Two Day Recap

Early post today after missing yesterday. Posting after dinner on Tuesday rather than Wednesday morning.

Monday

Cloudy but dry. A do-nothing day topped off with a grand dinner (no pictures). We walked into town, bought some stuff, and made dinner reservations at the Half Door. The Half Door has always been there, but we had never been. Gráinne gave it high marks and it has just reopened after being closed for almost two years due to Covid. The original owners have retired and it now run by their son and his partner. They are doing it brilliantly! No food pics again – I have to start correcting that.

Tuesday

Bright sunshine, no wind, and almost warm! Where are we? Certainly not Ireland. We did separate walks into town in the early morning, meeting up halfway. I took some phone pictures:

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After some breakfast and showers, we decided to drive up to Conor Pass for some pictures in bright sunshine. It was the calmest I’ve ever seen it at Conor Pass – almost no wind at all whereas often you can lean into the wind and not fall over. We walked further up the mountain above the car park before heading on down the other side toward Castlegregory. We stopped at Brandon Point, Brandon Pier, and Fermoyle Beach (where you can drive right onto the beach, much to Elaine’s terror and chagrin). Brandon was the home base for St. Brendan who, according to local Brandon legend, discovered America long before Columbus, on his voyage to the Island of the Blessed. Back to the Canon G7X for these pics.

After Fermoyle we turned around to go back through Conor Pass for lunch at Sheehy’s Takeaway in Dingle Town – fish and chips of course. A nap in the afternoon for me while Elaine watched her favorite TV series (from the UK) – Four in a Bed. Dinner was at home – barbequed lamb sausages from Kennedy’s Butcher Shop with potato and veg. That was after cocktails, of course. Quite yummy.

I just finished reading a book we took out of the Dingle Library. Written by John O’Conner, it’s called Children of the Shore – Growing Up in Dingle in the 1950’s and 1960’s. That’s when I grew up, of course, albeit not in Dingle. It’s quite interesting. He still lives in the house he grew up in Dingle, one we walk by every day. It turns out his brother, Ignatius, is the estate manager for the housing development we live in on Ard Na Mara. Mianne, you would love the book, especially his scathing description of attending schools run by the Christian Brothers.