Slight Detour

Ghosts and goblins and pumpkins, oh my!

As Halloween draws closer, eye-catching decorations for the season become more prominent here in Ireland where the annual spook show was first inspired.

The town of Cong has a fine array of classy but scary decorations.

Bill and I visited this adorable town at the border of County Mayo and County Galway yesterday.

The real draw is that the area served as the setting for a 1951 movie called "The Quiet Man," starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

As an aside I must tell the story of our beloved St. Joseph's parish priest Fr. M. John O'Donovan.

Later in life, he made connections with Maureen O'Hara who spent her final days in Boise, Idaho.

The two exchanged birthday and Christmas cards for a number of years.

So, of course, I thought about Fr. Tim (he had a variety of names) when we spent several hours in Cong.

Another draw: the Ashford Castle which serves as an upscale hotel, obviously attracting prominent and wealthy guests. The cars in the parking lot serve as a validation.

No Subaru's or Equinoxes, but lots of BMW's and Porsche.

The staff at the hotel was very nice to us, even though they could not allow us inside.

Frank, the doorman, happily posed for a photo, and Aedin at the gate initiated a conversation with us which lasted several minutes.

Before his present job, Aedin served as the best pest control expert in Ireland.

He was delightful, and we agreed we could visit all day.

After a leisurely and pleasant stroll enjoying the town highlights, Bill and I had a late lunch/early dinner at Pat Cohan's. Good food and great service from locals who've gone away but come back to their quiet little pocket of paradise.

Today we're moving on to Kenmare where Willie and Debbie arrived a day ahead of us.

As I type, he is probably getting started with the Halloween basketball clinic where he is the featured coach. It was neat to see on the graphic:

Will Love, USA

Tomorrow, we'll watch some of the clinic and begin what we hope to be an enjoyable and relaxing four nights in one of our favorite Irish towns.

And, Marcia, we'll probably see the Finnegans and drop off the goodies.

Happy Tuesday. Enjoy the photos.

And, many thanks to John and Sue who have taken good care of us, as always.

Good bye to Clifden; hello to Kenmare.

We enjoyed some truly Irish culture yesterday while having some quality time with Willie and Debbie.

After a great breakfast and some visiting at Sharamore House, we headed to Clifden to attend the Connemara Pony Sale, which lasts for several days here.

Each day is devoted to a specialized goal for buyers---fully trained horses, jumpers, newly weaned babies, etc.

The event attracts hundreds of buyers and sellers, and there's hardly room at the facility for all the rigs and their trailers.

Yesterday's event featured young Connemara ponies. We stayed and watched a few sell and walked around the stalls where babies were waiting their turn and folks were looking them over or giving them some TLC.

Afterward, we moved on to Kylemore Abbey and a Woolen gift shop where we picked up some items, and then it was on to Westport where the town was packed with revelers and tourists. There's an art festival going on for several days there also.

Our afternoon involved a fun lunch and great time at one of the local pubs, where the locals and the tourists were having a great time visiting, enjoying a pint or two, listening to music and dancing.

We felt at home everywhere we went and met lots of nice people.

Annie told us to visit this place when we were in Westport.

We did but didn't stay long.

The place was packed on a Sunday afternoon during a bank holiday weekend unlike anything I've ever seen.

To say there was hardly breathing room would be an understatement.

Sweet Frank was celebrating his 80th birthday yesterday.

We met him and his family at the Clock Tavern and struck up a nice relationship.

Great people with interesting stories and inspiring discussion.

Hope you had a happy Birthday, Frank.

A wee bit of small world: these band members came up to Westport from Kildare to perform.

They know our friends, Beata and Caroline, at Silken Thomas in Kildare.

They are also very talented and, as one band member said, they get better as the gig goes on.

Their rendition of "Dirty Old Town" had the bar clientele hopping.

I don't even know their names.

All I know is that they each have a great sense of humor.

It all started when I stopped while walking by their booth at the Clock Tavern in Westport to look at one of the many ghoulish goblins we've seen around Ireland.

He looked up, and I simply said, "I'm talking to this; I'm not talking to you."

He grinned, and a moment later, so did she.

I walked off.

Several times I passed by their booth and acknowledged the goblin, after which the couple and I made eye contact and grinned, each time evolving into more giggle and gusto.

When I walked by the last time, I noted that this series of interactions was the biggest "nothing" event ever but one of the funniest.

They agreed.

I took their photo and said good bye, probably never to know their name but to know they were fun-loving, great people.

That's kinda how it is in Ireland: numerous interactions with perfect strangers per day triggering fun memories that will last a lifetime.

These folks were celebrating an anniversary.

I believe that they are an organized group of football supporters. We were told that they hired a band from Kildare to come to the Clock Tavern in Westport to help them celebrate.

Twas definitely a situation where a good time was had by all.

St. Mary's Church in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.

Years ago, when Bill and I first visited Westport, we were looking for a restroom. We came by the church and asked a man for directions to a restroom.

Turns out it was the parish priest who answered our question. He pointed us toward a door down a hallway and told us to be sure to lock up when we left.

Nice man of God.

Beautiful church.