Welcome to Hanvey's.com

Ireland

Rhonda and I spent our holiday in Ireland this year. We had initially planned to ride the harley but the forecast was for rain almost every day so we drove the truck instead. As is turned out, the weather wasn't really all that bad. We took a ferry from South Wales to Rosslare, and spent our first night near Waterford. We backtracked a bit the next morning to check out the Kennedy homestead near Ross, which was really interesting, then continued on, stopping for a tour of the Waterford crystal factory that afternoon.


We left Waterford toward Cork, and turned south to Kinsale, a pretty town on the coast for some dinner and beer. After a night in Kinsale we drove to Killarney, and then around the "Ring of Kerry". The ring took us along most of the coastline of the southwest of Ireland, with some spectacular views of ocean, beaches and cliffs, with a few points of interest along the way.


We did a lot of driving, close to 2000 miles on this trip, but well worth it. I think the photos speak for themselves, I can't really say too much about the views, they are spectacular. After the Ring of Kerry we went 'round the "Ring of Dingle", and then drove a bit north to see the Cliffs of Moher.




I finally got my Guiness! The tour was fun, and made a great way to end our tour of Ireland. We sailed back from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales and drove back down through Wales, which turned out to be every bit as beautiful. All in all, a great trip, beautiful, relaxing and enjoyable. It's good to be home, too.

A casual update...

I know, it's not very exciting, but something to look at. I'm signed up for school and have just begun studying. I had my eyes checked a few weeks ago, seemed like my arms weren't long enough, and I'm sure some of you can relate. I ordered some reading glasses, which still aren't in yet, but I know they'll help me get through the thousand pounds worth of books I just ordered. I contacted the VA and they said they'd pay my tuition and fees, which is great, and now I have to do all the paperwork and then wait. I've become very patient, having dealt so closely with the government all these years. I know I'll have to wait. And wait.

I just read Pam's letter, Hi Pam, it's good to hear from you and get all the news. Valerie always leaves a nice comment on our weblog (Thanks, Val), which you all can read by clicking on the "Comments (x)" link at the bottom of each post, and then you can leave your own comments there, too, if you like. (I have to close them out after a few weeks or I start getting spammed, but I leave them open long enough for everyone to have a chance to comment.) Anyway, it's great to hear that the Barkhouses have gotten together and we hear you all had a great time! Nice to hear that one of you has reason to smile ; )

We're getting ready to take a trip to Ireland (ROI - Republic of Ireland), and are hoping that the weather cooperates. If it does, we'll take the harley through Wales, cross over on the ferry, and make stops at Waterford, Cork and around the Ring of Kerry. We'll end up in Dublin at St. James Gate for a few pints of Guinness. I have a short trip to Slovakia just before we go on holiday, then will be off to Bodo, Norway after our trip. I'm taking Rhonda with me to Naples, Italy for a couple of weeks and hope to see Tom and Vic, as well as pick up some shoes. After that I'm scheduled for a few weeks in Scotland, and finish up with a trip to Bulgaria. So, lots of travel for me over the next 6 months, and Rhonda will get to see a bit more of Europe as well. If all that sounds exciting it's because it is, trust me.

We won't make it back to N. America this year but I've promised we'll plan a trip about next Oct or Nov to Sheet Harbour. I've been so busy I haven't had time to miss hunting or fishing but I know it will hit me all at once and I'll be dying to go. Our long-term plans are changing due to my opportunity to take classes now instead of having to wait until I'm discharged, but we haven't had time to settle on anything too specific yet. We both really love it here but can't say what the future holds, it's anyone's guess at this point.

Supposedly we're having guests from across the pond next year, which is great, I wish we could share this experience with all of you. Our next-door neighbors just returned from two weeks in France and brought lots of wine back with them. They were camping and staying in B&B's in Bordeaux and along the western coast. We had them over for dinner the night they returned and shared a few bottles of their wine. It sounds like something Rhonda and I would like to do next summer, they really had a great time.

Well, "tah" for now, keep in touch, y'all, and thanks for visiting our site. Drop us a line...

Bad news/GREAT news!

Sorry no pictures, but I promise some very soon. Have been incredibly busy! The bad news is that I was not selected for promotion to CPO (chief). Oh well, it wouldn't have done me any good anyway, this is my last tour with the navy, and I have all the positional authority and responsibility I'd have as a chief already.

The GREAT news is that I'm being offered (and will accept) admission to Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, postgraduate MSc, Brewing and Distilling Technology program. I'll sign on for the distance learning program so that I can begin right away! Wish me luck! More later, meanwhile you can check out the "ICDB" link in the right column of this page.