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Tara Crabtree

@taracrab3

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Ireland, part 7: Londonderry/Derry Mom and I took a day trip from our hotel in County Donegal back into Northern Ireland to visit Derry. We took a tour on this vintage bus (with sunroof), which happens to be Derry's only bus tour and only just opened a few weeks before. There are murals all over, but I tried to avoid ones that are too political (other than their most famous one in slide 7.) It was a rainy day and Derry is quite a steep city, so I really don't think we would have visited without the bus tour. Our tour guide was the very colorful Seamus, whose Derry accent was so thick that I only caught about half of what he was saying, but really, this is the kind of local color you hope to find on a tour like this. Slides 1-3: we caught the bus tour in Guildhall Square right outside the city walls. Bill Clinton spoke on this square in 1995. Slide 4: The Peace Bridge across the River Foyle connecting the two historically divided sides of the city Slide 5: this statue is called Hands Across the Divide, but Seamus tells us the locals say it is one fella asking another fella to borrow money for a pint. Slide 7: their most iconic mural Slide 11: there has been a boat stuck in the mud of the River Foyle since 2020. Nobody had been able to get it out, so it's now a local landmark. Slide 13: when Amelia Earhart made her historic solo transatlantic flight, she was supposed to land in Paris, but instead, landed on a farm in Derry. So she gets a mural, too. Slide 14-15: parts of the ancient city walls Slide 17: a local teenager standing watch of the pallets he and his friends collected for a bonfire if the Garda don't seize them first. (We saw this in Dublin as well.) by @taracrab3
More Ireland (part 6?) - I've been home a month and slowly getting around to more installments of my vacation photos. This set is all from the same day (which was also my birthday. ) We drove the scenic Coastal Causeway from Belfast to our hotel in Buncrana, County Donegal. I wish I could show you the stunning scenery from that drive, but driving over there was quite a challenge for me. We made a quick stop at Carrickfergus Castle (we didn't go in), a longer stop at the Giant's Causeway and finished our drive to Buncrana, where we arrived just in time to view the solar eclipse (Ireland had 97% totality.) Also, some photo credits to my brother-in-law. Those are probably going to be obvious since he uses an actual 📷 instead of my pictures 🤳 by @taracrab3
Ireland trip part 5: more Belfast, heavily featuring our lunch af The Crown, a Victorian pub, known for its beautiful architectural features and its many snugs, private booths built so that ladies could have their pints in peace. Turnover in this place was fast, so I never got a picture of our cleared table. I had a lovely chicken and leek pie amd the afternoon light was quite lovely through the stained glass windows. Across from The Crown is the Europa Hotel, which survived 28 (or 30, depending on the source) bomb attacks during The Troubles. The last 3 slides are views from our hotel room where you can see Samson or Goliath (one of the cranes i mentioned in my previous post) by day, and by night you can see the Albert Memorial.Clock. by @taracrab3
Ireland vacation, part 4: Belfast 1-5: Belfast has so many beautiful and fascinating murals (I've tried to avoid sharing any politically charged ones here). 6: "craic" (which sounds like "crack" if you didn't know the subtle difference) is a diverse Irish word that means fun, entertainment, news, good conversation. In this context, Craic Alley is a playground. 7-8: a post box decorated by a group that does public crochet installations. 9: the Titanic Experience (we didn't have this particular experience on this trip.) 10-11: Samson & Goliath - the two massive cranes at the Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the Titanic was built. The cranes were constructed much later. They are 230 feet tall and can be seen distincly on the Belfast skyline. 12-15: we stayed in the Cathedral Quarter near the Cathedral Church of St Anne (with the Spire of Hope atop the Cathedral) with Ulster University right around the corner 16: the Albert Memorial clock, in honor of Prince Albert, was built over soft marshy land and leans about 4 ft off center 17: Queen's College 18-20: Mackles Ice Cream and Neighbourhood Cafe (with the fanciest hash brown I've ever seen) were both within a block of our hotel. by @taracrab3
Ireland vacation, part 3. I was not a great picture taker in Dublin. But here are some highlights. We liked the DoDublin bus tours - the drivers gave live narration on some of the busses and some of them even gave us a little sing song. Mom and I did some sightseeing with Mandy, Gabe and Ash, but went to the EPIC museum on our own. This museum tells the story of Irish Emigration and pays tribute to people of Irish heritage who made an impact on culture. (I guess the literature room was my favorite.), Sounds on for the videos - you can see which book inspired my name. (Hint: it's not Dracula.) And at the end of the tour, you could name one of your Irish ancestors. Mom and I also stopped at the Lidl grocery store in Dublin that was built over some medieval ruins. They put glass floors in the store so you can take a look at the ruins as you stroll the aisles. by @taracrab3
Vacation - journey and arrival (Aug 6-7) Mom and I got the privilege of flying in the @jetblue Mint cabin to Dublin. (In case you don't know, I am very into points and miles and have been saving for a while in order to take a big trip.) Before the flight we got to spend some of our layover time at JFK T5 in the new BlueHouse longe. Once we got checked into our hotel, we took the @vintageteatripsdublin tour, which was a good introduction to the city before our jet lag got the best of us and we headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately, jet lagged me didn't take many pictures that day. by @taracrab3
Summer vacation day 1 (Aug 6) My mom and I spent a long layover at JFK by venturing over to the iconic TWA terminal, designed by Eero Saarinen, that has been repurposed as a hotel and a tribute to the era. It was a fun way to kill a few hours and do some people watching while we waited for our overnight flight. by @taracrab3
Chilly Florida day with a stunning cotton candy sunset. by @taracrab3
Weekend in Rhode Island, part 3 Our hotel in Providence deserves its own post. We stayed at Graduate by Hilton, which is in a historic hotel the locals still refer to as The Biltmore. The Biltmore marquee is still on the roofline of the building. The Graduate hotels are located near various universities, and this location was themed around Brown University, though Johnson & Wales and RISD are all in the same neighborhood. Pics 1-6 are of the hotel's common areas. The remainder of the pictures are of our room. We think all the pictures of people on the walls are of former Brown students, like Lois Lowry, Ted Turner, JFK Jr, Laura Linney and David Bynre (obscured by the glare), Andre Leon Talley. The Heisman Trophy was named for a Brown alumnus. The teddy bear lamp is a nod to the "Untitled (Lamp/Bear)" sculpture that lived on the Brown campus at the time the hotel was remodeled. (I saw the yellow version of the same sculpture in the airport layover in Doha, Qatar last year.) The bookshelf wallpaper is filled with Rhode Island specific titles, most of them jokes, of which my favorite is Big Trouble in Little Quahog. There are some real titles in there, though, like stories by H.P. Lovecraft, who was a native of Providence. Our Junior Suite only cost $9/night more than a regular sized room, so of course we did! by @taracrab3
Rhode Island weekend trip, part 2: Newport We spent a couple of days in Newport, where we visited a few summer "cottages," drove the scenic Ten Mile Dive, and splurged on some lobster rolls. Pics 1-8: Marble House, the summer home of William K and Alva Vanderbilt. If you watch The Gilded Age, the Russell Family's story line borrows heavily from the lives of this couple down to the arranged marriage of their daughter Consuelo (Gladys in the series) to the Duke of Marlborough (Buckingham in the series.) Later in her life, Alva built the Chinese Tea House in the background of picture 6 where, among other social functions, she hosted suffragist rallies, using the dishes like the ones you see in picture 4. (Naturally, these are available in the gift shop.) Pics 9-14: The Breakers, the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and his wife Alice. Picture 10 is what I told my boss I want to buy for my office setup at work. (Not approved 😅) Picture 13 is the chandelier from the children's play cottage, which is bigger than many people's apartments. Pics 15-17: clam chowder and a lobster roll trio at The Lobster Bar (and our waterside view) by @taracrab3
Last weekend's trip with my bestie Erin. We try to do a trip in between our birthdays every year, but we usually stay close to home. This year, we ventured much further than usual to Rhode Island. (Fun fact: this was my first time ever in New England!) Part 1: Providence We took a haunted history tour, which started in Prospect Terrace Park at the grave of Roger Williams, the founder of Providence. There were some nice twilight views of the city, we walked to several sites that included the Brown University campus, buildings from Rhode Island School of Design, several historic homes and the Providence Athanaeum. Aside from the tour, we visited the Providence Athanaeum library on our own - Edgar Allan Poe hung out there for a period of time. Unfortunately, their Poe artifacts weren't on display, but it was a very cool place to visit. There was also a turkey lurking in the area every time we passed by that day. 🦃 We went to the John Brown House Museum, which Erin found on Atlas Obscura because it houses "the root that ate Roger Williams." (Just read the plaque.) They also claim to have the oldest American made vehicle in existence. We got a great tour of the museum and learned a lot about Providence and also a history of women's undergarments through the 19th century 🤷‍♀️. Apparently, John Brown was quite fond of squirrels and had them incorporated into the wallpaper and many of the architectural features of the house. George Washington allegedly visited there, and he is also incorporated into wallpapers and architectural features of the house. (I didn't notice any rooms that incorporated George and the squirrels together. I think GW was added with a later owner's remodel.) This quirky experience was far more than we were expecting. 🤣 Last but not least, we had a great seafood meal at Dune Bros, recommended by the staff at John Brown House. We had crab legs, oysters, monkfish liver pâté, and probably the best fish and chips I've ever had. by @taracrab3
Thanks, family, for a beautiful visit to Indiana! I got to have dinner out with my nieces, breakfast out with my nephews, visit a farmer's market where my niece made me a crepe at her weekend job. (Not to reinforce stereotypes or anything, but the corn stand was by far the longest line. And there's a basketball court in the middle of the IND airport, as well as several race cars. They know who they are.) I got to discuss one nephew's knowledge from the Reader's Digest issues his great grandmother passes on to him, and see some magic tricks from the other nephew. My brother and sister-in-law made sure I felt very loved and welcomed. I found a dress at GAP that was almost exactly like a dress I bought in high school from GAP. And even though my flight home was delayed, I got to hang in the fancy Centurion Lounge in the ATL airport. It was a great weekend! by @taracrab3

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