Day 5

We started our day at the Manx Museum in Douglas. We learned a bit about the history of the Isle of Man, then went to the museum's heritage center. The attendant was extremely helpful and pulled out a huge sheet of paper, about 2 feet wide and 3 feet long, with our family tree dating all the way back to 1487.

We then drove to the town of Rushen to explore the Rushen Castle. It was built in 871, though substantial construction continued throughout the 16th century. It served as the home of many Kings and Lords of Man, as the royal court and treasury, and for some time as a prison. A few prison records were displayed, including the record of a prisoner named William Kewley who was imprisoned on September 4th, 1835 "for deserting his masters." The charges were brought by John Green, but he dropped them a year later and William was set free.

From Rushen, we drove to Port St. Mary's where we ate lunch, then headed south. We happened to drive through Cregneash, an idyllic folk village with thatch-roofed cottages and roosters roaming the streets. Because it's so picturesque, several scenes from Waking Ned Divine were filmed there. We, of course, had to get out and take some photos.

We then drove back down to the Calf of Man. My parents used this as an opportunity to exercise their photography passion, while Kevin and I hiked around a bit. I hiked down to a tiny rocky cove with crystal clear water and a stunning view of the cliffs across the shore. It started raining, so we headed back to Douglas. Once in town, we ate dinner, took a walk in the pouring rain, played a board game, then went to bed.

Day 6

We got up early, ate breakfast at our hotel, then drove straight to the airport. Unfortunately, our time on the Isle of Man was already over. It was a beautiful island, and I was sad to leave it. We took the half-hour flight back to Dublin. We ate lunch at a tiny cafe, then Kevin and I left our parents, who wanted to take a tour of an old jail. We, on the other hand, were ready for some down time. We wanted to explore Dublin and get an experience we would have if we lived there: hanging out in a coffee shop. So we headed to 3FE, a coffee shop Kevin's friend recommended to us. We camped out there for a couple hours, which enabled me to journal and him to read. It was nice to relax a little and do something normal instead of touring around. Afterwards, we walked around Dublin and went into a few shops. We ate a delicious (and huge) dinner at Elephant and Castle, then headed back to our hotel for a good night's sleep.