Abbey's Road

We decided to stay closer to the airport on Saturday night since Susan and Tim had a very early flight in the morning. Saturday morning we drove up to the town of Quin, not far from Shannon. Tim's last name is Quinn (the protestant version is with only 1 'n' apparently) so he wanted to check it out. They did have a really nice abbey ruin there, that was actually in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, it was in too good of shape to climb on, but there were lots of rooms and stairwells to explore. Before we left the town, we found an inexpensive B&B to stay for the night. Then we headed down to Bunratty Castle, one of the few castles in Ireland that isn't a ruin. Someone bought it in the 50's and restored it and now you can tour it, along with the adjoining folk park. It was actually quite a nice castle and the folk park had lots of restored old houses and buildings. For dinner, we had reservations in the Corn Barn of the folk park for their 'Irish Nights' festivities. We were greeted inside the door with an Irish Cream aperitif which we thought was a fine way to start the evening. They had a traditional Irish meal (Irish stew of course) with Irish music and dancing for entertainment. During the meal they picked Tim out of the crowd, along with 3 other guys who were all pushing 70, to go up on stage and dance with the Irish dancers. Luckily, they served plenty of wine with the meal to help loosen Tim up a bit. And lucky for Tim I got some good pictures!

It was a long flight home and it became even longer when my flight from Chicago to Dallas got turned around because the cabin wouldn't pressurize. I did get on a flight that night, but I only made it as far as Dallas. At least they put me up in a Hyatt in Dallas. Since I was still on Irish time I had a hard time sleeping so I turned on the TV and saw the story about the Greek airliner that crashed because the cabin lost pressure. That really made me feel good. It's no wonder I got no sleep that night. The next day, Monday, I finally made it to Albuquerque and then drove 8 hours to Loveland, where I had left Abbey and the RV. I was thinking to myself, 'It's good to be home. Well, back in the US at least.' For now, I guess home is where my RV is.
Quin AbbeyBunratty Folk Park
Dancin' Tim

Posted by Ed at 10:48 PM | Permalink

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 StoneThe 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

Posted by Ed at 10:19 PM | Permalink

Friday morning we woke up to a beautiful day. It was almost hard to believe we were still in Ireland. And, we actually got out of the farmhouse fairly early in the morning. Our first stop was shortlived. We had heard that there was a beautiful beach at a small place called Inch. Unfortunately, a huge busload of tourons got out right before we got there. But it didn't look all that great anyways so we moved on to the ruins of an ancient fort called Dun Beag. We had to pay 2 Euros to walk down to see this ancient pile of rocks, part of which had already fallen into the sea, so we made sure we climbed on all the rocks and had a good game of King of the Hill with the boys before we left. We quickly figured out that any type of ruins are far better than a well-preserved castle or abbey. The boys (and me, I have to admit) love to climb on the ruins and since they are in fact ruins, we don't have to worry about them destroying anything. And I used to think that ruins were boring.

We stopped for a while in Dingle town to do a little shopping. We saw this funny looking hearse that I had to take a picture of (see below). The boys also got a kick out of all the old-fashioned Guinness signs on a lot of the pubs. After we had our fill of climbing and Dingle town, we headed to the very edge of the Dingle Peninsula to a place called Slea Head. We found more beautiful scenery and a gorgeous beach. You had to park on this tiny little road that wound its way down to the beach. Thank God for tiny cars. We actually ate our lunch first on the cliff overlooking the water and then Tim and the boys went for a swim in the ocean. As you can imagine the water was pretty much icewater, so Susan stayed out altogether and I got my legs wet up to my knees. After my feet turned numb I decided to lay on the beach for most of the time. We made one more stop to check out yet some more amazing scenery and climb on some more rocks. This time we had the added adventure of chasing some sheep halfway across the peninsula. Finally we took the short way back to Dingle town and found, believe it or not, another Irish pub. The food wasn't all that great, but the Irish coffees after dinner sure hit the spot. I think they were half whiskey, but we didn't complain.

Saturday was another rainy day and it was also a family history day. It was no wonder I was half asleep all day, but the exhibit we saw at Cobh (Queenstown) was actually quite interesting. It was on the role of the Cobh port in the Irish emigration to America and other places. Cobh was also the last port of call for the Titanic, and the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat right off the coast. Luckily it was a rainy day so we didn't waste a good day and Tim got to do more digging on his family history. On Sunday we spent the morning and early afternoon back at Killarney National Park. This time we took a boat ride to Inisfallen Island, which was the site where an abbey was built in the 6th or 7th century. Of course, as you probably guessed by now, we had more ruins to climb on and we soon had a lot of the other families following our lead. So far none of us have fallen or broken anything yet and we hope it stays that way. When the boat driver dropped us off he said he would pick us up in 30 minutes, but we could stay longer if we wanted. I think he was a bit surprised when we were finally ready to go 2 hours later. I guess he thought that there really wasn't that much to see on the island, but we somehow managed to cover most every bit of it. We certainly covered all of the walls of the abbey. After lunch in the park, we headed back to town to meet up with some of Tim's relatives at a hotel near the lake. It was actually quite nice to meet them. They had a little boy Nathan's age and the 4 boys were completely captivated by some old farm equipment on the grounds while the adults talked, enjoyed the view and a few pints. Tomorrow Tim, Cooper and I are going to try our hand at fly fishing. Actually Tim has done it a lot, but for Cooper and I it's our first time. I'm really kind of worried because if Cooper catches a fish and I don't I'm going to be pretty embarrassed.

One thing that has been quite a revelation to me on this trip is the amount of time that small boys have to spend going to the bathroom. It never seems to fail that as soon as we get some place, often a remote place, that one or more of the boys have to go. Travelling with 3 small boys has been a real eye-opener for me having never had kids myself. I think for now I'll be satisfied to just "borrow" other people's kids for a while and return them when I'm done playing with them or when they get hurt or something.
Irish Hearse
Guinness For Strength
Seaside Road

Dingle Peninsula
More DingleNathan on the Dingle Peninsula
Don't forget your emergency break!

Posted by Ed at 9:57 PM | Permalink

Someone doesn't want me to make this entry. I had typed it up on my brother-in-laws laptop while I was in Ireland and he emailed it to me a few days ago. When I tried to download it from my email, Hotmail in its infinite wisdom decided it had a virus in it. Who knows where that came from. Then, I decided to write it again on the fly and I hit the wrong key and poof......I lost it all. So, I have asked Tim to resend it to me, and if it doesn't get rejected again by hotmail, I will update this the next time I get a chance. In the meantime, suffice it to say that I went to Ireland with my sister, Susan, her husband, Tim, and their 3 boys - Cooper (7), Jack(5), and Nathan(3) - for 2 weeks. We rented a farmhouse on a working dairy farm for 2 weeks outside of Killarney. Here are some pictures from the first few days. Hopefully, more info. will be coming later.

Later is already here. Hotmail let me download it this time. I LOVE technology. Here is the original:

On the way to Albuquerque I stopped to see some friends from Austin, Andrew and Stephanie, who were staying in Pagosa Springs, CO. I stayed the night there and it was great to catch up with them. I hadn't seen them in 5 or 6 years (they claim 6) so I really enjoyed it. After a long day of flying on Saturday, I arrived in Shannon Airport Sunday morning. My sister, Susan, Tim and their boys were already there and waiting. Luckily, Tim's cousin, Helen, also met us there to lead us to the farmhouse we are staying at for the 2 weeks. It's in a rural area so even Helen had a bit of trouble finding the way. Not only did I have to get used to driving on the left side of the road, and making sure I went to the right side of the car, to make things more interesting I rented a car with a stick shift which meant I had to get used to shifting with my left hand. I'm actually getting the hang of it and starting to have fun driving on these tiny, narrow roads. They are often walled by hedgerows, which are nearly impenetrable walls of shrubs, weeds and vines that give the effect of driving through a topless tunnel. The few times I am able to drive fast I feel like I'm in one of those old James Bond movies. You do have to keep your eyes open for an occasional stray sheep or lost tourist, though.

Tim's ancestors came from this part of Ireland so there are lots of things he wanted to check out. On Monday we wasted no time getting started on this pursuit by stopping at Ballymalis Castle, not far from the farmhouse. It was once in his family's possession so the boys were pretty excited that their family had a castle. It's now owned by the state but we had a great time climbing all over it. They really liked the 'secret entrance' and it didn't dampen their enthusiasm when we told them what the chute was most likely used for. We also found out something about Tim's ancestors. You have to understand that Tim is a died-in-the-wool Irishman. Or, so we thought. It turns out that his ancestors came over to Ireland with Lord Cromwell from England to claim Ireland for the royal crown and to convert the Catholics. The castle was part of their bounty so to speak. No wonder his family tree is gotten quite sparse over here. When the Catholics reclaimed Ireland, they must have fled or been run out.

The farm we're staying on is a working dairy farm, complete with authentic smells. The farmhouse is actually very nice and the guy running the place looks like the quintessential Irishmen with his sweater and wool cap. It's not far from Killarney, which prior to this trip I had only heard of in the Christmas song. Killarney happens to be one of the most touristed places in Ireland, but it still has a lot to offer. There is a beautiful national park here with an abbey ruin (another thing for us to climb on) and great scenery. We spent parts of two days exploring the park and another part of one exploring the town of Killarney.

Wednesday we spent driving the famous Ring of Kerry. The ring refers to a highly traveled tourist route that 'rings' the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. The amazing thing is that the route is essentially made up of some 'major' (major being a relative term) roads connected by a bunch of backwoods roads that in some spots are barely wide enough for 1 ' cars, yet alone for large tourist buses. They were probably originally used by farmers to move their sheep or cows from barn to pasture, and sometimes still are. Half the adventure of the ring is negotiating the undulating roads while viewing the beautiful scenery, which is quintessential Ireland - rocky, green, sheep-covered hillsides giving way to the craggy coastline and surprisingly beautiful sandy beaches. We checked out some more abbey and fort ruins (this country is loaded with ruins) along the way and had a nice picnic lunch on a hillside near one of the forts. The funny thing is that the abbeys are usually surrounded by cemeteries and when they run out of room in the cemetery they start burying the dead inside the abbey. Of course, at this point the roof and floor are gone. By this time I had been dying to have some fish and chips and a pint at a real Irish pub. It was getting quite late so we went looking for a pub in a small town called Cahersiveen. The pubs there really didn't look conducive to eating with small kids so we found a restaurant that served fish and chips among other things. I figured since this was Ireland they would definitely have beer. Lucky for us we got the last 3 cans of Harp Lager that they had. I couldn't believe it, but it tasted good nonetheless. The pub would have to wait for another day.

The weather up til Thursday had been quite good, but things changed. It was a rainy, foggy day so we headed to Tralee and an indoor water park. I hadn't been to one in years and now I've been to 2 in the last week. This was much smaller than the one in Colorado but it was fun for the kids and I spent a bit of time in the sauna and steam room so I was happy. It got quite crowded as it seemed like it was the only thing to do in town on a rainy day. Later we finally had our Ireland pub experience, though with Irish coffees instead of pints. I had fish and chips again following my father's philosophy of eating the local specialty until you get sick of it since it won't be the same at home. The other good thing at the pubs is that they pile on the vegetables so you don't go away hungry. It's the Irish version of supersized.
The Farmhouse
View from the Bathroom
Tim's family castle - Ballymallis
Muckross Abbey in Killarney NP
The Quinns on a Jaunting Car
Killarney National Park
The Quinns at Ladies View - Killarney NP
Molls Gap - Killarney NP
Abbey Ruin - Ring of Kerry
Castle Ruin - Ring of Kerry
Staigue Fort - Ring of Kerry

Posted by Ed at 9:20 PM | Permalink