Slight Detour: Ireland 2021: Day 2

Good Morning from beautiful Kenmare in Southwest Ireland. We'll be staying here at the Rose Garden Bed and Breakfast for three days.

Yesterday afternoon when we rolled into the driveway, there was Vince, seated at a picnic table, enjoying a beer with a friend and waiting for us.

The true beauty of staying at the same accommodations during our Ireland trips is reconnecting with proprietors who have become friends.

They're happy to see us, and we're thrilled to see them, especially after two years.

After doing some catching up on our respective lives during the Pandemic, Vince led us to our room, where came another beauty: we know the drill.

We know how the shower works, where plug-ins for our many electric necessities are located and we know that when we return after hours, which door will let us into the bed and breakfast.

Familiarity on these trips is not only comforting but also void of the stress of reinventing the wheel when we're just interested in a place to sleep and work through the other necessities that come with living out of suitcases.

So, to return to the Rose Garden, where Mary and Vince run the show definitely made our arrival fun in many ways.

While planning this trip, I asked Bill about his preferences. He offered a couple of necessities: dining on fish and chips at PF McCarthy's in Kenmare and having Sue's pancakes at Sharamore House in Clifden as often as possible.

BTW: Bill eats fish and chips pretty much every day in Ireland, sometimes even twice.

Also, "chips" in Irish restaurants are known to us Americans as French fries.

Well, we've started fulfilling his wish, having one meal under our belts at PF McArthey's in downtown Kenmare.

The two-year wait to sample those potato cake appetizers, his fish and chips and my hot chicken/bacon salad, complete with potatoes was well worth it.

Every bite of appetizer and main plate was to die for.

As we've seen everywhere, Ireland enforces expectations for Covid times: masks in restaurants, sometimes documented proof of vaccination and planned social distancing inside establishments.

Vince told us about moving the Rose Garden dining outside with a series of covered picnic tables in the front lawn.

It feels comforting to spend time in places where pretty much everyone is on the same page at respecting the rules made for everyone's safety.

Yesterday we drove from Lawcus Farm Guesthouse near Kilkenny to Kenmare, taking time to stop in Kinsale, which, like Lawcus Farm has received travel expert Rick Steve's endorsement.

The town was abuzz with activity---lots of outdoor eateries and shoppers. As we walked to the harbor filled with sailboats, we saw circles of school girls seated on the lawn in the park apparently enjoying some social time during their lunch hour.

Later, we attempted to stop in Bantry, which is about 35 miles from Kenmare.

The Friday market in the square had drawn enough interest that driving the same route through narrow streets never netted a parking space, so we moved on toward Kenmare, stopping briefly at a roadside attraction called Molly's Gallivan's Cottage where a sculpture of a druid stands across the highway overlooking farms below.

We decided that we'll go back and spend more time at the spot which takes visitors on a 15-minute hike featuring stops on an old Irish farm. Plus, there are souvenirs aplenty.

Today we'll hang around Kenmare. Bill wants to go to his favorite book store, while I'll probably stop at Kevin Finegan's jewelry shop and say hello for his friend Marcia from Sandpoint who's been spending the past week or so in Spain.

Kevin has visited Sandpoint, and Marcia, a travel specialist, will be bringing a couple of groups to Ireland in late spring.

Always connections, and always fun maintaining those connections from far across the sea.

Happy Saturday. Enjoy the photos, and to dear Elisabeth, our Lovestead guardian: say hello to our beloveds for us and tell them we miss them and think about them in between the fun.

Oh, also, be sure to tell Liam that we've had one Border Collie sighting so far. Hoping for many more to come.