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August 6, 2007
European Camp Daddy - Day 7: Kenmare to Dingle
Today, we got up and drove from Kenmare to Dingle. On the way, we toured the Muckross house just south of Killarney. The house was built back in 1834 I think. It’s really spectacular. They said it had something crazy like 95 rooms in it and 16 foot ceilings. Some guy came over from California in 1910 and he liked it so much he bought it the next year. Eventually, his family donated it and about a thousand acres of land surrounding it to the country of Ireland. It became Ireland’s first national forest, the Killarney National Forest.
Jennifer really liked touring the house, which surprised me. It was an hour long tour, but she was so amazed that she just drank it all in. I was glad cause I was afraid she might be bored.
After that, we drove to Inch Beach on the Dingle Peninsula. The sun came out and we ran around on the beach. It’s really a nice beach, very different from the beaches on the Iveargagh Peninsula. The beach was smooth and flat with some shells and no stones at all. Lots of kelp and these long skinny muscles we’d never seen before.
Jennifer ran around like a lunatic, as usual. There were lots of people out on the beach, as Monday is a national holiday (the first Monday in August). You can even drive on the beach, but we didn’t try it. (I’ve been stuck on the beach at Pismo, and it isn’t fun.)
We checked into our room at Dingle and drove around the loop at the end of the Dingle Peninsula. The weather was spectacular today. We got some decent shots. Hopefully they’ll turn out, but who knows?
Then we went to the beach at Murreagh and looked for starfish, but didn’t find any. I haven’t actually ventured to swim in the ocean, as I’m reasonably sure it’s too cold, but people do swim in it. I’ve seen them.
Then we drove back to Dingle and walked into town. Instead of eating out every night, we’ve taken to walking into the Petrol Stations and Supermarkets to scrounge whatever we can find. It’s much cheaper, and the food is just as good.
Tonight, I bought a Guinness in a can and asked them if I could drink it while walking back to our B&B. The girls that worked there weren’t sure what the law was, but they assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. What a country.
I like the town of Dingle, and the peninsula is indescribably beautiful, but I still like the town of Kenmare better. Jennifer and I have both commented on how perfect the town of Kenmare was, and then, tonight, we saw on the television that they’re planning to more than double the size of the town with a new development plan. It’s really sad to see it happen. Pretty soon, it will just be an urban sprawl nightmare like Killarney.
Posted by Rob Kiser on August 6, 2007 at 2:29 AM
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