Munster

We woke up to a brief display of clear skies before the weather began to change rather quickly to what felt like a combination of Pacific NW winter rains and Wyoming's strong winds. I've dubbed the weather Hurricane Patrick.

One of the things we've noticed about the locals is that they tend to be rather apologetic about the weather. They seem perplexed that it should be better this time of year. We reassure them that we are happy to be here and a holiday during inclement weather is better than a day in the office on a sunny day.

We departed Limerick for an overnight side trip to the Dingle peninsula today, part of the Wild Atlantic Way. We took the Slea Head Drive (Slí Cheann Sléibhe) enroute to the town of Dingle. Along the way we saw film locations for free 1970 movie Ryan's Daughter and one of the Star Wars movies. The old ruins of a tower and the dramatic cliffs and countryside were spectacular.

At one stop, I took photos of sheep grazing in a pasture. I really did think that one of the larger sheep was going to charge through the fence at me, and I was a bit embarrassed at being intimidated by it. I think I was haunted by reliving childhood memories of benign petting zoos only to get head butts from goats.

We stopped for a lunch in Dingle before proceeding to some additional coastal sites.
We stopped by the Gallarus Oratory which is thought to be a 10th or 11th century stone church. The shape of the arch is comparable to an overturned boat, and the arch doesn't have a keystone like other architectural arch structures.

After departing the Oratory we made our way across the Conor pass. The vistas were quite spectacular despite the gloomy weather. The roads were very narrow at certain points, and they were reliant on the courtesy of travelers to use the turnouts in places where only one lane can pass at a time. Stray sheep along the roadsides added extra navigation challenges. We imagined what it must be like to be driving a tour bus through the area as we were followed by one in other parts of the drive.

After we made it through the Pass, we arrived at our B&B about 10 minutes further down the road. We were greeted by Mary, the proprietor, who gave us dinner recommendations with a newly opened family restaurant down the road. I never thought I would be seeking the comfort of a wood stove at the end of June, but it was a welcome feature of this quaint restaurant. We struck up a conversation with other guests who are two college friends traveling from Kansas. One was a kindergarten teacher, and we enjoyed sharing travel tips.

We arrived back at our B&B, and we are enjoying the white noise of the wind and sea beckoning us to sleep. Sweet dreams!Read more