Just after leaving Enniskillen we spotted an opportunity and followed the signs to Monea Castle built for Scottish born Malcolm Hamilton in 1618 about five years before he became the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Cashel. We had an absolutely delightful time wandering through the castle, taking pictures, doing a bit of amateur videography, and imagining life in a castle four hundred years ago.
By deliberate choice we were in Medina for all the winter holiday festivities from Candlelight Walk in the days before Thanksgiving through A Christmas Carol and A Celtic Christmas as well as an Alex Bevan Concert and a historic house tour all the way through Medina’s 31st Ice Festival but perhaps the highlight was the town hosting hundreds of folks whose homes and lives were devasted by Hurricane Helene at the A Promise of Christmas Event the middle of January. It’s an honor to be a part of this amazing community!
The warmth we anticipated when we headed to the Caribbean in mid-January didn’t really materialize but the fun we had with our dancing friends and the great crew of the Margaritaville at Sea Islander more than made up for the not so favorable weather.
Aboard Jewel of the Seas, a favorite ship of ours, we enjoyed a foray into the history and geology of Canada’s Atlantic coast while enjoying the joys of friendships, longtime and new. Now we’re looking forward to returning to the same ship for further adventures!
What a delightful and unexpected treasure that rewarded our spontaneity. Hey, we just passed a sign for a castle! Want to go? Yes!!! Alice got really good at u-turns.
It was so cool to have everyone feel so easy with spontaneous decisions to just stop and do something that looks interesting!