I'm sure there'll be more, and I'm pretty sure Bill would say the same.
We are coming to an end of our trip----at least, we think we are.
This morning I read that we could be staying longer than anticipated, thanks to Callum.
Callum is the name given to an intense storm, which is blowing its way toward Ireland today and predicted to wreak some havoc before it moves on tomorrow.
Flights to and from Dublin Airport could be affected.
We will not know until this evening or tomorrow morning how our schedule to fly home will be affected by the storm.
So, I guess we could have an unscripted grand finale to a truly magical and memorable adventure.
Only time and Callum will tell.
For now, we are beyond grateful to have succeeded at this adventure which has exceeded our grandest expectations.
Yesterday pretty much went off the scale for us: we began the day with a delectable breakfast here at Sharamore House and ended it with fun meal at Oliver's down the road at Cleggan, where the mail boat doubles as a ferry.
In between those two meals, we embraced an unbelievably gorgeous day with a wind-blown but exhilarating hike to Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park and a return to exquisitely beautiful and historical Kylemore Abbey.
Along our journey for the day, we met people from Sweden, England, Holland, Slovakia, France, Czech Republic, Germany, Australia, Ireland and, of course, the United States.
To illustrate the intensity and forcefulness of the wind as we made our way up toward the diamond on Diamond Hill, a young lady from France who had trekked to the top lost her traveling papers in the wind.
"What will you do?" I asked.
"Probably stay in Ireland," she said, then adding that she would probably have to contact her ambassador to get out of the country.
Yup, the wind was that strong.
A man from Ireland told us about his daily trips to Diamond Hill with his 13-year-old yellow lab.
A lady from Holland shared with us the fact that she has walked Annie's beloved Camino de Santiago three times.
We visited at breakfast with Anna from Sweden and Dayle from London, both students in the health and medical fields.
Another guest at the bed and breakfast had extended her trip to Ireland a performance with her barbershop quartet (Europe's top-rated group).
And, we met Patrick (Paddy) Maguire and his lovely wife Angela, a former nurse. Both came from Ireland, but both have lived in the United States (now Centennial, Colo.) since the mid-'1960s.
Paddy and Angela come back to Ireland frequently for visits with their family which is distributed throughout the island and which makes for good accommodations.
Paddy remarked to us that he actually had to pay to stay at an actually hotel one night on this trip.
Paddy, twas very nice to meet ya!
At dinner last night, I met Judy who first told me she didn't work at Oliver's, but, yes, I could use the restroom. Judy and her group from Virginia were headed on to Doolin on their Irish adventure.
We also met a group from Clifden who live far away from their homeland----San Francisco and Perth, Australia. We were told that the brother-sister pair does have a sister who has remained in Ireland so Mom can deal with their absence-----but she does hope they'll return to stay some day.
Our adventure yesterday was also jam-packed with an abundance of continuous eye candy from the time we set off on the hike until the last moments before arriving in Cleggan for dinner.
No words adequately describe the ubiquitous, magnificent beauty we observed every step of the way yesterday.
So, I'm hoping the photos will suffice.
As far as the rest of the trip----it looks like it could be an adventure all its own, and we'll just go with the flow. We do plan to meet Annie's friend John in Drogheda tonight.
John walked the Camino with Annie, and she told us he's truly a wonderful man. Justine, who accompanied Annie on this year's Camino, has seconded Annie's claim.
So, we're excited to meet him and hope that Callum doesn't get in the way.
No promises on blog entries the next couple of days because we'll be traveling OR not. If not, maybe I'll be sitting and posting while waiting for our flight home.
Who knows? For now, enjoy the photos and thanks to all on Facebook and among the blog regulars who have so enthusiastically followed this journey with us.
It's always a thrill to share.
Happy Thursday.
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