Riding a Bicycle to Heaven?

Let's first start from where I left off...My second bag is here!! We were just sitting down for dinner, tacos to be exact, when one of the guys from another cottage knocked on the door carrying what I thought to be gold, frankincense, or myrrh; actually it was something far more useful than any of those gifts. This gift contained my warm fleece, my rain jacket, a very important book, some shorts (Hey at least I can wear them to bed right?), and FOOD! Can you tell I'm a little relieved? And that was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Actually the perfect ending to any day is finishing it off watching my favorite movie...anybody? You guessed it, "The Sandlot." So, that is what I'm doing right now, watching "The Sandlot" and writing.

We started the day at about 930am and took a bus through Spiddal to a small bay. We then took a 25 minute ferry ride to the largest of the Aran Islands. As a group we decided to rent bicycles so we could ride around the island. It was really the perfect day for us. It is the first day we haven't had a rain cloud hanging over our heads for an extended part of the day, so it really was perfect. Now, I'm in decent shape, but biking is something I haven't really done...well, since I was about 15. I picked it up pretty quickly, and we were off. Kevin, my roommate, and I split from the group after a little while and tooled around on our own. These are some of the many pictures we took today, and none of them do this gorgeous place justice. The cliffs were the really the last things we saw, and we definitely saved the best for last. We passed some of the group on our way up to the cliffs and in a very sarcastic tone, one of my other cottage-mates said, "It's definitely not the best thing I've every seen." I was pretty sure we were in for something special. It was truly amazing to see nothing but ocean for miles and miles from the edge of a 200 foot cliff, while the waves crashed into the facade. It was one of those special times in my life when I was simply amazed by God's wonder and presence in the world. I can only hope that I can have another experience of that magnitude by the end of this semester.

I really appreciate your interest in my life right now, and I always welcome prayers, because I know I can use as much as you are willing to give. We have another day long excursion tomorrow, which is likely to include me being on my feet all day; so, it looks like it's time go to bed. Don't get me wrong, I'll welcome this type of fatigue every day, if I can have the same experiences. However, I'm not sure if my roommates will be too happy if I wake up screaming with leg cramps. Oh well, you know what they say...when in Ireland... Just kidding, and don't worry, Laura, there's no saying like that here. :)