Look at how excited the boys were!!!
Today we were met with a little less than perfect weather. It was sprinkling just a little bit. You can see AJ bundled up here and the marks of horses, I think, on this beach going in circles before we arrived.
You can really see the wind here on the waves - it was such a beautiful sight!!! The boys found a soccer ball on the beach, so the four of them played soccer while I walked the beach and took lots of photos!! It was great for all of us!!
And low and behold, the boys found more rocks to climb. I think they were in heaven with all the rocks to climb!!! Then after that Dara wanted to take us to the beach that he grew up on.
This was the beach he played on as a kid - can you imagine that as your backyard?
AJ coming down from his climb
The beauty of Ireland!!
The boys were trying to get wet as the tide was coming in, but they thought it was great fun!!!
Then we picked up Fran, a wonderful lady, and went out to Kilmalkedare cemetery. There was a sun dial there and also you can see in this picture on the right is a Christian cross and on the left is a pagan artifact. You can see the hole in the Pagan artifact. That is where people made pacts, whether you got married, made a deal for livestock, once you touched fingers through that hole it was a binding contract. This was first built around 630 BC. It was said if you can fit through the eye of the needle in the back that you will get good luck for the rest of your life.
AJ fit through very easily
And so did Michael!
Then it was my turn and thank goodness I made it, I wouldn't want bad luck for the rest of my life.
And finally David had a turn and made it through!!
The family in front of the eye of the needle - and yes Dara has become part of the family!
AJ and I hanging out at the church - and no that was not his coffee :-)
Even though the Romans never landed on Ireland some of there architecture made it over there. The archways in this church have that architecture on it, you can see there are three of them
This is a Celtic cross in the cemetery. There are so many of them in Ireland and they are so detailed and gorgeous!
In the background you can see a house. This is a house that they said St Brenden sat and rested before his long journey. According to Irish history they said he took a boat and crossed the ocean and actually found America before Columbus
This is a statue showing the boat that he used to cross the ocean. There were actually two men that tried to re-create the voyage. It is a small boat and not one that I would sail the ocean in.
Back in the 20s when alcohol was prohibited in Ireland they had Sibi'n (pronounced she bean). It was basically a barn or structure where they would get together to sing and have some drinks. If they were caught in Ireland they were shot. Dara's family owns this one, even though it is legal to drink now, they have some great parties here. This is the upstairs where many have spent the night.
And of course every one has to have a bar. At the other end was a fire place. Dara's family is very musical so they have many who play and sing all night long. I would have loved to have been there for one of their family get togethers!
I love the old bridges there!
Here we are getting ready to go. They gave us helmets and boots to go riding. The boys couldn't wait to get going.
David up on his horse, he got the biggest horse named Guinness - he loved the name!!!
AJ up on his horse, Wallace
Michael was on Jillie and Jillie was a slow moving horse, which was probably good for Michael. He really enjoyed riding, but took two or three breaks to walk along side the horse.
AJ did really good - his horse was the leader. Lady, who I rode, is in love with Wallace and truly the leader of them, but she is okay with Wallace leading. But don't let any other horse get in between the two of them. It was actually really funny, there were two different points where Guinness and one time Juno, Dara's horse, got in between them and she was not liking it at all and took her place back.
Michael had two people leading him because a friend of theirs was visiting.
Here I am on Lady - she was a really good horse and it was such a beautiful ride. We walked through a stream and could see the three sisters. It was gorgeous back country. This was also the place where they built a whole town and filmed Ryan's daughter.
You can see the three sisters in the background - stunning
David and his horse - aren't they cute!!!! He went and had a Guinness for the horse that night :-)
So there was a bonus after riding the horses, the boys were able to hold 3 day old lambs.
They thought it was so cool, even though Michael said the lamb was getting heavy after a little while. They had three of them there. I didn't know this, but the mom can only handle two babies (if they have more all of them will die) and there were three of them that had three. So these guys are talking care of them and raising them.
After horse back riding we went back to the music store and I received my first accordion lesson. I found out that it was a lot harder than it looked there are many things to pay attention to at the same time. This is Fran, our other guide, showing me the notes for a song I was learning. She said I did well for my first time.
Of course the boys wanted to try also.
I am so glad they love music and are into it. I hope they always will be!
AJ and Daddy enjoying a beverage together - AJ's is only 7-up. That night Dara was working at The Courthouse. It is a local pub. On Sunday's they have music earlier in the evening. So we took the boys into the pub and listened to some great music!!! So this evening David went home with the boys and I was able to stay and listen to the second session that evening.
This is Damien Mallone on the accordion and his fingers move so fast it is unbelievable. He is only 26 and has been an all Ireland accordion champion 6 times. Mat Griffen is on the guitar. There was also a flute player. They were so much fun to listen to and so down to earth. They were joking around with Dara and Fran. I LOVE small towns. I also met the lady of the house (the owner of the bar) and she was awesome too!! It was great to chat with her, she is actually from Texas and married an Ireland man. It was a fun evening!!!
Fran took me to another pub called Curran's. It is not only a pub but a store also. You can get a drink and pick up wellingtons, potatoes, onions, hats and whatever else the owner finds to sell.
This was the other side of the pub. There are two other pubs like this in Dingle. Foxy Johns which is a hardware store and pub and then Dick Mack's which is a leather store and a pub. I am sure many of the guys would love for their wives to ask them to go pick something up, what a good excuse to have a pint! I also met the oldest gentleman in Dingle while I was at Curran's. Like I said it is such a wonderful small town, everybody knows everybody and they are all soooo nice!!!
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