The Ring of Kerry

Thursday 12 June 2014

Today we left the hostel.  This is the hostel without functioning wifi and only one outlet in our room—none in the children’s room.   So, not too sad. 

We drove the Ring of Kerry today, counter-clockwise.  This is intended to not encounter as many buses.  And we didn’t get behind many buses, but we did have oncoming buses.  Yikes!  Many of the roads are only wide enough for one vehicle.  When two opposing vehicles approach, one has to pull into an open driveway or other space so that the other vehicle can pass.  One road we were on was only 5 feet wide! 

Two cars are supposed to drive on this?

Hope we don't meet up with another car coming toward us--we can't pull off to the side!

The Ring of Kerry (just a road going around the Kerry peninsula, just like the Ring of Baera was the road going around the Baera peninsula.  Not as rocky as Baera but still beautiful.   Personally, I prefer the rocks and green better--it just seems more dramatic and is artistically satisfying to me, but the green of Kerry is good too!  Baera was half in County Cork and half in County Kerry, but the ring of Kerry is totally in Kerry (thus the name!).  I read the descriptions of the things before we started and as we arrived at each from the Rick Steves' Ireland guide.  The children decided that they wanted to see the beach, the chocolate factory, and a ring fort.  We went to O'Carroll's cove for the beach, we took photos and Joshua and Shelby collected shells.   

The cove (the beach! say the children)

Having fun!

These are marks left in the sand after high tide of the seaweed (I think). It's beautiful!

Rock draped with vegetation from the sea

More rocks draped

Some of the rocks had shells embedded in them which also had things growing on them--it's crazy!

Anneliese

Randy

More of the cool marks left on the beach

We tacked on the Skellig Ring to get in the end part of the peninsula.  There we visited the Skellig Chocolate Factory--fun visit and many free samples!  So, of course, we had to buy a bag as well!

Anneliese and Joshua

I love this!

Making candy!

There were three ring forts on the trail--we stopped at the Cahergal ring fort.  The forts are from between 500 BCE and 300 CE and they are unsure whether the forts are defensive or ceremonial in nature.  It was during the change from the hunter/gatherer time to the farmer era and the herders might have used them when marauders came, or families when rival clans came, or it may have been used for ceremonial gatherings of clans.  The wall are all drywall--no mortar--it's amazing!  The fort we visited also had the remains of a house in the center.  It seems to be from a more recent time and the placard said that the occupant must have been a person of  importance.  We decided that they must be both.  There were paths along the edges with steps built into the walls.  There were no railings.  In the US, big metal railings would have been put in, and that's if they allowed you on them at all.  From Cahergal, which is very well preserved, we could see another ring fort--Leacanabuaile.  It was very short and not much was there, so we skipped it and went to a ruined castle we could see--   .  

The ring fort

Shelby at the ring fort

Joshua said that he was sure he could push it over since it's not mortared together

Inside the ring fort

Shclby--not in the US!  (Note the cows right outside!)

The remains of the house in the middle

To get to the castle (also drywall), we parked in a car park there, but had to climb under barbed wire, then walk through long grass to get to the castle.  Part of the staircase was intact, so we climbed up, making our way precariously to get over the missing part (again, not in the US!), then climbed around and explored.  Very cool! 

Castle Ballycarberry

We also saw a deserted stone house close to the roadway--they are everywhere.  No roofs, but still in place.  Again, just drywall with some plaster smeared on  the inside walls.  We stopped at one, climbed over the fence and explored.  Fun.  We had to beware of the sheep poop which was everywhere, and some wet places.   

Abandoned house

Inside the house

We stopped again because Randy wanted to climb a huge grassy hill.  Randy, Joshua, and Shelby reached the top.  About 1/3 of the way up, Anneliese and I realized that we weren't having fun trying to make our way over hillocks of grass, piles of squishy moss, sheep poop, bracken, and wet ground so we went back down to the road and talked while we waited.  I slipped on the way down and my butt got wet.   Also, tried to grab a plant and got thorns in my hand.  Annie got scratched up.  

This is the hill

This is what the climbing was like

Then we continued on our way and made our way halfway around the peninsula of Dingle before we reached our hostel.  As you can see, the caretaker was able to get the wifi working for us and we rented towels.  We had tried to find a restaurant to eat in Dingle, but at 6:00, the evening meals weren't being served yet, and the lunch was done being served.  The ones that were serving were way out of our price range, so we bought pasta, sauce, sausage, bread, pineapple, strawberries, and milk and made our own dinner when we arrived at the hostel.  The Dingle Peninsula has more dirt on the rock, and so, some trees grow here and we saw some crops.   Following are some scenery and photo stops that we saw/made:

The Ring of Baera

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Here we are, setting out for the train station!  Our big bags are on our backs, our "personal" bags in front.

Our first two stages of our trip went successfully on Tuesday:  closing the house, walking to the train station, and taking the train to the airport, then our flight to Philadelphia.  At the Lindbergh terminal, they now have a tram that takes you from the train station at the airport to the terminal—much more convenient.  I’m not sure how long they’ve had that, we usually fly in and out of the Humphrey terminal. 

Our American-Japanese food.  Eaten with chopsticks by most of us!

Here we are, waiting to take off from Philadelphia!

In Philiadelphia, we had an almost 4 hour layover which we spent walking to our terminal (they are very spread out) and eating (American-version) Japanese food.  I used chopsticks, but for the fried rice I gave up and used a fork after awhile (I would have been there for another hour otherwise!).  Played a few games, then spent almost an hour loading the plane.  Then another 45 minutes waiting in line to take-off.  The pilot on our overseas plane made some funny jokes (such as saying they had to turn the lights down to make the flight attendants look more attractive, and when they were slowing the plane when we landed he opened the PA and said only “Whoa Nellie!” ).  The flight attendants also were friendly and had a sense of humor.  The plane was smaller than on all of the other overseas flights we’ve taken.  Just one aisle with three seats on each side of the aisle (instead of the center section of 5 or so seats between two aisles and three more on each side of the plane.  There were also only 22 rows.    We were served dinner and a literally flattened muffin for breakfast.  We couldn’t watch the movie because you had to turn up the volume so high due to the noise from the plane that it hurt your ears.  We slept a little off and on for our only 5 ½ hour flight.  

In Shannon, we picked up our rental car and declined the many layers of optional insurance and the extra fees for a second driver, but paid slightly  more to get a slightly larger car for our family of 5.  We decided that Randy would be our driver for this leg of our trip so he is still trying to get used to the car—where everything is, the weird eco thing (it shuts off at stop signs and you have to restart it by pushing in the clutch), the touchy clutch, and, of course, driving on the left side of the road and shifting with your left hand in a different gear pattern and with a six speed. 

our car

I navigated, following the maps Randy had taken screen shots of on his iPad before we left.   We only had to backtrack once for a missed turnoff (because the sign was on white instead of green).   We made our way through Limerick and Killarney to Kenmare.  We had one problem:  there was a toll booth (there was no mention of toll booths on the maps or in the guide book).  We had neglected to get cash at the airport and they only took cash.  So, we received an unpaid toll booth voucher we need to call and pay for with our credit card.  In Kenmare, we had to make contact with the manager of the hostel.  She was supposed to meet us there at 1:00.  Instead there was a general sign on the door to call a phone number or walk down the street to use the pay phone to call her.  Not having a cell phone, we walked down to the public phone booth, but lacked the 2 euros in change for the phone (we had stopped and had bills but less than a euro in change).  We tried our credit card, but the number wouldn’t go through.  So we went back to the hostel and found the back door unlocked.  We went in, found the reception desk, then used the wifi password on the desk to skype her.  15 minutes later, we were in our rooms.  Off went my hiking boots and jeans, and the bed felt so good!  We took naps, then went to the car (which Randy had had to move twice since all of the streets have only 2 hour parking and  the carpark the hostel mentioned was full). 

We drove an abbreviated version of the Ring of Baera drive around the perimeter of the Baera peninsula.  We took a pass through the mountains.  There were many sheep grazing, some right on the edge of the road, including a very cute baby lamb!  In places, the road was only one car wide without any shoulder (cars approaching from the other direction were a headache, trying to squeeze by eachother) so stopping to get photos was out of the question most of the time.  On the pass, we found a pull-out and stopped to hike a bit and take photos.  The scenery was gorgeous—magnificent black rocks jutting out of green grass and moss with the occasional lake.   And all of the sheep!  J 

Looking down on Bantry Bay (part of the Atlantic Ocean)

During the day

We stopped here to hike and climb

Looking down from where we were climbing

A shrine near where we stopped

Anneliese where we were climbing

More of where we were climbing

More from our climb

Sheep (yes, they have blue butts!  Better than a brand!)

Cool, spotted rock

Randy in another place we
stopped to climb and take photos

Then back to Kenmare where we found a fish and chips shop still open late for dinner.  All of the pubs and restaurants had meals 15-25 euros each (20-35 dollars) which needs to be multiplied by five for us.  Financially, fish and chips was a much better choice!    That was only 11 euros (15 dollars each). 

 

A cool cross at the Kenmare church--look at the celtic knots carved into it!

Kenmare

Fish and chips for dinner

Tomorrow we will drive the full Ring of Kerry before going to our hostel in Dingle.  Our internet here in Kenmare is too slow, I’ll have to try to upload this in Dingle.

January 26: Our Adventure Ends

Yesterday, we woke up early, had breakfast, then headed to UNCSA for the interview.  At first it was a lot of waiting while they checked everyone in, then we watched two student-made movies before the welcome.  They had just shown the movies at the Sundance film festival in California.  The first movie was very well done and quite frightening at the end, the other was animated and very quirky.  Then, after a tour of the film school,  the dean spoke and the head of the theater department spoke, then a Q & A with some current students.   Then the parents were taken to another room to have refreshments while the students did a writing sample and waited for their interviews.  For the writing sample, they were given 5 prompts and had to choose one to write a story in 15 minutes.  Then at their interview, they and the panel discussed their story as well as having the typical interview questions.   Then we were free to go.  The schedule had listed 8 am to 5 pm, but Anneliese was done around 2:00.  So Anneliese wanted to go back to the pub we went to yesterday for lunch.  Then back to the hotel for naps and homework before facetiming the family.  Then we picked up Jimmy Johns to eat in the room while we watched a movie. 

I am reading the Outlander series and the current book I’m reading is  about the Scottish settlement in North Carolina in the 1770s.  It is interesting to see the hills that they talk about.  The story mentions more of the mountains which we saw on our flight to Atlanta this morning. 

To drive to the airport, return the car, check-in, etc., we had to wake up at 5:15.  I didn’t sleep well the night before, so 5:15 was very early indeed.   The hotel breakfast doesn’t start until 7:00 on Sundays, but we had luckily each taken with us a bicuits we didn’t eat at breakfast yesterday, so we heated those up in the microwave in our room to eat before we left.  We listented to music most of the way (the rental car had a jack to hook up our ipods to the stereo system).  Anneliese slept for at least half of the trip, barely waking for a second when we stopped to fill up the tank in the rental car before returning it.  We returned the car, took the shuttle to the terminal , checked-in and went to our gate..  I had a Starbucks gift card we used at the Starbucks near our gate for  a hot chocolate and muffin for each of us.  Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes, so we had a lot of extra time for our little breakfast as well as a little cat nap.  Then in Atlanta, we had a longer layover, so we found a place for a burger and then went to the gate for my second cat nap of the day.  Flying over the land was interesting to see the hills and mountains.  Anneliese is napping as I write this on the flight to Minneapolis. 

We are waiting to see if school will be cancelled again tomorrow due to cold; the school district said that they would decide Sunday afternoon or evening and the Atlanta airport doesn’t have open wi-fi.  Their wi-fi is only available for checking flights and accomodations in the area.  We will have to wait until we get home to check.  I have heard it’s very cold at home, so Randy will meet us at the train station near our house for a ride home instead of walking it.  From the unseasonably cool weather of North Carolina to the icebox of Minnesota.  Now we wait until June to fly again (unless Anneliese is called for an interview at Florida State).  In June we fly to Ireland and Scotland—again to feel that thrill of excitement as the airplane speeds down the runway and flight is achieved once again to take us to new adventures.

Downtown Arts District, Friday, Jan. 24

Selfie in downtown Winston-Salem

Today we slept in, having not slept well all night.  So we missed breakfast--which was fine, sleep was more important!  Then went to the desk to report that the message light kept blinking (with no messages) and we couldn't get the drain of the shower to unplug.  Then we asked if he knew of anywhere with quirky, fun little shops to look at.  He replied that he's from Asheville, where they have those all over, but that Winston-Salem has nothing like that that he knows of.  All big box.  Well, we drove to the UNCSA to make sure we knew where we were going before tomorrow; good decision, because the map that we looked at the night before was wrong!  We figured it out fairly easily by just driving in the direction we felt it should be and went directly there!  We drove around campus a bit, then decided to drive in the downtown area.  Pretty small, but we happened on Trade St., the heart of the Downtown Arts District, parked and walked.  Cutest little shops!  One shop was called an art gallery, with clothing and accessories, handmade--you were paying for the art, not the items!  Way out of my price range, but beautiful--the products as well as the shop.  And the shop owner was very interesting to talk to.  Many really interesting shops and galleries to visit!  We stopped for a snack at Finnigan's Wake--a pub with stained glass windows--very cute and great service.  Shared an appetizer. Visited many galleries, some vintage and thrift shops.  In one shop, sister2sister, we met the shopowner, a woman from Kenya that started it as an organization and it grew into a shop.  She goes to Kenya and makes and buys crafts with the women there, beading and other things, then brings it back and uses the money to feed the children of the villages.  She is even building a children's home for the many orphans now.  What a wonderful woman.  Her husband is legally blind, but refused to give up and is working in the North Dakota oil fields and writing a book.  We shared a lot about climate, weather, and children.  Unfortunately, I couldn't afford anything in her shop. At one of the textile galleries, they had a table of 75% off and I found a great hat (I needed a new winter hat) and Anneliese found cute chicken earrings; we bought both!  Then drove around a bit more, and went back to the hotel for Anneliese to do homework and for me to check emails.  After we facebook the family, Anneliese wants to eat at Olive Garden (which is why we had a snack earlier instead of a meal).   Fun day with my daughter!  :)

Lost in North Carolina, January 23, 2014

Yesterday, Anneliese and I left Minneapolis in the bitter cold (school was cancelled due to cold) and went to North Carolina (also, pretty cold right now!).  Annelisese has a college interview at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) on Saturday.  Our first thought was to drive, but driving through the mountains in January with stops along the way to sleep and eat, with gas prices what they are, it financially wasn't much worse to just fly and driving through unfamiliar mountains in the middle of winter is never a good plan.  So we flew into Raleigh via Atlanta with the thought that if our flight were delayed by weather, we could always rent a car there and drive.  So we originally were going to leave Friday, but the only flight got us there fairly late, and with her interview the next morning, giving ourselves a cushion of a day seemed like a good idea.  So we flew out Thursday morning and arrived in Raleigh around 6:30.  By the time we got our rental car and found a place to stop for dinner, it was around 7:30.  Well, somehow I had it in my head that we were heading EAST all the way--east from Minneapolis to Atlanta, and east from Atlanta to North Carolina, and we continued to go east from the airport. The bad part of this is that Winston-Salem is WEST of Raleigh!  We stopped once to get out the Atlas and couldn't find where we were--even the mile markers didn't match up with where we should be.  And there were few exits and absolutely no signs.  So, slightly frantic, I left the highway, following gas and food signs to the small town of Burgaw, about 25 miles north of Wilmington.  I went into the gas station with the atlas and asked the clerk to please point to where I was on the map.  Well, she was young and couldn't do that (?!) but another man there asked where I was headed.  When he said to follow 40 (which we had been on) through Raleigh and Durham I almost lost it--we had left from the airport in Raleigh and almost reached the coast!!!  I was almost near tears at the thought of going back the way we came, then the way that we were supposed to go--and it was already 10 pm.  Since I had told Joshua I would facetime him from the hotel, I called Randy so that he could tell Joshua and so that someone knew where we were.  I used the clerk's phone at the gas station.  So, we turned around, stopped for a diet coke along the way, then as we were getting closer to Winston-Salem realized that we were almost out of gas (gas light was on)--we first tried a station that was closed, then hoped we'd find one that was open around 12:30 at night.  Luck was with us, and we finally found one before running out of gas, late at night, with few cars around, not many lights, and no cell phone in the cold.  We eventually got to the hotel (we were never so happy to reach a hotel!), messaged Randy to let him know we were safe, and went to bed!