For our last full day in Wexford, we set out for nearby Johnstown Castle.
I needed to squeegee the rear window, staying on a dirt road does have some disadvantages. Apparently, gas stations here do not have any squeegees. Perhaps it is to get you to buy a car wash.
Shortly after the second gas station, I noticed google maps had gone “offline”. It had no directions, but still updated the maps as I zoomed and panned.
We were still able to follow informational signs to get to the castle, so no harm.
Our trip came at an inopportune time, the castle was closed and being renovated. It has stood since the Normans invasion of Ireland. There is still a large landscape we walked around, as well as an agriculture history museum. Mom and I are both over castles and churches, so this made a interesting diversion that we would not have chosen otherwise.
Prior to entering the museum, some owners of antique cars (pre-WWI) pulled up in the museums courtyard. One of them had kerosene powered headlights.
Inside there was a large collection of manual and powered farm equipment and period furniture that the Irish families had used. Also included were several “shops” that would have supported the farmers, cobblers, furriers (horse bridle makers), blacksmiths, etc.
The grounds were quite nice, but another timing problem was that there was an apparent storm recently (a week ago?) that damaged a lot of the trees, requiring many branches and even whole trees to be cut unattractively.
There was a “fishing” tower, but I’m not certain there were fish. There were lots of birds, including peacocks, hawks, doves, swans, and ducks.
Several small streams ran through the property, some with small water falls.
As we were ready to leave, I noted that google maps was still not working. We were close to the house, 30 minutes, so I was able to drive back without difficulty, but I had to skip the other sites we were going to visit today. It is hard enough to drive on the wrong side of the car, with maps, there is no way I would find my way to there and back, without.
Weeks ago, I signed up for an international data plan on my ipad. I am afraid I may have already used up my allotment. I don’t remember the monthly limit. My username/password doesn’t seem to work and I noticed yesterday I was unable to get my email on my computer or ipad (on wifi), so I can’t reset the password. I’m not able to check or renew.
I still have more than 2/3 of my trip to go and I need my maps.
Hopefully, it works tomorrow (and everyday) or we will be lost forever.