Congratulations in Flagstaff to Faith and Grace Stehle who are now both graduates on Northern Arizona University! Well done!

First, a couple of leftover pictures from our stop in Harrison’s Bar (including a better shot of the Finck’s overalls ad poster). That’s a young Derek (the owner) with a young Bill Clinton. He also has a picture of himself with Joe Biden from Biden’s last visit.

We had a great breakfast Saturday morning at the Ice House. Full Irish for me – black pudding, white pudding, rashers of bacon, sausages, mushrooms, tomato, and scrambled eggs. Elaine had scrambled eggs on smoked salmon. All good. You know you want some of that pudding!

Then it was off to Donegal and our new house for a week. We took our time, stopping at various points along the way to enjoy the scenery.

First stop was in Inishcrone (or sometimes spelled Enniscrone in English), a popular family vacation spot. As you can tell from the crowd, vacations haven’t started yet.

Next stop was at Easkey Pier which just happens to be the surfing capital of Ireland. The waves weren’t huge today, but there was no shortage of surfers in the water.

A little further on we stopped at another spot where lots of women were going into or coming out of the water. Hearty souls, the Irish. One woman reported the water as “cold but invigorating”.

We had a brief stop at Aughris Point where there was a great pub for lunch, but it was too early. More surfers in the water.

We whisked right through a busy Sligo to get on to County Donegal. We hadn’t planned on stopping at all in Donegal Town, the capital of County Donegal, but we did stop to have lunch at 2:00 pm. We ate at the Harbour Restaurant and Bar. We chose it because it was close to the parking spot we found. They were getting busy to host several confirmation parties, but we managed to get a great fish and chips lunch (with mushy peas). It was perfectly cooked. Elaine had her usual Smithwick’s (full pint, Kris!) and I opted for a Rockport Lager. Guinness and driving long distances don’t mix.

It was close to another hour before we approached Dungloe. Finding our house took some doing. I had the exact coordinates for the house, and Fiona on the GPS (SatNav) found it without fail, but we sure went down some minor roads to get there. House pictures will be forthcoming in a future post. We found the keys, unloaded the car, and then headed into Dungloe, about a six minute drive, to get some groceries. Then we had cocktails sitting outside followed by a small dinner of crackers and cheese. We were still full from the fish and chips.

Finally, here is a bonus lamb picture for Cindy.

The remainder of Thursday after I left off was spent packing, returning library books, dropping off glass recyclables at the recycle bins, and filling up with petrol. I have managed to remember to buy only unleaded gas and not diesel. (One time in France I filled up our diesel car with unleaded gas – the result is decidedly not good!) I said final goodbyes at the Dingle Pub and at Curran’s.

Our last meal Thursday night at the Chart House was excellent. Lamb for me; chicken for Elaine. We said farewells to proprietors Jim and Susan, and told them we would see them at Christmas.

We left bright and early (8:30) Friday morning for Ballina. It was a beautiful sunny day for the whole ride. We made a few stops along the way since we couldn’t check in until 4:00 pm at the Ice House Hotel in Ballina. We stopped for lunch at the Supermax in Tuam (where we had lunched last year). It is sort of an Irish version of a combined MacDonalds and Subway. We both had huge subs (which would be our only meal of the day – they were that big).

ATTENTION MIANNE! Next stop was at an old ruined abbey, the Carmelite Abbey of Ballinasmale or Ballinasmaul(a) in County Mayo. The Abbey was surrounded by an old graveyard. We found two graves side by side, one for a Hanley and the other for a Fallon. See the last two pictures. We thought that was kind of weird.

Carrying on, we next stopped at the Michael Davitt Museum in Straide, County Mayo. We never heard of Michael Davitt, a nineteenth century Irish activist for both home rule and land reform, but we now know almost everything there is to know. We saw a film about his life and had a guided tour by a delightful tour guide of the museum. And we visited his grave. His story is a long and colorful one that we can read about (should you wish) at the two links provided. We were the only visitors at the Museum.

Then it was on the very nice Ice House Hotel in Ballina. We checked in and then took the 35 minute walk downtown to visit Harrison’s Pub where old friend from Boston, Derek Leonard, is the proprietor. We had a pre-arranged visit with him last year. This year we decided to just surprise him. The surprise was, however, on us. He was off to England for a football match for his favorite team, Leeds. It wasn’t all bad news though as we had a delightful couple of house (and beers) with his wife, Eithne, who I had met years ago in Boston. Views from our room of the River Moy and of our walk into town:

It’s Thursday morning as I write this. Normally I post early in the morning with yesterday’s adventures (such as they are). This post is for yesterday and today. Tomorrow is a travel day, and I won’t make a post. So the next post will be either Saturday morning (depending on the wi-fi in our hotel in Ballina) or on Sunday from our new home for a week in Dungloe. We check in there Saturday night.

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We took early morning walks under cloudy and threatening skies, but no rain. Here’s some shots and commentary from along the way

I told you there was a walk of fame at Dick Mack’s Pub. Sort of like the Stars in Hollywood. Dick Mack’s is probably Dingle’s most famous pub. When we first started coming here, you could still buy a pair of boots in the pub. It was very small and very popular with local characters. No food. Since the sons took it over, it has changed drastically. It still has some leather goods, but no one really buys them. The pub inside has expanded and now has a large rear bar. And they have tables outside and serve food. And they brew their own beer which is available at almost all the local pubs on the peninsula. The locals have abandoned it for other venues. It does a large tourist trade. We haven’t been inside in years. But we walk by it every day. Some of the names on the stars you will recognize (Robert Mitchum, Dolly Parton). Others you will not. Tom Crean is the famous Antarctic explorer from nearby Anascual. Christy Moore is a famous Irish folk singer that you may have heard. Páidí Ó Sé (Paddie O’Shea) is a famous Irish footballer. We (and some of you) have been to his pub in Ventry. We met him one time (very drunk – him, not us) in the Dingle Pub. Although he has passed away, the family still runs the pub. You can Google the other names (if you want).

Home for the Aged – do they lock them in?

A barber shop and the Siopa Fin Chúinne (Corner Shop) and the dental practice. The corner store is closing after 29 years there. Sort of sad. It was not 2:30 when I walked by the dental office. (Laugh if you get the joke – Shake your head if you don’t)

Glamping in Dingle? Well, not yet. But someone wants to build eight glamping pods in a field overlooking the harbor. In 10-20 years he MAY get permission. Those workers in the field are not installing glamping pods. Those are ESB (Electricity Board) workers upgrading the local grid. Across the street from the field are two very nice B&B’s. This is all just above from where we live.

Dinner on Wednesday night was lamb sausage with potatoes and veg. Very nice! I love lamb sausages. The bottle on the table contains scrumptious, locally made tomato & apple chutney. Those flowers on the table have lasted three weeks – amazing. Dinner Thursday night, our last night in town, will be at the Chart House (our fourth visit). I will most definitely get rack of West Kerry lamb. With no post tomorrow, there will be no pictures. But the food there has been excessively pictured in previous posts.

I cannot tell you how nice it has been to listen to Irish and local Kerry news and not hear anything about mass shootings in theaters, malls, school, workplaces, dance halls, or at holiday parades. And no chatter about abortion rights – even in an overwhelming Catholic country, it’s legal here – case closed. Biden had a warm welcome here (in County Mayo) when we first arrived. Trump was also here to visit his golf club (in County Clare, I think) and was essentially ignored. Other than them (and us), the other notable visitor to Ireland this month was Bruce Springsteen (no link necessary) who did three sellout concerts at Croke Park in Dublin. Our friend Susan from the Chart House went to the Monday night concert – we’ll hear about it tonight at dinner.

I visited Curran’s for a pint on Wednesday afternoon. The locals in there have a tradition. If a race on the tv racing channel (featuring races from Ireland and the UK) has a scheduled post time of exactly 4:00 pm, then they bet the five horse. (Don’t ask about the logic – that’s just what they do.) There is a bookie shop almost directly across the street. So I joined in today. It would have been a much better story if the horse had won. He went off 9-1 with a good jockey on board, but he was nowhere in sight at the finish line.

Power was put at our house from 9 AM on. Not back on until 6 PM. No big deal. But we mostly stayed home anyway and just did some reading. A real low-key day. We went into town early to buy some bread and deliver our Arizona gift (a Solari bell) to Grainne, our gracious landlady. We have one for her mother as well. And I visited Curran’s later in the afternoon for a pint.

You can see we are powering down in Dingle and getting ready for our sojourn to Donegal which begins on Friday. I loaded some key addresses into my GPS (SatNav). On the way we have to stop at Shannon Airport and re-up our car. They don’t let you rent for more than 30 days at a time. Since we would be going right by Shannon on the way to Donegal, it’s really no inconvenience at all.

Dinner was at Fenton’s Restaurant. This was our only stop there this year. It’s run by yet another fishing family. We started with kir royales. Then I had oysters (of course). Elaine had the vegetable soup. We both had scallops for the main. And we shared a large pavlova for dessert. The wine was a French pinot noir.

After dinner we were off to the Dingle Pub for our last chance to see Richie O’Brien and Dreams of Freedom. We usually stay for an hour or so. Good music. David Geaney danced. Other people danced. (We did not!) But we hung in and closed the place. It was fun. And the crowd was lively and enjoying itself. It was especially nice because, while busy enough, the bar wasn’t jammed pack full. Here are some videos of the action including Richie singing Sean South, one of my favorite Irish rebel songs.

So it was midnight before we got home. It’s been a long time since we were out that late. Bed never looked so good.

Monday was a dull rainy day although we saw the sun late. I am posting this early Tuesday morning, and it will be very brief. We lose power for the day in an hour as ESB continues upgrading the local grid. Elaine did some shopping yesterday for Irish items that she wants to take home. Meanwhile, I had a pint or two. Dinner was at Out of the Blue. Elaine had fish chowder while I slurped down some oysters. Then we both had delicious chargrilled sea bass. Lemon posset for me for dessert; pear tart for Elaine. No picture of the mains – i forgot.

All good as usual. That’s about it. Dinner out again on Tuesday. More on that tomorrow.

Very Irish weather. Very windy. Lots of rain. A stay at home day mostly. The rain let up a bit around lunch, so we ventured to Ventry (play on words!) for lunch at Quinn’s Pub. Funny story about Quinn’s. Many years ago we stayed in Ventry in a rented house for four weeks. We invited Bill & Mianne over to stay for a week with us. They had friends, who we had never met, staying in Dingle for a month (or more). Anyway, well before Bill and Mianne arrived in Dingle, we stopped in Quinn’s Pub for a pint. As I was at the bar ordering, an American couple came in, and I struck up a conversation. “Where are you guys from?”, I asked. “Massachusetts”, they responded. “Where”? “Scituate”. So I asked, “do you happen to know Bill and Mianne from Scituate?” They looked stunned. “Yes, we know them and they going to have lunch with us here in a couple of weeks.” So, by pure circumstance, we met Paul and Joan Green well before Bill and Mianne had a chance to introduce us. We all later had lunch together in Ballyferriter. And, in future years, we met up again with Paul and Joan for drinks as they often were here at the same time we were.

Anyway, lunch today was good. Guinness for me; Beal Ban IPA (local brew from the West Kerry brewery at Bric’s Pub) for Elaine. We split a scallop starter that might have been the best scallops EVER. Elaine had a chicken sandwich with chips and I had lamb stew with mashed for our mains. It was all delicious. You can barely see Ventry Beach in the background in the last picture. The weather only got worse from this point forward on Sunday.

I did venture out later for a pint at Curren’s, but otherwise we hunkered down at home for the rest of the day and night. Not much else to say about the day.

The Republic of Ireland vs. Northern Ireland

The Republic of Ireland (26 counties) is completely independent from the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland, made up of six counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Derry/Londonderry and Tyrone) remains part of the United Kingdom. The name Northern Ireland is a bit of a misnomer. It should rather be called Northeast Ireland. The northernmost point on the island (Malin Head) is in County Donegal which is part of the Republic of Ireland.

Now, since Brexit, Northern Ireland (part of the UK) remains, oddly enough, in the European Union Customs Zone but is not part the European Union (EU) itself. That was done as part of Brexit to prevent the establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic (which remains a full member of the EU). This fact causes no end of problems between the UK and the EU and between the UK and Northern Ireland.

Will Northern Ireland ever be reunited with the rest of Ireland in the Republic? Of this, I have no doubt, although it may not be within my lifetime. The six counties were once predominantly Protestant and Unionist. That’s no longer true. Catholics (better breeders) now outnumber Protestants. And the majority (but not absolute majority) political party in Northern Ireland is now Sinn Fein (fully pro-Republic and nationalist). Since Brexit, however, the DUP (the main Unionist Party) has refused to participate in government. The devolved Northern Irish Parliament (at Stormont) is, therefore, at a standstill at the moment. The civil service continues function as normal. It’s all a mess really.

A little more history will be in another post . . . maybe.

Coronation Day: We watched the Coronation (should that be capitalized?) of King Charles. The Brits know how to do ceremony. God Save The King! (Sorry, Mianne. Bloody monarchy!)

Kentucky Derby Day: Didn’t I used to do that? Well, about 40 times, but this year not only did I not go again, but I transferred the tickets to my friend Edward in Louisville who shared them with me. So, 15-1 winner who was still eligible for non-winners of two races. I never would have picked him. I’m glad for Javier Castellano though.

Darkness into Light Day: In Ireland, anyway. “Join us for the most important sunrise of the year and help raise much needed funds for suicide prevention.” In Dingle, the walk started (like most places) at 4:15 am. No thank you.

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We skipped our morning walks altogether to avoid running across dead bodies from the Darkness into Light walk. But it was (mostly) a beautiful sunny day. So after watching King Charles get the crown, we headed out for our favorite walk along the cliffs at Clogher Strand.

On the way I stopped briefly at the overlook to the Dingle Beaches (one of my most favorite views). You’ve already seen the view, but the surf action was at its best. Not so much crashing waves, but colorful none the less.

The walk is a loop walk – going out along the cliff and then back via a dusty, boring farm track and the busy main road. We do halfway out and then back the same way. Always a good view that way. We had nice sun on the way out, but it had become mostly cloudy on the way back, so the pictures are almost all on the way out.

First are two pictures from the cliff of the Great Blasket Island. As you can see, it’s hazy, but I like the effect.

Here are the rest of the pictures (a lot) from the walk. Spot the happy face. Spot the wild flowers. Spot me in my new blue Irish cap (No, it’s not the happy face I mentioned). Spot more views of the Great Blasket. Spot views of the Three Sisters Mountains. Spot the other odd walker on the trail. Spot contemplative Elaine. Is this the most picturesque walk in the world? It could well be.

After the walk I needed a nap, so it was back home. I’m grilling a steak tonight, so I think we are in for the day. It could be that rare Guinness-free day for me. No worries, there will be cocktails and wine with dinner.

And there was. With a nice cheese platter. We sat outside in the sunshine for awhile. My steak was, as usual, deliciously barbequed by moi. Yum. Elaine had BBQ pork sausages. Tomorrow night it will be lamb sausages again. We have three more restaurant reservations before we pack out for the road trip to Donegal this coming Friday..

The weather God rewarded us on Friday. When we awoke, it was very foggy, but it soon cleared off. It was cloudy for our walks. I didn’t take a camera.

The girls were coming in at 10:30 for linen change and clean-up, so we headed out. We decided, for no particular reason, to drive to Killarney, where we spent a pleasant few hours. As we got near Killarney, the skies cleared, and it was nice and sunny for the remainder of the day. We walked around a bit and visited some shops. No purchases. We saw a funeral go by. And we saw the mural commemorating Monseigneur Hugh O’Flaherty, of whom I had never heard. The link tells his interesting story. The distance shot of another church is of the Catholic Church (which is also St. Mary’s). Barber shop picture for Bob. By the way, Turkish barber shops seems all the rage here although this one wasn’t one. The Danny Mann Pub is still going strong. Elaine and I drank in there probably 20+ years ago. One of my favorite Irish music CDs is Spailpin – Live at the Danny Mann. Spailpin often played at the Dingle Pub in the early 2000’s.

St Mary’s (Church of Ireland) is very pretty. Elaine lit candles there. We were alone in the church save for one woman in the front pew texting (or something) on her cell phone.

We had lunch at the Laurels Pub. Quite good. I had a pint of Harp Lager just as a change of pace from my usual Guinness. Elaine had a Smithwick’s, her beer of choice this trip. She had an open faced salmon sandwich; I had the Shepard’s Pie.

On the way home we stopped briefly in Castlemaine, the home of the Wild Colonial Boy. You’ve heard the song. I took a snap or two of his statue. And we took the high road over the mountain rather than the main road.

Back in Dingle we stopped in Curran’s for a pint and were rewarded with a surprise afternoon music session. That rarely happens. There are a couple of recordings below. You can hear the background pub noise, but the music is good.

Dinner was at Ashe’s, our second visit. As you can see, I too have an evil eye. I had Gambas Pil-Pil for an appetizer; Elaine had the crab claw special. There are pictures of those. We both had the fish special, John Dory, but I forgot the pictures.

After dinner we stopped by both the Dingle Pub and O’Flaherty’s. They were both crowded but not jammed and we enjoyed a little music before retiring to bed for the night.

Our 21st day in Dingle and the first one when it rained pretty much all day. No morning walks. Basically we stayed in. Reading, tv, naps, lunch, etc. We did go out to the library to return some books and get new ones. And we did some grocery shopping at SuperValu. There literally isn’t anything else to report.

Dinner too was at home. Pies with carrots and peas. Wine, of course. My pie was steak and kidney; Elaine’s was chicken.

Reflecting on Dingle visits past:

I can’t remember for sure how many times we’ve been to Dingle. Thinking back, the first time we stayed for a couple of nights while on a two-three driving tour of Ireland. That was probably in 1998 or 1999. We stayed at Greenmount House which is still the premier B&B in Dingle. In 2000 after I retired we spent six weeks here at Conor Pass Cottage. Doc & Lena visited for a week as did Ed & Phyllis Wrenn and Bob & Tob Messina. We stayed again at Greenmount House for a few days but ended in a house that they own due to a mix-up in reservations. That house was on Radharc na Mara, not far from where we stay now. And we rented that house again for a ten-day stay another trip. And we rented and a house just a few doors from where we are now for another 10-14 day stay. The house next door has a teenager who played the drums, seemingly deciding to practice whenever I decided to take a nap. And we stayed for four weeks in Ventry, the next town est from Dingle. On that trip Bill & Mianne visited for a week as did Ann & Russ. Ann bought out Mulcahy’s Pottery Store. (We revisited there a few days ago – they have restocked and are looking forward to Ann’s return.) Then we discovered Grainne and her mother Marion. We stayed several times at Water’s Edge house including two times at Christmas and New Year’s. And we stayed at #23 Ard Na Mara our last few trips, Bob & Barbara visited us there. And now we staying at #18 Ard Na Mara. Elaine likes #23 better; I like #18 for the view.

We walked in the morning. No pictures.

Someone asked for lamb pictures and I never did any. Calving season is pretty much over, and there are baby lambs everywhere. Here are a couple of shots from the field just behind our back yard with our resident baby black lamb.

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We did a few errands in the morning and then had lunch at home. After that we headed to Inch Beach, about a thirty minute ride. It’s named Inch but it’s 5.5 km long. We walked a good stretch of it. I took a selfie during our walk. And you can see my footprints in another picture (if you look closely). It was cloudy, but the light was interesting. The pictures almost felt like twilight, but it was really early afternoon. The yellow lifeguard station (deserted at this time of year) is at the start of the walk. You can see how far we walked by the picture that looks back towards that lifeguard station in picture 10 of 15. Look really closely.

Back in Dingle we had pints in the Dingle Pub before going back to the house.

Dinner was visit #3 to the Chart House. The kir royales were on the house compliments of owner Jim McCarthy. I somehow resisted getting lamb yet again. Since was a chilly very windy day, we both had Seafood Chowder. I have Kerry Beef Filet. Elaine had baked hake. We shared ice cream with chocolate mint sauce for dessert. he win was our Chart House standard, Tinpot Hut pinot noir from New Zealand.

We went back to the Dingle Pub after dinner but it was chock-a-block full and we decided to give it a miss. We had a quiet drink at almost empty O’Flaherty’s – no music.

Odd pictures. The white flowers are calla lilies.