a dozen pictures

We made it in a very leisurely fashion from Kells to Dingle.  We stopped along the route of Ring of Kerry to take pictures and enjoy.  Here are some pictures, one from Dublin, one from last night, and the rest from today.

The Dingle Marathon (there is a full marathon, a half marathon, and an ultra marathon) advertises itself as the most beautiful marathon in the world.

It is breathtaking.

Lots of up along with pretty much an equal amount of down.  We will run along the cliff edge out of Dingle with the Dingle Bay (north Atlantic waters) to our left.  So the last several pictures are from the race route.

Picture 1:  Millie this one is for you.  Wanted you to know the bears from St. Andrew are enjoying the trip and it’s many modes of transportation.  Here they are waiting for the train from Dublin to Limerick.  Earlier they had traveled by bus from Glendalough and then by taxi from the bus stop at Upper Dawson to the Dublin Heuston train station.

Picture 2:  Last night’s full moon shining through the clouds over Kells Bay in Dingle Bay.

Pictures 3 & 4:  Can’t remember the name of this beach area, but it is one of the major destinations for people who like to surf in Ireland.  The tide is pretty far out and the water is cold.

Picture 5: a view of Irish farmland on the Dingle Peninsula.

Pictures 6-12:  This is the route Patricia and I and 2850 other runners will see tomorrow after 9:00 am.  Don’t know how many of that number are ultra, or full or half.  Just think, the most beautiful marathon in the world . . . and we are here:

Yes we did eat pasta.  It was delicious.  Got to be at table with Hannah, Christine, Louise, and Heather, from Yorkshire, England.  All of them are thinking of running in the two and a half hour range.  So we may run with them for a bit . . . or all of it., who knows.

Tonight we are staying at Benners Hotel in Dingle.  We have a beautiful  and spacious room.

ISAAC UPDATE FROM BAY BAY MISSION (UCC) WRITTEN BY  SHARI PRESTEMON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

Just got this email from Shari Prestemon, indicating Isaac was a troubling presence in Biloxi and elsewhere.  Am only pasting two paragraphs of her longer message:

Hurricane Isaac was only a Category 1 hurricane, but it left an unusual level of damage behind nonetheless. Though the winds in our area generally did not eclipse 70 mph, a disastrous amount of rain was dumped throughout the area, in part because the system was so large and it hovered over us for an extraordinarily long period of time before moving out. These rains caused flooding in several areas along the Coast, and further flooding may yet occur as area rivers crest to flood stage throughout this coming weekend. In addition, multiple tornadoes spun off of Hurricane Isaac, touching down throughout the three coastal counties of Mississippi on Wednesday night. . . 

Indeed, as I drove up to the Mission campus, I was met by five utility trucks from Georgia lined up in front of our buildings. The top of an electrical pole directly in front of our Micah Center had snapped off in the storm, causing a power outage on our campus and throughout the neighborhood. As I made my way around our property and into our buildings, I was deeply grateful to find very minimal damage to our facilities. Torn screens, a few roof leaks, and debris from trees were the extent of it. My campus assessment complete, I sat down in my darkened office and offered a prayer of thanks to God, and then found myself overwhelmed by emotions I had not realized were still so close to the surface, the aftermath of Isaac triggering unwelcome memories of Hurricane Katrina. Indeed, Isaac had come to us on the seventh anniversary of the horror of Katrina, August 29. It was an unsettling coincidence.

We hold you in our prayers tonight.

May you be safe.

May you know you are loved and may you share your love with another in need of loving tonight.

May you rest well and awake renewed on the morrow.