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Sara Withrow
Sara Withrow

Sara Withrow

Living in: Forest Grove, Oregon Read more🇺🇸Forest Grove
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  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    12

    An Island I cannot pronounce

    July 16, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    This part the water was way more intense. The squalls were 13 feet or more. Thank God we had an experienced captain!
    The view was so worth it. We went in Black Bay and saw 2 islands that I can't pronounce. But we were at the most westerly point of Ireland.
    The Cathedral Rock was magical. I'm agnostic, but I would say that God did something amazing here.
    Getting out was crazy. Crazy.
    We saw Atlantic Puffins, even saw one with a fish in it's mouth. And when we went back towards the bay, the captain did a quick about face and turned the boat around fast. He busted ass back the way we came. The reason? The Common Dolphin!
    I can't describe the beauty we saw today. Worth every second.
    I haven't heard Cory laugh as hard as he did this trip in a long time. And his smile....awesome!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Dingle Sea Safari

    July 16, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    What an adventure! We started the day with a 2.5 hour rib boat ride. They provided waterproof gear, as you do get wet!
    Mom was a bit nervous. Cory was excited. Water is his happy place.
    We secured front row seats. I actually wasn't going to be my normal pushy self and just sit wherever. But Cory wanted the front. It's where you feel the most on the ride.
    We saw bottle nose dolphins right away! Then we went off to the Blasket Islands. The main island was inhabited for hundreds of years. They removed the last inhabitants in 1957. You can stay at a B&B there. But there's zero electricity and you have to walk your happy ass up to the house. Bucket list!
    We saw a bunch of grey seals basking in the sun. Quit a few came to say hi.
    After this we headed to the Islands that I can't pronounce. And since I can't add more than 20 photos, and I took about 1000, I am going to make that a second post.
    Mom made such funny squeals the entire trip. It was so damn funny!
    The Cliffs and views were stunning. We drive this peninsula tomorrow. It will be cool to see it from a different perspective.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    The Captain's House

    July 15, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    We had such a lovely stay here. It was centrally located in Dingle so we could walk basically everywhere in town.
    Mary, our host, had fresh eggs from her chickens, juice, milk, yogurt, bread, butter and jam in the kitchen for us.
    There were 3 total rooms, all ensuite. It was built in the mid 1800's, and still had a lot of the original parts, such as the wood railing on the staircase.
    We loved the living room to relax in.
    I think we all agreed we would stay here again.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    2

    Dingle Day 1

    July 15, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    We walked all around this tiny, adorable town, managing 11,761 from 2pm to 10pm.
    After eating a not too great lunch, we stopped in many shops, went to the harbor, went to the grocery store (where we got a ton of food and a bottle of alcohol for about $110, food is so cheap!), continued our mission to find dice, then pursued live music.
    Dingle Pub requires patrons to purchase a main entree for each person in order to sit at a table. That was disappointing.
    Currently, the Nation Gaelic Football championship is on. This night 2 of the final 4 teams were battling it out. All the pubs were full with jersey wearing fans. They take this even more seriously than we do for the NFL playoffs.
    We had a wood fired pizza and a surprise session started. After that, we went to O'Sullivans and listened to more music. We almost made it to dark time. Almost.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Travel day photos from Kenmare to Dingle

    July 15, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    Our driver, Gerrit, was a Dutch man who has lived in Sneem, a small village on the Ring of Kerry, since 2002. He was able to offer different views on the Irish ways of life. As my mom said, Gerrit is a man who doesn't take no for an answer.
    Due to the weather, we didn't want to get out. So we just viewed things from the car. Gerrit took us on a road that fits "2 carts and a donkey," and that is generous on the space for sure!
    Enjoy these pictures from the warmth of the car.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Connors Pass

    July 15, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    We were early to our next airbnb, so Gerrit took us to Connors Pass, one of the highest passes in Ireland at around 1,400 feet.
    It was so very windy! And the weather and visibility changed quicker than a toddler changes their mind about foods they like.
    Can't wait to fully drive this on Tuesday.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Kerry Creamery Experience

    July 15, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 57 °F

    It was a windy and rainy day here in Ireland. Our driver, Gerrit, drove us from Kenmare to Dingle. This creamery was one of our stops.
    We were walked around the old creamery, the original building, the old log books, the old equipment and the lady shared how it would have operated before the new modern ways.
    Then we watched a short video with an interview of a 97 year old sharing how life was on her family farm in the late 1800's early 1900's.
    We finished off with visits to the animals and some tea and homemade pie.
    All in all a very informative stop.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    I have never seen displays of headstones in a toy store.

    Kenmare 2

    July 14, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Second post. Today was rainy to start. It was our rest day, so we slept in, ate some breakfast, I got some work done and Cory took a quick nap. Then we got ready and walked back into town. The weather turned out to be perfect.
    We were on a mission to find dice. Apparently, it's not a thing in Ireland. We could not find them ANYWHERE. Not even in a toy and game store. Silly.
    After the stone circle, we had lunch at Kenmare Brewery. Delish food! Mom's goat cheese salad was the best!
    I bought a funny shirt and we made our way through town. We went into almost all the stores today. We stopped at Foley's for a drink. We had a great conversation with the liquor store guy (liquor stores are called "off license " stores).
    After that stop, we decided a taxi was the way to go. And a funny taxi driver took us home. Great humor! We were all roasted the entire 4 minute drive.
    Tonight we chilled, snacked, played cards, did laundry, and now we are watching Schitt's Creek. We saw a deer! Actually, mom some how spotted the deer.
    Getting ready for bed so we can get ready to move on to Dingle in the morning.
    Steps today: 6,646    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Kenmare

    July 14, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Gosh! This town has my heart. So small, yet big. We talked to many fun people here.
    We ate at P.F. McCarthy for dinner. Delicious food! Cory had ribs, mom and I shared the potato cakes, and I had chowder while Cory had prawns. Live music was happening. A harp player! We were stoked to be sitting so close. Unfortunately for us, a very large wedding party was there. They were so loud! None of the other patrons could hear the harp. Sad. Happy for the new couple though!
    We left and went to Kenmare Inn for music and a drink. We hung out, then headed to a store for supplies, then Lilly House for takeaway Chinese for a late night snack.
    Funny story - we were waiting for our food, mom and Cory wanted to call a taxi. I wanted to walk. A guy in a taxi came into the restaurant to pick up food. He chatted with us. He said he could take us. He was our Ring of Kerry driver's boss! Niall was picking food up for his family, and kindly dropped us at home for no charge! We switched our laundry, and went to bed.
    See next post for today's adventure.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Kenmare Stone Circle

    July 14, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Cute little stone circle. We tried to touch each and go through time like in Outlander....but here we are.
    We were given note cards to write wishes on and tie to the Hawthorne trees.
    We tried getting some photos. There was a French family that didn't care to move, and the adults were displaying an uncomfortable amount of PDA. Gross.Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Ring of Kerry

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    This drive should only be done by a local. It was heart stopping passing the many tour busses. Yikes!
    Denise, our driver, managed very well.
    This area was created by a giant glacier at the end of the last ice age.
    This day we walked 16, 271 steps!
    Cory stayed home sick. A pity. I think he would have truly loved the falconry experience. But when we got home, we brought cold medicine. That seemed to help. All 3 of us walked into town for dinner. Stay tuned for our Kenmare adventures.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Muckross House

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    This was cool, but Mom and I were feeling a bit manor-housed-out. So we quickly made our way to the servant areas. The bells used to call the servants each had a specific tone to identify who was needing service. The original owners of the house found out Queen Victoria planned a visit, so they did massive renovations. This subsequently bankrupted them. Then an American family purchased it. Eventually it was gifted back to the Irish, and became the first National Park in Ireland. It's part of the Ross Castle property as well.
    We had lunch at the Cafe in the gardens, where the Crows quickly friended us. One boldy came up to me and opened up his beak for a treat. Cute!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Muckross Working Farm

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    I forgot to post this stop. When we visited Muckross House, we went over to the replica of the old working farms. The beginning of the walk was up a pretty steep hill. Once we made it to the first stop, it was pretty flat from there. The first house was a small cottage with one main room and a bedroom. There was a fire going, which was warm, but very smoky. Mom had to step out. I tried a piece of the bread that had been made on the open fire, and it was so tasty!
    We continued our walk through the old houses and farms, enjoying the animals along the way. Even saw a baby donkey who was 4 days old!
    Somehow, even though it was a loop, we got turned around and couldn't figure out how to get back. We just went back the way we came. One of the workers asked if she should call for the bus to grab us. We declined, but would have loved that offer on the way up the big hill!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Muckross Abbey

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    This was where the first Franciscan friars lived until King Henry VIII had them persecuted. It's still an active graveyard, with some so old that there are no markings, simply rocks, and some as recent as last month.
    Very spiritual.
    The walk there was beautiful. The OPW (like our National Park System) maintains the property. They brought back the natural foliage of the land, and we saw a HUGE fern gulley. Also, they allow farmers to use the land for cattle. Such environmental stewards here.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Ross Castle

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    This was a cool tower house. It's actually a peninsula. The only thing keeping this from being a true island is the stone bridge which is the only way to get to the house by land.
    So much history! We learned that spiral stair cases were used as a defense mechanism. This house was owned by a true Irish clan before the English invaded and took it. It's now part of the National Park.
    We were really glad we opted not to do the jaunting carts or the boat rides. Spending half a day in a tiny boat, rowing to one point, then getting on a jaunting cart (horse and buggy) back to the place you started from was not of interest to us. We saw some people on the jaunty, and they looked so bored. I have no idea why so many tourists do this. To each their own.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Falconry Kerry

    July 13, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Omg! Such an AMAZING experience! Patrick showed us Jessi, a hawk, Cookie, an owl of some sort, and Rusty another owl (a 5 month old barn owl), oh and a baby owl which was called Damien because he sounds like a Demon.
    It was so neat to have these majestic animals land on our hands. I actually was very nervous at first and squealed and pulled my arm back. But Jessi is so well trained, she handled it like a pro!
    The little baby has a face only a mom can love.
    Would do it again in a heartbeat!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Travel day between Kilkenny and Kenmare

    July 12, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We all hurt bad this morning. Too many drinks while celebrating Mom. Totally worth it!
    Our driver, Paul, picked us up at 10am. He took us to Rock of Cashel, Titanic Experience and St. Coleman's Cathedral. He made stops along the way for food. We had our first sausage rolls - so dang good! We ate at a petrol station. Sounds so odd, but the food is actually really tasty and fresh. I had a turkey sandwich that tasted homemade.
    When we got to Kenmare, he took us to the local grocery store to stock up for our 3 days here. Can I just say how inexpensive the food is here?
    Kenmare has won Ireland's Tidy Town award for over 20 years in a row. And it shows. A very clean town. The population is a bit over 2,000. Paul was very proud to share these fun facts about his home town.
    This day we walked 4,310 steps.
    Paul was awesome. It was his birthday this day, but he had to turn around and drive 4 hours back to Dublin to meet more tourists.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Bayswater

    July 12, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    This airbnb was such a great find. The views were spectacular. We saw a deer. Watched the tide go in and out. The townhouse was 2 stories. Mom's room had an ensuite. Ours had 2 twins. There were 2 other common bathrooms. We struggled learning how to use the combo washer/dryer. And it takes a very, very long time. We had to turn the hot water on from a weird box upstairs. And, like all European bathrooms, there are no wall plugs in the bathrooms.
    The beds were too hard. So we were ready to move on.
    The owner had flowers, fresh bread and small local jams for us. 5 stars.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Titanic Experience

    July 12, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We set sail on the Titanic! When you check in, you get a ticket with a name of one of the 123 people who boarded the Titanic from Cobh (pronounced "cove"). Mom and Cory were married. Lol. And 2 of the 3 first class passengers that boarded in Cobh. I, however, was a steerage passenger....lowest class.
    We walked the same path, stood on the same deck too.
    After the tour, we walked through some exhibit things. The man who found the wreak of Titanic is Irish. So much technology involved.
    At the end we discovered our fate. Mom survived. Cory and I did not.
    An interesting fact...there was a nurse on board who was on every one of the 3 White Star ships that sunk. And she survived each. Coincidence??
    Overall, a bit touristy. But great info!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Rock of Cashel

    July 12, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Wow! So impressive. It took 600 years to build this. And that was just the first part! The Graveyard was so spiritual. Very, very old Graves, but also some as new as 2009.
    Paul, our driver, told us that St. Patrick built this Cathedral. If you recall, we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.
    The legend is that St. Patrick fought the devil , and during the fight, the devil bit a chunk of rock out of the earth, which became The Rock of Cashel.
    If you can zoom in on the tapestry, you may notice imperfections. These were on purpose, as they believed only God could create perfection.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Left Bank

    July 11, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    This is a touristy place that is a must! Delish. The bathrooms were 3 stories up. Yikes! The fans were all connected on a pulley system original to the building.
    Also, please enjoy mom's recreation of the painting behind her.Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Kilkenny Castle

    July 11, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Kilkenny Castle was right behind us. We could see the Castle from mom's room. It was very impressive. There were some old tapestries from over 600 years ago! Beautiful! Highly recommend this castle. We had OPW Heritage cards, so it was free to enter.
    There were a ton of artisans with stores in the old horse stables. They were true craftsman. Leather, silver and candles. Oh! And pottery. We really loved it, and were going to get stuff, but then decided to wait.
    Another cool thing about this area was that our hotel is part of the grounds, so we literally walked out our back door, down a gravel path to the castle.    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Kilkenny Shenanigans

    July 11, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We had a blast in this town. One of the great memories was my desire to find the walled city. We were actually already there! Bwhaha! The video says it all!
    I was able to attend my very first book signing! Grabbed a book as a gift. So cool.
    We walked 12, 663 steps on July 11th!    Read more

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler
    1

    Butler House

    July 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 66 °F

    This hotel was so awesome. Rooms were individual and so spacious. They used real keys! Which we forgot to leave and I had to put in the post today. The breakfast was top notch!

  • Sara WithrowIrelandTraveler

    Ristorante Rinuccini

    July 10, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 61 °F

    Dinner here was....good. Cory and I enjoyed ours. Mom's filet didn't really have too much flavor. Vera thought she ordered venison, but actually ordered veal. But the conversations and company more than made up for it.
    We said goodbye to Vera. She was a treasure and truly made our day perfect. We all adore her.
    We ended up walking 5,363 steps today.    Read more

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