Macey
Day 11: It’s a Long Way to Tipperary
The value of our B&B increased with a well-emphasized second B. Despite our valiant efforts we failed to clear our plates entirely, vanquished by the thick slabs of bacon and blood sausage. We had put up a good fight, however, and with stuffed bellies we stumbled around Kilkenny on a scavenger hunt for a duffel bag. The clerk said in a thick Irish accent, “picked up too much stuff, did ya?” My mom swore it was her plan all along. The next (obvious) move was to get ice cream from a shop called Pogue Mo Cone (“kiss my cone”), a pun on the popular Gaelic phrase, “pogue mo thoin” (pronounced “pogue mahone” and meaning, ahem, “kiss my ass”). Somewhere between Colorado, Florida, and Ireland, Dustin’s watch had lost its ability to wind quite right, but luckily a watch-smith is easy to find in a medieval town.
On the drive we saw a castle too epic to pass by and, parking near a gas station attended by people who were almost certainly jaded to its charms, hugged the freeway barrier to take the perfect photo without either being smushed by cars or falling in the thorny hedges.
We were delighted to find that Kenmare’s charm had remained completely intact since our last visit in 2016, for it had become very dear to our hearts. We set out to eat at Foley’s bar, and I found a certain pleasant circular completion in taking my mom there as I remembered with great detail stepping outside the night we were engaged and calling my mom, while in the background I could hear the musician teasing Dustin and saying, “Darn, it looks like she’s run off on you already, man.” Oh, what joyous times!
Dustin added another whistle to his collection, and what better place to purchase it from than “The Soundz of Music,” where we got his first whistle. Ahh, nothing like the nostalgic screech of Hot Cross Buns.
insert kenmare photos
Continuing to chase down memories, we stopped to say “hi” to the deconsecrated church in which we had stayed. Hi, Church!
Nestled in the mountains of Kerry rests a yellow farm house… well, almost all of the farm houses are yellow, but this one was special, for we got to call it home for three nights. We set about praying as hard as we could for the clouds to clear, since it also happens to lie within one of the 11 dark sky reserves in the world.
Day 12: No Orchestra of Stars
We had stayed up late waiting for the stars to make an appearance but, alas, they were shy and refused to emerge from their heavy blanket of clouds. We had hung the laundry outside, but as the clouds promised rain we ended up setting up a line in the living room. The husband had much work to do and so us womenfolk set out on a walk, taking in the beautiful scenery. Deeds done, we set out to find Ballycarbery castle. We were very disappointed to find that it had been closed to the public, as exploring that castle in 2016 was one of the best days of my life. Ah well, some memories are better left alone.
Lucky for us, not far from there stand two ring forts which date back to the 9th or 10th century which we had not previously explored; a delightful consolation prize! While I was standing at the fence “baa-ing” at the sheep, a man came up and placed a lamb in my arms. I could barely contain my excitement and the look on my face softened Dustin’s annoyance as the man requested 3 Euros. We ran into a cow shortly after who posed for a picture and wanted some Euros as well.
Waylaid by our grumbling stomachs, we ate at a bar called Shebeens, where the owner served us himself. A great moment of the nomadic life: Dustin had his work meeting there while my mom and I drank Irish coffees and listened to the delightful sound of the locals speaking in their native tounge with lots of belly laughs in between. Inspired by an old timey photo on the wall of the bar we drove by Gwensk Viaduct. Back at our charming farm house we watched the news by a fire and were delighted to see the Taoiseach on tv talking about current issues. Hey, we know that guy!
Day 13: Cuckoo Spit
It is no secret that the Geivett gals love horses and it should be known some of the best horseback riding can be had in the hills of Ireland. Lucky for us we were last-minute-ly able to book a short trek with the lovely folks at Ring of Kerry Equestrian Center. The owner, Grant, set me up with Nemo, a 14 year old draught horse who has apparently astounded everyone with his agility, as he now has a son named Rockso… surprise! Grant revealed to us the mystery as to why there are so many white horses in Connemara: they are a breed special to the area. My mom rode upon one by the name of Muffin. Along the way our guide told me about the plants in the area and we watched baby pheasants running around like miniature velociraptors. Back at the farm, I was introduced to three mischievous piggies that had escaped their pens the day before and chased the horses around and even got a sneak peak at an amazing museum they are creating there.
Famine Pot- Where people would come together with anything they had to make a big pot of soup.
The car must have been jealous of our preferred method of getting around and on the way back to pick Dustin up our GPS tried to kill us many times, suggesting we drive off a cliff with a maniacal “turn right here,” but luckily I somewhat remembered how to make it back on our own.
Husband in car we headed to St. Finian’s Bay, which was another very special place in our 2016 trip. [Note from Dustin: we saw a dog capturing roadkill before an audience of terrified kids when we left there in 2016, too! It was the best!] It was as beautiful as we remembered it, and Dustin and I ditched our shoes and headed for that salty water.
Not a mile away is the Skelligs Chocolate Factory. The tour was essentially them shoving chocolate down your throat for 3 minutes and a gift shop but, hey, I’m not complaining.
Much like the view of South Park from Kenosha pass, there is one particular corner on that road which you round to find yourself looking over a magical valley that seems to stretch forever, and your heart rejoices in the riches it has found. Right after that you will find the Cliffs of Kerry, where you can see the Skellig Islands off in the distance, including the one newly famous as a Star Wars location.
Day 13: The Three Fates
Even on our third night, no stars deigned to show themselves. It was a shame, but hey—I wouldn’t mind coming back to Ireland again. It was time to say goodbye to the farm house and, after bestowing the few gifts we had for my mama (happy birthday!), we all let out a sigh of relief to find that our clothes has reached an acceptable amount of dryness for packing. Through babbling brooks and majestic valleys where baby donkeys frolic we made the 4 hour drive back to Dublin. As a birthday treat we thought it would be fun to take my mom to see the Book of Kells, an incredible, ancient illuminated manuscript. (If you haven’t seen the movie of the same name, it is one of my favorite animations of all time.) We had squeezed into the last tour and had just barely enough time to take in the information of how it was made, the references, and at last to observe a page from the book itself. We made our way as slowly as we could through the impressive long room of the Trinity College library on the way out, until the security guards seemed ready to grab their pitchforks to chase us.
Dustin: I proposed a special dinner as an event for both of our parents. My parents visited a hotel on the northeast side of Dublin called Clontarf Castle several years ago, and both times we were leaving for Ireland, my dad urged us to visit and say hi to a woman working there named Dympna. (Evidently, not only did they have a rip-roaring night of craic there, but also experienced a memorable bit of hospitality. Midway through the night, my dad asked semi-jokingly if the Guinness glasses were complimentary. Not only did they leave with free glasses, but at the end of the night she actually presented them with wrapped, clean glasses rather than sending them off with their dirty glasses!) As we had a birthday to celebrate and it was our last chance this trip (we missed it in 2016!) we decided to go for it. Unfortunately for us but fortunately for her, Dympna had retired, but we had a wonderful meal there even so. It was sad to be eating our last dinner in Ireland, but I was glad we made it a special one!
Loved seeing this and hearing it told again. It was such a fantastic trip, I hope we travel together many more times!