We had a pretty full week this week, and we still have tomorrow to go. On Monday Tim, Cooper and I went fly fishing with Mike O'Brien, a 3-time world champion fly fisherman. He also tells a pretty good story. He took us to a lake up in the hills and the fish were definitely out. Mike had to teach Cooper and I, and since Tim hadn't been in a while he also had to "fix" his rusty fly casting. I actually got the hang of it after a while, but towards the end I got tired and my casting went downhill (Mike had another term for it that I won't use here). Tim improved greatly and managed to catch 3 fish, but that was after Mike gave him the rod I was using. I had to use the rod that Tim couldn't seem to get to work and I actually caught a fish - my first fish ever. I guess I can now add fly fishing to my resume. In any case we had a good time and fried the fish up for dinner that night. I must say they seem to taste better when you cook them up fresh.
On Tuesday we finally got our Blarney obligation out of the way. I think most everyone, when they come to Ireland, has to go to the Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone, or else people won't think they really went to Ireland. So we paid our dues and kissed the stone. I was asked to show proof on my return that I had kissed the stone, but unfortunately I left the task of taking the picture up to my sister and she blew it. She swears she pushed the button, but..... So, Andrew, you'll just have to take my word for it. The stone itself is pretty anti-climactic, but there is a great garden on the grounds with all kinds of rocks and stuff to climb on. Are you getting the idea that we could just as well have stayed home and gone to a nice park everyday with rocks and stuff to climb on? Of course, the pubs with the Irish food, the Guiness and the Irish coffees did add a lot of flavor to the trip, not to mention the beautiful Irish countryside. The scenery isn't as spectacular as some of what I've been seeing in the western US, but it sure is enjoyable nonetheless. And the towns really are picturesque too.
Wednesday was the start of the Puck Fair in Killorglin, a short drive from the house. Apparently it is one of the oldest running town festivals in Ireland. Unfortunately, it seems to have gone the way of a lot of festivals these days. It was full of vendors selling all kinds of junk including bootleg DVDs. The DVD bootleggers actually provided a fair bit of entertainment as they kept running and hiding whenever the cops would come around. The day started off with the horse fair just outside of town. We had a hard time figuring out what exactly was the point of the horse fair. We walked into this field where there were a bunch of people were standing or milling around holding, or leading, their horses and mules. Noone was wearing any numbers or anything and there didn't seem to be any judging going on. Some people were riding the horses and one area was roped off for riding as well, but there really wasn't any formal event going on. There were a lot of beautiful horses there along with some babies, but we were really puzzled as to what the purpose of all this was. We even asked one guy with a horse and he said he really wasn't sure either since it was his first year. Whatever it is they were doing, they've been doing it for over 125 years so it must really be exciting to someone. We did read later that it started as an opportunity to sell and buy horses and was widely known throughout Europe, but if they still sell the horses today it wasn't really obvious. The festival did give us a chance to hear some traditional Irish music. Recently in Ireland, along with banning cigarette smoking in public places including the pubs, they have also enacted an equally blasphemous law. Children under 18 are not allowed in the pubs after 9PM. Since the music doesn't normally start til after 9 we haven't gotten out to enjoy any of the traditional Irish music that is quite common in the pubs. It would have seemed unbelievable if we had been here for 2 weeks and not heard any drunken Irish songs being song by real Irishmen, so we did manage to hear a couple fo groups in the afternoon in the pubs. The boys didn't care too much about the music but they had a good time running around the pubs. I wish I could be there when their teachers ask them to describe what they did on their summer vacation.
On Thursday we went to another well-known Irish landmark, the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. First, though, we went to the lesser known cliffs of Kilkee. They were actually pretty spectacular in their own right, and made a great spot to have lunch. The cliffs at Kilkee were more rugged looking, but the Cliffs of Moher made up for that in their sheer height. After we got passed the very touristy visitor center, the parking lot which charged 4 Euros, and all the vendors hawking all kinds of stuff on the way up, the cliffs still provided a pretty spectacular view. Susan did have quite a stressful day though constantly worrying about the kids being so close to a several hundred foot drop into the sea. Of course, I usually didn't help by going close to the edge myself whenver the opportunity presented itself. The rest of the day we spent looking for good ruins to climb on but we pretty much struck out. They were either no good for climbing or locked up. We managed to salvage the day at Bofey Quinn's Pub with some very tasty Beef and Guiness stew. After dinner Tim, Sue and the boys headed back home, but I decided to stay the night in a small town at the northern end of County Clare called Ballyvaughn. I thought I had done pretty good surviving 12 days with a 3, 5 and 7 year old, but I thought a night by myself might be nice. After trying several B&Bs I finally found one that had a room available. It wasn't the nicest place, but an elderly woman ran the place and she was quite nice. Plus the price, 20 Euros, was too good to pass up, and the breakfast in the morning really made it worthwhile. I had a traditional Irish breakfast with a poached egg, sausage and ham, plus toasted soda bread, coffe, OJ and muesli. I think I got my money's worth out of that one. Thursday night I went to a bar in town where they actually had some Irish music. The music wasn't that great but it was nice to go out and enjoy a pint and an Irish coffee. OK, I have done that quite a few times the last few weeks, but not in a pub, after dinner, listening to music. In the morning after breakfast I checked out yet more castle ruins and then took a nice hike on the hills above Galway Bay. I made it to the point where the Bay met the ocean where there was also a good fort ruin so I got my climbing in for the day too. I took my time driving back down the coast, having lunch at a seaside pub and pretty much enjoying the day. I did have to stop at one point while a farmer herded his cows down the middle of the road with his tractor. It's not everyday you get to see that.
Tomorrow we're back to County Clare to see some more sights and go to Bunratty Castle. For better or worse, this one is not a ruin, but it supposedly is a great one to tour. We're going to stay the night near there because it is close to the airport and then on Sunday we say goodbye to Ireland, castle and abbey ruins, the sheep and the cows, the green rolling hills and the pubs. At least there's still Guinness and Irish coffee back in the States.
The Proud Fishermen
The Catch
Infamous Blarney Castle
Kissing the Stone
The Blarney Quinns
Cliffs at Kilkee
More Kilkee Cliffs
Cliffs of Moher
Yet Moher Cliffs
Can You Read?
Another interesting sign
Seaside Castle
Irish Rush Hour
Traditional House with Thatch Roof
Town of Kinvarra