MIA?

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For those who have emailed Elaine worrying about me and the lack of blog postings, I am touched. I am a bad person for not posting! I was sick for the first few days here and just wasn’t up for posting, and I’m afraid I got in the habit of sleeping later than normal and not posting. Sorry for that!

All is well. The weather has been good. The gambling has not been as good. One has good years and bad years. My friend Bob from Boston visited and stayed with me for three days and two nights. I had dinner two nights with Misty and Patty. I have seen tons of old Saratoga and Boston friends who come to Saratoga: Lino and John (Mike) and their friends from Marshfield; Captain Mike from the Cape; John from North Adams; Joe from Poughkeepsie; Ed the pharmacist, Ron (without Pam), and Geoff and Gillian (with kids Savannah & Skylar) from Connecticut; Mut from WEEI; Zach from wherever; Michael and Nicole from NYC; Rich and Lucy & Anthony and Rose from close by Saratoga; Carole from Ballston Lake; Neil, the track mailman, and Bill from Saratoga; Red, Patrick, and Adam who now lease and run King’s Tavern, Bob Lee who owns the Wishing Well, and more whose names are escaping me as I write this. It was great seeing everyone!

Thanks for your good thoughts and sorry about the lack of postings and pictures. I promise to do better from Depoe Bay in Oregon in late September. I leave here tomorrow and fly home from Boston early Tuesday mornings.

Cheers!

  • Little Boy Blue, My Car
  • That’s My Room Up There
  • Old Friends
  • At The Museum of Racing
  • The Office
  • Nice Seat & Cold Beer
  • Great View of the Races

Addendum

This morning I took some pictures while I was at the track reserving my office space. (Click on the gallery below to bring up a scrollable window with full size pictures – the gallery preview show just thumbnails of the pictures.)

  • The Line Waiting to Get In
  • She Just Died – RIP
  • The Old Clubhouse Tote Board
  • Jockey Scale & the Saddling Bell
  • The Track
  • Workouts
  • The Brand New 1863 Club ($$$$)
  • Trainers & Clockers Watching Workouts
  • Saratoga Clubhouse
  • The Iconic Grandtstand Roof
  • Old Saratoga
  • The Jockey Silks Room

Blah

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Thursday forecast: zero chance of rain. As the fourth went off we had drenching sideways rain complete with thunder that lasted an hour. The rest of the card was cancelled. I got soaked to the bone.

Friday was nice again but I woke up with a vicious head cold. I lasted at the track for four races and then went back to the hotel to bed.

Saturday: weather good again. I feel marginally better. I’ll go the track for awhile.

Blog is now suspended until Monday while I am in recovery mode.

Sorry, no pictures.

Saratoga!

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I am at Saratoga for my annual two-week horse racing overload. On Tuesday I flew American Airline to Boston (about 30 minutes late), picked up my Alamo Nissan Rogue (its blue and named Little Boy), and drove on to Saratoga (3 hours). Checked in at the Marriott Residence Inn and went to bed at about midnight.

Wednesday was beautiful weather-wise and the forecast looks good through the weekend. First day at the track was pleasant but winners eluded me. Hate to start the meet on an 0-fer, but things happen. I sat with the Plummers, Geoff & Gillian, and their two young daughters. They are old friends from Connecticut. I had a couple at King’s Tavern after the races and then went home to an early bed. Still recovering from the tough commute.

No cameras this trip, so pictures will be fewer and taken on the phone.

  • Little Boy Blue
  • That’s My Room at Top

Home Again

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A little late, but just reporting that we are safely home once again. The Saturday drive from Bangor to Heathrow was mostly in rain. For the last hour the sun was out. We said a fond farewell to Winnie who performed admirably for the whole trip. She was returned without a scratch on her. Then we retired to the Heathrow Marriott for the night where we had a pleasant but unspectacular meal.

The Sunday flight to Las Vegas in Premium Economy on Virgin Atlantic was smooth. There were some rowdy Brits in economy that acted up, especially one young couple who did a lot of yelling and screaming. When we landed in Las Vegas, deplaning was delayed for five minutes while the Las Vegas Police came on board and arrested the couple. Their holiday in Vegas will not go as planned. It’s quite possible they were denied entry into the US and also quite possible they would be re-arrested when they returned to the UK.

We picked up our rental car that we would would drop off in Scottsdale on Monday – a Kia Sorrento SUV. Dinner was at Outback Steak House near the Marriott Residence Inn.

We left Las Vegas at 6:30 AM, stopped at McDonald’s in Boulder City for breakfast, and were home before noon.

Next up: Elaine visits her brother in Texas in July; I go to Saratoga for two weeks in July; and we both will drive to Depoe Bay for two weeks in late September.

An Interesting Friday

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A couple of people asked about my camera. I used to lug around a big SLR with lenses. No more. Too much trouble. But a camera phone just isn’t my cup of tea. So I now use a Canon G7X Mark II. No interchangeable lenses, but the camera is very versatile. It replaced a Canon G16 which I wore out. Had I not recovered this one, I would have bought another G7X. The links describe them better than I could.

The weather was nice in Dublin on Friday morning and our ferry wasn’t until 2:00 PM. So we decided to visit a cemetery – Glasnevin Cemetery. It is the burial place of many Irish notables including the Liberator, Daniel O’Connell, Brendan Behan, Éamon de Valera, and my favorite Irish vocalist, Luke Kelly. The museum was interesting, and we climbed the 198 steps to the top of the recently reopened O’Connell Tower.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

  • O’Connell Tower
  • Me Photographing Realtive?
  • From Top of O’Connell Tower
  • O’Connell’s Tomb
  • Big Tree, Little Guy
  • Quite a Tree
  • 198 Steps to Top

The 3½ ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead started in sunshine and ended in rain. It rained the rest of the evening. We drove 30 miles from Holyhead to Bangor where we stayed at the lovely Management Centre, a part of Bangor University. We ate in their restaurant which was excellent. The view from our room and from the restaurant was delightful despite the bad weather. If you are ever in Bangor, Wales, stay here!

Saturday morning we drive on to Heathrow (5 hours) for Sunday’s flight to Las Vegas.

Dublin (and a Surprise!)

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The drive to Dublin was uneventful through alternating sunshine and showers. We made the usual stop in Moneygall at Barack Obama Plaza on the highway. Obama’s maternal great-great-great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, was born in Moneygall. He visited the town back in 2011, a big event for a small town in County Offaly. We had sandwiches and got back on the road. We arrived in Dublin at about 3:00 and checked into the Croke Park Hotel (where we have stayed before). The hotel is right across the street from Croke Park where the All-Ireland Irish Football and Hurling championships are held each year. Dinner was at the hotel.

But there was a big pleasant surprise before we left Dingle. As I was loading up the luggage for the trip, I reached deeply into the center console in Winnie’s front seat. EGADS! What was in there but MY CAMERA! I felt stupid for losing it and now even stupider for not having known it was there all the time. Stupider but happier.

We had dinner at the hotel. And then we had a good night’s sleep. The ferry tomorrow isn’t until 2:00 PM so maybe we will do som,ething in the morning.

Cheers for now.

Winding Down

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Tuesday and Wednesday were our last two full days in Dingle. Not a lot to say about either day. Tuesday was dreary and rainy. Wednesday was mostly sunny but very cool.

On Tuesday we did pretty much nothing except have lunch at Sheehy’s Anchor Down Restaurant. Elaine did get her second hair cut from Marion’s Hair Studio. Dinner was at home -I barbecued sausages from Mr Kennedy’s Butcher Shop. They were served with potatoes and peas. After dinner we stopped at the Dingle Pub to say goodbye to Richie O’Brien of Dreams of Freedom. (You can buy their latest album, Live from the Dingle Pub, here.) Then we went for our last stop at O’Flaherty’s for some music and drink and craic. We chatted with a couple from Michigan and a couple from Rhode Island.

Wednesday was another quiet day. We walked into town together and then went our separate ways. Elaine dropped off our library books and did a little shopping for items she wanted. I just walked around a bit and said goodbye to a couple of merchants that we know. We had leftovers for lunch at home – the fridge is almost empty. In the afternoon we went into the Dingle Pub to say our goodbyes to Tom, Suzy, and David.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

  • Elaine and Winnie
  • The Dingle Aquarium
  • Dingle Marina
  • Fishing Boat Repairs
  • Dingle Harbour
  • Dolphin Watch Leaving
  • Blasket Island Boat Readies

Our last dinner in Dingle was at our favorite restaurant, the Chart House.

  • The Chart House
  • Kir Royales to Start
  • We Both Had Arancini Starters
  • Rack of Lamb for Me
  • Hake for Elaine
  • Delicious Mousse
  • Apple Creme Brulee
  • Dingle Whiskey After Dinner

Tomorrow morning, Thursday, will be the start of the journey home. The plan:

Maybe there will be posts along the way. It was a grand trip. I am always sad leaving Dingle, but there is Saratoga (for me), Dallas (for Elaine to visit her brother), and Depoe Bay (for both us at the end of September) to look forward to..

A random last pic from Elaine:

Bank Holiday Monday

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Typical Irish weather day – cloudy, occasional rain, and brief periods of sunshine. There was lashing rain early in the morning just before we got up. It’s an Irish bank holiday. We spent a very quiet day in town. We took our separate walks in the morning. Lunch was at home. In the afternoon we went to Neligan’s and then on to the Dingle Pub for pints. While in the pubs, we watched the final game of Irish football tournament that we attended on Saturday. A local team, An Ghaeltacht, from just west of Dingle on the Peninsula, won the match on a thrilling last minute scoring kick with just seconds left in the first overtime.

We had our next to last dinner out at Out of the Blue. If you like fish, this restaurant is superb. I had warm mackerel and salad as a starter and delicious pan fried haddock (skin on) and gambas (shrimp) for my main. Elaine had smoked and honey cured salmon as her starter followed by a monkfish kebab with mushroom duxelles. for her main. For dessert I had decadent dark chocolate cake and Elaine enjoyed passion fruit panna cotta. The wine was a Weingut Geil Pinot Noir from Germany.

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

After dinner we went back the Dingle Pub for some music. After a frenetic weekend in Dingle because all the bank holiday related activities, the scene returned to normalcy on Monday night as visitors headed home.

Two more full days in Dingle before we set out on the long (but enjoyable) trek home via Dublin, Bangor (Wales), Heathrow, and Las Vegas.

Horse Racing Sunday

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Not much to say on a very windy, blustery, rainy Sunday with the odd periods of sun shining through. We drove to Listowel for the day for horse racing at a top tier Irish track. The Listowel Races run just twice a year – two days in June and then a week long festival in September., Today was Ladies Day with prizes for the best dressed ladies. With the weather being what it was, one might have expected few entrants. But the Irish woman shrugged off wind and rain and coolness, and there were plenty of nattily attired entrants about. And most of them would have looked very good at the Kentucky Derby. There are pictures of the winner and lots of entrants on the Listowel Facebook Page.

We got to Listowel at about 11:45 and decided to have lunch in town before venturing to the track. We ate at the Horseshoe Bar on Main Street, a venue we have been to before. Elaine had a chicken wrap with chips and I had the special steak burger with chips. Good food.

The day at the races was uneventful. Good races. A beer at the bar. And no winners. Gambling wise, it has been an unsuccessful trip. Thank goodness there wasn’t much gambling. (We never even made a bet when we were in Las Vegas on the first day of the trip.)

Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures

Gallery One

  • In the Bar before the Crowds
  • The Paddock Walking Ring
  • The Walking Ring from Above
  • Sun Shines on the Bookies

Gallery Two

  • Candidates for Best Dressed

Gallery Three

  • The Track
  • The Ring Again
  • Bundled for the Elements

It was home again well in time for dinner at the house. We are emptying the fridge for our Thursday departure, so we just had crackers, cheese (from the Little Cheese Shop), and smoked salmon paté (from the fish market).

Football Saturday

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It’s a long weekend in Dingle because Monday is a bank holiday (national holiday). And Dingle is hopping because of two events. There is the Páidí Ó Sé Irish Football Festival going on with amateur teams from all over Ireland competing in the one-and-you’re-out tournament. Irish football is a great sport, sort of a combination of rugby, soccer, and American football. Páidí Ó Sé is County Kerry’s football legend. And then on Sunday there is the charity Dingle Way Challenge where people walk across from Ballyferriter to Dingle to Anascual and across Conor Pass to earn money for charity.

On Friday we did separate walks into town in the morning. We met up half way and then both continued singly on our preferred routes. I stopped at My Boy Blue for a sinful breakfast.

  • Flowers in our Yard
  • B&B’s at the Top of the Hill
  • A Wall Along the Way
  • Hot Chocolate & Carrot Cake
  • Walking by O’Flaherty’s
  • Horses in Town
  • Again

After we both got home we set out in drizzly weather to Gallaras just outside town to watch some Irish football. Despite the rain, it was great fun. We watched the second half of one game at the first field and then the second half of another game at the second field.

Elaine’s Video of the Game

After lunch at home and an nap we drove into town to try a new pub once again. This time it was O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub, famous for its nightly music sessions.. We parked and passed some rowdy and drunk football players in the street. The Courthouse Pub was quiet as a church when we arrived and ordered our pints. One guy came in and we struck up a conversation. It turns out he was a player in one of the games we watched earlier in the day. Small world. We had a great time with him and also met some of his teammates as they started coming in. They weren’t drunk . . . . . yet.

  • Three Footballers

For dinner we returned to Land to Sea where we had eaten back in our first week. We had the tasting menu with a nice bottle of Pinot Noir, and it was grand.

After dinner we stopped into the Dingle Pub for one. With the football tournament going on, there was security on both doors. The bar was filled with rowdies and for the first time ever I saw a young girl, drunk as a skunk, ejected by security. Numerous warnings were issued to people. Our least favorite band was playing and we left after one to walk back to the car in heavy rain.

Tomorrow (Sunday), depending on the weather, we will probably drive to Listowel for the horse races.