2017: Ireland
Our guide, Cathie Ryan, sang for us throughout the journey. She began on day one, singing Molly Malone—where else?—at the scantily clad statue of Molly in Dublin. Later, she sang Danny Boy for us on the heights above the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge in Country Antrim. Finally, she sang one of our favorites from her albums: "So Here's to You." She really had no choice but to sing that song. By the time we met her, before the tour began, we had heard it many times and had learned to love it. So we made it pretty clear that we hoped she'd sing it on the final evening of the tour. I think she had planned to do that, even without our request, but asking for it probably didn't hurt.
The other Ireland videos show our friend Ellen Hauskens and Judy taking turns working with Lima, a Harris Hawk from Peru, at a School of Falconry that we visited.
The other Ireland videos show our friend Ellen Hauskens and Judy taking turns working with Lima, a Harris Hawk from Peru, at a School of Falconry that we visited.
Cathie and Molly
Danny Boy
Judy asked Cathie Ryan to sing "Danny Boy," and she promised she would, at the right time. In the first video, Cathie tells how she sang at an event where Liam Neeson was on the dais. She sang a sean-nós (old style) song, but Neeson seemed less than thrilled. He wanted Danny Boy. In the first video, she tells how she had given up on singing "Danny Boy," as too sentimental. But Neeson's request got her to sing it for him. In the second video, she tells how she feels about it now, in relation to her son, Patrick. In the third, she sings it. I should have done one video, beginning to end, but I was paying too much attention to keeping each video below 45 seconds, which is the maximum length I can send home from my iPhone. So the videos are a tad choppy at the start. Mea culpa.
Lima, the Harris Hawk
2016: The paddle board adventure
For Judy's 70th birthday, Rachel bought her a paddle board lesson. On Saturday, August 27, Judy, Rachel, and Annie paddled. The instructor called Judy a rock star. Leo and Bob got back from our own adventure (redeeming his gift card at Toys 'R Us) just in time to photograph the end of the paddle board trip.
2016: Judy narrates our England trip
In addition to the 300-plus still photos we took on our 2016 summer trip to England—first with a Rick Steves tour group in southern England, then on our own in London—I took a few videos with Judy in the role of travel reporter. Here are four of them: one from our walk along the white cliffs at Beachy Head; two from our visit to Christ Church College, Oxford, which provided settings for the Harry Potter films; one at Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey.