Ireland Part 2 (still pretty long)

So...after spending a few low key days in Cork, we ventured out to Killarney for a day. It was one of my favorite days of our whole trip. The weather was perfect and there was so much to do. We started with lunch in the city and then found a very nice jarvey to drive our jaunting cart through Killarney National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous! The kids thought it was great to be in a horse drawn carriage going down the city streets and into the park. It took us to see Ross Castle which is on the edge of one of the 3 Lakes of Killarney. We were able to walk around and see the sights before riding back to where we started.

Afterwards we found this great little ice cream shop in the city known for their sea salt ice cream. (http://icecreamireland.com/2010/02/24/sea-salt-ice-cream/) You can try it if you are brave. Chris really liked it, and he has even made it himself a couple of times since. To me, it's only ok. I liked the other varieties that they had much better.

Once we had our treat, we set off by car back towards Ross Castle. There were boat tours there of the lakes. It was really pretty out on the water. Afterwards we headed down the Ring of Kerry a little further until we came to the Muckross House and Gardens. We walked around the grounds and took lots of pictures. It was amazingly beautiful there. So much to see! Then we were off again to the Torc Waterfall for a short hike. It reminded us of the gorge in Oregon. It had the same look and smell as if we were looking at a waterfall back home. Afterwards, we were all pretty exhausted after a full day of hiking and exploring. We made the drive back to Cork.

Towards the end of our trip we packed up all our things and headed up to Roscrea, where my Aunt & Uncle live. We had a really good time with them! It was Neil's 1st birthday while we were there, so we had a small celebration with a strawberry swiss roll cake with fresh cream, yum!

We were able to find a small local pub with some traditional Irish music being played. It was really fun to listen to live music. The kids thought it was great! We even got to drive through Moneygall (the town Obama's relatives are from) on our way there. It was funny to see the town all made up still after the recent Presidential visit.

The next day we went to Birr Castle. It is an inhabited castle today, which was interesting. I can't imagine living there. We were able to tour the grounds, which were home to a giant telescope and museum. The telescope used to be the biggest in the world for over 70 years.

We had a little more time to kill, so we headed downtown Roscrea for a visit to the nice park they have there. The kids had a great time while Neil napped, and we got to relax a bit. Afterwards, we headed back to the house for a tasty dinner.

We said our goodbyes the next day and then headed off towards Aillwee Caves followed by our B&B that night. The caves were a fun place to visit. They are located with the Burren National Park area. It was such a pretty drive to get there, although very narrow and winding. The Burren is famous for it's contrasting landscape. It looks a little bit like a moonscape. Lots of rock interspersed with grass in all sorts of shapes. It's very beautiful. The cave itself was only alright, but Chris and the kids were able to go hiking up the side of a rocky mountain. They all came back down with cuts and scrapes. We stopped at another ancient tomb site on the way back, and enjoyed all the views.

After a much better breakfast at the B&B, we headed off to the Cliff of Moher. We had probably the best weather of our entire trip that day. It was gorgeous! We should have worn shorts. It was perfect for seeing the amazing views of the Atlantic. I think this is one of the most impressive sights to see in Ireland. We hiked around the cliffs and explored the visitor center. This took most of the morning. Afterwards, we drove just a few minutes down the road to Lahinch, which is a beach town. Since the day was so sunny and hot, we let the kids play on the beach. Unfortunately, we weren't really prepared for an afternoon at the beach. ie; swimsuits, towels, even spare clothes. The girls really wanted to go into the water, so I hiked up their pants and told them to only get their lower legs wet. I don't know why I even bothered. Within minutes they were both soaking wet head to toe. We ended up eating lunch at a small place right next to the beach so we could sit outside and let the kids dry off a little. They ended up riding back to the B&B in their undies.

Once we were changed into some clean clothes we drove just down the street to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. It was a pretty fun place to explore. They have a "town" full of replica houses and stores from different parts and times of Ireland. It was neat to see all the traditional style farmhouses. There were also animals there like sheep, donkeys, and chickens. We were able to have a really great tour of the castle itself. They use it still for big banquets. There were tons of winding staircases. It seems to me that castle life would be a huge pain. Lots of stairs everywhere! The kids were happy to explore and wonder which room the princess slept in.

After a tasty dinner in a local pub, we went to bed for the last time in Ireland. We woke up at a decent time, around 8am and enjoyed a traditional Irish breakfast before driving 10 minutes down the road to the Shannon Airport. We had to wait a really long time as we turned in our rental car. Thankfully, it all checked out intact (we only had one run in with a rubber pole, but no scratch ). We made it over to the airport in time to check in and walk right up to our plane and board without waiting. It was a little flustering, but we made it!

The flight across the ocean was uneventful. The kids were again fabulous! Everyone around us remarked at how well behaved they were. I was crossing my fingers because on this flight there was no video monitors for them to watch cartoons on. We made it to JFK and only had a nice 2 hour layover. It was perfect really. We had time to get some food and then get on our second flight. It was a little frustrating as we sat on the plane on the tarmac just waiting. Apparently some back up at JFK. So we waited almost an hour on the plane before actually taking off. We were all so tired by this time. Thankfully, the kids were great! Eventually they were all able to fall asleep. We made it to PDX and were greeted by Grandma and Grandpa. It was great to see them!

Overall, we had a really great trip, full of new foods, new experiences, and fun sights. We visited nearly every playground that we could find, and we became regulars at the chipper. It was great to visit with family that we hardly ever get to see, and it was nice to stay in my grandparents house that is now for sale. I will probably never again get to stay there. It was a trip that will have to last us a really long time. Who knows when or if we will ever go back. Thanks to everyone who helped us make it possible.