#not me coming out of my cave after hibernating for 2 years to post a 3 word post and then dip

[artemistorm]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by a couple of people and I can't remember who, but thank you guys!!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

18

2. What's your total A03 word count?

165,660 and 140k of that is from just this year!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Legend of Zelda and Linked Universe, although I do have one Ao No Exorcist/Blue Exorcist manga fic that isn't finished yet and I plan to finish at some point. I have a Sonic the Hedgehog AU too but that isn't published and is only for me.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Recharge

For the Want of a Breath (surprised this one is so high on the list)

Hyrule and Wild Have a Hard Time (My personal Fave)

LU Whump Dump

Secret of the Sea Cave (Beats out Yukio Turn on the Light by 1 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Most of them yes. I tend to save up comments and answer like 20 of them in a day to save time/energy.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's gotta be Yukio Turn on the Light for sure (it's a story about a suicidal boy being talked back from the brink by his dead dad in order to prevent Satan from taking over the world), although Ghost Story will have a very angsty ending too (story about nine ghosts that need help making peace with their regrets so they can pass into the afterlife).

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Mmmm... that would be my FMA:B fic Actually I'm Not Sorry which is an epilogue to the manga/anime

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really hate but I've gotten a couple critical comments here or there. On Recharge I've gotten quite a few "Where's the rest of this fic? Hurry up and write it B(&%^" or variations of that. That's why I abandoned it.

9. Do you write smut?

🤢🤮oh heck no

10. Do you write crossovers?

Never. I don't like the foods on my plate to touch so to speak.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. I probably wouldn't know if it was.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I've podficed one.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. When I was a kid I used to co-write original stories with my sister though.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Merthur (Arthur and Merlin from the Merlin TV show). Also Sam & Jack from Stargate SG1

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The Sign of the Wolf is an unpublished hibernating WIP that is a long and meandering story about a depressed post LU Wild making peace with the loss of his 8 brothers after their adventure together ended. The main premise is that each of the other Links hid care packages around his Hyrule and Wild has to go on a scavenger hunt to find them.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue comes easily to me and characterizations as long as I can figure out what makes each character think.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue tags are annoying. So are boring scenes and transition scenes. And I'm terrible about knowing what things to shorten/cut out of the story.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Uhhh I have no thoughts? This hasn't really come up much except for sign language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Well if you count my very first story ever I wrote at age 9 which was a Lord of the Rings superhero AU, then LotR. Otherwise, it was Sonic the Hedgehog.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I gotta say: Skulltula and Thunder.

Tagging @uniquevoidflowers @nancyheart11 @ladye-zelda @spookypanda04 @hotcheetohatredwastaken

[vasudaivakutumbakam]

ahalya deserved better

[slouchyslouch]

A reflection of My Bloody Valentine’s mbv

I discovered My Bloody Valentine at the tail end of my high school years in 2011 — a kid just getting into the genre of shoegaze and music for the introverted. I dove deep into bands that were completely blissed out on that wall of sound that Kevin Shields created with his guitar technique: amplified guitar feedback that could be sculpted to his liking, and tonally the most arresting chord progressions that allow you to look into your mind and reflect. It had been twenty years since My Bloody Valentine’s last record came out and I was intrigued that they were still engaged in putting out a new record. As an ignorant teenager, I could not conceive of people in bands in their 40’s — let alone their 50’s — making any good and relatable music, or at least music that still made sense to me as a teenager. Two years after constantly listening to Loveless and as soon as I found out that they released the record for free on their website, I was completely floored. I dove right into the beast. The music felt totally aligned with how I perceived the world — a dreary and almost apocalyptic state of hedonistic decay. It was my perception of the world anyway. I felt jaded with what I wanted to do in school and consumed as much as music as I could. That year was a time of brooding for me so consuming as much music as I could gave me a distraction from my depressed state. mbv provided me that cave that I could hibernate in for the rest of that winter.

mbv is a three-part feast; a story to to tell in three parts despite Shields admitting that earlier on during the recording process that he was “purposefully not trying to write songs with a beginning, middle and end.” The record just happened to be written and recorded multiple times during its 15 year construction. On first listen, mbv’s first three tracks reveal a kind of vitality to them. There’s a grandiosity in them that’s found on old tracks like “Come In Alone” and “I Only Said” where I feel a constant shiver on every bent guitar chord. Those opening chords on “She Found Now” immediately makes me melt in my body. It’s one of the more profound introductions on an album I’ve ever heard. The ghostly vocals of Shields evaporate like mist as each strum of his guitar wallow in despair. That shiver reverbeates in my bones as his signature tremolo effect demonstrates his aptitude for texture and atmosphere. On “Only Tomorrow” and “Who Sees You,” amps are turned up to 10 and feature those guitars pushing the limit of distortion that only Shields knows how to manipulate into piercing thunder. It also might be the loudest guitars on a record that can put anyone to sleep because of how serene the atmosphere sounds. Not to mention Bilinda Butcher’s whispered vocals; it’s easy to daydream as you feel the softness of her breath veiled in the mix.

My Bloody Valentine change the mood on the 2nd coda as tracks float lightly just a few inches off the ground. On “Is This and Yes,” hollow organs are played hauntingly while Butcher croons in languor. It’s a respite that calls for tranquility before Colm Ó Cíosóig’s mechanical drum beat kicks in on “If I Am,” a sultry dream pop track designed to make butterflies flutter. It recalls Loveless’s penchant for love songs and candied riffs. Butcher repeats the phrase “be my lover,” as if staring into your soul, eyes fully locked. “New You” then feels disco-influenced, a more slow-burnt dance under the moonlight. This second part of the record encapsulates My Bloody Valentine’s taste in pop music. A lot of their tracks from Loveless and even on their first album Isn’t Anything had those same inclinations yet were always wrapped in cacophony. It feels as if My Bloody Valentine decide to sweeten up their sound with more modern production chops 20 years later, but then veers back into sheer volume in the record’s final act.

The third part of mbv revs the engine back up to prepare for an onslaught to your ears. Its drums trudge in militaristic fashion through its first two tracks and slowly evolve into something out of this world. “In Another Way” is a kind of assessment in engaging in radical cacophony. It returns to those heavily distorted guitars somewhat churning out what’s left of its pop energy. The track then devolves to “Nothing Is” to clear a path for destruction. It feels post-apocalyptic in the way that Mad Max: Fury Road exhibits the fatalistic pursuit of Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa by Immortan Joe and his blood-thirsty War Boys. I can just imagine Shields or bassist Debbie Googe strapped to one of the war vehicles to hype up the hunt. Finally, ender “Wonder 2” fully draws you into its gravity. Drums are fully rendered into artificial Burial-esque jungle. It’s a strange fusion of electronic music, shoegaze and novelty that make this final stretch of mbv to be somewhat of a new direction of their sound.

I often wonder what it would have been like if I was in my teen years or even in my early twenties when Loveless came out. Music fans back then must have had felt lucky to be living in a year that broke through the glass ceiling of rock and hip-hop as albums such as Spiderland, The Low End Theory, Nevermind, and Loveless came out. In some ways mbv turned out to be my Loveless in the sense that its music has been drilled into my consciousness the way Loveless might have been something so captivating to fans back then. In 2018 there was news of two new My Bloody Valentine records coming out in 2019. It’s the last day of 2019 as I write this, and no records have come out to no one’s surprise. It’s okay. If it took them 22 years to release something as beautiful as mbv, and it takes another 22 years, it looks like I’ll have a good year of listening to music in my 40’s.

[travelingtheusa]

KENTUCKY

2020 Oct 8 (Thu) – We spent the day in the campground.  We drove over to the laundry room and did the wash.  Paul tried playing with his drone but it was acting up.  He’ll have to look at that.  I spent the afternoon looking at attractions in Pigeon Forge for our next stop. We move to Tennessee tomorrow where we will meet up with other SMART members for a non-muster.

2020 Oct 7 (Wed) – We sat around the campground this morning and gave the animals a chance to play outside.  At 10:30 a.m., we left for Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Daniel Boone National Forest.  Within the park is Cumberland Falls.  Rarely, an event that takes place there only occurs in the Western Hemisphere once in a while. It’s called a moonbow.  We see rainbows all the time.  All you need is sunlight and water droplets in the air.  This happens very frequently after rainstorms. Rainbows occur at the base of waterfalls a lot.  A moonbow is when the conditions are right at nighttime.  Rather than sunshine, it is moonshine reflecting on the water.  It’s supposed to be very beautiful to see and open happens when the conditions are just right with a full moon and no clouds.

     After we hiked along the falls and river, we drove to the lodge for lunch.  The food was very good.

 2020 Oct 6 (Tue) – We packed up and left Dry Ridge at 9:35 a.m. The weather was good and the drive was easy.  We arrived in three and a half hours at Laurel Lake Camping Resort in Corbin. After the crowded environment with the constant noise, this campground is heavenly.  It is maybe one-quarter full with lots of space with all the empty sites.  It is a very long, spread out campground with trees and a lake.  

     We drove into town to the Harland Sanders Café and Museum.  It is supposed to be the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant Colonel Sanders opened (before he became known as Colonel Sanders) with a small museum attached to it.  The café and museum were closed for renovations; the drive-through was open for take-out.  We didn’t want that so we drove back into town to look for a restaurant.  The Depot on Main was a bar and café.  Paul had a pasta dish and I had their special - Hawaiian Chicken.   Our waitress had such a heavy accent, we could only understand about every third word.  She was new and slow.  I left the restaurant annoyed.

     After we finished our meal, we walked down to Sanders Park.  There was a small area with a life size statue of Harland Sanders with plaques and bricks honoring donors.  Storyboards told the story of Sanders rise to prominence. He had quite a storied life with lots of failures before his chicken franchise made him a millionaire.  

 2020 Oct 5 (Mon) – We went out to lunch to Beans Café.  The food was excellent.  Paul had a hot ham and cheese with potato soup.  I had a hot turkey melt with bean and ham soup. After lunch, we went to the post office so I could mail off the letter I wrote for the American Legion fund raiser. I called a bus tour company today to complete reservations for our caravan next year.  The agent I had spoken with before is working from home so the office had to take the message, then call her, and then she called me.  She took all the information and promised to send me an email with the final price quote.  

 2020 Oct 4 (Sun) – We went food shopping this afternoon.  It was hard to find a restaurant for lunch. We finally went to the Waffle House and had breakfast for lunch.  The food was good.  Afterward, we went food shopping at Kroeger.  The store was big.  Next door, Kroeger had a liquor store and we stopped there next to get wine and booze. After putting the groceries in our portable cooler, we drove to a winery and did a tasting.  It was on the high side - $8 for a flight of 3 wines, $8 each for a glass of wine, and $28 for a bottle of wine to take home.

     I called the commander of Rusy Bohm Post back home.  They are running a fund-raiser that I just happened to come across on Facebook.  I offered to write a letter for him to send out to the membership.  He agreed and I spent the afternoon composing a letter. I will send it out to him tomorrow.

 2020 Oct 3 (Sat) – I finally got through to the Niagara Falls campground only to find they have raised their rates.  We budgeted $113 a night and they said it would be $117.50 – and that’s with a military discount!  That’s just too much.  So I called a state campground about 15 miles away.  They have available sites but we have to make the reservations through Reserve America.  The clerk at that site had to make the reservations in groups of 6.  They also require the name and phone number of each individual.  We have 20 people signed up so far with 2 more spaces available.  So I gave the names and numbers of those folks who have signed up for the caravan to date, then gave 2 fake names.  We’ll see that goes.  As a result, we will save almost $7,000.  With that kind of savings, we can hire a bus to take the group to Niagara Falls.

     We drove to Williamstown to The Ark Encounter this afternoon.  We got $10 off the admission price as senior citizens. In addition, the price included a free dinner, which cost $15 each.  It was a pretty good deal.  The ark was huge!  It is the largest wooden timber structure in the world.  It was built to show what the ark was like. There were 3 stories with lots of plaques to read.  There were cages with mock animals in them.  Most of the animals were extinct as they imagined those were the types of animals they would have had back then.  The place was packed!  We couldn’t believe all the people who were there.  Almost everyone wore a mask in the ark but less than half wore one outside.

 2020 Oct 2 (Fri) – We packed up and left Olive Hill at 9:40 a.m. We were third in line for the dump station (a short stop before hitting the road).  The drive was pleasant.  The weather was good.  We arrived at the Northern Kentucky RV Park in Dry Ridge at 1 p.m.  This used to be a KOA campground.  It is old and heavily treed.  The sites are too close together and very uneven.  The campground is between a train track and the interstate. There is constant noise.  I don’t think we would come back to this place. The wifi is good.  We have full hook ups.  The pool has been closed for a couple of years.  There is a lake with some paddle boats on the shore but they don’t look like they’ve been used for a while.

 2020 Oct 1 (Thu) – A transformer blew in the campground this morning so Paul took me out for breakfast.  That turned out to be quite an adventure.  All the restaurants in Olive Hill (of which there are few) were closed.  A donut shop was open but we didn’t like the choices so we drove 20 miles over to the next town to have a meal at Biscuit World.  The biscuits were large and flaky – delicious!  The rest of the meal was not so good but it did what it was supposed to.

     We returned to campground and did the laundry.  During a walk this afternoon, Paul stumbled on a site with wood targets where people can throw their knives.  He came back to get me and I gathered up my throwing knife set then we went to the site and threw knives at the targets for 15 or 20 minutes.  It was fun and very challenging.  Afterward, we walked over to the horse stables and fed 3 horses and 2 donkeys some apples.

     The campground has been steadily filling up with RVs and tenters coming in.  It looks like they will be full this weekend.  The maintenance in this campground is minimal.  They put papers at each campsite with the name and dates when the site is reserved.  Many sites have dates that have passed but the papers are still at the sites.  Some sites have garbage piled in the fire pit. I don’t know if the staff is just lazy or if they are operating with minimal staff.  

 2020 Sep 30 (Wed) – We took a tour of the Cascade Cave this morning. It is a living cave with lots of water activity.  That made it kind of exciting.  We had to go out of the cave and back in another entrance twice to see everything. There were parts of the wall that had been bricked up by the cave’s owners to prevent unauthorized entry.  We enjoyed both cave tours (yesterday and today) very much.

 2020 Sep 29 (Tue) – We took a tour of X Cave today.  It was a very interesting cave in that it had two rivers running alongside each other, separated by a cave wall.  Over time, the wall collapsed and became one cave making an X-intersection with 4 passageways.  The cave is still an active one.

     I have heard the term “Caveland” used around here.  I don’t know if it refers to this area or to the entire state itself.  There are over 200 caves in Kentucky; 25 in Carter Caves State Park alone.  Only 4 caves are open to exploration over the year – 2 are closed right now because of the hibernating bats.

     We had lunch at the lodge.  The park is old and all the buildings and facilities show that.  The lodge is typical – made of dark wood and beams. The waitress was very slow although we told her we were in a hurry.  We ordered vegetable soup and grilled cheese.  We got something more like chili with lots of meat in it and the cheese sandwich was barely toasted.  I didn’t even eat my sandwich.

     We drove into town to mail off some things at the post office.  We drove around the area, exploring some of the back roads.  The buildings were mostly old and run down.  It looked like this might have been a well-to-do area years ago but has fallen on hard times.  Probably when the caves stopped being primary tourist attractions.

 2020 Sep 28 (Mon) – We packed up and left Meadow Bridge, WV at 9:55 a.m.  It was very foggy and overcast and we had rain on and off during the 5 hour drive to Carter Cave State Park campground in Olive Hill, KY.  We stopped about 15 miles from the WV-KY border at a Walmart to pick up a few groceries and have lunch.  The new campground is not near stores so it is better to get what we need before setting up.  Getting into the campground was a little hairy.  The road was narrow and had several hairpin turns as we drove through heavy trees.  When we arrived at the office, the clerk said we were already checked in and gave us our site number.

     The weather was crappy so we stayed in the campground.  There are several caves in the area that we will be exploring in the next few days.

[amyperonayoga]

The Lonely Feeling

Brene Brown writes in her book, Braving the Wildness “the lonely feeling is that moment when you don’t feel alive with connection.”  Research goes further to talk about it as “the level of how society and our role or position (or lack of) a role/position can bring about or cause a sense of not knowing what group you belong to,” and therefore bring into light the lonely feeling.  Just like hunger is a warning that our blood sugar is low and we need to eat and thirst warns us that we need to drink, loneliness tells us that we need connection, something as critical to our well being as food and water.  Cacioppo explains, “Denying you feel lonely makes no more sense than denying you feel hunger.”  Yet we often deny our loneliness. 

I have a memory of being somewhere between the age of 11-13 where I am laying in the snow in the front yard of our house on Erie Street.  I know my dad was still alive but I’m guessing very sick or going through a round of sickness that left my siblings and I heading in different directions.  My brother and I would typically stay together, with my two younger sisters going somewhere else.  It made sense given our age and where we were in our schooling, but as I think about it now - it was so traumatic.  I image we were all just yearning for normal, togetherness and despite everyone’s efforts to help we were having anything but a normal experience.  

So, there I am in the snow and it was DEEP (I need to research significant snow falls during this period of time).  Nonetheless, I vividly remember laying in the snow, I can feel it coming up around me and despite how cold it was, it felt incredibly comforting.  I also remember feeling loneliness for the first time that I could identify with.  I put a label on it that day.  It was the beginning of what I would define today as mild depression, but I had no idea then and I certainly had no clue of how to deal with it other than to isolate myself or retreat to my room.  I carried depression with me for a long time, even to this day.  What’s different now though is I don’t wrestle with it.  I don’t resist when I feel it coming.  I don’t run and do foolish things.  I instead surrender to it.  

In the yoga practice many teachers including myself talk about “surrendering.” I once associated this (and sometimes still do) with that feeling of euphoria, warm, soothing, ocean vibes where the sun is shinning and my body is completely removed from pain, suffering and worry.  When “the lonely feeling” comes surrender is something entirely different.  It’s a dark place.  There is no warm fuzzy feeling, it’s scary.  It’s painful, exhausting and filled with incredibly low emotions.  Who wants to go there, right?  Why would I when “the lonely feelings” come up, surrender to all of that?  It’s simple really - what we resist persists and if I can have the courage, and vulnerability to know that this too shall pass, to work through it, then maybe, just maybe “the lonely feeling” will show up less frequently.  I can tell you from experience I am noticing far less “lonely days.”  I attribute this to sitting in the seat of discomfort, uneasiness, and the unknown.  I’ve written about this in an earlier blog.  I don't let the thoughts of others and the stories I tell myself become part of the fabric of my life anymore.  I don’t ignore them but I most certainly no longer pitch a tent and stay for awhile with them.  

When I am experiencing “the lonely feeling” I tend to go into a little hibernation mode.  I take my yoga practice home instead of heading to group classes.  I’m not running from you or your help or your love - I’m going deep into the cave of my heart to rest, reconnect, heal, learn and come out better than when I went in. 

I want to be clear about a couple things.  

1.  I was never diagnosed with depression or anxiety (clinically) 

2.  I was given anti-depressants after the birth of my son

3.  I no longer use prescription medication to help with my depression and anxiety but wholeheartedly believe it can help and should NEVER not be considered under the advice, guidance and direction of professionals

4. Finally, I am so grateful we’ve grown away as a society from thinking this is a negative stigma that shouldn’t be talked about.  

Why this post and why now?  Well, I recently had to surrender.  “The Lonely Feeling,” came back recently and I could no longer avoid it.  She is a force to be reckoned with.  I tried fighting her but I knew all too well how this would turn out - so, I surrendered.  When I felt tired, I slept regardless of the time of day.  When I felt lazy, I moved through a gentle yoga sequence in my home practice.  When I felt hungry, I ate.  When I felt sad, I cried.  When I feared I would self-medicate, I went for a walk, read a book, BAKED, listened to music.  When I wanted to be angry, I took it out on my journal, and not the people I loved (at least I tried, there are a couple of you who might disagree, I’m sorry).  Either way I didn’t put a time limit on it, I just surrendered.  I went there and I told myself I will stay  as long as needed. 

When I’m in “the lonely feeling” I don’t want to surround myself with a bunch of people, I want connection but not with others.  I want less on my calendar and more time wrapped in a blanket, getting a massage, sitting on my infrared mat and laying on my yoga.  Now this can be challenging when you have commitments.  During this time I’m not afraid to ask for help.  See if someone will sub out my class and maybe cancel on you (you know who you are).  Making these choices (for me) are the steps I take to climb back out of “the lonely feeling.”  Every year it gets easier and each time a little less painful. I don’t know what to attribute this to other than my own knowledge.  I know that when I used to resist “the lonely feeling” I would make awful decisions.

*spend money (I didn’t have)

*self medicate

*get in fights with people I loved

*over consume 

*beat myself up

*shut down

*numb myself and become incredibly defensive

These things accomplished one thing and one thing only - temporary relief married with a deep level of guilt.  Worse yet, it just buried what I was avoiding, which allowed it to come back bigger and more ferocious the next time.  I know the exact moment I said no more to this way of “coping.”  And yes, it was during a yoga class. 

You see for me yoga heals everything.  It’s my teacher, my medication, my chance at beginning again.  It’s radical, powerful and transformational (if you want it to be).  I know the moment I shifted into owning my own identity but I also remember clearly that this was also when “the lonely feelings” peaked.  I’ve learned over many years that my greatest gift is who I am.  The more I fought this reality the more I suffered.  The more I tried to be someone else, it didn’t work.  In part I think this is because the moment we decide to take control of our lives, others feel we’re either abandoning them or worse yet not the person they wanted us to be, or thought we should be.  When this would I became more defensive, more numbing. I started to check-out, not check-in.  It is also when I leaned into anti-depressants and self-medicating behavior.  Thankfully, YOGA also started to intensify in my life.  Thankfully I began to see that beyond the beautiful and strength building poses was a lifestyle that erased “the lonely feeling.”  I was hooked. 

YOGA isn’t for everyone but it’s definitely worth trying.  Give it a month with full permission to hate it at first.  Make it your non-negotiable and see what happens.  Challenge yourself each day to sit in stillness, breathe and become silent so you can hear. 

At 49 I can finally say, I know where I belong and after years of searching that feels good.  

“if you could read my mind love, what a tale my thoughts would tell.”

I took these pictures on a “the lonely feel” day.  They’re a reminder to me that what we see isn’t always what it is, don’t judge, just love. Grateful to the beautiful Camron Windy who made me feel safe enough to be in this space and allow this moment to be captured. xo

[darkspellmaster]

The Blue Lion and its Connection to Keith’s Mom and Lance

So after watching the Blade of Marmora I started to think of a few things and began to ponder exactly what the heck is going on there with the whole group and Keith’s trial. As I was pondering I started to think back to the first season and Lance and the Blue Lion and my head started to wrap around ideas and twists and turns as I pondered.

So this is going to be a bit odd as far as posting goes because I’m going to be partly working through this theory as I write this. So bear with the stream of consciousness as I go. Are we good? Okay then, here goes nothing.

Now at the start of Season 1 we’re introduced to Keith through him showing off the location on a map of the cave where the blue Lion was. Now he only knew of the lion itself, but not that it was the blue Lion, and yet it called to him, but in a different way then Lance. In the episode he indicated he was drawn to the cave location as though some energy was telling him to search. When you look at the wall that Keith’s made you’ll notice that he’s been making drawings and taking pictures of the things he sees. 

One of those things is a painting much like the paintings of the Lascaux Cave of a blue Lion walking next to a bunch of stags. Now it’s important to note that the Lascaux Cave paintings are estimated to be 20,000 years old, and we know that Allura has been locked up for only 10,000 years. Assuming that the war was going on for a while before then, we can guess that the lion has been on earth and at the very least active for around 10,000 years at the very most. However I think it’s earlier due to the designs making me think that the Blue lion arrived at a later time then 10,000 years but still at a period where they could worship the lion as a god like creature.

Now something important that I didn’t notice at all, or rather I had dismissed it and I think it’s going to play a larger role later. Keith mentions that the cave painting indicate an arrival happening (that being Shiro, or possibly the coming of the Galra) the very night that Shiro crash lands on earth. The reason that this caught my attention is that in the episode TBoM, we get an image of the Galra ship destroying everything in their path and coming for Keith’s house. I honestly think that that scene isn’t what happened, but rather what could have happened if Shiro had not shown up and Lance had taken the lion off planet. The fact that the Galra had managed to get to Pluto meant that they were coming after the earth and probably were looking for the Blue Lion. 

This becomes critical as part of the prequel area of the Voltron story. When the group finds the lion location, we see Lance, not Keith activate the cave drawings, to cause the blue energy to activate. What’s important isn’t just that Lance activates it, indicating that he’s the Blue Lion’s new partner, but also if you look at the left side of the wall you can see the Blue Lion sitting with a sun above its head and people worshiping the lion and appearing to make an army. There’s also other drawings that look like aliens and possibly versions of the taller Galra.

When the team falls through the floor they end up in the water (a connection to the Lion being connected to the water element) and its eyes follow Lance as he moves around. Keith is also being drawn to it, but it’s Lance that manages to activate the Lion to take down the force field. The fact that there was a force field there indicates that the former owner made sure to keep the Lion from being taken, meaning that they knew that the Galra was coming for it. By the way the Blue Lion’s eyes flash when it sees Keith. This is important to me, and also significant. The only time that the eyes flash is when it stares at Keith.

When the activation circle occurs after Lance knocks on it we see it take on the blue energy from the Altean magic. This same magic seems to give Lance and the others a flash forward where they see the Lions forming Voltron, and also producing the flaming sword (something they only just did this season). Now looking at season two TBoM we get some interesting changes here in regard to the story and what’s going on here.

When Keith is shoved into his memories we get some important info from his father. When we get to see Mr. Kogane we notice that he has the dagger. Now Keith has had that dagger from the start, and, according to Mr. Kogane holding that dagger, that means that the Blade of Marmora was existing BEFORE recent events. Meaning that the Blade’s group wasn’t just founded during the time that Allura was sleeping, but rather…it was before she got shoved into the tube. Mr. Kogane mentions that Keith’s mother is coming and we see him look outside and the red lion roars. Some might say “Well that clearly means that Keith’s Mom is connected to the Red Lion.” But no that’s not what’s happening there. The Red Lion is sensing that Keith is in pain and trying to protect him. Just as the Blue Lion sensed Lance and protected him as well. All this will make sense I promise.

It’s also important to note that Keith states that he’s had the blade all his life, meaning that he’s had the blade since he was very little. If this is a fact that means that his mother had to have had the blade as well for most if not all of her life. She left the blade with Keith as a child, or possibly a baby.

So let’s take a quick look at the room that Keith sees versus what we saw in the original episode. It’s the exact same, so either Keith didn’t change anything save the wall, or what we’re seeing is what Keith remembers of his own home and his dad was added to it. There are some interesting differences and similarities. The various systems besides the wall are now working. It’s clear that Keith’s father is fiddling with a device that looks like a frequency reader, and on the wall there’s still pictures of the cave and the solar system. This has me thinking that Keith’s father was being called to as well by the lion, but why? For what purpose? Or did he happen to find the wave lengths as Keith’s mom tried to call out to her fellow Paladins?

It’s also important that Mr. Kogane mentions that a number of years have passes and that he too carries around the knife on his hip in the same holster as Keith did. He also makes note that Keith’s Mother gave it to him, which means that it was passed onto him for some reason. 

When he looks down on the knife he looks really sad and upset about something. There’s more here than simply a mother and father situation.

Other factors that are important to this story. One is the fact that Zarkon’s planet was destroyed, meaning that the Galra have no home planet anymore. 

Hunk and Keith find the remains during their search for the Weblum and here’s where all the pieces can finally come together.

So now that we have the facts from the show laid out, here goes theory time.

A comet hit what was once the home world of the Galra, at the time it was run by a young Emperor (Prince or King) Zarkon who was in an alliance with King Alfor at the time. When the comet crashed it had enough material to construct the Black lion and later the creation of other members of the lions. When the lions were constructed Zarkon and Alfor decided that they were going to create a team to act as protectors to the galaxy. Among those chosen was a young female Galra who became Keith’s mother. Her name…Marmora.

So here’s what I think went down. The Galra Home world was attacked by a far more deadly group, probably VLD’s version of old Voltron’s Drule Empire who were a stronger and more ruthless than Zarkon could have guessed. At the time of the attack Zarkon insisted that Voltron go and wipe out the Drule, but the other members of the team said no, as it was far too dangerous and could lead to some seriously bad things going down. However, Zarkon, not pleased by this, took things into his own hands and made an alliance with the Druids and the witch Haggar.

Fast forward several years and there’s all-out war between the forces of Altea and the Galra who want a home as well as Zarkon who wants Voltron so he can get revenge for the destruction of his home. As such Alfor realizes the danger and locks away the princess then he and the other Paladins decide to handle Zarkon on their own. Remember that Zarkon mentioned them running away from him. During the Battle Alfor is killed, but the other Paladin’s escape on his orders, three of which take their lions and someone else takes the yellow Lion to hide it.

During this time of the war Marmora creates the Blade, a group that is designed to oppose Zarkon and all his evil. Her group decides to go underground, and she flees to earth to keep herself safe with her blue lion. That’s right, Keith’s mom was the pilot of the blue lion. Tired, possibly wounded, and exhausted she lands on earth and reserves her energy. As it stands I don’t know the exact size of Keith’s mom, so I’m guessing that female Galra are probably taller than most earth women, but are probably smaller than their male counter parts. So Marmora rests on earth and runs into the humans who see her lion as some sort of god from above, thus they start to worship it.

Fast forward years and she acts as protector to the planet, keeping things safe for human evolution for hundreds of thousands of years. We don’t know how long Galra can live, but I’m assuming that she survived for a long while due to a few things: 1. her connection to her lion and possibly going into hibernation during different periods of time, much like how Allura and Coran were trapped. 2. Quintessens, much like the flowers in the original Voltron, the energy can provide a longer life span for the Galra that injects it.

While staying on earth she is discovered by Mr. Kogane who, for some reason, is called to the wavelength of the lion. Marmora has been trying to find out if any of the other Paladin’s are still alive and the Blue Lion is sending out a beacon for them to locate her. This fails for the Paladins, but Keith’s dad finds her. He brings her home with him and the two become friends and then probably lovers, causing her to give birth to Keith. Living alone out in the wild makes it so that people don’t have to know who she is. Marmora lives a quiet life for several years with Keith’s father, until she starts getting flashes and gives the dagger to Keith’s father. For years she’s been having the people carve the idea of something big coming to earth, which the Galra were looking for the lion. She mathematically estimated the time of their arrival and realized that they would destroy everything in their path to get to her blue lion so she left a warning for anyone that was going to be her successor to find the lion and understand what was going on. 

However, due to her long lived life and the fact that her energy has given out, she passes on, leaving her spirit inside the blue lion and that sprit seeks out someone who matches her signature. She finds this in Lance. Someone who probably has a similar temperament and personality to her. 

Lance is pretty much the spiritual successor to Keith’s mother, and is probably able to connect with the blue lion due to her connection to Lance. Remember that the black lion could take Shiro into the astral plane, and that Pidge had some form of growth with her bonding with her lion. The Lion’s eyes flashed when it saw Keith, telling me, at the very least, that if Keith’s mom was able to meld part of herself with her lion with a strong enough bond, she could see her son and would see in Lance someone she could trust with the life of her son, or else that force field would not come down. The reason it was up in the first place was so that the Galra couldn’t take the lion. Only those with the heart could open that field, and Lance had that heart. 

This is just my theory on this, but TLDR: Keith’s mom was the creator of the Blade of Marmora, was the Blue Lion Paladin, lived on earth for thousands of years, met up with Keith’s science dad, had little Keith and eventually passed away due to the fact that she couldn’t keep up extending her life anymore.

[nemesis-nexus]

Full Crow/Worm Moon HAIL MARDUK, Great Father and Original Earth Defender/Water Protector, HEAR US! Tonight we celebrate the Full Worm Moon which this year comes before the Vernal Equinox and the official Rebirth of the Planet! It is so called because this is the time of year when the worms are underground toiling away, aerating and tilling the soil, preparing the plant life and vegetation for the Grand Regeneration of Life! When the Season of Death is drawn to a close and the Earth once again begins to awaken from its hibernation, when the birds who flew South return North, the bears come out of their caves and all manner of Life resurges and the cacophony of and bustle of Nature is in full swing yet again! I would like to take a moment to touch down on something even more personal. Four years ago in January or 2013, I began Walking the Gates of the Necronomicon and I was told before I even started that the true "Initiation" of the Deities on the 'Ladder' would begin AFTER I finished, if I was permitted passage in the first place AND I chose to keep going until the end, which I did. First I want to acknowledge that the Necronomicon is a FICTITIOUS book and NOTHING in the story is legit EXCEPT the Enuma Elish which is part of the Magan Text, the Descent of INANNA into the Underworld to confront her sister ERESHKIGAL and the names of the Babylonian Deities mentioned. Everything else is just the work of a literary genius whose gift was such that people are STILL convinced that it is completely REAL! This is why I love HP LoveCraft's work, he truly was one in a million! The reason I wanted to mention my Walking is because the book, though fiction, is still a great tool to utilize for personal introspection because when you are Walking the Gates, you are NOT just ascending into the Astral, you are also DEscending into your own psyche or as Freud put it, your own Abyss (hence the Dark Night Of The Soul which is the time just before the Vernal Equinox we take a good hard look at ourselves and see what it is that we are doing or not doing that is hurting or helping us), to establish a deeper connection to that which is Within to that which is Without. This is absolutely necessary to do because we all accumulate various forms of energy all throughout the year and sometimes we don't realize that some of the things we are doing or not doing are actually not helping a situation no matter how pure our intentions may be! What makes my Walking more interesting (at least to me anyway) is that ISHTAR/INANNA is the third Deity on the 'Ladder' and she represents the Divine Feminine, Fertility, Birth/Rebirth, Female Strength, Honor, all the attributes of the Spring Season and her personal holiday during this month is Ostara, this is interesting because with everything that has gone on in the last year ESPECIALLY during the Seasons of Degeneration and Death (Autumn and Winter) the Earth is in DESPERATE need of a Rebirth that will reawaken not just Nature itself but each and EVERY Earth Defender and Water Protector! The Worm Moon is also called the Crow Moon and what are Crows most famous for? They are the Bridges between Death and Life! With all the negative energy that has accumulated even since just September through the end of November of 2016, it is no surprise that the SURGE of support for those who have and are Protecting the Water, People and Planet has EXPLODED, where there was once only DEATH there is now a great deal of LIFE charging forth and taking the lead - the Crow has taken flight and all those who feel their sense of duty are heeding its call to bring back the Balance between Death and Life, Chaos and Order! As Satanists it is our duty to uphold our Fathers Honor and to earn his Respect by taking our cue from him when the Qi is rendered Unbalanced and restoring it to its Balanced state! There are many who still think that Satanism is about constant Chaos, Death and Destruction and while all three are utilized by Nature itself to keep things circulating, WE are NOT one-dimensional Beings! We understand that Order, Life and Creation are equally important or else NOTHING can exist in ANY state! We do not revel in anguish or the suffering of others as some would have you believe nor do we wish to destroy the world as others would have you believe! Rather we are the ones who will make the tough calls and step up when things get rough, we also have no problem with getting our hands dirty if it is necessary to defend anyone we call Family, whether Blood or Spiritual, Human or Animal! Some Core Values of Satanism are: 1) ALWAYS stand against injustice no matter WHAT form it takes or who the aggressors are; it is easy enough to stand up to an enemy who poses a threat but it is EXCEEDINGLY difficult to do the same with a friend or family member because of the emotional ties and the fear of losing that connection. Be that as it may what must be the deciding factor is the greater good especially if it means exposing tyranny and corruption in a well established organization. 2) ALWAYS Honor your Family both Blood and Spiritual because "We are ONE even though we are MANY and we stand STRONGEST when we stand TOGETHER!" what that phrase means is that even though many of us consider ourselves to be strong individuals and loners, no man is an island. We all call on our Family (Human and/or Animal) for support when the chips are down and as such we should demonstrate the same regard for them as we would have them show us - at all times! 3) NEVER stop pursuing education and knowledge because the world is ever-changing and the only way to keep up with these changes is to never stop learning! Some of these changes will be good, some will be bad, the only way to know is to seek out the information ESPECIALLY the information they AREN'T telling you because that is always the most vital information which can change even the most stalwart persons mind if it is so persuasive or devastating that it needed to be hidden in the first place! 4) PHILANTHROPY is not just a buzzword, a true Satanist aids in the care and maintenance of their respective communities, lending a hand where it is needed because we live here too! This assistance should not be limited to our immediate areas as what is happening in other parts of the world may be happening THERE but that DOESN'T mean that it WON'T affect us sooner or later and even if it doesn't we should do what we can to lend a hand if we are able! All too often we see people on the street who are being passed by from people who call themselves "good" or "righteous", there has even in recent years been businesses putting up SPIKES to prevent the homeless from being able to sleep where it is warm! Apparently the so-called "righteousness" of these company owners disappears during business hours! It's quite nauseating! The Domestic Terrorism that has been used against Water Protectors by the so-called powers that be in all its forms is UNACCEPTABLE and as such many people the world over have risen in resistance and even though they could not be in the immediate areas where it was occurring, they STILL did what they could to send aid in the form of money and physical items as well as spiritual reinforcement! Philanthropy is necessary to keep fighting the good fight and to do what must be done at the time it needs doing for the sake of protecting the people and planet! The world is now realizing that the Divine Feminine needs to be honored as much as the Divine Masculine and that Life needs to be valued more than money or material wealth and as such it is going through yet another huge transition that may take years to come to full fruition, however as Rage Against The Machine stated in their song Guerilla Radio, "It has to start SOMEWHERE! It has to start SOMETIME! What better place than HERE? What better time than NOW?" That being said, we ALL need to rise up and resist TOGETHER and as such I am posting one of my favorite prayers to inspire all those who are willing to do what needs to be done to Protect and Defend our great Mother Earth and all those who dwell in, on, above and below the surface! For the women, it is reinforcement of YOUR power and wisdom, for the men it is representative of YOUR own ability to stand in solidarity with the women rather than being threatened by them which demonstrates your own strength of character and security in your masculinity that enables you to instead of reducing women to being the alleged "weaker sex" see them for what they truly are = EQUAL! We now more than ever MUST work together to restore the Balance to the Multiverse, failure to deprogram from all those false teachings of money is everything, that people are only worth as much as their bank statements dictate and trying to force absolute authority over other humans and nature itself demonstrates a person or groups prowess will only end in the utter destruction of the Human Race and quite possibly with a MYRIAD of "collateral damage" in the form of the extinction of many animal, plant and insect species! We MUST do what we can to slam on the brakes of the train that is trying to railroad us all to oblivion and put those wheels in reverse so that not only do OUR children and subsequent lineages have a future, but so all life forms that currently reside on this planet are also able to keep going! The Human Race needs to remember that we are neither above nor below the Natural Order of things, that we are all part of the Circle or Hoop of Life and as such we need to repair the broken links so that we can resume doing our part in keeping the Qi flowing rather than being the weakness that is disrupting it and making things that much harder for all life forms! The Human Race lets go of its own ego and remember WHY it is that we are able to do the things we are especially as far as Magic, Technology, Medicine, Travel and Science are concerned, we were given the ability to Master all these things BECAUSE we were always the Guardians and Protectors of the Planet and everything that comes with it! We are here to work with nature, not exalt ourselves above it, the sooner we remember ourselves, the better off we will be! We can start by making sure that all those who are causing the hate, pain, destruction and devastation are brought to Justice so that they may be dealt with them accordingly and we can then resume our duty as assigned by our INFALLIBLE Father Satan! AVE SATANI! Illustrious Lady ISHTAR Do Not Mistake Her Kindness For Weakness, She Will Prove You Wrong! Do Not Think That Anything You Do Escapes Her Eye, She Sees All! Do Not Think That You Can Commit Acts Of Aggression And Not Be Judged, Her Judgment Is Severe And She Is Not In The Habit Of Being Lenient! When The Drums Sound, Heeding The War Cry, She Emerges In Full Armor! When The Names Of Her Children Are Slandered, She Will Strike Down Their Detractors! When The Children Of Her Children Are Attacked, She Will Destroy The Guilty! When Those Who Instigate Are Relentless, She Will Drive Them Into The Ground! SHE Who Removed Every Piece Of Protection And Ascended To EGURRA! SHE Who Faced Her Sister ERESHKIGAL And Her Horde Of Demons! SHE Who Died And Rose Again To Retake Her Place On The Throne! SHE Who Does Not Back Down From Any Battle No Matter Who Engages! SHE Who Comes To The Aid Of All Her Children In Their Time Of Need! Lionhearted Lady Of The Battle, I Call To You From The Earth, I PRAY YOU HEAR ME! Gentle Spirit Of Divine Love, I Call To You From My Soul, I PRAY YOU HEAL ME! Triumphant Goddess Over The Netherworld, I Call To You From My Heart, LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH THAT I MAY DECIMATE ALL ENEMIES! You Who Are Most Loved By The Gods, You Defend Your Own With Your Life, SPREAD YOUR ARMS AND EMBRACE THOSE AFFECTED! You Who Fears Nothing And No One, Who Will Meet Any Threat Head On, BRING FORTH YOUR SWORD AND SHIELD! You Who Lets It Be Known That She Will Not Be Disrespected By Anyone, SMITE THOSE WHO ARROGANTLY CURSE THINE OWN AND SATANS NAME! You Who Are An Inspiration To All Those Who Have Had To Die So They Could Live, WE ARE ETERNAL FOR WE KNOW YOURS AND SATANS LOVE, HONOR AND PROTECTION! --- ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA! MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INSENCE! Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una! Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In Diabolus Nomen Nos Fides! AVE SATANÍ! (We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER! Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In Satan's Name We Trust! HAIL SATAN!) Ave URURU! Ave EA! Ave DIMUZI! Ave ININNI! Ave GILGAMESH! Ave ENKIDU! Ave TIAMAT! Ave ABSU! Ave MARDUK! Ave SARPANITUM! Ave SATANÍ! HAIL SATAN! HPS Meg "Nemesis Nexus" Prentiss

[eringoestoeirinn-blog]

Day 4: “Inconceivable!”

**This is yesterday’s post but I didn’t have a chance to publish it until today.**

Today we went on a day trip to the Ailwee Caves, the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, and the Dunguaire castle. We departed on a bus at 9:30am which conveniently picked us up right outside of our AirBnB. 

The Aliwee Caves were randomly found by a farmer named Jack McGann in 1940 who came across them while looking for his dog who ran off chasing a rabbit. The caves didn’t become open to the public until October 1976. The Aliwee Caves are naturally formed caves that date back to before the first ice age below the Aliwee mountain. They are the oldest caves in Ireland located in the heart of the Burren in County Clare, Ireland. The mountain and the cave are made of Limestone sediment crafted by fossils over millions of years. An underground river slowly flowing over many years are what formed the cave that we had the opportunity of walking through today. You can still see sea shell fossils in the sediment above while walking through the caves. The caves were once home to the Irish brown bear who became extinct during the last Glacial Maximum between 15,000 and 24,000 years ago. This is know because bones of this species of bear has been found in the cave. Interestingly, Limestone retains heat very well so regardless of the time of year, the cave always stays a consistent 10 degrees celsius (50 degrees F). That makes it a cozy hibernation spot for our friend the Irish brown bear. During our guided tours of the caves, we saw stalactites and stalagmites that are thousands of years old. Every half inch of stalagmite formed takes 100 years. We also saw an underwater waterfall. We were lucky to visit the cave in March because during the rainy season in Ireland (the winter) the caves can become flooded in certain parts which shortens the tour. Once we reached the middle of the cave, our tour guide wanted to show us what it is like to experience total darkness. She shut off all of the lights in the cave such that no sensory input was going to our eyes. Your eyes cannot adjust in total darkness because of this lack of input (adjustment would require moonlight or starlight of some kind). It was a very interesting experience. You couldn’t even see your own hand 2 inches from your face. It made me think about how crazy Farmer Jack McGann had to be crawling into that cave all by his lonesome with nothing but a candle to guide him. What if the candle blew out? He would have been completely stuck with no way out. 

After the cave tour, we hopped back on the bus and headed to the Cliffs of Moher. During all of our drives today, we had the pleasure of viewing the beautiful Irish country side. Our tour guide made sure to point out all of the castles as we passed them and important facts about the area. Stone boarders separate every plot of land in the rural area. These were formed after the Irish independence in the 1920s and people needed to clear their fields of the rocks to grow crops and make space for their cattle. They used these rocks to build the fences which look like rocks piled on top of one another without any concrete to seal them. Jon and I couldn’t figure out how they manage to stay up. These boarders also have the dual function of keeping the cattle inside. We saw a lot of sheep, lambs, cows, and calves during our ride through the countryside. We saw homes topped with straw roofs which are much like the cottages that people lived in back in the 1800s. Interestingly, these homes have insurance premiums 20-30% more than your average home because of the risk of fire. 

In one of the towns we drove through we passed by the famous Matchmaker Bar. Matchmaking is one of Ireland’s oldest traditions. The Matchmaker Bar is owned by Willie Day who still serves as the town matchmaker, passing down the tradition. Since Willie started out as a matchmaker 45 years ago following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, the he has set up around 3,000 marriages. He holds an annual festival in September called the Lisdoonvarna Festival. The festival is a month long and is centered around dancing and Irish music. These begins early in the morning and continues non-stop until early hours of the the next morning. This is where many Irish farmers traditionally go to find a wife. Willie says that rural Ireland can be very lonely and many women live in the major cities. 

We saw a lot of grass. I never would have thought I’d see a more beautiful landscape than that in Chester County. Then I came to Ireland. Ireland has the greenest grass I’ve ever seen and it stretches as far as the eye can see in all directions. The grass here looks like a carpet of green with yellow hues. In a space with rocks, moss covers the rocks and grass covers the moss such that the entire field looks like a cloud of green. The green is like a mix of emerald and lime. The grass is soft and lush and probably my most favorite part about Ireland. Jon keeps laughing at me because I won’t stop talking about the grass. I love it so much that I begged Jon to take a photo of me in the grass. We also saw many daffodils during our travels as they are the first flowers to bloom each spring. I’ve never fallen in love with a country like I’ve fallen for Ireland. It is beautiful, safe and calm. Everyone we’ve met has been so kind. The landscape is breathtaking. The cities are warm and clean, not cold, dirty and scary like New York City or Berlin. I think the welcoming atmosphere is supported by the architecture of the cities. They all look like villages. No skyscrapers. We’ve also gotten very lucky with the weather so far. It’s hardly rained since we got here despite the forecast calling for rain each day. Our AirBnB host, Garrett, said we brought the sunshine. 

We arrived at the Cliffs of Moher on a beautiful, clear day. We were especially lucky because this is not a guaranteed experience in Ireland. There are two walking paths at the Cliffs. The safe path recommended by the park association which has a stone wall barrier between the cliff edge and the paths with no barrier that really give you the full, beautiful view. You can only guess which path we took. Some of the riskiest people in the world were at the Cliffs today. People who would start climbing down on the slippery, wet grass held together by mud to take that perfect photo. People who, with one wrong step would fall to their deaths, entirely unnoticed by the surrounding tourists. Those people were crazy and made me and Jon incredibly nervous. It didn’t make sense to me why dangling your feet of the Cliff was worth it. Death doesn’t seem like something you should tempt or egg on. Anyway, we walked up to the hill where the paths were and immediately I was just in awe of the grandeur and the beauty. It’s as if God just decided that Ireland should end and chopped it off like a slice of cake. We were at the end of the world. We walked around for an hour and a half. To try and describe the Cliffs if difficult so instead, I’m just going to post some photos I took. You’ll understand why this day was so important. In fact, it might have been one of the most important days of my life. I felt like I was really seeing what the Earth was capable of. I felt humbly small. From the cliffs we could view Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. 

A bit of Trivia: Some of the most famous films have included the Cliffs of Moher. To name a few, The Princess Bride (the Cliffs of Insanity), Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (where Harry with Dumbledore to the cave to find a Horcrux), and Leap Year. It is said that the Burren inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. 

After leaving the Cliffs we were taken to the village of Doolin for a delicious Irish lunch. Doolin is a small rural town about 15 minutes from the Cliffs. It is riddled with Bed and Breakfasts and wonderfully quaint. It is very small, so small in fact that it didn’t look like a town at all. It looks more like a street with a few restaurants and shops on a small road. Just like the big cities though, the pubs have giant signs advertising Guinness. This always puzzles Jon and I. As if it’s not assumed that all pubs serve Guinness. It’s like a restaurant that doesn’t serve water-- all pubs in Ireland serve proudly Guinness. In Doolin, we ate at a restaurant and pub called Fitzpatrick’s. They make their own Irish Brown Bread (my new favorite food). I got a lamb and barley stew which was served over a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes. It was delicious. I also got a slice of Brown Bread served with butter and strawberry jam which I shared with Jon. It was a meal that my father would say, “sticks to the ribs.” After our meal, Jon and I went exploring around Doolin a bit. I could see myself settling in the Irish countryside some day. Close enough to a big city that I could visit if I wanted but far enough that I could enjoy quite, rural Ireland. The type of countryside where you watch the cows come home every evening while driving home form work. 

After Doolin, we began our coastal drive back to Galway. We drove along Galway bay. We got a clear view of the Aran Islands and Connemara.  The population that lives on the Aran Islands is very small. About 1,300 live on the three Islands total and the primary language spoke is Irish, also known as Gaelic (I’m starting to finally understand how to refer to the Irish language). We got out a few times along the way to take photos. Throughout our entire bus trip, we head the pleasure of listening to a wide array of Irish music which I really enjoy. I posted one of the songs yesterday for you to listen to. 

We later stopped at Dunguaire castle for a quick look around a photo opportunity. Today we learned that castles are traditionally build near water to brings supplies in and provide a safe escape route if necessary. Castles are also built on hills to provide an optimal defense position. Dunguaire Castle is no exception. Dunguaire castle is a 16th century tower house located near Kinvara. The name comes from the Dun of King Guaire, the legendary king of Connacht. It was built in 1520 by the O’Hynes clan. 

Once we arrived back in Galway city we napped for like two hours. So far on this trip we stay out pretty late and way up fairly early. The combination makes mid-day naps a must. Every evening we go to the pubs and listen to the traditional Irish music. Last night there was even a segment of Irish dancing by one of the performers. I love the environment here. The pubs are social spaces filled with Irish culture. It’s funny, you can easily spot the young American female because she’ll most likely be wearing minimal amounts of clothing and a black choker cross her neck. In America, most women go out wearing very little. In the Irish pubs, that is not always the case although we did go to one place last night filled with young people wearing less. It’s an interesting mix of club attire and modest dress. I was wearing a jacket and a scarf. I looked like I was going to the market on a cold winter day. 

Tomorrow we head back to Dublin and hopefully we’ll make it to Malahide Castle and then Malahide Village.  

Four facts that are worth sharing: 

1) The population of Galway consists of 80,000 people making it the 4th largest city in Ireland.

2) Ireland consists of only 6.5 million people.  

3) 35% of all beer sold in Ireland is Guinness yet Ireland is still is not the largest Guinness beer distributer in the world (remember, it’s Nigeria).  

4) Jon has no sense of direction. Worse than my father which is a difficult feat. Luckily, my impeccable sense of direction is how we’ve managed to get so far. Jon makes up for his lack of direction with his great memory, always internalizing the historical facts of the area. He also reminds me not to leave our train tickets on top of my suitcase while I wheel it around. 

[travelingtheusa]

KENTUCKY

2020 Oct 4 (Sun) – We went food shopping this afternoon.  It was hard to find a restaurant for lunch. We finally went to the Waffle House and had breakfast for lunch.  The food was good.  Afterward, we went food shopping at Kroeger.  The store was big.  Next door, Kroeger had a liquor store and we stopped there next to get wine and booze. After putting the groceries in our portable cooler, we drove to a winery and did a tasting.  It was on the high side - $8 for a flight of 3 wines, $8 each for a glass of wine, and $28 for a bottle of wine to take home.

     I called the commander of Rusy Bohm Post back home.  They are running a fund-raiser that I just happened to come across on Facebook.  I offered to write a letter for him to send out to the membership.  He agreed and I spent the afternoon composing a letter. I will send it out to him tomorrow.

2020 Oct 3 (Sat) – I finally got through to the Niagara Falls campground only to find they have raised their rates.  We budgeted $113 a night and they said it would be $117.50 – and that’s with a military discount!  That’s just too much.  So I called a state campground about 15 miles away.  They have available sites but we have to make the reservations through Reserve America.  The clerk at that site had to make the reservations in groups of 6.  They also require the name and phone number of each individual.  We have 20 people signed up so far with 2 more spaces available.  So I gave the names and numbers of those folks who have signed up for the caravan to date, then gave 2 fake names.  We’ll see that goes.  As a result, we will save almost $7,000.  With that kind of savings, we can hire a bus to take the group to Niagara Falls.

     We drove to Williamstown to The Ark Encounter this afternoon.  We got $10 off the admission price as senior citizens. In addition, the price included a free dinner, which cost $15 each.  It was a pretty good deal.  The ark was huge!  It is the largest wooden timber structure in the world.  It was built to show what the ark was like. There were 3 stories with lots of plaques to read.  There were cages with mock animals in them.  Most of the animals were extinct as they imagined those were the types of animals they would have had back then.  The place was packed!  We couldn’t believe all the people who were there.  Almost everyone wore a mask in the ark but less than half wore one outside.

2020 Oct 2 (Fri) – We packed up and left Olive Hill at 9:40 a.m. We were third in line for the dump station (a short stop before hitting the road).  The drive was pleasant.  The weather was good.  We arrived at the Northern Kentucky RV Park in Dry Ridge at 1 p.m.  This used to be a KOA campground.  It is old and heavily treed.  The sites are too close together and very uneven.  The campground is between a train track and the interstate. There is constant noise.  I don’t think we would come back to this place. The wifi is good.  We have full hook ups.  The pool has been closed for a couple of years.  There is a lake with some paddle boats on the shore but they don’t look like they’ve been used for a while.

2020 Oct 1 (Thu) – A transformer blew in the campground this morning so Paul took me out for breakfast.  That turned out to be quite an adventure.  All the restaurants in Olive Hill (of which there are few) were closed. A donut shop was open but we didn’t like the choices so we drove 20 miles over to the next town to have a meal at Biscuit World.  The biscuits were large and flaky – delicious!  The rest of the meal was not so good but it did what it was supposed to.

     We returned to campground and did the laundry.  During a walk this afternoon, Paul stumbled on a site with wood targets where people can throw their knives.  He came back to get me and I gathered up my throwing knife set then we went to the site and threw knives at the targets for 15 or 20 minutes.  It was fun and very challenging.  Afterward, we walked over to the horse stables and fed 3 horses and 2 donkeys some apples.

     The campground has been steadily filling up with RVs and tenters coming in.  It looks like they will be full this weekend.  The maintenance in this campground is minimal.  They put papers at each campsite with the name and dates when the site is reserved.  Many sites have dates that have passed but the papers are still at the sites.  Some sites have garbage piled in the fire pit. I don’t know if the staff is just lazy or if they are operating with minimal staff.  

2020 Sep 30 (Wed) – We took a tour of the Cascade Cave this morning. It is a living cave with lots of water activity.  That made it kind of exciting.  We had to go out of the cave and back in another entrance twice to see everything. There were parts of the wall that had been bricked up by the cave’s owners to prevent unauthorized entry.  We enjoyed both cave tours (yesterday and today) very much.

 2020 Sep 29 (Tue) – We took a tour of X Cave today.  It was a very interesting cave in that it had two rivers running alongside each other, separated by a cave wall.  Over time, the wall collapsed and became one cave making an X-intersection with 4 passageways.  The cave is still an active one.

     I have heard the term “Caveland” used around here.  I don’t know if it refers to this area or to the entire state itself.  There are over 200 caves in Kentucky; 25 in Carter Caves State Park alone.  Only 4 caves are open to exploration over the year – 2 are closed right now because of the hibernating bats.

     We had lunch at the lodge.  The park is old and all the buildings and facilities show that.  The lodge is typical – made of dark wood and beams. The waitress was very slow although we told her we were in a hurry.  We ordered vegetable soup and grilled cheese.  We got something more like chili with lots of meat in it and the cheese sandwich was barely toasted.  I didn’t even eat my sandwich.

     We drove into town to mail off some things at the post office.  We drove around the area, exploring some of the back roads.  The buildings were mostly old and run down.  It looked like this might have been a well-to-do area years ago but has fallen on hard times.  Probably when the caves stopped being primary tourist attractions.

 2020 Sep 28 (Mon) – We packed up and left Meadow Bridge, WV at 9:55 a.m.  It was very foggy and overcast and we had rain on and off during the 5 hour drive to Carter Cave State Park campground in Olive Hill, KY.  We stopped about 15 miles from the WV-KY border at a Walmart to pick up a few groceries and have lunch.  The new campground is not near stores so it is better to get what we need before setting up.  Getting into the campground was a little hairy.  The road was narrow and had several hairpin turns as we drove through heavy trees.  When we arrived at the office, the clerk said we were already checked in and gave us our site number.

     The weather was crappy so we stayed in the campground.  There are several caves in the area that we will be exploring in the next few days.