Taking a deep breath, I caught my balance against the wind. The hard gust rolled in from the ocean waters along Giant’s Causeway pushing me a few steps from my perch on one of the pillars.
I had never seen such an amazing sight. The basalt hexagons surrounded me in every direction. Climbing the cliffside, their shape and existence seemed to lack logic.
Earlier in the morning, we’d taken a tour of the Old Bushmills Distillery – hoping for the weather to clear or a strong shot to minimize its effects. We did have a few shots – but the rain continued and our collective patience for it dwindled.
When everyone else was ready to continue on – I demanded a stop with the giants. My mom – jet lagged – stayed in the car to sleep. To have traveled so far and miss the opportunity, I was frustrated for her. We had to park too far away. The winds were hard. The rain was light enough to be miserable. And, we were creeping dangerously close into lunchtime.
Joe, Sarah and I walked through the dreary dampness to glimpse at the Northern Ireland treasure. I could still sense that I was the only one that desperately wanted to see it – and rushed to spend my time there knowing it would be short. I beat them by a distance. And as they caught up – I noticed that maybe, just maybe, Joe was more impressed than I was.
Despite the challenges getting there, the fast moments in Giant’s Causeway were worth everything. To this day, it’s quite possibly one of my most favorite places on Earth. Naturally, I’d love to see it in the sun and take a hike along its highest edges – but I’ll never regret pushing through to touch such an incredible piece of land.