The Rings

Good morning,

Today was a little different. We saw some breathtaking sights, as we negotiated the Ring of Dingle and the north half of Ring of Kerry. Unfortunately all we seemed to drive, not having time to stop and smell those roses. I guess we underestimated the time it would take to get from the day’s start to the finish point we’d chosen in Waterville on the far western edge of the Kerry peninsula.

We started out from a little town on the ocean called Doolin where we stayed the night.  Well, it used to be a small town the last time I was there, but now the place has been invaded by “swells” and their toney new country homes.

We hit the Cliffs of Moher first about 30 mins out. They didn’t disappoint! Just astounding!

On the top of the cliffs was an old stone watchtower. Not sure if being assigned duty in the tower would have been a ‘cake’ posting or one you were given if you displeased the King.

A warning to the foolish

James wanted to try his hand at driving and didn’t do too bad. He only hit three curbs and one sheep. I guess it is a little more nerve wracking sitting in the passenger seat.  Next came the ring of Dingle, and the infamous one-lane Connor pass. Approaching cars would stop dead a figure out who had to back up, or, if you could actually squeeze by. All on a crumbling cliff face.  Not for novices!!

We stopped for a liquid lunch in Dingle and got “hosed” on the two Guinness’s we bought. The clown had to think about what to charge us, and came up with 9 euro.  Probably seven euros in the register and two in the pocket. We should have just told him to “bugger’ off. Speaking of gouging the tourists, we stopped at three golfing golf clubs to look for hats. The gong price was around $30 a pop. The swells that drop $250 on greens fees would think nothing of dropping an extra $30 on a hat but us poor church mice said nay!

By the time we arrived in the Ring of Kerry the sun had moved into the west muting the colors. We could enjoy the views but picture taking would be useless, as everything would be grayed out.

Ireland was scheduled to play Russia in soccer Friday evening. Jim figured there’d be a huge overlay on ‘the boys’ and wanted to get a bet down on Russia with the bookies but the odds shops close at 6:00om with the rest of the stores so no luck. Too bad as Ireland lost 3-2. We hoped to watch the match at a pub with some rowdy fans but the boys must have been getting drunk at home because the was just one old drunk at the pub. We settled for a hamburger for Jim and grilled cheese sandwich.

The B&B we reserved turned out to not be the one Larry and Cathy stayed at many years ago but the proprietor was very welcoming and place was nice. The bathroom however was almost smaller than those on an airplane.

Some more scenery