April 12, 2012, Thursday -- Our plan was to get on the road for Dublin just after lunch.  But we just could not leave our friends, the Boltwoods, and their fabulous town of Portsteward.  We hit the nearby beach for a "quick" walk, but the kids has entirely too much fun.  And it was a gorgeous day--why spend it driving.  We hit the road around 4PM and found our pad in Dublin around 10PM.  Pretty much all we got out of Dublin was horrible directions (no real street signs to speak of), a few cobblestone streets, lots of sirens, and partying youth (how dare they have such a good time).  Shane's initial plan was to sneak out to the nearest pub just after the kids got into bed, but he was dead exhausted and we needed to get an early rise to catch the 8AM ferry to Hollyhead.

Even at the near end of their vacation, a still in love couple.

Cedar Kai, a proud carrier of the plastic shovel.

A lone sand sculpture who tells us that he came to Portstewart for a 3 day vacation and 24 years later, he is still there.

Unlike in the US, the dunes at the Portstewart beach, although part of the National Trust, are unprotected.

Nicole desperately trying to shake this kid in the dunes, but he continues to keep up.

The erosion at a popular sand sliding spot.

With the exception of a very small corner of the beach, autos are allowed to dominate what would be pristine.  We still can't get our heads around this idea, particularly when the beach is so accessible by foot.