Day 10: Beware of ...

When I was growing up as a young lad in Westchester County, in the town of North White Plains NY, we lived in Edgebrook...an apartment complex of 160 or so Jewish families, with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and small bathroom that all 4 of us shared. And one key artistic influence in my life, on the kitchen wall, was a plaque..and this was different from the one in our shared bathroom that my dad stole from an airline or a bank or ??? which said, "a photographic copy is now being made of you and your transaction", and the kitchen wall plaque said, "cows may come and cows may go, but the bull in this place goes on forever." Now do you understand how I became the warped, under-cultured, farm challenged man I am today? Well, all of that cultural heritage came rushing back when we came across this sign:

Mind you, there was no fence between the sign and the lovely castle we were visiting...so we took our chances... Another great photo op that Jon and Ann were searching for on this trip from Doolin near the Burren, past Galway to Clifden in the Connemara, were some peat croppers. We were amazed when we turned the corner going 100kph and there they were...and without even the slightest hint of a butt crack:)

It was a lovely day, yet a bit melancholic as we departed from our lovely RoadHouse B and B

with Marian...

and Frankie.

But all melancholy was forgotten when...well? When would melancholy have been forgotten on this trip? Exactly, at the next meal time! Jon had the mussels..which were to die for, and this was just a short lunch stop in a town called Roundstone...these Irish can do seafood better than any of us expected!

The restaurant had been recommended by our host at the B and B in Dingle, nearly 8 hours drive away, yet he knew the area and suggested we make a special trip to come to this place, O'Dowds...and he was right!

The view from the street was excellent

and look how clear the water is in this westernmost part of Ireland.

Jon and Ann are pumped about this place, and as babies cry on the nearby sidewalk, and cars come within an 1/8 of an inch of crushing my side mirror, they patiently stand (for minutes that seemed like hours), to get just the perfect picture...and it was worth it!

We arrived at the Hillside Lodge in this area called Connemara, which means sea of Conn, and we have hit an ideal spot at an ideal time, with ideal weather...again...

The walk just across the street was to this beautiful castle

where Ann felt like the pink flying nun...

and where, with camera in hand, Ann caught the three of us looking for the bull...

Peg and I went for a French style dinner overlooking the bay and the sunset, while Jon and Ann had classic pub food in town. Here are some photos from our dinner and view...

We loved the meal and at sunset they finally opened the blinds so we could actually see something...and although I didn't include a photo..it truly was a gorgeous view of the surrounding area...something you'll get to see in detail when tomorrow we blog.

I need to end with a shout out to my favorite senior class speech maker...Zoe Jordan! Peggy and I watched your speech and were blown away. You are creative, gorgeous, brilliant, intensely funny, interesting to watch and a tremendous gift to your classmates and to all of us who know you. Keep being the amazing you that you are! We love you and are so proud of your speech and your accomplishments all through high school..we are, after all, your parent-ish units... :)))