HOLY KNITBALLS!: Ireland: The Final Chapter

So in the final chapter of our trip, we spent the next couple of days visiting a few towns we liked previously such as Ennis, and a few we'd never been to before like Kilfenora. One area we wanted to explore is called the "The Burren". In this area we did some more exploration of cairns and dolmens of the ancient people once inhabiting this area. The area is full of hollow limestone created by volcanic eruptions during the land's formation.

We had coffee with dear old dad in the morning and, by his recommendation, headed off on a country road full of twists and turns. It was a beautiful crisp day. It was our final day before heading out toward Dublin in the morning.

Climbing up the hill

Trying not to break my *ss climbing over the stone wall.

It was windy. I have lots of hair. Nuff said.

This one's for Wendy. A few guys kept trying to set her up with a little marriage proposal.

"He's got 107 acres and Coos!

*blink blink*

Wha?

"Cooooos. You know coooooooooooos!!"

Ohhh riiiiight. We love cooos.

Coos by a dolmen in a field.

Definitely one of my favorite pictures that Wendy took of me. I actually look peaceful and content. You know what? I couldn't have asked for a better vacation. I was very happy.

We moved on to the Poulnabone Portal Tomb. It's supposed to be one of the finest examples in the country.

Balancing stone.

Poulnabone Portal Tomb. This was dated to have been constructed before the Egyptian pyramids. No.words. It was a breathtaking example of history.

We had a great day exploring and then headed back home to the pub and BnB. We bought dinner for the pub and happily munched on our vinegar chips with our friends. Another lock-in with our friend working the pub. It was a good chill-out night. It was setting in that we would have to leave in the morning. I wish I could have stayed longer. 5 days was long enough to torment this little town. We would be back.

Wendy wanted to pour one more Guinness before she left. Behold the pour....

Step 1: The basic pour

Step 2: Wait. Then comes the backfill

Step 3: Wait again and admire your work

Step 4: Guinness lips. YUM!

I will just say that the whiskey came out that night. It was to be a shot with friends. Ummm yeah....whiskey.

So was got up later than planned and headed down for breakfast after packing the car. A local we met a few days early found out we were leaving town that day and insisted to run home to get his accordion. It was too far so the folks in the pub convinced him to play the tin whistle instead. He wanted to play us a tune before we left. Funny, we had said we wanted to catch some music at some point being the aficionados we are...never caught any...but it came to us.

Our friend here proceeded to play reel after reel. He sang some lovely local tunes directly to us much to the enjoyment of the rest of the pub as well. We bought him a round and begged him to play some more. We found he had been second only to the great Willy Clancy in a competition, the son of Clare, credited for the revival of Irish music. Miltown hosts the Willy Clancy festival every July.

Some of our new friends begged us not to go being we had been in the pub everyday and this was the first day they came in.

Finally. He graced us with a nice picture. Thanks bro'!

Thank you for joing me in reliving my trip. I am obviously very sentimental about this place. It holds a special place in my heart.

What is it about this little town? Is it the old pub? The people? The craic? The friendships? I guess it's a combination of all these things. I don't think twice about gushing my love for it all over this blog. Why shouldn't I?