Steph's Ireland Photos

Here are some of my favorites of Steph's pics.  This is from the first day at Ballynahinch Castle.

Playground and crabbing time in Roundstone.

The sky road in Clifden.

Windy day at Mizen Head and the beach.

Fishing in Schull.

Our last night, near Shannon airport.

Gardens

The gardens at the farmhouse where we stayed were amazing.  They were built into the earth with moats all around.  Here is Max passing one such secret garden.

 

Above, another one of the moated gardens and below, some corn sneaking up out of the grass.

We ended the trip with make-your-own-pizza in a clay oven and some goat herding.  Could not have been better!

Mackerel

On our last morning in Schull, we chartered a fishing boat.  We took out the blue one with the bouys attached, shown in the photo above.

Max chose to "read sum-ting" and "eat sum-ting" for much of the trip.  Chase chose to fish.

 

While the mackerel were not abundant, Steph surprisingly snagged a starfish.  The captain declared it as a "sign of a sure fail" and we headed back.

Crookhaven Festival

We arrived at the Crookhaven Family Festival with low expectations.  As soon as we got out of the car, we noticed a gathering of children.  They were in a line throwing a boot (a wellie) as part of a competition.  I urged Chase and Max to join the local kids - especially since no kid seemed to get the boot more than four feet in front of him or her.  When the four-year-old before us finished, the announcer stated, "is that the last lad?" and I said, "I've got two more lads to go."   Max bowed out but Chase grabbed that boot by two hands and threw with all his might.  The boot landed a good 12 feet away, more than doubling anyone else's distance.  The crowd went wild and Chase clapped right along not realizing that the announcer was talking about him is the "overall winner".  He proudly wore his medal for the rest of the night.

 

The rest of us clowned around and counted the fish of the fishing derby while Chase intently watched the older kids take part in the wellie competition.

 

Then, in an Irish sort of way, the announcer asked all the kids who "did not win a medal" to line up against the wall.  They were then asked to take part in a running race.  No winner was declared and everyone got medals.

 

Frogs, Goats, Poppy, Haircuts & more

This strange frog greets us every morning when we make our way to the main farm.

Here is the view from one of the beaches at the end of our property.

Chase and Max helped bring the goats out to pasture this morning.

Then, we brought Poppy down to another beach.

After lunch, we decided to get the boys Irish hair cuts.  After their being mistaken for girls, we knew it was time.  Poppy and Dave enjoyed a Guiness while they waited.  Both cuts came out well...unfortunately, Chase still hasn't learned how to smile for pictures.  His newest version of a smile is mouth-closed, tight-lipped.  Not sure if this is better or worse than his earlier snarl.