We had a very difficult time finding a good resource for waterfalls in Ireland before we left on this trip. Even when we asked locals, the most common answer was "Oh, how about the Torc waterfall?" The best we could do was a few snapshots of cascades using the images view on Google Earth. So, we weren't expecting a whole lot. Well! There were waterfalls all over the place, which is probably why folks think nothing of it. Ireland received a tremendous amount of rain recently and all the … [Read more...]
Gap of Dunloe
November 25, 2008
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Eric called this one of the top three most scenic drives we've done. Considering Chapman's Peak in South Africa and Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park are both on that list, that's saying quite a lot. The trek consists of a (mostly) paved road barely wide enough for one car for about 22 kilometers. Each passing of a car going the other direction was an adventure (vast understatement) and in total, it took us about 2 hours. :) I'll let Eric's photos speak for … [Read more...]
A lucky breakfast
November 24, 2008
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Yesterday we started our drive down to Bradenton, FL, for Thanksgiving, and spent the night outside of Jacksonville at the home of our friends Beverly and Chris. Thanks for the hospitality guys! Everyone was gone when we got up in the morning; well, almost everyone: That's Lucky, a super cute and somewhat sleepy chihuahua. He was rather happy to have us around (though not so pleased with Rieslings presence) and Leandra ended up having breakfast with Senor Lucky: Lucky was one of … [Read more...]
Gleninchiquin Falls and the Uragh Stone Circle
November 23, 2008
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After driving through Killarney National Park we took a detour down to the Beara Peninsula to see Gleninchiquin Falls. I had emailed the private park a few days before we left but no one ever got back to me, so we had no way of knowing how much it was going to cost to get in. Once we got to the turn-off, a small sign listed the "modest entrance fee" at 5 Euros. In general, we are not big fans of paying to see waterfalls and I think $6.25 per person is more than a modest fee but we decided to … [Read more...]
Killarney National Park
November 22, 2008
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After our stops at Muckross House and the Torc waterfall, the weather improved slightly as we meandered through Killarney National Park. The N71 took us past many small lakes and beautiful viewpoints. We parked at this old church and took a short walk to some cascades. The fall color was lovely and the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds. We had an amazing view of Killarney and the many lakes of County Kerry from Ladies View. Plus, we got to see some punk rock … [Read more...]
text message etiquette
November 21, 2008
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I sent a text message to my sister early yesterday morning so she would call me on her way to work and the following conversation ensued... Me: [Call me!] Her: calls me immediately, worried, "What's wrong!" Me: "Nothing, I meant [Call me!] as a casual request. Just call when you get a chance." Her: "Oh, because the exclamation point worried me." Me: "If it was really serious I would have texted [Call me.] with a period, I meant the exclamation point to be light and … [Read more...]
Muckross House and Torc Waterfall
November 20, 2008
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Our first stop on the second day after a hearty breakfast at our B&B on our way through Killarney National Park was the Muckross House. We decided not to do the house tour but instead walked around the grounds all the while becoming damper and damper in the misty rain. Unexpectedly, there were a few rose bushes still in bloom, even in mid-November! We decided against walking to the Torc waterfall from the house as the rain was getting stronger and Eric's rain coat was absorbing more … [Read more...]
those days you live and don’t get a chance to blog about
November 19, 2008
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Yeah, it's been one of those days. I only got halfway through the Ireland post I was going to write because I got two calls today about a total of four dog portraits I am being commissioned to do before Christmas. I was also recreating a poster I created for a non-profit into four different sizes and organizing a collection of print materials I have completed for another non-profit. Not to mention catching up on my email from the last few days. I made time to take pup to the dog park and … [Read more...]
Back from Ireland
November 18, 2008
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Most of the day was seemingly spent on a plane of one sort or another. As we took off we had a quick view of the Irish coast, then it was clouds and ocean for several thousand miles. In flight we caught up on several episodes of Dr. Who, Season three (loving it!), and also watched the Bucket List. We actually cleared US Customs in Ireland which lead us to skip the long lines at the JFK international arrivals desk. Of course, we had planned on standing in that line so we were faced with a … [Read more...]
Ladies View, Ring of Kerry
November 17, 2008
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A sneak peak of our travels on our second day in Ireland. (view the full size image) … [Read more...]