I’ll just start by saying than you for everyone’s birthday messages and say that I’m 50 and happy to be so.

And then I have to tell you everything that’s happened, and that’s been a lot.  We left you in Doolin which is definitely the home of Americans discovering their Irish roots.  I overheard one guy asking for their finest fish and chips for his wife along with the finest steak for himself. He was also keen to get into the nitty gritty about the virtues of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc compared to an Australian chardonnay but the bartender admitted he didn’t drink wine so he was on his own if he wanted the finest wine too.

I followed up with my own dumb tourist moment when I ordered a pint of Doolin Pilsner and then asked the exasperated barman if my Pilsner, brewed in Doolin, served in Doolin, was from far away.  The only words he wasted on me was a disdainful, “Yeah, you could say it’s pretty local.”

The boat trip below the Cliffs of Moher was all Americans again but they assured us they were all dog people and everyone was very happy to get selfies with Chloe, so it was all good fun.

We enjoyed a night on the helipad of a very rural airport and managed to sneak in a cheeky session in one of the beachside saunas.

We spent a night in Dingle where we searched out dog friendly pubs and started drinking Guiness in a pub slash hardware store, moved on to another bar with a little private vestibule and a hatch straight through to the bar where whisky chasers became a thing.  Before ending the night dropping my umbrella in the dog shite I was painstakingly picking up.

We spent a couple of nights on the ring of Kerry, where I snapped a rainbow but never found a pot of gold.  But I was treated to lots of special treatment on my 50th, a seafood lunch, a wood fired pizza for dinner and glorious Irish weather.  This trip started in the rain and it could have really impacted life in the van but since Easter long weekend it’s been sunshine all the way.  Luck of the Irish.

A few people kept telling us the Beara Peninsula, in County Cork, was stunning; it is that and we have been treated to something special since we’ve been here.  The rhododendrons are in flower and every now and again in protected little alcoves a forest blooms complete with tree ferns and palm trees and splashes of purple.  I’d never seen scenery so beautiful until we reached the end of the peninsula where the rock and mountains are gnarled, ancient and shaped by ice.

Kerry made her offering to the Children of Lir at Allihies and the 900-year-old swans/fairies rewarded us with a beachside sauna with a view that could not be beaten.

Tonight, will be our last night on the Wild Atlantic Way before we head over the other side of Ireland to catch our ferry.  Before we left, I was excited for what me might see on this trip but my imagination was hardly the equal to the beauty of Ireland.

You’ll find another of Kerry’s reels right here.