U.S. Open Woes

Normally this is one of my favorite times of year.  The weather is nice, and my favorite sporting event is underway.  Nothing more enjoyable to me than sitting back and watching some evening tennis at the U.S. Open after work.

Last year I was without ESPN, but I was able to substitute live streaming on www.usopen.org.

However, I was sad to learn on Monday that the website doesn't work in Ireland.  Instead, I get the following message:

"We're sorry, this stream is not available in your area.  Click here to listen live to U.S. Open Radio presented by American Express."

It looks like Wimbledon or the French Open will become my favorite grand slam, as I get great access via Freesat (see earlier post).  I have no faith in the Australian Open either.

Aside from Queen's club at the two grand slams, it looks like I won't be watching tennis here in Ireland.

There is U.S. Open tennis on Sky Sports channels, but those channels are quite expensive due to all the English Premier League soccer / football they show.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with the TV situation (Freesat).  I'm becoming a fan of HNK, an English-language channel from Japan.  We're big fans of some of the travel shows, although the accents are a bit odd - sounds like someone trying to sound like an announcer on the Simpsons (i.e. on the shows watched by Homer Simpson).

Quality parenting

Some days you feel like you do a good job as a parent.  Other days not so much.  Then, there was last Thursday.

It started off fine.  It was a warm and sunny morning, so no jacket/fleece was needed.  FABJ rode her new bike as far as grandma and granddad's house (5 minute bike ride for me - 15 to 20 for her) before riding the last part on the kid's bike seat on my bike.

I completely ignored the weather (and basically everything else) while working away in my office after lunch.  Then, as I prepared to leave my office to get FABJ, I noticed that it was drizzling / spitting / however you wish to describe ever-so-slight rain.

I was not thrilled, as FABJ has yet to accept the inevitable fact of Irish weather: sooner or later - usually sooner - it will rain.  Thus, you will get wet.

At least she has the right gear: rain jacket, rain pants, and wellies.

But, when I arrive at camp, I discover that she does not have ANY of her rain gear in her backpack.  We left it all at home!  She doesn't even have a long-sleeve shirt.  I don't have my rain jacket / pants / extra shirt either.

This is not good, even if the rain is very slight.  I will not win any parent-of-the-year awards for cycling next to a busy road (in the bike lane) during rush hour with a kid getting wet.

Then, I remember that I bought a wetsuit for FABJ earlier in the day for use at Irish beaches in the summer (when the later is still freezing).

Well, you can guess what I did next.  Yep, we put her wetsuit on over her t-shirt and leggings at camp, and she rode home in it!  I can only imagine the looks of the commuters who saw us.  Needless to say, we did not stop at grandma and granddad's to pick up the bike that afternoon. 

That is what I call "quality parenting," (note the sarcasm font).

How did FABJ respond? She fell deeply asleep ("sleep sleep", she called it) and had a big grin when we got home. Sometimes, when you least expect it, she can be a real trooper.

Katie Taylor

If you live in Ireland, you know all about her by now.

In case you don't know, she is the sole gold-medal winner for Ireland - women's boxing.  It's very impressive that she won, given the immense pressure on her.  She carried the Irish flag in the opening ceremony.

The country basically shut down around 4:45pm on Thursday during her gold-medal bout.  I never thought that I would be watching her fight and rooting for her in the lobby of the UCD sports center, waiting to pick up FABJ from sports camp.  FABJ was very excited as well when she found out that Katie won the gold.  It makes up for her disappointment from Ireland's disastrous Euro 2012 campaign.

The interview with the state television station RTE Thursday night was hilarious.  The various announcers were gushing with praise for her and her coach.  In fact, the whole country was.  For example, the Taoiseach said:

"She has won the hearts and minds of the Irish people who admire her greatly and love her to bits."

See here for the full quote.

Other officials had equally gushing praise.  In fairness, Ireland won more medals (5) in London since 1956, and it was the first gold since 1992 or 1996 (controversy in 1996 because Michelle Smith was "discredited" but not stripped of her medals - do we count them or not?).

The future is bright  for Katie.  She is expected to make up to a million Euros in endorsements.  And, according to today's Irish Times, "Taylor's football career showed she was destined for greatness."  She was 14 at that time, about the same age when Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Getting back to RTE announcers, they've been pretty humorous with their off-the-cuff comments.  I wish I could remember the quote from one of the boxing matches other than "the little boy from Belfast."  Admittedly, Paddy Barnes weighs something like 108 pounds.

Summer camps

This is the first summer that we have had to find summer camps for FABJ to attend.  She finished preschool, called junior infants, at the end of June, and kindergarten (i.e. senior infants) starts at the end of August.  In the U.S., we would have planned to send her to the daycare (which offers aftercare / summer care for preschool kids).  Here in Ireland, however, we had no plan.

We noticed signs for “Camp Blackrock” shortly after arriving here.  I called up, and they had availability in her age group.  So she spent 3 of the 4 weeks in July there.  It was good value, although the young kids (4-6) have a fairly boring schedule aside from swimming for a bit in the early afternoon.  FABJ loved swimming, so she had a great time at the camp.  The swimming was a hit in large part because she normally is in the pool for swimming lessons.  She does not like following instructions, so she does not like swimming lessons.

Given her flair for drama (and the nickname DQ), we enrolled her in drama camp nearby for one week in July.  It finished at 1 each day (unlike 4pm for Camp Blackrock), but it was very close.  She seemed to enjoy that, too, especially since her cousin (who lives just down the road) was also enrolled at the camp.  Her grandparents and I attended the final performance at the end of the week.  She did well but I was hoping for more drama.  Instead, they recite a very short story, sing a song, and dance to another song.

FABJ at drama camp

For August, she is attending the UCD sports camp, which has the convenience (and inconvenience) of being located where I work.  It takes forever when we take the bus (but is an easy and pleasant bike ride), so I’m hoping for good weather the rest of the month.  Anyway, she quite enjoys it, and she’s tired in the evenings.  So far, some of the sports she’s tried include: lacrosse, kickboxing, yoga, volleyball, climbing, bouncy house (did not know this was a sport!), trampoline-ing, soccer, hockey, and athletics (which appear to be games).  She seems to enjoy pretty much all of them.  Here she is on the rock climbing wall – she got as high as 8 or so feet (not bad for an almost five year old).  A few days later, she climbed to the top (over 20 feet up) twice.  The student assistant was quite impressed with that feat, and FABJ was also very excited.  She certainly has the build for rock climbing.

FABJ on the UCD climbing wall

Overall, she seems pretty happy with camp.  Her biggest complaint appears to be transportation to and from camp, as I don’t drive her there (more on driving in a future blog entry).  In future summers, we hope to spend some of the time on holidays.  But with LBJ in a new job and no reimbursement on moving expenses, our only holiday was a long weekend over a bank holiday (i.e. a day that LBJ got off from work, like Labor Day in the U.S.).  Paid days off from work tend to be bank holidays, what seem like random days off, rather than holidays with names like Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.

Cute photo of ORBJ - looks like her mum

Holiday - Day 4

Our last day of the holiday began without rain for once.  We loaded up the car and headed off for breakfast (another Irish fry up).  After breakfast, FABJ asked where the box of toys was.  We soon determined that it was back at the rental house, so we headed back (only 10 minutes’ drive away).

Our plan of the day was to visit Warrenpoint (on the way back to Dublin) and hopefully take the passenger ferry to Omeath.  We took the mountain road for variety.  The scenery was beautiful, but it distracted me from my navigational duties, so we wasted an extra 10 minutes thanks to me.

We arrived in Warrenpoint a bit before 11, and I foolishly thought the ferry stopped at 11.  So I rushed off with FABJ to find the ferry.  I found the dock but no sign of people.  Then, two people (who looked like tourists) went down the ramp to the pontoon.  FABJ and I followed, only to discover that the boat they approached was headed to the Isle of Man (and was a sailboat).  So then we headed off to the tourist booth a few blocks away.  Meanwhile, ORBJ needed the potty, and we were nowhere to be found.  Good thing we had her potty in the trunk (boot).

But I didn’t win any father of the year of awards for running off on a wild goose chase for the ferry.

After eventually returning to the car and LBJ and FABJ, we called the ferry phone number, which went straight to voice mail.  So we gave up and took the girls to a nice playground nearby with great views.  Then we headed to the main part of town (a walk nearby) for lunch.

Is this playground as good as a ferry ride?

On the walk back to the car after lunch, FABJ spotted the ferry coming in.  We looked at each other and decided to give it a try.  But then the boat went toward the commercial dock rather than the pontoon.  So I convinced the family to head toward that dock, only to have the boat turn and head toward the pontoon.  So we got some extra walking, but we had plenty of time to reach the ferry.

The ferry ride was quite enjoyable – great views of Carlingford Louch.  The girls enjoyed it quite a bit.  We poked around Omeath a couple of minutes before taking the return trip back.

Girls enjoying the ferry trip (honest!)

Scenic town of Warrenpoint

Carlingford Louch

The kids were exhausted from the trip and slept much of the drive home (under 2 hours).

Sadly, we arrived to a flooded garden level (i.e. basement).  LBJ did a great job of cleaning up with my assistance.  We finally ate a meal in our dining room – Thai take away.

No good!

It was an enjoyable and well-needed vacation.  LBJ and I agree that we’d like to spend future bank holiday weekends exploring other parts of the country.  We have plenty of time and places to explore.

Holiday Day 3

Once again, we woke up to cloudy skies but no rain.  Again, rain descended upon us during breakfast, a proper Irish fry up (without pudding, though).  Our strategy of heading north worked well originally, aside from getting stuck in traffic for a car boot sale (like a garage sale, except that the stuff is in the trunk/boot of the car rather than your garage) in Dundrum (the village in Northern Ireland, not the shopping center in Dublin).  We eventually found the castle and enjoyed poking around the castle ruins.  Our next plan was to do a coastal walk, but the Dundrum coastal walk was thwarted by all the car boot sale traffic.  So we found a spot with beach access (for the kids), but the rain was too great.

Ruins of Dundrm Castle

So we headed back to Newcastle, where – surprisingly – the rain had stopped.  So we let the kids explore the beach again, although we chose a different spot for at least a little variety.  After working up an appetite, we headed off for lunch on the main strip.  We planned to go to a place recommended in LBJ’s guide book, but it was way down the other end of the strip.  It took forever and the kids were not amused by the forced march.  Still, it was a good lunch – lamb burger for LBJ and fish and chips for me.  LBJ kindly got the car (a short walk away sans kids) while I got ice cream for all of us.

Again, the weather improved during nap, so we took the kids to a nearby beach recommended by the owner of our rental farmhouse.  It is a blue flag beach, a designation for clean water.  The girls had a great time splashing in the cold water under LBJ’s supervision, at least once their swimming shoes were removed.  They are too young to understand that swimming shoes can get wet.  FABJ even swam around a little bit.

ORBJ does not like cold water on her feet

Wading into the Irish Sea

Holiday Day 2

The day was off to a reasonable start.  It was overcast but pretty.  However, by the time we got of the house for breakfast, the weather was looking worse.  By the time we finished breakfast, it was raining.  I went next door for tourist recommendations while LBJ and the kids looked around the harbor.

We decided for a scenic drive up the coast to Newcastle, either for better weather or at least to kill some time.  Somehow, in the 10 or so miles up the coast, the rain stopped.  So we parked the car and headed off to the beach so the kids could run around.  LBJ explained that the cool and overcast weather is typical of a beach holiday in Ireland, so I should adjust my expectations.  Not having any beaches of note in Iowa, my beach experiences were primarily Florida and, more recently, the Caribbean or Hawaii.

FABJ and ORBJ enjoying a typical Irish beach holiday

The kids had a great time as we explored different parts of the promenade and beach.  I moved the car to the end of the beach where the family migrated, making a wrong turn and ending up in the Lidl parking lot.  So, we decided to stock up on groceries and headed home for lunch.

The weather continued to improve during ORBJ’s nap, and we left the house with positively sunny skies for an afternoon hike in the Mourne Mountains.  It was a wonderful experience (I’m more of a hiker than a beachcomber) with glorious weather and amazing mountain views, topped off by ice cream to celebrate a successful hike in Silent Valley Mountain Park.  The park even had a nice playground.

Beautiful weather for a hike!

We returned home for a dinner of leftovers followed by some Olympic watching.  It was a good day.

Holiday arrival

After a tiring cross-continent move, we have been ready for a holiday (i.e. a vacation) since we arrived.  We finally got such a holiday this past weekend, where Monday was a holiday (i.e. a day off for LBJ).  The plan for the holiday was to find a house / apartment to rent where LBJ would only have to drive approximately 2 hours.  I got a late start on planning, so we quickly leaned toward Northern Ireland because Monday was not a holiday there.

Specifically, we chose a nice farmhouse near the town of Kilkeel, about two hours away.  It’s in the Mourne Mountains, which are amazing, and we could see the Irish Sea out the window (in the distance).  It was a great home for our needs – the fact it had only one bathroom was never a problem.

The weekend did not get off to an amazing start.  I was running late getting the girls from camp / daycare (called a crèche here) and getting packed.  I forgot a few items like diapers for ORBJ – good thing the place had a washing machine as we arrived too late to go shopping on Friday.  I slipped and fell on the back steps trying to take out the compost.  Eventually, I managed to get the kids in the car and drive without LBJ’s assistance / navigation to our meeting spot (a parking lot) near work.

The kids were a little cranky, as was I, and LBJ did not get her afternoon coffee.  A pit stop for coffee, a playground, and a snack helped, but it meant that we arrived after 7pm.  We arrived at the outskirts of Kilkeel, where our rental is on the other side, to learn that the main route through down is closed due to a band parade.  I need to learn more about these parades, but my sense is that this parade, by the Mourne Young Defenders, is a chance for youth to show their partisan spirits.  In this case, I think they are Ulster Scots.  We noticed a lot of Union Jack flags around, which is not necessarily great for our car with Dublin / Ireland plates.

While there, I read a newspaper article detailing a recent “merger” of three extremist republican groups (i.e. groups wanting to unite Northern Ireland and Ireland), although the article implied that the groups did not have much sway.  Still, it hinted at the possibility of random violence.  This saddened me, especially since everyone I met was very friendly and helpful, and the place was quite beautiful.  Still, I got the sense that towns (or at least neighborhoods) were deeply divided, even now, between Catholic (Republican) and Protestant (Unionist).

Anyway, the second set of police was able to direct us around the parade and we eventually found the rental without further difficulty.  We even had a greeting party of several sheep.  Later in the weekend, I mistook their bleating for a car alarm – clearly, I’ve been living in cities for too long.

More on the holiday, including pictures, in the next post.