Schools Out for Summer... Let's Hit the Road - The Ring of Kerry!

BLINK - Almost an entire year in the books...  time sure seems to be traveling at the speed of light lately.

A whole year of school is behind us.  The girls made lots of friends, thrived in the classroom, learned lots of Irish and even managed to acquire a bit of an accent!  Not to mention grew a few inches.  I swear, they are going to be taller than me before 3rd grade!  

Ms. Helen!  Oh, how Lo adored her!   I asked her on the last day of school if Ms. Helen was having a boy or a girl and she looked at me puzzled. I said, "You know, Ms. Helen is having a baby, right?"   Disgusted she replied, "No she isn't"... Not exactly sure how big the poor lady needs to get before Lo will be convinced there is something growing in there! 

In front of the "pitches"... multipurpose fields that are used for all kinds of sports.

K~e~R~r~Y

With another Bank Holiday on the calendar, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to head out somewhere new for the long weekend.  Seeing that we haven't had the chance to spend much time in Ireland, we opted for our first official road-trip down to the southwest side of Ireland to explore some of the Ring of Kerry.  With the Suzuki packed to the brim, lots of snacks and prayers for minimal bickering and car sickness, we headed out for the 4 hour journey!  All in all, the girls did pretty well, considering they were amped up from the last day of school festivities and all the sugar they consumed.  We got in to the city at dinner time and opted for a quick bite to eat and a good night's rest.  

Even though it is not considered "inappropriate" to let your kids hang out at the bar, we opted not to let them hang out there for too long just yet... Even though we would have liked to after 5 hours in the car together.  

In front of Muckross Lake 

The next day we headed out on our own scaled-down version of the Ring of Kerry. The actual Ring of Kerry is a 179-km-long circular tourist route in south-western Ireland known for it's many scenic views.  

Seeing that we traveled roughly 370 km from Dalkey to Kenmare and wanting at least portions of this trip to be remembered fondly, we figured it would be best not to cram the 4 us of back in the car for a full day of driving.

From our base in Kenmare, we headed north to the town of Killarney for a tour of the Muckross House and Gardens (and Farm). The girls choose this place for our first stop after picking up a brochure at the hotel which featured the "bouncy house" that looked like a barn.   Yes, we drove  4 hours to jump in a bouncy house...  However, the promise of the bouncy house was enough to convince them that they needed to be on their best behavior for the  adult-focused portions of the tour.  

In front of Muckross House

Muckross House is a 65-room mansion designed by the British architect, William Burn, built in 1843 for Henry Arthur and Mary Balfour Herbert.  The gardens were incredible with rhododendrons 30 feet high.  

The girls were able to meander though many little different pathways which always brings out stories about where the fairies live.  Up and down, all around, they couldn't get enough of all the little nooks and crannies they could sneak their way into.  

Racing... always... drives me crazy.  Loralye despises being second and will do anything in her power to win.  Daily we have what feels like hundreds of conversations on why it isn't ok to push people down, just so she can be first.  Obviously, our conversations to date have proven ineffective.   

Massive rhododendrons all throughout the grounds.  

Posing... cracks me up how she asks me to take her picture when she finds a beautiful place.  All the time now, she says "Oh Mom, look how beautiful this is, shall I sit here and you take a picture?"  Of course I will take your picture if you are willing to sit there and smile... I am never too sure when I might get another opportunity!

After making our way through the gardens we headed over to the farm! I couldn't wait to get my hands on some of those little critters!  We have definitely been missing our fuzzy friend Louisa, so these poor animals were in for some TLC, whether they wanted it or not!    

Under the thatched roof cottage. We learned that only the houses which had a working farm were referred to as 'cottages'.  The girls found it funny that the chickens had no problem walking in the cottage and the lady inside would shoo them out! 

Why is the turkey going into the cottage??  

Calling the goat.

Along the walk between the different cottages, we saw two goats standing in the road.  At first, we couldn't tell they were on leashes, but as we got closer, it became evident  they were tied up.  As they stood there nibbling away at the grass and "bAAAAAAing" we couldn't help but pick them some different greens from along the path to sample.  Of course, they thoroughly enjoyed the many variety of plants offered!   And we managed not to touch poison ivy or stinging nettle along the way!  

Even though they were chained-up, the girls were a little leery about getting too close.  I think they got nervous after they saw one of them starting to gobble up my sweater while I was standing there petting him.  I tried to explain they eat everything including your clothes if you let them.  Evidently that was not the right thing to say, because these poor goats practically chocked to death trying to snatch the ferns from the girls who stood just centimeters out of their reach.  

LORALYE: "I don't want him to lick my finger.."
ME:  "Then you should probably give him something bigger than a single blade of grass.  
LORALYE:  "Why?

Each of the little cottages along the path represented the different types/sizes of farms that existed in Ireland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The cottages also had a lady within who explained what life was like during those times.  Of course, to be consistent, our questions focused around the bathroom, or lack there of.  Lots of giggles were had when the lady in explained that the "pot under the bed' was where they went to the bathroom.  After which they proceeded to toss it out the window!  Loralye was in tears!  

Loralye and this little baby goat were competing for who could make the biggest jump between the rocks.  Neither one of them were really equipped for this challenge.  

He was the cutest little thing.  Every time the girls got up onto to a rock or anywhere near him, he would put his head down and try to push them off.   Here he is trying to nudge her while standing on the rock and she is on the ground.  Guess he didn't want her to get any ideas and try to compete for the prized position.  

After both had conqured the rocks, they moved on to the picnic table. Oh, how we all wish we could have taken this little guy home.  The floppy ears and wayward legs moving in all different directions gave us a lot of good laughs.  

The goat would sit in my lap until one of the kids came by, then he would get up and try to push them off/away.  I could have held him for days!   Annelyse wanted to hold him, but I think he saw them as competition.  

MOVE!... move it... move it, move it... 

MOVE.... What part of that don't you understand... I am going to nibble the inside of your leg if you refuse to get off my mountain! 

I WIN!  SUCCESS!!... Now stay down there! 

She beat the goat... queen of the mountain!  Actually, I am just holding him... which means they are both happy! 

And finally, after lots of walking and animal petting we got to jump in the bouncy castle!

After Muckross, we headed northwest for our next stop, Kerry Wollen Mills.  Russ had his heart set on getting some legit Irish wool blankets and discovered this was the place to get them.  It was in the middle of nowhere and there were in fact sheep out front with barns full of wool that looked like it was sheered off the sheep that morning. The highlight of the visit though was meeting, a  sweet Golden Retriever who's name has escaped all of us.  

Obviously the tire around the dogs head begged lots of questions. Poor guy was recently hit by a truck and suffered a hip injury.  This explains the tire which prevents him from getting at the wound.   

After getting some souvenirs that will surly come in handy back in Michigan, we decided to take the VERY scenic route home and headed south through the mountains of Killarney National Park. These roads were super narrow, winding and barely wide enough for a single car to pass though which meant lots of focus and patience were needed on Russ's part.  Several times we had to reverse back to a point where we could pull off so the horses or other cars could pass.  

Don't mind me... I am sticking to my side of the line!  

The girls really loved seeing the Jaunting Cars a.k.a horse and buggies weaving through the mountains.  We also found great fun harassing the sheep and goats on the side of the road. Each and every time we saw a herd close to or in the road, we would all roll down the windows and give them our best MERRRREEEEEE or BAAAAA! The best part is when they would do it back. HILARIOUS!  

Killarney National Park in County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish state in 1932.  The park has since been substantially expanded and encompasses over 25,425 acres of diverse ecology, including the Lakes of Killarney. It has Ireland's only native herd of  red deer (but we didn't see any.)  The park is of high ecological value because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate.  The park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981.   We had the perfect day and anyway you looked, the views were just breathtaking.   The girls enjoyed dipping their toes in the water and skipping stones.  The only thing missing was a picnic with some of the local goats and sheep!  

At one point we even passed a horse, which appeared to have escaped from somewhere.  There he was, just walking down the road, with a saddle but no person.  Not exactly sure what happened, but likely it would be a good story!  Along the route we passed by and through some of the more famous spots along the Ring of Kerry including, Moll's Gap, the Gap of Dunloe.  

These guys were pretty rough looking... not sure how that wool turns out so nice given their knarley, natural appearance. 

The next day we hopped in the car and headed south towards Derrynane a village in Kerry located on the Iveragh peninsula.

It was a lovely day for a drive and the girls enjoyed sticking their heads out the window, letting the wind blow through their hair.  We both were remarkably surprised how well they did with all the driving.  I guess when there is lots to look at and we make lots of pit stops, it isn't so bad to be stuck in the car with us! 

The sign pretty much sums up how narrow the roads are the consequences of not staying on them...

Sitting on the canon! 

Our first stop was Derrynane House, which was the former home of Daniel O'Connell. Daniel O'Connell, was often referred to as The Liberator or The Emancipator.   An Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century, he campaigned for Catholic emancipation, including the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, denied for over 100 years—and repeal of the Act of Union which had combined Great Britain and Ireland.

We toured the house for a whole 15 minutes and then made a bee-line for the beach.  It was quite cloudy/overcast but you get wet at the beach anyway, right?  

Watch out beach... here we come!

So happy to have sand between her toes!

Buddies on the beach

The ground of the Derrynane house also had lots of paths to explore with all kinds of plants and trees.  We found the most "gianormous" leaves we have ever seen in our whole lives here as well.  Collectively, we determined these must have been what the dinosaurs used to eat! 

We couldn't help but continue harassing the sheep... when we saw this heard standing on the side of the road, we pulled over, popped out and tried to get our picture with them.  Surprisingly they were much more skiddish than I thought they would, so we tiptoed to try and get them in the picture.  

I can't believe that front tooth is still hanging on... makes me squirm every time I look at it.  She loves tormenting me with it too of course! 

In the afternoon, we opted to take a boat tour around Kenmare Bay.  It was still quite rainy, so not the best views, but a nice, relaxing ride nonetheless.

We did get to see some seals splashing around which is always good fun.  You know you are spoiled when the seals don't seem like a really big deal, because "we have them at our house!"

  

It appears she enjoyed the boat ride :)

On the way home, we stopped at the Rock of Cashel to break up the trip and do a little history lesson, much to the girls dismay. The Rock of Cashel also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site located in Cashel, County Tipperary. According to local mythology, the Rock of Cashel originated in the Devil's Bit, a mountain 20 miles north of Cashel when St. Patrick banished Satan from a cave, resulting in the Rock's landing in Cashel.  

Lots of Irish Crosses in the yard! 

Waking on Scully's Cross

Scully's Cross, one of the largest and most famous high crosses here, originally constructed in 1867 to commemorate the Scully family, was destroyed in 1976 when lightning struck a metal rod that ran the length of the cross. The remains of the top of the cross now lie at the base of the cross adjacent to the rock wall.

The oldest and tallest of the buildings is the well preserved round tower which stands at 90 feet and dates back to 1100.

No trip would be complete without some treats... These double cones were a HUGE hit!  Annelyse choose raspberry sorbet and cookies and cream however... not exactly the combo I would go for. Loralye on the other hand had chocolate and chocolate... 

A well deserved nap was definitely in the cards after 3 beautiful days on the southwest coast of Ireland!  Sweet dreams my ladies!