson, Bonnie & Larry Speers, Calvin & Donna Beamish
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Len & Regina Chrapk0 with
Bill Barritt & Bev Thompson
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Diane & Les Antoniuk
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Jim & Barb Bauer
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August 31st
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Arnold & Barbara Lachman with their waiter
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Alex & Liz Melnyk
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Pat & Phil Brewer
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Doreen Van Eaton, Gladys & Ralph Spence
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August 31st
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Gary & Vicki Hetrick, Bonnie Speers and Bob Tabor
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Bob & Pinky Tabor
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Lena & Jerry McKenzie
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Patsy Fries and Garry Westergaard
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August 31st & September 3rd
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Hugh had no band this year for a first time but it was great
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and Donna Beamish joined in with a poem
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and Kathy Friesen sang a few songs
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the next day we saw Dunluce Castle en route to Giant's Causeway
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September 3rd
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a map of the different walking routes to the Giant's Causeway
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most of our group walked instead of hopping on a shuttle
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two sisters explore the weird rock formations - Bonnie Speers & Liz Melnyk
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if you look close you can see the crowds out on the causeway
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September 3rd
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Diane & Les Antoniuk checking out the different rock formations
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Jim & Karen and Billie & Hugh watching everyone have a good time
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then a lunch stop at Bushmills Inn - delicious beef
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the Scotland countryside from the bus window - beautiful place
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September 3rd
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Carrickfergus Castle - built in 1177
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the wall between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
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cowboys on the gangway - watch those hats in this wind
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and a happy birthday to Hugh!!!
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September 3rd
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then in the bar the girl singing came out to sing to Hugh
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and Billie and Hugh hit the dance floor with the Speers
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Calvin & Donna Beamish and Kathy Fries helped celebrate Hugh's day
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Pat Brewer, Barb Lachman, Phil Brewer, Bonnie & Larry Speers, Calvin Beamish
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September 4th
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the Glasgow Cathedral
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an amazing old church
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the hop on hop off in Glasgow
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all different types of whiskey!!
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September 4th & 5th & 6th
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the transportation museum was great
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Les Antoniuk sang a few songs at the sing-a-long
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Larry Speers closed the show leaving everyone in stitches
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look at the very top deck - we heard someone shout "Kathy!"
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September 6th
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ah, it's Jim on his morning walk around the upper deck
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Fuchsias grow wild here and are everywhere
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one of the attractions in Inverness was Culloden Moor Battlefield
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The Battle of Culloden was fought on this moor in 1746
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September 6th
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at Culloden - conservation grazing by Shetland Cattle
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these are not Holsteins they're Shetland Cattle
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another Inverness attraction was Cawdor Castle
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here we also found some Highland Cattle
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September 6th
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Herbridean sheep from the Hebrides Isles, Scotland
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Fort George another amazing old site
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back at the dock and under the bow of the enormous Crown Princess
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these are off-shore drilling rigs stored in the harbour
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September 6th & 7th
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the pilot comes aboard to guide us out of the harbour
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Jim & Karen with their bubble guns as we leave Invergordon
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we were serenaded by seadoos in the morning at South Queensferry
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a tender port and the tenders ran steady all day
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September 7th
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the Crown Princess as seen from the tender
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a Maserati ... not a lot of them around
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and even fewer of these ...
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the narrow and very crowded streets of Edinburgh
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September 7th
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the line up to get a ticket to enter the Edinburg Castle
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like a city inside a castle - it was huge
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and the views spectacular - note our ship in the background
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tons of history and well displayed
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September 7th
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the line up to see the Crown Jewels (Scotland's)
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Edinburgh is very hilly compared to the other cities we stopped at
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and the streets were packed all day!
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a monsterous railway bridge above with the ship in the background
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September 8th
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one of the ship photographers taking our group photo
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Jim organizing everyone for the photo K & K supervising
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Hella & Jim, Hugh & Billie, Kathy and Karen at the start of the galley tour
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then into the galley and a sea of stainless steel
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September 8th
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the kitchen staff all friendly and fun
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the tour was wonderful - amazing how they can feed so many at once
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followed by a gorgeous sunset at sea
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then a sing-a-long - Arnold Lachman joined in
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September 8th
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Jim Bauer shared a story
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Pat Brewer a couple of songs
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Jim Bell a joke and a poem
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and Dave Rogers a couple of songs
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September 8th & 9th
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some guys, like Arnold, have a sense of humour about their bald spots
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Hugh unveiled next year's cruise destination and closed the show
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one of the narrow, but fascinating streets ....
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in the town of Honfleur, neighbouring Le Havre
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... and the 2020 cruise will head to Alaska! A 7 day return cruise leaving Vancouver on July 18th. There will
be a pre-cruise stay in Kamloops and/or Sun Peaks and a visit to Billie and Hugh at the McLennan Ranch. Billie
and Hugh have announced that this will be their last cruise, although they will continue to promote future cruises
which help support the Spirit of the West radio show. See the cruise page
for details as they become available.
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September 9th & 10th
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hey a pickup! sort of anyway ... only about the 3rd one we've seen
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a view of Honfleur from Mont-Joli ...
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... and the Crown Princess in the background
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the horse guard heading from the parade square to Buckingham Palace
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September 10th
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they turned into the yard in front of the palace and then disappeared
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the world famous guards in front of Buckingham Palace
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I think almost everyone had fish 'n chips at some point in some place
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Westminster Abby with police and sidewalk blockades for some dignitary
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September 11th
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the docks, with some tenders dropping off folks, in front of Guernsey
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Karen, we had no idea that you had your own Le Boat in Guernsey
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Barb & Jim Bauer on the walkway from town to Castle Cornet
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looking in the other direction at the skyline behind Guernsey
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September 11th
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Kathy with Barb & Jim in front of the lighthouse that was built in 1866
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a great overview of Guernsey from the lighthouse
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this guy spoke of the German occupation when he was 9 to 14 years old
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perfect timing for the 12 noon firing of the cannon
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September 11th
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2 Canadian Cowboys pose for a photo with 2 Guernsey military guys
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so whats this? ... a changing of the hats ...?
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and now 2 Guernsey cowboys with 2 Canadian military guys ??
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ok this looks better ... mainly because the girls joined in
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September 11th & 12th
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inside the Castle Cornet it seemed to go on and on - huge overall
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a bowl of soup and a Guinness for lunch hoping the lineup would get shorter
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well that didn't work - and this is just a little part of it
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a different lighthouse as it had a bunch of farm buildings adjoining it
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September 12th
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Jim talking to an employee at the train station who didn't hesitate to share his political views on Ireland
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not sure about others but Karen and Mark thought this was a pretty good sign
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look at the big picture and you can see the outside plumbing on the walls
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farewell party Jim Bauer won 2 passes for 2 to the Kamloops Cowboy Festival
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September 12th
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Patsy Fries also won 2 passes for 2 to the Kamloops Cowboy Festival
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Karen told the waiter nothing for dessert and they brought her just that
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