Catherine and Elsa's third Irish visit
This summer we were delighted to have Catherine and Elsa come visit us (their third Ireland trip!) in August. The girls had plotted to go camping (a la their US National Park trips together pre-COVID), but given that I’d never camped yet in Ireland I was a little unsure of how to realize their dreams. However, with a little finagling on my part and trust on Catherine’s part, a plan came together and we had a fantastic week together.
They arrived right as the Dublin horseshow kicked off and they were game to go so, pretending jet lag doesn’t exist, we got cleaned up and headed over there basically as soon as they arrived. It was a spectacular day - the weather, the crowds, the horses. We enjoyed the Military horse jumping demonstration, the massive draught stallions handled by men in lovely Irish flat caps, and especially the Shetland pony Grand National (ridden by children who travel the world to do this!). In a classic Ireland moment, we also ran into the only Irish friend Catherin and Elsa met last time they were here (2 years ago), the one and only Sinead Devine and her adorable daughter Caoilinn.
After a great sleep that night we packed up and headed down to County Wicklow to Hidden Valley Resort. I figured it was close to home, so if the weather was terrible we could sneak back home. Hidden Valley was unlike anywhere I’d ever seen, but perhaps if we’d spent more time at KOA/Jellystone type campgrounds we’d have been in less culture shock. The campsites were separated by small hedges in basically a big meadow spanning a river. We had 2 regular tents and everyone else had the largest tents I’d ever seen…basically military sized with rooms and kitchens with portable sinks and tables and plug-in everything. It was wild. Our campsite was adjacent to the river (where we saw an Irish river eel - who knew?!). There were no picnic tables or fire rings, but thankfully the lack of rain and endless daylight at that time of year meant we could basically sit on the ground around the cooler and enjoy the great outdoors. We had a great time, assisted by the ongoing beautiful weather. The girls were super helpful and pleasant with cooking (we all especially enjoyed the sautéed broccoli) and cleaning up and we played a lot of “national park” Yahtzee and Sushi-go board games. The first day the girls went on the climbing wall, and Sally and I enjoyed some paddle boarding. Day 2 they did the “splash valley aqua park” (inflatables on water) and we all did a round of the most complex mini golf I’ve ever done (though that’s not saying much since I haven’t played much!). That evening I went paddleboarding on my own and a herd of a horses came down to drink next to me as I floated by, which was basically my idea of heaven. Our last morning we went for a nice walk along the River Avonmore and picked lots of blackberries.
After a day at home to unpack and repack, we headed to Dingle. By the time we arrived it was evening, so we got explored town a little, picked up some groceries, and enjoyed a quiet dinner at home. Our airbnb was conveniently located on the edge of the village and thus very easy to walk in and out. Catherine and I popped over to Dick Mack’s for a couple of drinks and let the girls watch a movie/chill at home. Funnily, I was in the same pub about two years prior when my uncles and aunts visited!
Our first full day in Dingle was Elsa’s 12th birthday. We started the day with a Sea Safari out to Great Blaskett Island. It was unfortunately extremely foggy for much of the trip, which made visibility a challenge but at the island we saw dozens of seals. The wildlife biologists on board were informative and kept it lively. We glimpsed a dolphin on our way back and got to hold a moon jellyfish, but otherwise it was a relatively wildlife-free tour.
We had a nice explore of the town and then a yummy lunch of tapas at Solas (Elsa’s pick!). In the evening we packed a picnic and headed to Kinard Beach, where we hoped to catch the solar eclipse. It was a balmy night by Dingle standards, though a bit cloudy at first. When we arrived the tide was so high (from the pending eclipse) that it had eaten up the beach but there was a perfect picnic spot on a bluff for us and of course not another soul in sight. We played some Yahtzee and enjoyed our picnic with birthday cake (yes the weather was that good!) and the clouds parted literally just in time to get an incredible view of the eclipse. It was absolutely breathtaking and not something I’ll forget. After the eclipse, the tide had gone down enough that we spent some time exploring the little beach before heading back to our airbnb.
Our second full day in Dingle we first walked out to Hussey's Folly and had a blast exploring the beach at low tide. The girls "rescued" approximately 800 moon jelly fish, now that we knew how to identify them and felt safe touching them.
We then spent the afternoon driving the peninsula. Our first stop was the animal farm/fairy fort/ring fort where we spent a few bucks each to hand feed and pet morbidly obese and complacent farm animals (sheep, alpaca, ponies, horses, goats, etc.) and sort of looked at the ring fort. I got some great photos of laminitic hooves for my photo library. We stopped at a beehive hut just a little further on and marveled at the architectural skills of these people from thousands of years ago. The views around the peninsula was absolutely stunning, as always, and we managed to stop for lunch at Caifé na Trá, where the servers were approximately 14 years old, we had beautiful views out to Great Blasket Island, and we were only a little concerned the car was going to roll into a farm field or the Atlantic Ocean.
Then we stopped and walked out at Dunmore Head. Riley was not allowed up top so I walked down to the beach with her, where people were surfing and families were picnicking, and then she enjoyed a rest in the car as I joined the others at the farthest western-most aspect of Europe. The wind had picked up pretty mightily by this point. Our last couple of stops had some rain, at the busy Gallarus Oratory and another ring fort, so we were happy enough to call it a day and head home. That evening we did some s’mores over our wood stove (since it hadn’t worked so well camping over a gas stove) and then Catherine and I went out to find some live music.
On the Friday morning, we were slated to pack up and head back to Dublin. I decided to sneak in a quick walk up the hill to the Famine Cemetery and was rewarded to insane rainbows and views at that sad and peaceful location. It was strangely magical.
We stopped at Inch Beach as I'd promised Sally on the way out. It didn't disappoint!
We wrapped up with a dinner at the local, of course, then bid farewell to Catherine and Elsa on Saturday after yet another wildly successful trip together.
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