the ring of kerry, DINGLE hehe and the creepy cat collection

---

before i start, funny thing: i came home to find most of my family celebrating patty's day without me in ventura ahah with wacky costumes and crazy disguises!!! i am actually going to include those pics cause i think they are SO amazing and absolutely need to be shared!!

now about the weekend (this might get long and boring- i apologize ahead of time): I'm not quite sure what the region was but we stayed in Caherciveen. Funny the ring of kerry is nothing close to a ring, which granted im not that thick or american to think that is what we were going to see, but it is actually a loop of tourist attractions. Apparently, (this is what we were told) people save up their whole lives just to come see the sights we saw this weekend and let me tell you, I believe it. It was so beautiful I can't even kind of give it justice by this blog or the pictures. If you are able to come to Ireland the ring of kerry is definitely a beaut and worth a see! We were on this peninsula which basically meant we could see water in at least one direction the entire time. And because ireland is not obsessed with building like cali seems to be, the view was not obstructed or lessened in any way. It was incredible and i realized that I LOVE water!! I may not be a beach bunny, like the typical cali girl, but i am definitely a water gal. there is just something so amazing about the movement and calmness of the water that I absolutely love and can stare at for hours. I think that is the fault of being on a boat since i was little and being spoiled with those amazing experiences.

anyway we started off leaving mid afternoon on friday and got an amazing view of the first part of the "ring" it was absolutely gorgeous! (pictures are included) and we even passed through dingle, no i did not meet the two old men from "leap year" but i was excited still. we then got in around 6:30pm and settled for a bit. we had an amazing dinner! i feel like we basically just ate the entire time! but ya i had vegetarian pasta cause it was friday and although im not really a catholic anymore (or is it a till death thing?) i still feel a twinge of guilt when i dont observe that particular tradition. it was absolutely amazing, you should be proud dad- i even ate the vege's in it :D after that this gaelic footballer named maurice fitzgerald came and talked to us. he is supposedly not normally a public speaker so it was a big deal that he was there? it was neat, our advisor was way excited and treated him like a movie star, all the americans didn't know who he was AT ALL! but it was still neat and we got pics. after that they had a ceili dance arranged for us. oh man it was a lot of fun!! they brought in a drummer, button accordion player and a guitarist. Oh man it was a little like square dancing where the announcer calls out the steps haha we all had so much fun but we were all really really sweaty by the end. we went straight to bed and slept like rocks till morning.

we started at 8:30 with breakfast then getting on the bus around 9 headed for our first full day. In the morning we went to these cliffs owned by a farmer. Not sure what they were called but i took some pics. oh man was it a hike but it was so beautiful! the weather was absolutely perfect: no fog, no rain, no wind. wow it was like being on top of the world. up around the top we met some sheep that sang for us. hehe they were mighty cute especially the lambs 😊 oh and they actually have sheep crossing signs just like we have deer crossing ones. hehe dont tell me sheep are food- i know. but the way they were just seemed more like they were a part of the land, always destined to be there rather than kept there for our services. oh man, i should just become a vegetarian! -wishful thinking (maybe someday, one vegetable at a time!)

after that we drove and stopped at fantastic photo-moment places ahha which you will see. then we went to the little museum for the skelligs island because boats only run out there starting in april. it was kind of cheesy- even included a film and creepy cats- but it was really neat and i would love to go out there when it is open. There are something like 300 steps that you have to climb, with no rail (ya maybe i wont do it haha) but it was built by monks and it just seems like such a peaceful and amazing place almost outside of time itself. i wish i wasnt scared of heights because i have a feeling that would be a great experience. we then went back for lunch and had the rest of the afternoon off. Kristen and i decided to take a mini nap :D and then explore the city. We walked around for a bit and headed to the marina where we just sat for about an hour. that is when i realized how much i love the water! and how much i really want to go fishing. then we headed back for dinner. after, we had a woman from kerry talk to us about how it has changed and basically how amazing kerry is and her daughter even sang a few songs. after that we had a table quiz in the pub- 8 rounds of 10 random questions for a prize of chocolates or slate coasters. we lost but it was a lot of fun. after that we went to bed cause we were all way too exhausted to do anything! and had to wake up again for bfast at 8:30.

day 3 was really nice we walked to the daniel o'connor memorial church and met the pastor there, just walking around with his bible praying. He talked to a few of us for a good while, it was quite incredible to hear his story of the church and the meaning of it. After that we walked to these stone forts. it was really neat! again in the middle of nowhere there were these unbelievable structures, completely left to visitor's exploration. Can you imagine a place where these amazing places are, one not littered with people and two not collecting entrance fees. I really want to go back to this place and camp, it was just marvelous!! We then went back to the hotel, ate, gathered our things and were off again! this time we went over to daniel o'connor's house. it was really rushed due to our time constraint but it was just one of those surreal experiences again where i was standing there looking out the window and thought, "he stood here, doing what im doing now" the fact that history lives where we walk is just so interesting. a few more photo moments and we were back in cork around 6.

i knew i was going to be missing my christian mass so i asked kasey earlier if she would wait for me to go. so we met up with a friend and went to the 7pm mass at st. peter and pauls. I just dont understand how people can continuously go to that mass and still have faith. kasey tells me that her church back home is a kind of hybrid between the two but man i was just sitting there thinking, is this god? Where people dont hold hands, rush through prayers, walk in walk out and just go through the motions. i guess im not wise enough to see it but i just honestly dont get it and at least for me that is not where i find god. I admire those that do, but for me i guess i just need to be smacked in the face with it. and i have never been able to find that in even the most progressive of catholic churches.

anyway sorry for my mini rant- after that kasey had to go back to work on an essay so my friend showed me this great little cafe that stays open till 4. Can you believe that, 4am! not even the pubs or clubs stay open that late!! i was amazed!! and we will probably end up there again someday soon cause they apparently have banoffee pie ahah. i then came back to buy my ticket for a concert i am going to go see with lara when we go to london!!! it is this amazingly awesome girl named amanda palmer. look her up- you might think im insane but she is so quirky its fantastic!! and lastly for my day- i was supposed to skype with my mom but because of the time change back home (which doesnt happen here) we got our times mixed up and werent able to talk 😞 oh well next time, hopefully i dont have to wait a full week (guilt trip) to talk to my moma <3!

so that is it, and i am now really tired haha.

i love you all so much and wish you all a fantastic mother's day for that is what day it is here (mother's day in march- STRANGE!) To all the special mothers who read this, especially my own, I wish you a fantastic day devoid of stress (itching-haha) and unpleasantness. Talk to you all manana!

---