Easter Monday: Ring of Kerry

So now that we know we are leaving Ireland, we are trying to come to a good balance between frantically trying to soak up the country in the next three weeks and relaxing and staying calm in the face of moving and trying to get settled again before we have KidZilla.


Since we've seen many things we wanted to already, we don't feel a lot of pressure (from ourselves--other people seem to want to load on lots of pressure. Thanks. Really.) to spend our remaining weekends crisscrossing the country and/or Europe in general. First, my bladder is about the size of a peanut and there is some weird potty rationing going on here. So far I've learned one thing: Centras do not have potties. Statoil stores do. And they are usually remarkably clean. There are not a lot of places to just stop and squat along the side of the road, either. (Yes, I have no problem with that. How about you?)


But enough about Irish potties. . .


Today we set out early and drove west over to Killarney and Kerry to drive the ring of Kerry. As per our typical luck, it was a gorgeous, sunny day all the while we were driving through Cork, but as soon as we crossed the county line into Kerry, it got colder, windy, and overcast. Oh well, at least the weather could be described as "traditional."





So we got through Killarney and started off on the Ring and immediately realized that we were behind a large cycling race. Couldn't get any good shots of the peleton, but here was one guy who got dropped really early.

If you know me and John and that we used to cycle a lot back in the day, you're probably thinking "oh how cute" that we got stuck behind a bike race. Sure it was cute. For the first ten minutes. Then after we were sick of crawling along in the car, we were thrilled for the cyclists to go their separate way.

We were kind of going at a breakneck speed around the Ring of Kerry, which the guide book (liars, all of them) said would take about three hours. Since it's an hour plus each way from Cork to even start, and we were both tired from staying up too late to watch another UKTV documentary (this one about Krakatoa and very well-produced!), and we didn't want to be in the car ALL day. . .we were glad to be on our way. By the way, we did a lot of practicing our "take a picture through the window of a moving car" shots, so many of the pictures are fuzzy, odd, or just didn't come out. But if we stopped at everything that was "cool" or "neat" we never would have gotten back home.

We decided that if you have a week in Ireland, you probably should "do" the Ring of Kerry, although honestly I imagine this place is an absolute nightmare in the summer!!! We only encountered one or two tourist coaches, and those lumbering giants were horrific! I have no clue how they all must fit on the roads when it is crowded. . .Anyway. .. it was scenic as described, for sure.

Here's a shot from one pull-out we stopped at. Nice coastline.

Also in the same turnout was a tourist trap that I HAD to take part of. There was this guy with four baby goats that he was letting tourists hold and take pictures of (donations accepted, of course). This one was a cutie pie and much more accustomed to being held. If you want some good comedy, check out my Shutterfly site in a few hours when I've uploaded the pics of me trying to hold a 4-day old baby goat. Talk about an adorable animal. But squirmy, and neither of us could hold still for a good picture.

Following pic was earlier in the drive. A nice waterfall. The pictures didn't come out terribly well, but I guess you get the idea.

Here's my DH at our obligatory "we just stopped at the turn-out" shot. Do you like his hair? I cut it Saturday. I'm developing some mad haircutting skills! Okay, so, actually, I think he used the clippers as much as I did, but I'm still taking credit. . .

After a few hours, we made our way to Kenmare--cute town for sure--and then headed back to Cork. It was a nice drive, and we were glad that we could tick this tourist trap off our list.

One of the things we liked was that the scenery was not just the pastoral, rolling hills of greengreenGREEN that you assume you will see in Ireland. It is quite rocky and craggy with everything from coast to forest. Certainly interesting!

Oh, and Beccy, I totally thought of you from your comment yesterday. . .we saw a couple on the side of the road and the husband was doing some supportive back-rubbing as his wife dealt with her travel sickness. . . glad I made it okay!

Today has been such a great holiday. Nice that my DH only has a 4-day week. Yippee!! We have a big football game up in Limerick next weekend, so I'll have more adventures to post. And hopefully something of interesting during the week as well.

More to come. . .