Ireland: Wild Atlantic Way Tour 2025 Pre-tour

As soon as I returned home from my 2024 tours with Vagabond Tours of Ireland, I started planning the next trip. I invited my sister, who wasn't able to travel with us, and to my surprise (and joy), she said yes. If she had declined, I would have gone solo. I feel that comfortable with Vagabond that I wouldn't have thought twice about going by myself. 

We opted for the 8-Day Wild Atlantic Way Tour. There were some places I'd already visited (and wanted to return), and some places that were new for me. The Driftwood Tours are the perfect pace for me; even though it's not the "active" branch of the tour company, we got in plenty of exercise every day. We had 13 people on our tour, and we all got along famously. Our guide, Shane, set the tone as soon as we got on the bus, which really helped. I have had fantastic "Vagaguides" (as they're called) for all 3 tours. They are the ones who can make or break the whole trip. And, really, you're spending good money to be on that tour...with Vagabond, it's money very well spent.

Before the tour began, we had a full day in Dublin to explore. I let my sister take the lead since I had already done the "touristy" things. The day we arrived, we walked around a little bit and saw the Temple Bar area, the Ha'Penny Bridge, and, of course, we paid homage to Molly Malone.

And I had to visit The Long Hall and actually take pictures this time. We went in and had a little drink.

The Long Hall is a traditional pub is on South Great George's Street

The Long Hall was established in 1766...10 years before the USA won its independence

The interior dates back from 1881

Slainté

For our full day, we bought tickets to the Hop On/Hop Off bus so my sister could see most of Dublin without having to walk. The one thing she was interested in seeing was St. Patrick's Cathedral so we spent quite a bit of time there. I checked the events before we went, and a high school choir that isn't far from where I live was performing. We made sure we were there for part of it. I went into the Cathedral for the first time in Ireland (in 2017), but I didn't spend a lot of time there. We took our time and learned a lot about the cathedral and Irish history.

While tickets are necessary, they are available to purchase at the door.

There are guided tours available, but we learned a lot by taking our time, watching the video, and reading the signage

The Lady Chapel was built in 1270 and restored in the 19th century. It is also called the "French Chapel" because it was used by French Protestant Refugees 

A piece of history: this is the cannonball that killed Lord Lisburne (1 of William of Orange's commanders) during the Siege of Limerick is hung above where he is buried.

Door of Reconciliation: During a family feud involving the Butlers and FitzGeralds, the Butlers sought refuge in the Cathedral, and the FitzGeralds followed. After attempting to make peace, Gerald FitzGerald ordered that a hole be cut in the door; he stuck his hand through it and offered peace to the Butlers. Realizing that Gerald was ready to risk his hand to make peace, the Butlers accepted the offering and the families made peace.

Toilets and a gift shop are on site.

We stumbled onto a real gem with the church where we attended Mass the night before the tour started. St. Andrews Catholic Church was the first church to be built on a Dublin main street after Emancipation. Daniel O'Connell was chairman of the building committee and donated the Baptismal Font (which, unfortunately, I don't have a picture of). John Hogan was a renowned Irish Sculpture; there are a couple of his sculptures in this church. 

(Information is taken from the St. Andrews website)

St. Andrews Catholic Church is made up of the pre-Reformation parishes of St. Andrew, St. Anne, St. Peter, and St. Mark

The Farrell Memorial by John Hogan

The dome was cast from a mould by John Hogan, depicting the Coronation of  Christ. The medallions (also by John Hogan) represent the 4 pre-Reformation Parishes that now make up St. Andrews

The Mortuary Chapel was built in 1909; the sculpture on the altar (on the right side of the picture) is the work of Willie Pearse, brother to Padraig Pearse (One of the leaders of the Easter Rising)

The Nuptial Chapel originally was the Baptistry

The main altar. The painting in the center (Descent from the Cross) dates to 1755. 

I think every Catholic Church in Ireland has a statue of St. Patrick!

Holy Water is available outside of the Church. Only in Ireland would it be in a whiskey barrel! But just in case, the sign on it indicates that the Holy Water is not for drinking.

On the walk back to the hotel, we went by Kennedys. This was mentioned on the Hop On/Off tour as a pub where Oscar Wilde worked when he was young. It was also a hangout for James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and W.B. Yeats.

Established 1850

We chose to stay at the hotel from where the tour departs so we wouldn't have to rush to be there by 8:00 a.m. We had plenty of time to eat breakfast, get our suitcases, and head to the lobby to meet Shane and our fellow travelers. To recap this trip, I'll divide the posts into places I revisited this time and new places. Just as in the 2 previous tours I've been on with Vagabond, each day was packed full of beautiful sites. 

First Solo Road Trip: History and Fun

Splattered during my visit to the Painted Churches were interesting places I discovered along the way: A couple of historical sites along with a fun one. 

Historical Site some Texans may not know about

Since I didn't grow up in Texas, I don't know a lot of that state's history except as it pertains to Tennessee. When I planned my route on Google Maps, the Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill showed up. I did a little bit of digging and decided to stop and see what this place was all about.

Heinrich Ludwig Kreische,  was a German stone mason who immigrated to Texas. In 1849, he bought 172 acres of land along the Colorado River (along with the Dawson/Mier Tomb), built a 3-story house and brewery that was to become one of the first commercial breweries in Texas.

The brewery is now in ruins

When a new batch of beer was ready, the brewery would hang a banner with "Frisch Auf!" (literally, "Fresh On!") so the community would know they could gather for beer and fun.

The house is still in relatively good shape

The kitchen

A bedroom

View from the downstairs bedroom

The cistern. The girls would do their sewing here to make use of the good light.

The Monument Hill was a piece of fascinating Texas History. In 1842 and 1843, the Dawson Massacre and Black Bean Death Lottery (respectively) took place. Captain Dawson's company of 53 men answered the call for volunteers after San Antonio was captured. To make a long story short: They were intercepted by 500 "irregular Mexican cavalry". 36 of Dawson's men were killed; 15 were taken prisoner. Dawson attempted to surrender but was shot; the same fate was met by the soldier who took up the flag and rode toward the Mexican lines. The Black Bean Death Lottery occurred when 176 Texan Prisoners of War were recaptured following an escape. At first, all prisoners were going to be executed, but then it was decreed that every 10th man would be shot. Their fate would be decided by having each man draw either a black or white bean from an earthen jar. In 1848, the bodies from both events were buried at Monument Hill.

The tomb in front of the monument. The Kreische Family took care of the tomb when they owned the land.

Close-up of the monument. In 1936, the monument was erected.

Ewen Cameron was a Scot who was a Texas Hero. The town where my mother grew up is named for him.

First Shot of the Texas Revolution

In 1831, Gonzales, TX, was in Mexican Territory and had been on the receiving end of raids from Native Americans. The Mexican Government gave Gonzales a small cannon so it could protect itself from the raids. 4 years later, Santa Ana was the dictator and gave orders for the Mexicans to take the cannon, but without engaging. The Guadalupe River was high, and the Mexican in charge yelled across the river to surrender the cannon. He was told that the Texian leader was out of town and would be back the next evening, allowing reinforcements to arrive. There was a heavy fog, so the Mexicans didn't see the reinforcements arrive. The 2 leaders met with no resolution, and a flag that said "Come and Take It" was unfurled on the cannon. The cannon was then fired, and the Mexicans (with orders from Santa Ana not to fire) retreated. You can find more on the history here.

Monument of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution; intersection of State Hwy 97 and  State Hwy 95 Spur

Behind the Monument is a road that will take you to the location of 3 battles. The Children's Monument is down that road.

A close-up of the Children's Monument

Sam Houston Oak

Not far from where the First Shot happened, and down a dirt road (County Road 361), is the Sam Houston Oak. It is said that, after burning Gonzales to keep it out of the Mexican's hands, Houston's troops rested under this oak. Santa Ana is also said to have stayed under this oak a few weeks after Houston left.

The tree is on private property but can be seen from the road.

The McClure-Braches house (on the left in the distance) was built in 1843 and is still owned by a member of the Braches Family.

Now for some fun

As you read in my Painted Churches post, I visited Shiner, TX. Why wouldn't I tour the Spoetzl Brewery? Shiner is a really small town (under 3000 people) so the brewery was very easy to find. Upon paying for the tour, I received a couple of tokens for beer. The gift shop had a lot of Shiner merch, so make sure you have time to shop. I went into the shop first, then to the bar and waited for my group to be called. Upon calling for the group, the guide told us to make sure we had a cup of beer for the tour. This was the first brewery/distillery tour I've been on that did that. It was great! 

I was really impressed with how Shiner uses all Texas products to brew and bottle their beer, except for the Czech hops. Shiner is also distilling spirits, so I made sure to purchase a bit before I left and received a couple more tokens. The "Rickhouse" is a new restaurant; construction was still going on when I was there, but I did buy some sausage from the deli style restaurant. It was delicious and there was a lot of food. At the end of the tour, we were given a ticket and told to make sure we go by the admission booth for a surprise. We were gifted with a 12-pack of Shiner Bock!

The bottling section

My "parting gift"!

One Last Thing...

Weikels Bakery in La Grange. THE place to get some amazing Kolache! Before I headed out of TX, a cousin suggested a kolache place to grab a couple on my way out. Her husband said I was going to be disappointed after having Weikels'....he was right! They were so soft and fluffy...just incredible!

Kolache on the top, Klobasniky on the bottom

PSA: Please do not call these kolache!

If you're traveling to Tx between Austin and Houston, I hope I've given you some ideas of places to visit.

First Solo Road Trip: Painted Churches of Texas

My first solo road trip started off kind of rocky. I left the house on Day 1 with the goal of going halfway to Temple, TX. That goal had me spending the night in Vicksburg, MS. I wanted to visit Vicksburg National Battlefield since the last time Robert & I went through there, we didn't have time to go through it. I arrived around 2:00 pm, which gave me plenty of time to go through the Battlefield at my leisure. I've got to admit, it was nice being able to go through at my own pace; when I had seen enough, I was able to leave without having to wait around for someone else. I found an Italian restaurant near the hotel and then settled in for the night. That's when the doubts crept in. One of my sisters (who has made the drive by herself multiple times) texted me, and I broke down. In tears, I texted her that I was thinking about turning around and going home. She encouraged me to continue; we have a lot of family in TX, so if anything happened, I'd have help. She gave me the courage to go on.

I was highly disappointed in the hotel. In fairness to Hampton Inn, the hotel was in the process of being updated, but the room was quite shabby. That didn't help with how I felt that first night and the self-doubts I had.

In hindsight, I could have/should have gone further that day. If I do this again, I will definitely do that. The Battlefield was okay, but I don't have the need to return. 

The Shirley House is the only structure remaining from wartime. It is also called Wexford Lodge and the White House. 

As a Southerner, this actually gave me the creeps a little bit.

I found the Tennessee Memorial

The next day I listened to my private "Robert" Spotify playlist...his favorite songs, songs that meant something to us, and songs that reminded me of him. It gave me a lot of comfort, and I felt like he was there with me.  I drove through Shreveport without any difficulty and made my way to Waco to spend a little bit of time with a cousin and his wife. I was starting to feel a lot better about things as I pulled into their driveway. I decided not to spend the night with them since I was meeting a friend who lives in Belton; I didn't want to be worried about coming in after meeting with her. 

We had some good Texas Barbecue followed by my first HEB visit!

I tried to get in touch with 1 of my mom's first cousins (so she'd be my first cousin once removed, right?), but apparently, she doesn't check emails frequently, and I didn't have her phone number. I wanted to visit the church where my mom grew up (and where my parents were married), as well as visit the cemetery where my grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousin are buried. I drove by my Grandma's, Great Aunt's, and Aunt's houses, and then went to church for Mass. As luck would have it, the cousin was there, so we did get to spend a little bit of time together. I was given a tour of the church, and the secretary helped me locate the graves.

A quick bit of time spent together

The exterior of St. Monica Catholic Church, Cameron, TX

The church was recently painted, giving it a "Painted Church" look

I stopped in town for a quick stop at the jail and the"calaboose". 

The calaboose was built in 1892; it was used as an overnight "holding cell" for jail prisoners

I remember touring the jail when I was little, so I didn't take the time to go in. There had been a storm during the night, and the wind was rippin'! I was more interested in getting to my next destination: La Grange, TX. You may have heard of this town: The Chicken Ranch was immortalized in the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas", and ZZ Top sang about it in their song "La Grange". I didn't go by where the Chicken Ranch used to be (the only thing that is there now is a decrepit building), but I did start my tour of Painted Churches on the way to the hotel.

What are the Painted Churches?

In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Czech and German immigrants built churches in which to worship. They aren't very assuming when you see them from the road, but once you step inside, you are amazed at the detail and the beauty. 

I did some research before I left home so I could plan out which ones to see and the order to see them.  There are over 20 churches; out of the 9 that I visited, only 2 were locked. To me, that's a testament to Texans and their respect for history and culture. Keeping in mind that most of the immigrants were farmers, the churches are mostly in rural areas. I never felt scared being out there all by myself; maybe because I was on a mission.

Exterior of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin

The original church bell, which the immigrants brought with them from Germany. 

My first impression was just "WOW"!

Close up of the altar

The back of the church

Stained glass above the back door

View of the altar from the balcony

View of the back from the balcony

I was off to a great start! Since I wasn't sure if I would have time to visit the next day, I went to the Texas Czech Heritage Center in La Grange. I didn't have much time in the Center, but there is a model Czech village in the back, so I was able to wander around back there. The ladies in the Center were very friendly and helpful. 

One of my relatives must have donated this house! It was a wonderful surprise to see that name.

I wasn't able to go into the church, and I couldn't peek in the windows.

La Grange is a very pretty little town. I drove into town, got out of my car, and walked around a little bit in the square.

Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange, TX

I always think it's a little sad to see downtown buildings deserted

La Grange is home to the Texas Quilt Museum

President Teddy Roosevelt stopped at the "Katy" Depot in La Grange in 1911 for a 5 minute speech

While on the hunt for the next Painted Church, I was pointed to the Hoystin Grotto. I couldn't figure out where the church actually is; the building behind it looked like a Hall of some kind. I don't think it's a Painted Church, but apparently it has some incredible stained glass windows. As it turns out, there was a gas explosion in the church in 2022; they broke ground in October 2025 on a new church.

The Hostyn Grotto is a replica of Lourdes, France

And then, the shock and awe happened when I drove to St. John the Baptist in Ammannsville:

St. John is also called "the pink church"

This building is the 3rd one on this site: the first was destroyed by a hurricane, the second by fire

Close-up of the ceiling

St. John the Baptist was built in 1918 and painted in 1919

View of the back of the church

Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Dubina was next. These saints translated the Bible into the Slovak Language and converted many people to Christianity. Dubina was once a fairly vibrant town. Today, the church stands alone.

Dubina was the first Czech settlement in TX

The present church was built in 1911 after the first church was destroyed by a hurricane

Close-up of the ceiling

View of the back of the church

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Praha was a bit of a surprise. Three stone chapels were built next to the church as memorials of "The Praha Nine": nine young soldiers from Praha who lost their lives during WWII. The community of Praha had the highest percentage of casualties in the USA. 

The stone memorial chapels are around the church. There are 3 chapels with each one memorializing 3 different soldiers

This church is the original building, built in 1859. Most of the outside structure was completed by parishioners.

View of the back of the church

The doors were stunning

Nativity of Mary in High Hill is also called the "Queen of the Painted Churches". I think you can see why:

The present church was built in 1906

The church wasn't painted until 1912

The ceiling is oil on canvas mounted on wood

The stained glass windows were moved from the previous building. They had been donated by parishioners

On a personal note about this church: I found out the next day that my mother's maternal grandparents (my great-grandparents) settled in the High Hill community when they immigrated from Moravia. They weren't married at the time; his brother and sister were there, and she lived with her parents, who moved on to Cameron (see the top of the post). He followed her to Cameron, and the rest (as they say) is history. They wouldn't have been parishioners in this building, but his brother and sister would have been. Also, his sister spent some time in Dubina, so she would have attended Sts. Cyril and Methodius. 

These next 2 churches were locked. As I thought about it, the reason may be that these churches were closer to the actual town of Schulenburg, which is a very small, kind of "sketchy" town.

Ascension of our Lord, Moravia

I held my phone to the window to see if I could get a picture. 

St. John the Baptist, St. John. The windows were too high for me to take any pictures and there was something over the front door preventing me from seeing in.

I left Schulenburg and drove about 30 minutes to Shiner. You may recognize the name from Shiner Bock Beer, but there will be more on that in another post. The first thing I did when I drove into town was visit another Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church.

The current church was completed in 1921

The view when you walk into the church

Close-up of the painting in the dome over the altar

View of the back of the church

The stained glass was imported from Munich

The last painted church I visited this trip was in Panna Maria. I was captivated by this community, which boasts a Visitor's Center with a lot of history and exhibits. Panna Maria is the oldest permanent Polish community in the USA. 

If you like to learn the history of where you are, the Polish Heritage Center is an excellent place to spend an hour (or 2)

Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

The oak tree where the first Mass was held in 1854

The beautiful painted ceiling

The altar

The back of the church

The churches that I visited are close enough together that I could have gone to all of them (except Panna Maria) in one day. I was bummed that the ones in Moravia and St. John weren't open; I would have liked to have gone in them. The Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce provides tours for a fee. It took me very little time to find a list of them through the Austin PBS website. Then, as I said earlier, I just saved them in a list on Google Maps, and I was good to go. It also helped that a young lady gave me a map of them so I could compare what she gave me to what I had. I think I had a couple in my list that weren't on the map. Also, as I mentioned, I never felt scared or unsure. Google Maps guided me where I needed to go. Even though I thought Schulenburg was a little sketchy, I felt completely safe in the Holiday Inn. In hindsight, I should have stayed in La Grange. I didn't know how long it would take me to visit the churches, and I didn't want to drive in the dark. 

Don't forget to check out my other post on my solo road trip that includes some history.