Another Glorious Day in Ireland

Sitting in Tralee on my last full day in Ireland, I continue to marvel at the incredible weather. Bright and sunny with temperatures in the upper 50's, rain is forecast for the upcoming week, so I suppose we are coming home at the right time.

After golfing on Thursday, we drove into Ballyheigue and drove up to the house where my father was born. We also stopped at the old cemetery and visited the Hurley family plot. Then we walked along the beach of Ballyheigue Bay at low tide. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. We then went went to my cousin Nora's house and enjoyed an outstanding dinner of lamb, mashed potatoes and "veg". The food was excellent and the company even better. It is always nice to hear about things from a local perspective. We really had a great evening.

Friday we traveled out the Ring of Kerry to Valentia Island, where my cousin Philomena spent part of her childhood. It was a beautiful ride and the views were stunning, though a bit obscured by the haze in the air. There were many sheep and heads of cattle grazing in the fields and the newborn lambs and calves were closely following their mothers. We first stopped in the village of Portmagee and enjoyed coffee and some GREAT baked goods at Skellig Mist Coffee Shop. The pastries were outstanding, as was the brown bread (a loaf of which we bought and had this morning with breakfast). We then drove across the bridge to Valentia Island and visited Fogher Cliffs, Knightstown and the Grotto at the Valentia Slate Quarry.

We then drove back to Tralee and had a nice Italian dinner at Il Pomo Doro. The pizza and pasta dishes we shared were great and reasonably priced and my wife really liked the bruschetta.

Today we spent time shopping in Tralee and Philomena will make us a nice dinner of bacon and cabbage after which we hope to head to Ardfert to watch Nora's grandsons play in 16U Gaelic football match. Then, we will drive the two hours to Shannon and spend the night at the Park Inn Hotel right at the airport.

We have been blessed to have such a great time here---great weather, great hospitality and great sightseeing!