Today was another travel day, but we had some time before our ferry left. Check out for the hotel was at 11 and we didn’t leave for the ferry until 2. The first picture is the beginning of a huge bonfire that will be lit on July 12. This date signifies the signing of the Good Friday agreement I mentioned in another diary. There will be both Protestant and Catholic bonfires. This particular one outside our hotel will be a Protestant bonfire. A few others and I went to the Botanic Gardens of Belfast. For those of you who know my watering background, you know how exciting this was for me. There was the palm house, the rose garden, the bowling green, and the tropical ravine house. We explore the plants and took pictures for as long as we could. Before heading back Ethan, Alyssa and I had an ice cream break. The other three went for real food, but we decided to look around Queen University. It was truly so beautiful. I wonder if Mason will ever look like that? We took a rather sketchy bus to the ferry. I honestly didn’t think us and all the luggage would fit. It was right, but we made it work. Luckily, the drive was less than 30 minutes. The Ferry took us from Belfast to Cairnryan. It was about 2.5 hrs. It was fancier than the first ferry. Once we arrived, we loaded in another coach and drove 1.5 hours to Dumfries where we are staying. To say it reminds me of home and New Hope, VA would be an understatement. Some fresh country air was the first thing to hit our noses when getting off the bus. I enjoyed it, but my city dwelling companions were less than thrilled. I’m not sure what meals will look like for the next four days, since there is only a Starbucks and gas station in sight for miles. I enjoyed a nice gas station sandwich for dinner, because the Starbucks seems to have closed by 7 p.m. How sad.