ROAD TRIP TO KERRY

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Brittany flew in from London to Shannon on Saturday. I had a brief idea of what I might want to do while I had the opportunity to drive around Ireland. I wanted to go to Dingle Peninsula and possibly around Kerry. I was expecting decent weather for the journey considering it has not been to bad here, but unfortunately the Irish weather made up for the unusual mildness with 48 hours plus of pouring, soaking rain. The clouds were low and dark and acted like fog concealing the mountains and coastline we would have otherwise had a crisp, clear view of. At first I was a little disappointed in the constant rain, but sometimes the colors seemed to pop more on a white background and the occasional fog picture in the mountain passages are really mysterious and pretty.

We drove along the Shannon River coast to Dingle on Sunday and along Connor’s Pass to Dingle town and then around the tip of the Peninsula. We saw the Dunbeg Fort and Gallarus Oratory. The rain was pouring down terrible near the Oratory and we managed to snap a few pictures, drenched to the bone before returning to the car to read up on the buildings we were viewing. Especially along the coast was very windy. We drove up out of Dingle and drove to Killorglin. Brittany and I found a B&B in Killorglin along the River’s bridge and stayed there for the night. The rain continued. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant in Killorglin and sat at the pub while the rain fell. In the morning Brittany and I woke up and went to the car. We left for the Kerry Way out through Killorglin. The rain fell even more than the day before and we could not even see the mountains we were surrounded by. At that moment, we made a decision to quit the Kerry Way and go to Killarney and see a few sites since the landscapes were blanketed in clouds and rain again. Around the time we made our way back through Killorglin to the Killarney turnabout, I heard a terrible noise that became worse and worse. I speculated we had a flat tire and my fears were confirmed as we coasted into a parking space on the edge of the town centre. The flat tire and subsequent flat spare, held us up for a couple hours. Ironically it was during those couple hours that the sky cleared up and the sun shown bright and then clouded back over and started raining again. We decided to try Killarney anyway and go through the National Park on a smaller circle than the actual Way. Brittany and I traveled and saw Muckross House and Gardens, Killarney National Park and Ladies’ View. By the time we reached Ladies’ View it became clear the path we had originally chosen would be too ambitious so Brittany suggested following the Gap of Dunloe back up and around to Killarney to make it back to Limerick that evening. We followed that path and it was absolutely beautiful despite the rain. The colors were gorgeous and everything in the landscapes had so much texture it was amazing. The constant rain made water pour off the rocks and create little falls all over the mountain sides. Regardless of the fact we never actually saw the great mountain range with no clouds, what we did see was perfect and worth the bad car trouble. We headed back to Limerick and went to Fennesey’s for a little traditional music session and some relaxation.

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