As we departed Limerick I could feel the excitement bubbling up inside me. The anticipation of lifelong dream about to be fulfilled. As we crossed the county line into County Kerry, I had to take a couple of pictures right away. I could already tell it is the most beautifully green county in the world.
Our first stop was the capital city of Tralee and the County Kerry Museum. Probably not a typical stop on an American's travels to Ireland, but there is a museum dedicated to my namesake and I needed to see it.
This sign was outside the museum. While were were in Ireland the Rose of Tralee competition was being aired on television. The Rose of Tralee is basically the Irish Miss America pageant, but it goes on for days. I'm not embarrassed to say I made Zach watch a significant portion of it.
Walking in the door this quote was on the wall. I think it describes me perfectly.
I was so excited because one of the exhibits at the museum was all the Rose of Tralee dresses from past years. I love how even the most recent dresses appear handmade and relatively simple.
Then it was on to the next room to learn about the history of County Kerry and more MANNEQUINS. This museum was rampant with mannequins, each one more frightening than the last.
I don't even know who this guy is, but I had to pose with him.
The most exciting part of the museum was the medieval village on the lower level. It was a little scary walking through this village with so few people in the museum. I was just waiting for the mannequins to come alive and attack us.
After the museum and a very embarrassing parking garage disaster in which we didn't prepay and stopped the line for five minutes (who knew Ireland had that kind of technology?!) we went to the Blennerville Windmill.
Apparently, Blennerville was the main port of emigration from County Kerry during the Great Famine. We got to climb the windmill and once again I was shocked by what tourists are allowed to do in a non-litigious society. We climbed some very steep, very rickety ladders to the top of the windmill.
What a perfect day and a perfect view. The sky could not be bluer and the hills could not be greener.
We'd heard amazing things about the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula and it must have been so beautiful I forgot to take pictures on our drive. I have memories of rolling green hills and the feeling of being in another world.
We pulled into the bustling town of Dingle. We finally found a parking spot on a steep hill and made our way into town. The purpose of our visit was twofold - get Zach some famous fish and chips and get me some famous ice cream.
We went to Reel Dingle Fish, which was said to be the most "authentic" in the area. I must say even I tried it and it was delicious.
Then, it was over to Murphy's for some ice cream "handmade in Dingle." Wow was it good. Made me wish we had a shop like this down the street.
I didn't want to be boring, but I had to get the Kerry ice cream.
From there we walked to the Dingle Bay Harbour (that's how they spell it there) to look at the water and some fishing boats. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of Fungie the dolphin who has lived in the bay for 30 years, but no luck this time.
By that time we were in the mood for a pint and we saw Hannie Agnes's proudly flying the Kerry flag.
We had no idea we were in for such a treat. Hannie Agnes's was the first real "Irish Pub" that we set foot in. What we in the US would call a "dive bar," it was dingy, practically empty, and perfect. The best part was the bartender needed to step out and he asked us to watch the bar.
I had to take a picture of the sign outside the women's bathroom.
This is Zach drinking a Dingle Brewing Company Tom Creans Fresh Irish Lager. I wanted one too, but in typical dive bar fashion they ran out.
By then it was time to leave, so we hiked back up the hill to our car. We got one last look of the colorful row houses of Dingle and drove away.
Our next stop on the way to our destination of Killarney was Inch Beach. This long beach reaches out into Dingle bay. It was famously featured in the movie Ryan's Daughter.
It was only about sixty degrees, but again people were swimming and surfing in the frigid water. I preferred just to stand on the beach and look out on the waves.
From there we drove the rest of the way to Killarney to our B&B Algret House. When we got there we were greeted by Greta the owner. She was welcoming and immediately put us at ease. We had an adorable little room and were only a short walk to downtown Killarney. We settled in and headed out for some shopping, a pint or two, and dinner.
We ate at The Porterhouse, an upscale pub we happened upon. After dinner we sat at the bar and listened to the live music.
On the walk back to the B&B we had to take a picture of this giant sign that said "No Parking Day or Night" and the car parked right in front of it.
The sky was such and amazing color blue that I wanted to capture it. The shot our camera took was very true to life.
The moon was full and the light was playing off the clouds.
We made it back to Countess Grove and our little piece of heaven at Algret House.
A long adventurous day of travel and touring had come to an end. The next day we would drive the magnificent Ring of Kerry.
"Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom." - Irish Saying
