Baltimore to Doonbeg

On Friday night, after taking the ferry from Sherkin Island back to Baltimore, we stayed at Channel View B&B. Dom and I stayed there when we were in Baltimore four years ago and it is a wonderful spot if you are ever in the area. We had dinner that evening with Jack's cousin, Mary O'Neill, who is the only relative with whom the family has contact in Ireland. Most of the family emigrated so that is not unusual. Mary took us to a fabulous spot for dinner--Rolf's Country House. We had a lovely visit and a the food was delicious.

On Saturday morning we had a long drive from Baltimore to Doonbeg in County Clare were we had a house rented for the rest of our stay. The original plan was to stop at Muckross House Gardens and Traditional Farms. We did stop for lunch but everyone was eager to get to the house and settle in. It was an interesting drive through the steep craggy mountains, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, between Kenmare and Muckross House even though it was rainy and dark.

At the Shannon Estuary we took the ferry from Torbert to Kilrush. It was a lot like riding any other ferry. If it had been nice it would have been fun to get out of the car but as it was it was raining pretty hard during our crossing so we just hunkered down.

This was the view from inside the car. The gentleman in the yellow coat came around and collected the fares from each vehicle during the crossing.

When we got to Kilrush we found ourselves in the flat farmland of County Clare. There were lots of cows around. At this point we were stopped by a herd being moved from the pasture to the milking barn. The farmer and his wife were quite amused by the tourists taking pictures of the cows in the road.

You can see the barn in the distance, the cows making their way placidly towards it and the dog making sure no one gets out of line.

We arrived at the house in Doonbeg. It looks almost white in this picture but is actually pale pink. The large windows are the living/dining/kitchen area.

The main door is set right in the angle of the house. It had three bedrooms downstairs (1 en suite) and a bathroom as well as the living/dining/kitchen area. Upstairs was a large, en suite bathroom and another bedroom. It was quite comfortable except for all the little things that went wrong--not enough towels, the dryer broke and there was a leak from the upstairs bathroom onto my parents' bed. The dishwasher also had  a problem but the guys were able to fix that.

The views from the house are wonderful. You could see across the bay to houses, farms and an old castle on the far shore.

You could also see the white sand beach at the head of the bay which attracted quite a few visitors on the weekend.

The living/dining/kitchen area was quite comfortable for our crowd of twelve. We could seat everyone around the big table.

The large television mounted on the wall in the corner could be seen from all over the room. That came in handy when we were watching the Euro Cup matches.

I took a walk with Patty and my Dad along the beach on Sunday. It was a nice day and we had scheduled it as a "lay day." Everyone slept in, ate a big breakfast, did laundry and relaxed.

The beach was lovely for walking and there were lots of interesting shells. There was also beach glass, something I rarely see on the beaches here on Whidbey Island.

This is a view looking back at the rental house and others on the road along the north side of the bay.

A closer view of some of the houses near our rental house.

After our beach walk, Patty and I continued on into the village of Doonbeg. This shows the old Doonbeg castle and the bridge in the middle of the village.

Patty and I explored the cemetery in the middle of the village. Many of the headstones dated to the mid 1800s. The soft stone had worn away and some were impossible to read.

Kathleen O'Donnell died in 2007 and her children are obviously devoted to her.

On our meanderings through town we found a pub, Tubridy's, where they turned on the Formula 1 race which the guys had not been able to get on the TV at the house. Unfortunately we forgot about the time difference so the race was nearly over by the time they got there. Nonetheless, most of the crowd felt it was a good excuse to go to the pub.

 The Guinness came with a shamrock in the foam on top. The pub was part of a restaurant and the owners were so nice that we decided to go there for dinner. We had an excellent meal there and another rollicking good time. 

This was taken on June 24th and Ireland is further north (about 53N) than Seattle (47.61N). It did not get dark until after 11 pm. It was probably about 10:30 when I took these photos. Above is the old Doonbeg castle.

 This is the Doonbeg river estuary.

This is cows in the field and the harbor beyond at sunset.