On July 5th, we headed into Clonakilty to get our tire replaced and then hit the road, with our night's destination of our favorite B&B over on the Dingle Peninsula, Country Shores House, via the Ring of Kerry. We stopped for lunch in Glengarriff at a cute little food truck area. This was our first time to make the Ring of Kerry, and we found two especially amazing treasures- the Staigue Stone Fort and Derrynane Abbey (only accessible at low tide). Both are off the beaten path and require a little work to get to, but it's much worth the effort!
We made it to Castlegregory in time for a late dinner, and we ate at the same place as last time- Spillane's- where Jeanne got to enjoy a Guinness. We then piled out of the van at Country Shores House, and everyone promptly fell into nice fluffy beds.
In the morning of July 6th, we gorged ourselves on our favorite breakfast in the world and then backtracked just a few miles to see the waterfall at Conor Pass. Sadly, it was raining up there, so HG, Cress, and Granddaddy hopped out to explore while the rest of us watched from the open doors of the van. But the rain gave us the most amazing rainbow in the valley on the way home!
We took the van onto the Tarbert Ferry across the Shannon estuary, which was a fun and windy experience and marked the girls' first experience on a ferry. From there, we headed to the Cliffs of Moher, where we ate a quick lunch and then were almost blown off the cliffs by the crazy wind! We soon got back on the road to make it to the Lodge at Ashford Castle in time for dinner at Wilde's.
We woke up early on the 7th to participate in a very special tradition at Ashford, walking the Irish wolfhounds! They were HUGE, and Cressey was lucky enough to get a wet lick on her ear as a goodbye kiss. Next, we headed to the Ireland School of Falconry for a walk with hawks. Helen Grace and I were lucky enough to get to hold them, and what a cool experience! We also played with their ferrets before we went back to the Castle for lunch (and Cressey's birthday cake!!) in the drawing room. She was so excited to have a special treat just for her, and the cake couldn't have been more perfectly made for the birthday girl- filled with strawberries and blueberries and a side of ice cream. The girls and I took a trail ride on the castle horses that afternoon. After a little rest, we drove into Cong to explore the Cong Abbey ruins and to have dinner. We found Lydon's Lodge Restaurant, which was adorable and sunny yellow on the outside but was huge and modern inside with a cute patio.
On the 8th, we headed cross country to Dublin to catch a quick flight to Edinburgh for our first ever Scottish adventure! (post to come soon)
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