Our Summer Euro Trip – Hunting With Hawks!

Me and my new hunting buddy ‘Wilde’  – Ireland’s School of Falconry, Ashford Castle

One of the activities that we wanted to try while staying at Ashford Castle was to spend a half day at Ireland’s School of Falconry and learn about hunting with falcons and hawks. After a shout tour of the facility and a crash course on Falconry, we were introduced to a couple of Harris Hawks named Swift and Wilde who we would be flying this morning for our Hawk-Walk around the grounds of the castle. We took turns flying the hawks with several other members of the family as we hiked down secluded trails in the forest. As you can see from the photos we had a blast. This was an outstanding activity and I would highly recommend it for anyone visiting Ashford Castle.
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Our Western Ireland Bus Tour

The Kylemore Castle (built in 1870 for Mitchell Henry of London) – Connemara, County Galway, Ireland

Today we, meaning the entire Bedford Clan, decided to do a little sightseeing of the western side of the country. So after inquiring with the concierge at the castle, we were lined up with a very nice older gentleman who had his own tour bus and sightseeing business. We gave him a couple of places we thought we would like to see and then he put together a full days outing which would have us cover a huge area of western Ireland.

We traveled over the mountains through the beautiful Connemara National Park and as far north as Leenaun (I think… no cell service!) We tip-toed through the Peat Bogs and also had a nice lunch at The Kylemore Abbey Castle. We drove out Sky Road through Kingstown to one of the western most points to a beautiful scenic overlook of the Atlantic Ocean and then down through Clifden. It was a very long day, but we felt we had seen a lot of the country by the time we got back to Ashford Castle.
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Our Summer Euro Trip – Ashford Castle

The Award Winning 5 Star Ashford Castle Hotel – Cong, Co. Mayo, Ireland

After spending a few fun filled days in Dublin it was time to move on to phase three of our trip. For this we would rent cars (for Julie’s sisters family and ours) and drive across the Republic Of Ireland to the West where we would meet up with the rest of the Bedford Clan at Ashford Castle just outside of Cong on the Mayo-Galway border. We would spend a week here at the castle and do as much sightseeing of western Ireland as possible. The castle was originally built in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke and over looks the Lough Corrib lake. The castle and its property has changed hands many times over the centuries and at one time was even owned by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness of the Guinness Family.
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Our Summer Euro Trip – Dublin

Touring one of the most famous brewery’s in the world! – Guinness – St. James Gate Brewery

After spending several days sightseeing and living it up in London, we were ready to start the second phase of our summer family trip which would land us in Dublin, Ireland. Another beautiful city with lots of culture and awesome friendly people. We would only be here for a few days before starting our road trip to the west and Ashford Castle, so we tried to fit as much in as we could. For accommodations, we stayed at the Merrion Hotel in the heart of the city and therefor had to make reservations at the world famous Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud. We had a fantastic time in Dublin and to top it off I was able to celebrate my birthday with a huge seafood feast… I would pay for that later!!
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Our Summer Euro Trip – London

Big Ben and The Parliament buildings of the UK – London, England

This Year we decided to go to Europe as a family to help celebrate Julie’s parents 50th wedding anniversary and see them renew their vows at Ashford Castle in Ireland. The first leg of our trip would be spent in London where we met up with Julie’s Sister and her family for a couple of day of sightseeing fun. The city of London is beautiful and we fell in love with it right away. Our son Dylan (now almost 4 and a half) handled the long flight and traveling very well. We where a little concerned about taking him at first because of all the hopping around we where planning on doing once we where overseas. I’ll tell ya, he was a trooper… but thank god every restaurant in Europe has french fries!!
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Air Force Cycling Classic

The start/finish line for the Air Force Cycling Classic – Arlington, VA.

Here are a few photos from this years Air Force Cycling Classic her in Arlington, VA.
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Bermuda Vacation Videos

05/22/2014 – “Dylan at the kids pool” (Tucker’s Point Beach Club, Bermuda)

Here are several of my home movies from our spring trip to Bermuda. I put together all of the best videos in to five different movies for your viewing pleasure. I hope to post some of Dylan’s biking videos in the near future… stay tuned!!

05/23/2014 – “Dylan at the beach” (Tucker’s Point Beach Club, Bermuda)

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A Bermuda Getaway Part-2

“Dylan looking out over the ocean” – Tucker’s Point Beach Club  (Nikkor 10.5mm 1:2.8 Fisheye Lens)

As promised, here is the second installment of pictures from our recent spring getaway to the beautiful island of Bermuda. Even though the water was a bit chilly, it was still a great week for photography and we could not have asked for better weather. We hope you enjoy all the photos.
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A Bermuda Getaway Part-1

Foot prints in the soft pink sand  – Tucker’s Point Beach Club, Bermuda.

Here is a collection of photos from our annual spring getaway to the beautiful island of Bermuda. We are fortunate to be able to travel a lot and one of our favorite places to stay while away from home will always be our second home at Tucker’s Point. I will add some more pictures and videos once I finish editing them all… enjoy!
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Easter Vacation Videos

04/19/2014 – Dylan enjoying the beautiful weather of West Palm Florida!

I have added some videos here from our family vacation to West Palm, Florida for the Easter Holiday. The fireworks display video was taken at the Harbor Ridge Club after the carnival during Grand Parents weekend… Enjoy!!

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