Riding a Bike is just like... Riding a Bike!

I haven't ridden a bike for more than 5 minutes in probably 20+ years. Bill convinced me to rent a bike this morning and ride the recreational trail down by Cannery Row with him. What fun! And great scenery, too!

Here I am with the rental near Cannery Row:

And by Fisherman's Wharf (minutes after this picture, we walked though the Memory Garden where they were setting up for an afternoon wedding, just like ours almost 4 years ago):

Bill at the top of a sand dune, overlooking Monterey Bay:

As you can see, it is a beautiful day today. We might even reach 75 degrees!!

Jury Duty

I have been called for jury duty several times. Every time, I call in the Friday before, and the automated voice says something to this effect "If you are in group XYZ (which I was), you are not needed. Thank you, your jury duty service is complete for the next two years."

That didn't happen last Friday. I had to show up on Monday morning at 8:15 to the Salinas court house- where the criminal cases are tried. After waiting about an hour, they had 200 potential jurors sitting in their auditorium. I was quite peeved, as I had assumed they would have boxes of donuts and a never-ending supply of coffee for the potential jurors. Maybe the sad state of the California coffers is to blame for the lack of sustenance for those of us doing our civic duty. Or maybe coffee and donuts are only available to movie-jury-duty folks. All I know is I was ticked off.

The officials announced that two court cases would need jurors; and they called 55 names for the first case. SWEET - I'm not called!! A half hour later, they say the next case needs 75 potential jurors, and start calling names. DAMN - they called my name!! As the bailiff leads the 75 to the courtroom, we see the remaining potential jurors sent home; their jury duty completed. DAMN!!

At this point, the jury selection begins. 18 potential jurors are called up to the jury box and asked question after question. And then more questions. As jurors are released for various reasons (mostly, because they're complete idiots), they call additional potential jurors up to the hot seat. My name is called. And I knew - based on the questions they were asking, that I did not have any conflict or personal history involving anything similar to this case - that I was on-board for the ride. DAMN!!

More potential jurors are let go (mostly, because they're also complete idiots), and I am moved up to Juror #3. DAMN IT!!!

By 3:00 in the afternoon, the 12 of us are finally sworn in as the jury. Only, one of the 12 then raises his hand and says his Grandma's dying and he has a plane ticket for the morning to fly off and visit her. WHAT?! He is dismissed, and the court calls more names to find the final juror. Which they find, send the rest of the folks home (I think only 10 or so people didn't get their names called to be in the hot seat), and we're on to opening statements. I'm beginning to realize that court cases move about as fast as a heard of turtles.

Three days, one hostile witness, two juvenile witnesses, several police witnesses, and one witness pleading the "5th" later, we're sent to deliberate. Sadly, the deliberation room did not contain coffee, food, windows, or air. Those movie jurors have it great!

About 4 hours over two days later, we the jury reached a decision. Aside from the legal decision, we also came to the consensus that jury duty, while important and necessary, totally stinks!

My jury duty service is now done for two years. Next time should I act a complete idiot???

This One is for Kristen

Here's a pretty manhole cover...

and a not-so-pretty "pit" cover...

Both photographed in Galway. Enjoy!

Video Clip of Galway Concert

We captured two video clips of the Sharon Shannon concert in Galway. Unfortunately the one with the better song is a bit longer, and Blogger doesn't seem to like it. Therefore, I have posted the shorter clip (of some Irish drinking song, from the sounds of it) for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Irish Signage

If you're thinking of coming to Ireland, you may want to study these roadsigns that Jennifer and I have learned through painstaking application of cunning insight to decipher. See if you can follow along:

"If this happens to you, you cannot say you were not warned."

"Danger - Volkswagen Beetles descending ahead."

"This man is falling to his death. So would you."

"Stupid people try to cross the street here. If you run them over, the road will be bumpy."

"If you continue along this path, bad things will happen."

"Irish children dress and play like Dick and Jane. Do not crush them please."

"Don't throw these rocks - they are very old."

"If you continue driving onto these train tracks, well, you will be crushed."

"Pray. Now."

Dun Aengus by Pony Cart

We're back in Dublin, getting ready to fly home tomorrow. Sitting in our hotel's downstairs pub (Thankfully, it's not Karaoke night!), drinking what may be our last Bulmers, thinking about our two days on Inis Mor. 

We got to go to the island's big site, Dun Aengus, not by car or bike, but by Pony Cart!

The Pony Cart to & from Dun Aengus was pretty cool, but the site itself was amazing. It's an ancient fort that was built in the Bronze Age, and is situated on the top, western edge of Inis More. And by edge, I mean it's on the edge, which drops several hundred feet straight down to the crashing sea.

There's no wall or barrier, so you can just walk right off the edge if you're not careful. I would only get close to the edge by laying down - and we captured the moment with these two photos. You'll notice, I wouldn't open my eyes, even when I wasn't looking down - that edge gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies!!

 

When in Ireland, drink what the Irish drink!

One of the things I wanted to do in Ireland was to sit down at a bar and order whatever the Irishman next to me was drinking. I figured if it was anything but Guinness, perhaps there'd be a good reason behind it. So while spending our two weeks here, Jen and I have been monitoring the beverage selections of the locals. Tourists don't count – they all order Guinness. But the locals – now that has been interesting.

About half drink Guinness. We think this is a pretty good finding, since it's the majority drink and agrees with expectations. In Dublin, Miller Genuine Draft seemed to be the most common alternative. I drank that stuff in graduate school, and it's not bad for an American beer, but it's no Guinness! Heineken and Carlsberg are also popular. Close to Kilkenny, Smithwicks was common (yay!).

In Galway, at the Volvo Ocean Races, however, Bulmer's Apple Cider was in extreme prevalence. Bulmers in bottles, cans, whatever, and always with ice. We don't know whether it was due to the weather (freakin' hot) or if it's normal. But Bulmer's is a darkly amber cider produced in Tipperary. It has a great toasty nature backed by solid apple tang. Being a fan of cider, I found it really great that the Irish embrace this ancient legacy just as they do the rest of their heritage. On Ireland's western coast, there has been an even split between Bulmers and Guinness, with pretty much nothing else in evidence. Here on Inishmore Island (the largest of the Aran Islands), it is by far the beverage of choice – well above Guinness.
I'm hoping to be able to find some Bulmer's at home, so we can see if it's as good as in Ireland. Accodring to a friendly publican, it goes by the brand name "Magner's" in Chicago.

Look - A Huiker!

Today (Sunday) we left Galway & a large majority of the Irish population at the Volvo Ocean Race. We took the 1:00 ferry to Inis Mor Island, the largest of the three Aran Islands on the west coast of Ireland. Pardon the delay for updated posts, but the Internet hasn't yet made it to Inis Mor (as far as we can tell)!

Our 30-minute ferry ride was fairly booked up (with the rest of the Irish population), it being a Sunday afternoon of extraordinary Irish weather (The last few days have been actually quite sunny & warm, of course, Bill and I packed for foggy, rainy Irish weather. Oh well.), and a 3-day weekend thanks to Monday's “bank holiday”. So Bill and I contented ourself with an no-frills, below-deck window seat.

All that said, Bill did manage to push his way onto the observation deck for a minute, and spotted what we think is an honest-to-goodness hooker! Check it out – hot stuff, right?  

No Internet!

Jen and I are on the Aran Island of Inis Mor, which, while it has great cider and sweaters, sadly is greatly lacking in the Internet department. We have saved some offline posts and pics, and will post when we return to Dublin tomorrow. Slainte!