Wednesday, March 27

Today was our day to head out of town on our own and travel overnight to the Ring of Kerry area. This time we awoke to a thin layer of snow already blanketing the ground and big fluffy flakes still coming down. This is no joke! Good thing Jeff was all practiced up on his driving in Ireland, and by the time we were an hour out of the city, the skies were blue and it was just a tad warmer.  The Cashel Castle was our first destination, and we repeated the routine of seeing a video and touring about. Again, the history spanned hundreds of years, its first iteration in the year 800.

The Woolen Shop was delighted to have the Ballentines, who stocked up on sweaters and other souvenirs to remember this journey fondly. Jeff got his sought-after Irish sweater and Ryan picked up a woolen cap that would make his grandfathers proud. Back on the road, the countryside was quite lovely as advertised and we enjoyed the animals, farms and rolling hills.

We decided to head to Killarney first and check into our hotel, Earl’s Court House.  Jeff did an amazing job selecting it from the myriad choices, and one of the best parts was the hotel desk clerk, who was full of perfect advice for our itinerary. Upon her suggestion, we went straight to Killarney National Park for a late lunch of stick-to-your-ribs Irish food. Let’s just say the Irish love their potatoes! Those full tummies came in handy when we hit the trails at the park, chasing a waterfall and climbing to a hill above it. While the guidebook shows the scenes in shades of vibrant greens, we found great beauty in the winter/spring versions of golds, purples, browns, and greens. (Mom, I am taking lots of scenic shots for you to consider for painting subjects.)

Given our late lunch we had the luxury of a little downtime before dinner and enjoyed reconnecting to the world for a bit. Anne and Jeff had a room on a separate floor, and the kids shared a room but everyone had a separate bed, which was a nice luxury along with nice hot showers. We walked to town and dined at a place called Laurel’s – more excellent food and authentic atmosphere. We’re loving all the good family time and have spent enough time together to have a whole host of silly accents, impersonations, and jokes…mostly at the expense of the children’s mother.