Day 302, Time to fly home

With a 4:15am wake up call it was time to head to the airport. We were all flying out of Shannon airport to Manchester England. We were delayed in getting parked and our 90 minute connection was reduced to 50 minutes. We had to collect our bags at the baggage claim and recheck-in at the Delta counter. The Aer Lingus people sent us to terminal 3 which was wrong and Allie and I had to walk to terminal 2 and quickly. There were no wheelchairs a available so we walked the mile long trek to the terminal. It was a bit too much for Allie but she kept up. When we got to Delta there were very apologetic and got us a wheelchair. We were extremely late and they rushed us through customs and onto the plane.

Flying home and still smiling

They had already called the final boarding call by the time got there. The flight was full and would take 8 hours to get us to Atlanta. The flight was smooth and the showed 4 movies! And served 2 meals.

We departed for Portland at 4:30pm and arrived 5 hours later at 7:30pm. Delta had a wheelchair waiting for Allie and walked with her up the check point and handed her off to her son-in-law mark. It has need a long day and I'm sure Allie was glad to be home after a trip of a life time.

With Allie and Mark safely on their way home I headed to my last gate and my final leg home. I should be home by 10pm 24 hours after leaving Shannon, Ireland.

It has been one amazing trip and I would turn around immediately and do it all over again.

Day 301, Dromoland Castle

Dromoland Castle, our last night in Ireland

Our driver arrived at 9am and we were off to Dromoland Castle and our last day in Ireland. We took a leisurely drive south stopping at Galloway and Gort.

Arriving at Dromoland was again another impressive arrival with a spectacular setting, champion golf course and of course a magical castle. The grounds of all the castle have been amazing and I can't help but want to go home and redesign my landscaping.

Day 300, Kylemore Abby and Ashford Castle

Kylemore Abby

Today we are going to see Kylemore Abby, which was one of the things that I absolutely wanted to see when we started planing this trip over a year ago. The Abby is breathtaking and the sad history makes you appreciate life just a little bit more. Built in 1867 by Mitchel Henery to show his love for his wife Margaret, she would never see the house finished as she died while on holiday in Ciro. Mr. Henry brought her back to the castle and built her a gothic church and laid her to rest near by. The property was sold to nuns who operated an all girls school until just last year. The Abby was worth the trip alone.

Our drive through the countryside was beyond words with scenery that is so beautiful and a landscape dotted with some of the most amazing history and countless ruins. We stopped of at the remains of several churches and I was clicking snapshots as fast as my camera would let me.

Ashford Castle

On our drive to Ashford Castle we stopped at a small picturesque village and there was a wedding taking place at the 16th century church. We pulled over to walk around and there waiting to take the newlyweds away was a 1937 Packard Standard 8. I was so shocked to see a Packard in Ireland. We stopped and our driver said is that a Packard? The owner of the car was happy to meet me, another Packard owner. He said he has the only Packard in Ireland, the car was fully restored and in stunning condition.

After talking Packard's and exploring the small village we were off to Ashford.

Ashford Castle is one of the Grand-dads of all Castles. The size and grandeur is what fairytales are made of. The first stones were laid in 1228 and several expansions took place over the next 800 years. The grounds around the property and along the lake shore, wind through the 150 year old gardens and forest.

Ireland is a very special place and has grabbed a hold of me. I cant believe that there is only one more day left of my holiday, but I definitely know I will be back. This trip has exceeded all my expectations and I could stay forever.

Day 299, 65 more days until I've owned my trailer a year.

Here it is day 300 since I bought my 1950 Traveleze trailer and I'm about as far from it as possible. I have really been enjoying my "holiday" but have been thinking about the trailer. Surprisingly I have seen numerous tailers and today one that was very vintage and looked like a 1950's canned ham. I wanted to tell the driver to pull over, but I was afraid he and my traveling companions would think I was nuts.

The lost city

Anyway, today we drove out to a village that was abandoned during the famine. There were 30 or 40 homes closely nestled together, high on a hillside, now abandoned with just the stone walls remaining. It was fascinating to walk among the ruins and wonder what life must have been like.

We stopped at several small towns both going and coming from the unnamed abandoned town and the scenery was breathtaking. We were driving high above the ocean on one lane cliff roads across the country side past peaty bogs, around castles and Abby's and into lush forests.

Great Irish music

Back at Ballynahinch Castle, we went for a walk around the estate and along the river. We stumbled onto the old Ballynahinch rail road depot that is now a private home(awesome). The railway is now gone, but the route is trail that winds through the countryside.

At 8:30pm our driver(Tige), came to take us into Clifden for dinner and some true Irish pub music. The pub was packed, but he managed to get us a table front and center. With a plate of fresh Atlantic fish and chips, a pint of Guinness and some live local talent, I couldn't help but feel Irish.

Day 298, Friday and a drive through the country.

The Irish country side

Today we driving out into the country across an area they call the Burn, where there topsoil is gone and just rock remains. It is said that glaciers once covered the area with ice a mile thick, scraping off the soil and depositing large boulders on top of the flat rocky surface.

The days travel took us once again past numerous castles and ruins and we stopped at several in order to explore them a little closer. There is something about a ruin that makes me want to restore it. I can't help but wonder what it looked liked when it was being used and who was using it.

Ballynahinch Castle

Our destination for the night is Ballynahinch Castle. This amazing castle has an interesting history including having been owned by a Maharaja. Built in the late 1700's, extensively remodeled in 1813 and several more times throughout it's history. The castle sits on a river in a lush forest and has long been known as a hunting and fishing destination.

Day 297, Thursday the Cliffs of Moher

This was an exciting day, the sun was shining and we adventures to the Cliffs of Moher.

Ferry across the river Shannon

Our travels took us past dozens of ruined castles, homes and Abby's. We took the ferry across the river Shannon, which was a bit exciting as the winds had began to blow with gale force. The river was covered with white caps and the waves buffeted the boat sending sprays of see water over the cars and ferry. When got to the other side they were preparing to add more life boats to the ferry!

Cliffs of Moher

We arrives at the Cliffs of Moher and this would have been exciting on a normal day, but today the winds were approaching 60 to 70 mph. Trying to climb up the hill was a challenge even for my 215 lbs. Once at the top I had to hold onto my hat, but it blew off anyway and over the wall. There was no way I was going over the wall to get it - it was far too windy and I could be blown over the 1,000 foot cliff. The view was incredible and a true highlight of the trip. It was breathtaking and O'Brians tower just your mind a wondering of what life must have been like hundreds of years ago.

Moy House

Tonight we are staying at the Moy House, a spectacular renovated palatial 200 year old home that sits right on the Atlantic. It's an amazing property and once again began to explore climbing up in the tower and walking the beach.

For dinner our driver picked us up at 8:30pm to take us into a small town to a locals Pub where his friends were going to be playing. We got there about 9pm and found a table and within minutes the place was packed, we had got there just in time. We shared our our table with two German couples who had wondered in and the place was packed. I had to have a pint of Guinness to make the experience perfect. Our driver even tried to hook me up with a beautiful girl named Francesca from North of Rome who was on holiday with her friend.

It was a great day and it was now 11pm and time to head back to the Moy House. There was still light in the night sky but it would be dark soon and it was time for bed.

Day 296, The Ring of Kerry

With another great day a head of us we set out to cover the ring of Kerry. This peninsula is much like the ring of Dingle, but perhaps a bit more populated. The tour buses were out in force, but with small van we were able to get in and out a lot faster and avoid most of them.

Muchross Manor

The high lights of the day were St Mary's Cathedral here in Killarney, the drive throughout the county, whatching sheep get rounded up, standing in the Atlantic and the Muchross Manor. We drove by many ruins of castles, abby's and famin houses, of which I could spends months exploring each one. Learning the history of Ireland and the upheaval that they have endured is amazing. I could easily spend years studying their history and never get enough.

We covered a lot of ground and returned to the hotel around 6pm. It's amazing how tired you get riding around a car. I had just enough time to lay down for a few minutes before going to dinner at 7pm. This is our last night in Killarney before heading off to our next destination of Lehinch and the Cliffs of Moher.

One interesting observation was that there are vintage trailers in Ireland too. Several times I saw trailers tucked behind old stone buildings and I wondered what they were like. The other observation of course is the lack of pickups and I wondered what most people would pull a trailer with? The cars here are tiny as gas is around $8 to $11 a gallon.

Our driver told us there is a 100% tax on cars, so if a new car sells for $25,000 the tax is $25,000. Also, you can pay up to $3,500 a year to license a car! If you buy a used car that is worth $10,000 but you get a "good deal" and pay $6,000, they will tax you $4,000, so you pay the full value. There is no way the average person can afford to own a car of any means and to be able to drive it.