Shanagolden

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We arrived in Shanagolden around 8:30pm on Good Friday, after a long trip from Dublin. We had stopped in the Barrack Obama Plaza for a coffee and to give Grace a bottle. James, Anna (Dave's uncle and aunt) and Gordon settled us in, then we made a new batch of bottles before sitting down to sandwiches and a drink or two.

The next day, we slept until 11 and at that stage we decided to just wait for lunch. After lunch we drove to Ashford, where Donal and Veronica live. They have two dogs; a boxer called Hugo and a small terrier called Chester. We had tea and cake, and Grace got acquainted with Hugo (Chester wasn't allowed near her as he's a bit bitey. Kathy, Dave's cousin, and her boyfriend, Nev, joined us after a while. Then myself, Dave, Grace and Veronica drove to Ashford town and walked up the Cobbs Road towards Mass Rock. Mass Rock is a small place up the mountains where Catholic priests said mass during penal times. People attended mass in hidden places during the penal times because Catholicism was banned. The walk was really enjoyable and the weather stayed on our side. There were beautiful views and landscapes to see. We walked back down to Ashford and then headed back to Shanagolden.

When we got back, Margaret and Brendan had arrived for dinner. We had a chicken casserole and cheesecake, a few drinks and then Margaret and Brendan left for Donal and Veronica's to stay there.

The next day we were heading to Dingle, so we got up, packed and had breakfast. James and Gordon were heading off to a rally for the day so we said our goodbyes. Then Anna took us and Rocco (the dog) over to Gordon's house which is across the road beside the graveyard. It's not finished yet but it looked great. When we got back, Anna cooked us a lovely fry-up before we hit the road to Tralee.

We drove to Tralee, the weather was dry but a bit dull. We had a stroll around and came across Seánóg's; a pub/guesthouse we stayed in years ago. We headed into the pub for a pint and to watch the match. Afterwards, we headed back to the car to continue our journey to lovely Dingle.

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