Last weekend was an annual reminder of how lucky I am to have an amazing group of friends that I’ve known since childhood. We grew up in a small town and became fast friends in elementary school (and in some … Continue reading
Last month we traveled to Baltimore, Maryland. Jennifer had a business trip there, which meant a free hotel room for the rest of us! (Jennifer says she prefers to have her entourage accompany her whenever possible and we made sure not to interfere with her work).
We stayed at the Baltimore Hilton, which is located right next to the Orioles baseball stadium at Camden Yards. When I saw the view from the fitness center, I wished we were there during baseball season as we could have watched a game quite easily from the hotel deck. The hotel was also connected to the Baltimore Convention Center, and more importantly for us, was a short walk from the Inner Harbor. Quite a few years ago “Charm City” revitalized the Inner Harbor and it has become somewhat of a tourist destination. One of the main draws is the National Aquarium. I had heard good things about Baltimore’s Aquarium from friends who had visited it and I knew both boys would love to visit.
After a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Jen was off to her business meetings and I was tasked with keeping both boys entertained all day. We managed to kill some time swimming in the hotel pool and having lunch in the Inner Harbor before setting out to the Aquarium. It is a cool looking building, situated right on the harbor, with an impressive submarine (the USS Torsk, a retired World War II era submarine that saw action in the Pacific theater and is now a maritime museum), docked outside.
I must say I had a bit of sticker shock at the cost of admission to the aquarium. Even with Declan being free, the cost for me and Finnegan was $56. I have been to several other aquariums and none were as expensive. After getting our tickets and making our way inside, I was advised that the aquarium has a strict no stroller policy. I was prepared for this as a friend warned me ahead of time about this policy. The aquarium does permit visitors to check their strollers and other items in a room that is carefully guarded. This only became an issue after our three hour visit and both boys were tired and yearned to ride in the stroller.
Once we began exploring the aquarium we quickly began marveling at all of the cool species of aquatic life residing in the various exhibits. The aquarium is fairly comprehensive and includes all of the animals you would expect to find and several other you might not. The aquarium is basically divided into three parts: the glass pavilion with an Australia Wild Extremes themed exhibit with saltwater crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles; Pier 3 Pavilion contained a multi-level shark and sting ray exhibit and the Pier 4 Pavilion had dolphins and jelly fish exhibits. I thought the layout of the aquarium was a bit confusing, particularly since there is no Pier 1 or Pier 2 Pavilions (and I admit I kept searching for them and it was only after consulting the map that I realized my search was futile).
To me the piece de resistance of the Baltimore Aquarium is the Dolphin Discovery exhibit. I had never seen an exhibit like this at any other aquarium and, outside of SeaWorld, I don’t know where else you can see it. The dolphins performed a plethora of tricks, jumps and acrobatic feats, much to the delight of the crowd. We were able to sit very close to the water, but just outside the splash zone so we did not get wet. Both boys enjoyed this exhibit, and I may have enjoyed it even more than they did.
A close second was the multi-level Blacktip Reef exhibit, a re-creation of a piece of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Teeming with sharks, sting rays and over 70 different species of fish, in a curved viewing area 20 feet wide, the exhibit allows visitors to be immersed in the aquatic habitat (without getting wet). Each level had different animals and each level represented the different species that reside at varying depths of the ocean. The lower levels tend to be darker, which made Declan a bit frightened so some smaller children might not enjoy the lower levels.
There was also the Upland Tropical Rainforest, which is a green house type exhibit that featured several tropical birds that were hard to see. This exhibit seemed oddly out of place for an aquarium as none of these birds actually live in water, just in the rain forest. We did not stay long in that exhibit as it was uncomfortably humid and we only saw one bird.
There were also two films playing, both billed as “4D” (which I don’t really understand as time is supposed to be the fourth dimension according to Albert Einstein). We skipped the films as they required an additional ticket and because I was convinced that both boys would have fallen asleep in the darkened theater (which would have left me brooding over spending even more money on a nap).
By the end of our visit both boys were tired and wanted to ride in the stroller (damn that no stroller policy!). So we hurried back to the room where we checked all of our belongings and headed for the door. Since we do not have a double stroller, Finnegan was forced to walk back to the hotel (which he did with surprisingly little whining). He then practically collapsed in the lobby of the hotel and took a quick nap while we waited for Jen. If we had more time (and energy), we would have liked to visit the Port Discovery Children’s Museum as well. Next time.
Have you been to the National Aquarium? What were your thoughts? Any tips besides bringing a baby carrier for little ones that need to nap?
We arrived in Ireland at 8:30 am, which would be fine if one could sleep on the flight over, but seeing how I slept less than 2 hours, I was a bit drained. I was worried about this since I was responsible for driving a seven passenger vehicle immediately upon arrival. Since I was the only one in my party who could drive a standard transmission, I played the role of chauffeur for the week. Given the lack of sleep, it was a challenge figuring out how to drive a stick shift on the opposite side of the car (meaning you have to shift with your left hand) while getting used to driving on the left side of the road. (There was an almost comical moment in the airport parking lot trying to figure out how to put the car in reverse, which was not obvious and necessitated a detailed review of the instruction manual. After that fiasco, I abandoned all hope of ‘practicing’ in the airport parking lot and decided to hit the road instead).
Leaving the airport is fairly easy as you drive on highways that are very much like the highways in the US. Road conditions vary widely in Ireland, a point that I learned on this trip. We made the one hour drive to our first B & B first to drop off our bags and freshen up a bit, before setting out on our first adventure.
Family Reunion
The Curley’s are from a small town in western Ireland called Kiltormer. My grandparents grew up together in Kiltormer and came to the US in the late 1920s. Both of my grandparents were from large families (my grandfather was one of 13 children), but neither of my grandparents ever returned to Ireland. And neither my father nor his sister had ever been to Ireland, notwithstanding a keen interest in the country and an expressed desire to go to Kiltormer. Fourteen years ago I visited Ireland with the great Ian O’Riordan and we dropped in unannounced one day to see if I could find any trace of a relative who may have been left. That day in 1999 was incredible as I found several Curleys in Kiltormer, including my father’s first cousin. I spent the last 14 years trying to convince my father to visit Kiltormer in person and finally succeeded earlier this year.
Although located only 15 miles from our B & B, it took us an hour to actually find Kiltormer. The west of Ireland is fairly rural and the signage is either poor or non-existent. We stopped several times to ask for directions. Everyone we asked was friendly and gave us directions, but the landmarks were not obvious and the roads were not labeled. In fact, some of the roads we traveled on were no more than the width of a driveway, which made it hard to distinguish between public roads and private driveways. As a consequence, we wound up arriving at the doorstep of more than one private residence. But it was a unique way of experiencing that part of Ireland.
Ever since my visit 14 years ago, my father and his cousin have spoken many times on the telephone and there has been an open invitation for us to visit. So when I called and told our relatives we were going to be in Ireland and would love to visit, the response we got back was enthusiastic. When we arrived in Kiltormer we were greeted by several family members, all of whom were first or second cousins. It was an amazing feeling to reunite my father with his cousin and to meet two of my cousins. Everyone was so nice and accommodating, especially since my boys were running around, oblivious to what was happening. After just a couple of hours my father was right at home in Kiltormer and was an honored guest. He spent the next week with his cousin meeting other family members, visiting the homes of his parents (one of which is still in the Curley family), seeing gravestones of long deceased relatives (he found the grave stone of his great-grandfather) and experiencing life in the town he had heard so much about from his parents and family friends. Even if the rest of trip had been a disaster, I would have been happy based on how well we were received in Kiltormer and how happy my father was finally being there. My father stayed in Kiltormer for the week while the rest of us explored various parts of Western Ireland.
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Note: It is highly unlikely that anyone reading our blog would find the need to stay in that part of Ireland, but if you ever find yourself looking for a B&B near Ballinasloe or Loughrea, we can highly recommend Cartron House. There are many horseback riding facilities in the area and Anne was a great host.
Nothing underscored our return to reality like waking up this morning and wearing three layers on top and two pairs of tights to go running. That and the fact that we actually had to make our own breakfast, wash dishes, and go back to our man-to-man kid coverage. Finnegan wasn’t the only one that wished Roanna, our nanny for the week, could come back to NJ with us. Sadly it seems that all good things really do have to come to an end.
We had a great week in Jamaica at the Bluefields Bay Villas. While you can opt for total seclusion while you’re there, I’m glad we didn’t because I feel like we truly made new friends on this trip. Every week, management hosts a cocktail hour on Monday night and a jerk chicken lunch (or jerk tofu for the vegetarians) on Wednesday. At these events, we met the three other couples that were staying in some of the other villas. There were two couples from Kansas staying in the Hermitage. They invited us to tour the house and it was fabulous in person – although probably not the best house for kids because of the stairs and pool layout. We had a great time chatting with them and learning a bit about their lives and families.
Table Setting at the Jerk Chicken Lunch
The other couple staying at the resort was from North Carolina and they had a daughter the same age as Declan. We had a great time hanging out on the beach almost every day, and even got together our last night so the kids could play while we had drinks and actual adult conversation. We even got some tips on new destinations to check out. We have never been to Santa Fe, but it’s very high on our list now!
This fortunate couple had the great luxury of staying at the Cottonwood Cottage. If you go to Bluefields as a couple, with a small family, or even two couples – this should be your first choice for lodging. The cottage is next to the large sandy beach, has amazing views from both bedrooms, and the Treehouse is a great place to eat your meals. To Finnegan’s delight, they also have a tangerine tree. If we stayed at the Cottonwood, that tree would have been bare by the end of the week!
We had a great time and would highly recommend this ‘resort’ to other couples and families looking for a week of pampering and relaxation. The staff (butler, nanny, housekeeper, and your own personal chef) are so attentive that you really feel spoiled – like nothing is too much trouble. If you’re interested in staying busy, there are plenty of activities as well. They have snorkeling gear you can borrow and each villa has kayaks that you can take out any time. Bluefields also offers a guided hike that I’m sorry to say we never tried since we only brought one infant carrier and the hike would have been a bit too much for Finnegan on his own. Could we have left him with the nanny and gone by ourselves? Of course, but that’s not why we travel with our kids. Roanna really helped us entertain the kids and play with them at the beach so we had a chance to relax a bit, but we didn’t jet off and do our own excursions.
I feel like the most common question we get asked when we talk about a vacations is, “Would you go back?” In short, absolutely. However, if the question is, “Will we go back?” then I’m not so sure. There are still so many other places we want to visit and we have so little vacation time. For our next trip to the Caribbean, I would really like to visit one of the out islands of the Bahamas. I must see these swimming pigs in person. They are high on my travel bucket list.
Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA
Photo: BARCROFT MEDIA
Travels With Curley 