Ok, let's try a new thing... 

time for the audience to get into the action!

  Wanna vote on how pro these photos look?

leave a vote like this

 example: A)5/10, B)7/10 and so on

 1- being sloppy as hell, 10- being really, really pro

leave it in the comment section below

thanks!

Mickey

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

F)

G)

H)

 I)

J)

K)

this last shot here is the Cliffs of Moher.  People are voting as I type, trying to have this place put into the 7 wonders of the world.  I hope it is, so I can say "I have seen one of the seven wonders."  There's hella competition though, so it will be a tough road.  And Dad, I would love to know how the rock's were eroded like, in some of these photos, so please let me know. 

Holy CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I landed in Galway!!!!!

volunteering at a festival for two weeks...

and I got a new camera to take pics of it all!

Pearl Jam show, Belfast

  They had never played a show in Belfast in over 20 years of rickity rockin.  That is, until June 23rd 10',  Pearl Jam received a warm welcome, and live up to their name wildly, throwing the audience a jam session filled with pearls.  After a dozen radio hits in the early 90's, there has been skeptics stating their later albums never had much.  But recently they've built up momentum, loads of momentum with their 2009 album, Backspacer.

Even during the third encore, they never stopped bringing the grungy, raw yet tight sound the world has loved for years.  Pearl Jam is a band who will give you just the right amount of rock.  They tap into emotions, push you back with vocal bliss, and throw you griddy guitar solos to get you off.  Eddy Vedder, you blow my mind, thank you for not being too messy about it.

The Ring of Kerry

this is just going to be photo's.

     I have to say, the Ring of Kerry was beautiful...

the Blarney Stone

So, like the sign says, this is all about the Blarney Castle.  A nice and simple intro, just how I like it.  Now I can say "I have been to a Castle!"  And I kissed the Blarney Stone, which is the dirtiest thing in Ireland, I guess.  That means I have made out with like a million people, gross...

I bought stamps here, so I can finally get around to sending postcards.  Keep your mailbox open...

 The place is under construction, so the full spectrum is not easily photographed. I decided to put a shot in to show just that. This castle was big, like, really big.  Surrounded by watchtowers, and poison gardens, there was plenty to see, hours worth.   The whole garden below was poisonous plants.  I know they had a great reason for it, but I find it a little strange, anyways.  I mean, a whole garden full of poison?  Uhhmm????  Awesome!?! 

Dunmanway- Co. Cork

This place is nice, real nice.   An amazing view, pleasant company, and sheep chasing.  Does life get any better?  I submit that it Cannot!!!!  Cannot looks like Carrot when you look at it real quick...  

Alright, so I haven't explained anything about this place yet, I know.  Conner's girlfriends parents house(Tony and Margaret), we were invited over for dinner, stayed the night in the spare cottage, got a full Irish breakfast, for free, and it was way sweet.  This shot is me 'herding the sheep'  or running around in circles in this case, with this kid, (Paul I think) who amazed me with his 4 year old intelligence.  He told me, "We did a great job herding those sheep Mike!  And Kelly chased em' sneaky like a badger!  I learned that in school, that badgers are sneaky!"  Kelly is in this next shot, a sweet little thing. The kid was awesome...  The whole experience was awesome, no doubt. 

I'm trying out a new way of doing this blog, I am going to continue on to the next day or so in the same blog, and see how it goes.

Going to this place didn't amaze me too much, but it amazes the Irish people.  This guy, Michael Collins, signed the treaty separating Ireland from British rule, although he agreed to leave out 6 county's, and signed off his life by doing so.  Ireland will never get those county's back from the English now, and that pisses the Irish off, a lot.  From an outside perspective, I find it amazing that they are split. 
 I could ramble for hours on that, but for this purpose, it matters not. After that we went to a Model Village, shown after the next shot.

Model Village Shots

This was the model village and whatnot.  Very cool portrayal of the Co. Cork.  There's a fiberglass build of each city, sort of to scale.  After going here, we went to Clonakilty, the Old Head of Kinsale, and into the city of Cork to stay at Conners place. Here is a few shots of the Old Head.

This place was surprisingly cool.  Another interesting fact is that all these places you go aren't congested with tourists, they might have like one family there, but most of the time, your on your own.  I mean, it's sweet not having to wait in lines, or get caught in traffic every 5 minutes and all that. We had an amazing host this day.  Tony used to be a Rally Car driver, and won Driver of the Year 10-15 times.  The whole living room was filled with trophy's.  Then he became a taxi driver.  He has since been forced to retire, due to cancer.  He's in treatment for it now, but made it a point to show us around the town, and see all the cool things that most tourists might miss.  He even helped me map out my trip for the next week.   Cork people are so freakin nice, it's way cool...

Baltimore, and not the one in America...

This small town housed quite a punch.  I enjoyed my time here so much, that if I won the lottery, a vacation home here is on the top 50 list.  And I say that because the number of cool places to live (in my mind) has expanded about 50 times since I left on this trip.

 

Sherkin Island - Landscapes

This shot explains my first point, there's only one way on and off the Island, this ferry.  I was blown away at 4 in the morning when I couldn't get Taco Bell.  Americans are sooooo pampered, it's almost disgusting enough to cause some projectile vomit out of me.  Although, I enjoy the luxury's too, so the beast's in me all the same. 

Now, I know it's a redundant concept, but I have sooooo many photo's to choose from, it's a bit of a challenge to pick the cool ones sometimes.   What can I do?  I can take requests of more photo's in any place you like, and email them to you.  How's that for way cool?  Just holla at me

The amount of castle-like places I have seen has been an amazement non-stop.  I knew coming to Ireland I'd see a lot of old shit, but my expectations have been exceeded time and time again. 

I sat at this 'beach' for over an hour sunbathing.  I left feeling relaxed, less hungover, and got a little sunburn.