Here We Go

I had originally intended my first blog post to be something about travel.  I have done a considerable amount of travel in my life and I believe that I have something to offer others in the way of stories and advice.  However, I am going to save that for another post.

Today started as I imagine many days here in Louisburgh will start, I rolled out of bed and walked to class.  After class I was on my way back to the cottages when a group of us stopped to talk to a man named Barry whom we had met a few days ago.  As we were about to go our separate ways he asked if I would like to go look at the damage that the storm had done to the coastline.

Having no other plans and wanting to get to know Barry a little bit better, I, along with two classmates, decided to go with Barry for to see what the beaches looked like.

We met Barry at his house for tea at quarter to 2.  We sat in his living room for a little while talking about what we wanted to do and see while abroad.  Before long we set off.

Driving into the first beach I could see that there had been some serious damage done.  Both sides of the road that we were driving on had fields of standing sea water in them that had not been there before the storm.

When we got to the beach, the parking lot was barely there.  The storm had thrown boulders the size of watermelons into fields used for farming; it had swept away storage units used to hold football and surfing equipment.  There were mounds of what Barry called “sea rods” (a brown form of sea weed that grows on the bottom of the ocean) three feet high and stretching all the way down the beach.

We drove along the cost for the next hour stopping at half a dozen beaches that the storm had torn up.  There were a number of places where we could not pass because there was too much damage to the road, or because the road had been completely flooded.

I have always had a love for big bodies of water.  I grew up 100 feet from Lake Superior, and much of my childhood was spent in the sun playing on the beach that was our back yard.  When I first saw the ocean it was on the coast of Oregon and I was enamored.  I remember my brother sister and I played on the rocky beach together whenever we could manage it during that trip.  Coming to Ireland, I was excited to live so close to the ocean, but today really put it into perspective for me.  The sea is equally beautiful and powerful.

Well I can’t end my first blog on that note so I’ll do a little explaining.  I will be posting here about twice a week while I am studying abroad here in Louisburgh Ireland.  I would love any feedback and/or suggestions that you may have for future blog posts.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day

Willie