Thursday at the Beach

Bet that title caught your eye! We did go to the beach today, but nothing could have made us actually WALK on the beautiful beach at Ardmore. Let's just say it was cold enough to freeze your knickers on a day like this! We had a nice start out of Fiddown and headed for the coast, in search of St. Declan's ruins and remains and a glance at the Celtic Sea. We found it! ( http://www.travelireland.org/waterford/ardmore/ ) Sorry... the links don't seem to be publishing right now, so you'll have to copy and paste into your browser, but with luck, what I'm sharing will be worth it.

St. Declan brought Christianity to Ireland before St. Patrick. Once again, to stand amidst the ruins of things that are 1500 - 1600 years old is simply breathtaking. And, the sea was also fantastic, though I didn't hang around a lot to look it over much as the bitter wind was blowing in off the sea (wind that started in Norway or something!) and it was another raw day. But, the water was BLUE... not something I've seen much in my life. Again... just beautiful.

Did I mention, we skipped Waterford. Our "big" goal for the day was to make it to Cobh and so, we skipped Waterford and headed on down the coast. It wasn't a bad decision at all. Besides, we can put Waterford on the list for the next trip... and we will!

After our visit with St. Declan (FYI, Kerry.... we named the car Declan Patrick Walsh ... a little something for the first minister in Ireland and another car named Paddy!) we headed back up to the N25 (a road with shoulders so I can pull over and let faster drivers pass... BTW, shoulders here are called 'margins'... there's today's lesson!) and headed on for Cobh. Had to get off that road for a little bit, but it wasn't bad and it wasn't too busy. That was a good thing because it WAS snowing! Yeah... doesn't happen often, but there was spitting snow in Ireland today. Do ya think it's OUR fault?

Ok, ok.... Cobh. (I'm sure John will do some good reflection on Cobh, so be sure to read his entry!) Amazing place... as you get to the Heritage Center, you see the statue of Annie Moore, the first person to walk through the gates at Ellis Island when it opened... the first of 6,000,000 immigrants who walked through Ellis Island... Annie Moore, age 15, traveling with her two younger brothers, enroute to meet up with their parents who were already in America. Think about it... 15, making that 4 - 6 week journey.... with two little ones in tow... in steerage, where amenities are non-existent... where what food you brought will be spoiled or stolen before you get near your destination... where you haven't seen your family for quite a while.... What kind of courage does that take? Would any of us have that kind of courage?

The story of the Irish emigrating out of Cobh was a fascinating one, covering all sorts of stories, from those who left during the time of the Famine to those who were shipped off to Australia as prisoners. Cobh was also the last port for the fateful Titanic and the Lusitania also set said from there, before being bombed by the Germans just off the coast at Kinsale. It was an amazing place to vist... with (as John says) "history on every corner"... but this time, the history had voices and faces. Amazing... (I think that's the word of the day!)

And now, here we are in Clonakilty... an incredibly beautiful little town with narrow streets (mostly one way, thank God!)... and banks with ATMs. This is another Irish town known for it's music, so we may venture out tonight and catch a wee bit. We'll zip by the grocery first and pick up a few things.

Ahh... the amenities of life. We've been enjoying our full Irish breakfasts each day and that stands us until we have lunch at around 2:00 each day. We try to get a very full lunch and then we do a wee bit of shopping and have a sandwich for supper. WE did find some low carb bread, so that helps with the sandwich making, but it doesn't make up for the wonderful (NOT low carb) Irish soda bread that seems to come with every soup. (Oh, and the soups are wonderful, too!... and warming!) We splurged last night and bought a small container of fresh cream. While the Irish (and the English) take milk in their tea and coffee, our diet has gottn us quite accustomed to fresh cream... a richer (and lower carb) alternative. So... last night I really enjoyed the treat... drinking as much as I wanted until it was time for bed. (When they turn the heat off, it's a really good time for bed... much warmer in there, you know!) We also found some non-dairy creamer at a tiny grocery somewhere. It's amazing... you find one thing here and another thing there. We certainly are spoiled in the state.... VERY, very spoiled! And so... we can use that alternative if there aren't these little containers of milk in the room. Not sure what we'll have tonight as we had a rather small lunch... soup, soda bread and warm tea. It was wonderful... but not as filling as the lovely chicken and mushrooms in puff pastry I had yesterday!

Ok... enough about food.... We hope everyone is well and happy... we miss you all and enjoy the comments and emails we're getting. Take care.... Know that you are thought of each day!

Until later... Dawn