Well now, that was fun

After packing up and leaving Carnew with a couple of farewell stops along the way, fully confident, I eventually left Coolruss for Dublin airport. More specifically, my destination was the Maldron airport hotel. I'm there now so don't get anxious reading about how I got here. And pay no attention to those silly time estimates that Google provides.

During the drive, I experienced a lot of different weather. It went from pouring rain, to drizzle, to bright sun, to sun with drizzle, to more downpours, and so on. When I reached Naas (look it up) the tire pressure light came on. Picture this - I'm on the motorway, tooling along at 110 kph, spending much of the time changing the setting on the windshield wipers. It got so I hardly had to think about that. My hands were so used to moving the lever from off to intermittent to regular "pace" and back through the other options. But I had no idea how urgent that tire pressure light was. Should I pull over at the Kilcullen service centre? Have I passed it or have I even got that far yet? I was too busy worrying about suddenly getting a flat tire while navigating the centre lane of the highway. I decided it wasn't worth worrying about it so I reduced my worry level to slightly stressed. 

Traffic moved nicely until we were on the M50 getting close to the airport and the overhead warning sign reported a collision ahead, with traffic reduced to one lane. Although there were delays, we never had to merge to one lane, or even two. I suspect the collision had been cleared by the time I saw the sign, but it took a while for traffic patterns to realign. The car had a manual transmission. During the start-and-stop phase, it would have been nice to have an automatic. But alas ...

Getting to the hotel was easy enough by obeying Ms Google. I checked in quickly and was assigned a nice room on the ground floor, overlooking a grassy courtyard. In fact, just below my window, I can see the herb garden. The chef was not there picking the seasonings for tonight's dinner while I looked out. If the window were clean, I'd have an even nicer view. Hold on!!! Sun alert. Yay. It could last a minute or two and I don't want to miss it. There's even a large, well OK, medium-sized, patch of blue sky. 

Once I'd abandoned my suitcase in my room, I headed out to top up the rental car's gas tank. It had to be returned full. Insert a few circuits around the airport terminals in search of the gas station, that I could see about 100 metres from the front of the hotel. I was told it's a "one-way system" and you just have to drive around. Sure you do. If you know where to go it's probably not that hard. Google was not helpful so I was on my own. I'm very proud of the fact that I found it during my second, or was it third, circuit. If you need directions to long-term parking, I found it on one of my circuits and will happily share the info.

Once topped up, I only had to drive to the rental car return. Ha Ha Ha Ha - no signs. The hotel and gas station were past the entry to that destination. On the first of two unsuccessful circuits, I just went all the way around, as I'd done in search of the gas, and then, at a red light, I quickly asked Google to get me to the Hertz rental return area. Whew! it was ready and talking just as the driver behind me found out how to use his horn. And then I merely had to follow instructions. 

And this is where the ubiquitous roundabouts show their value. As long as you know which exit to take, you can position yourself in the correct lane on approach. It was essentially a one km drive to one very long U-turn. Eventually (after maybe 3 minutes) I finally recognized where I was and arrived successfully at the penultimate destination du jour. Before I had even removed the key, the car was being inspected. I mentioned the tire pressure light, but when carefully scanned, the attendant agreed that all the tires looked fine. A bit of stress was relieved at that point. If all four of those tires suddenly deflate tomorrow morning, I won't care. 

I jumped on the shuttle to the terminal which was to take me near the hotel shuttle. I had only my backpack to manage. The driver was a very friendly chap, obviously moved by this white-haired lady struggling with the pack, by now hanging off one shoulder, tangled in my purse strap. When I said I was looking for the shuttle to the Maldron Hotel he said he'd drop me at the hotel. Whew! What a lovely man. 

And now, here I am. I have wifi for the first time since leaving home. My phone had provided the (slow) Internet connection for my laptop during my stay in Carnew. I'm on the hotel network and connected to a VPN for a bit more security.

It will be time for dinner in just over an hour. It's been a while since breakfast and I inhaled the "welcome cookie" to hold me over. 

I'll clean up a bit, and after dinner, I'll exchange my local SIM card for the Canadian one in my phone. I wonder if there are any voicemails I missed in the past two weeks. Too bad if there are. 

The past two weeks went by in a flash. I've travelled to a few new spots and enjoyed some culture. Such is my taste in theatre that I enjoyed the farce most of all. Full credit has to be given to all the actors and the entire production teams of the various amateur theatre groups who competed. 

My flight to Toronto leaves at 8 am tomorrow - if it's on time. I should be home by mid-afternoon Ottawa time. And then the jet lag adjustment period will begin.

Thank you, faithful readers. It will be a while before the Wandering Genealogist takes to the road again.

Packing up because I'm soon leaving on a jet plane

Today was wet, and tomorrow could be wetter. It's time to pack up and prepare to fly home. This has been a shorter-than-usual visit, but it has been absolutely wonderful and worthwhile. It was culturally satisfying with the wonderful plays it was my pleasure to attend. And, of course, it was personally fulfilling catching up with all the folks who made this entire visit fun from start to finish. 

Much of my packing has been done, but there will be last-minute stuffing of random items into the suitcase before I put it into the trunk of my rental car and give myself to the directions from Ms Google to be led over hill and dale, and probably some narrow winding roads, en route to Dublin.

Having decided to stay indoors and dry, I spent some time reviewing videos on photo editing and then trying out some of the tools. Just what I need, another hobby that requires sitting. But it's very interesting what can be done to improve your photos. I will soon be seen getting up close and personal with plants, especially flowers, and assorted ordinary objects, trying to display them in new ways. 

The evening ended with dinner in Tinahely with Mary D. and Jim B. I've been enjoying Mary's house for the past two weeks and have made myself very much at home. All the same, it will be nice to sleep in my own bed again. And it's only a few weeks until golf season gets underway.

Thanks for following my latest adventure. I don't plan to post anything more, unless  tomorrow brings something startling or wonderful or weird or ... who am I kidding. There's almost certainly going to be one more post.

We had it all on Saturday

I don't know what you are expecting after that title. I am, of course, referring to the weather. Once the rain stopped I went out for a walk. Destination: Centra supermarket. Shopping list: milk, brown bread, and coffee. In particular, Frank and Honest brand coffee, or is it Frank and Earnest? Can you just imagine the excitement? I tossed a packet of Kleenex into the shopping basket just for fun. I was almost giddy.

I wrote most of this post yesterday but the blogging app was not cooperating. I could not choose the font or font size. I thought maybe I'd copy and paste it into Word and then paste it back here. The first cut and paste worked. Pasting it back turned it into a jpeg file in a little box. Ugh. But at least I'd saved the text.

Yesterday went from rain and wind to cloud and wind to sun and wind - changing every few minutes. The rain did stop in late morning but the wind decided to make a day of it. The thermometer read 7C but with the wind, it felt much colder.  As I went hatless, my hair developed a psychotic style of its own. I have no blow dryer and have to rely on my brush and some finger scrunching. I think I should have worn my hat after all. Hat head would not have been worse than what sprouted from my scalp.

In the afternoon, I met Mary G. at Sugar and Spice in Bunclody where we enjoyed our cappuccinos and chatted for quite a while. There really wasn't enough time to go exploring, so I returned to the house and read for a while, made and ate dinner, and then was off to the play.

"Alone It Stands" was the play reenacting the 1978 rugby match between Munster and the New Zealand All Blacks. Although I didn't meet her, a woman in the audience had been at that match and was carrying some pictures from that day. Oh yes, to everyone's surprise, Munster beat the All Blacks, despite their having done the usual Haka and being much bigger.

There were 5 male actors and 1 female. Together, they played 62 parts. They had to be the fittest bunch of actors on any stage, anywhere. A special mat on the floor was absolutely required because of the physicality of bodies slamming into the ground—often. One of the men played a dog, and what a happy, lovable dog he was. He was quite believable in the part.

Although Out of Order was my favourite play of the week and was indeed voted the audience's favourite play of the week, this was also an extraordinary performance. 

The play had started earlier and the evening ended later than usual because the awards had to be presented. Reviewing her choices, I have to agree with the adjudicator. I might have been too biased towards the farce to have been the one choosing. Performance results determine whether or not you get to compete in the All-Ireland finals in May. I'm sure these groups will be well represented at Mount Mellick. 

Today it's gray but not so windy. At the moment, it's not raining but the forecast claims it is doing so right now. I guess I'd better wear a raincoat today. I'm meeting Kevin and Eleanor for lunch and then have a couple of items to return to Dunne's in Gorey. That's the activity forecast. 

No pictures were taken and so none should be included today. Oh, all right. Here are a couple from the past week that I hadn't posted.

Reflections at Altamont Gardens

Arklow, 19 arch bridge from the modern side

Duckett's Grove entrance to courtyard

Stage for The Lonesome West

Arklow - Gorey and then there's my story

Yesterday was a cool but dry day. Ms Google took me on a very scenic route to Arklow to meet with friends for brunch. I am sure I could have found my way to Arklow without the directions, but getting to Coffee 4 U was a different matter. Even when I saw it from the bridge, I had no exact idea of how to get there. 

Eschewing the direct route from here to there, I once again detoured a number of times and thought I might be driving in a circle while blindly obeying Ms Google. Then again, I wasn't passing the same landmarks, so I just had to trust Ms Google. The trust was not misplaced as I got to revisit spots I'd been on one of my previous trips. I didn't stop to take photos because I had no idea how long the drive would take. Turns out I arrived just in time. The promised "34 minutes" was closer to 64. 

Arklow is a good-sized town with not-so-good-sized streets. It does boast a 19-Arch bridge, which from one side looks very historic and from the other, there are signs of more recent refurbishment. But getting around town was a challenge even with computer assistance. The lanes where I was directed to turn, were not obvious until I'd just driven past, and I never saw a street sign. But I only had to make one trip over and another back over, those 19 arches. I spied the destination from the bridge on the return trip and eventually found a parking lot where I abandoned the car, but didn't abandon hope. The coffee shop faced the river, so when I got out of the car, I walked down to the river and turned right. Eventually, I got to the right place.

We had a lovely lunch and a catch-up. This time it hadn't been as long since my previous visit. On my return trip, I opted for the motorway and a detour via Gorey. The reason for the detour was to get my hearing aid filters changed. I had forgotten to bring along my own kit and knew that I had a limited time to get them cleaned before I'd be stone-deaf again. I didn't think that deafness would come so soon. Specsavers in the Gorey Shopping Centre, sells and services hearing aids. Good place to go. Well, not so much as it turned out. They don't carry my brand.

The helpful chap took my hearing aids into the secret back room and returned a while later, saying they were good to go. I tried to put them on and found that he'd forced into place, parts from a different brand, and he'd twisted the plastic bits that keep them in place. The result was an unsuccessful attempt to put them in my ears. And I also realized that now, they weren't working at all. 

The helpful chap had neglected to say that they don't sell or have parts for the brand of hearing aid I use. He'd forced the wrong filters into place. I'm pretty much lost without those devices and I had a play to attend last night. The by then, not-so-helpful chap then said that he'd done all he could and I should really try somewhere else. Lovely!

What was I going to do? The "helpful chap" told me of another hearing centre nearby to try, so I did. It was on the second floor, in a building without an elevator. The second floor here, would be the third floor in Canada. To get to the second floor I had to climb four sets of stairs. High ceilings mean LOTS of stairs. My left hip doesn't cope well with stairs. Sigh! In retrospect, that helpful chap really wasn't helpful at all. I should have left well-enough alone and hoped they didn't get too clogged with wax.

The lady at location number two was able to sort out the left hearing aid to the point where it was functioning once she pried out the wrong filter, which had been jammed in. I was halfway there. Actually, with only one hearing aid, I could manage, barely. The helpful lady told me that in Enniscorthy, there was a place that sold the brand of hearing aids that I use. With my fingers crossed, I drove back to where I was staying in Carnew. It is not next door to Enniscorthy.

A bit of googling brought me to the correct website, which included a phone number. I called and was told that I could drop in anytime and they would get things sorted out and repaired. But there wasn't enough time to get from here to there before they closed. Tomorrow's plan had just been finalized. Enniscorthy it would be.

Fortunately, my designated seat in the theatre was in the second row; the actors spoke loudly and very clearly, and I enjoyed every minute of the farce "Out of Order." I only missed a few lines, and since it was a farce, I didn't miss much because of the action and the actors' expressions. It was so funny I laughed until tears ran down my face. The entire audience was enthralled by the performance. As was the adjudicator.

This morning I set out for Enniscorthy, via Bunclody. Getting to the town was easy. Getting around was NOT. I missed a turn and ended up forced to take the bridge across the river to the really, really, really hilly part of town. Eventually, I followed directions until I was so confused by the traffic and narrow streets, that I headed for the only place I knew - the parking garage for Dunne's store. 

Google supplied pedestrian directions from there via several optional routes. I just didn't know where I currently was on any of those routes. A friendly and helpful young man in the Vodaphone store took pity on me when I asked for assistance. He walked me right to the shop. To be fair, it was rather complicated but I did get there with his help. Without it I'd still be wandering up and down the hills of Enniscorthy.

It's possible there is now a wanted poster with my image on it. Leaving the parking garage, I took the lift/elevator up to ground level. I saw a set of doors leading onto the street, so out I went. As it happens, that was an emergency exit and yes, when you exit that way, a very loud alarm sounds. I just sauntered casually up the hill in my search for the destination du jour and could hear that alarm for a while. Probably they have CCTV and I had on a bright jacket. Possibly the lost and stupefied look on my face caused them to take pity on a white-haired lady. No security guards caught me. I don't know if they tried but I'm grateful that I was not arrested.

Doyle Hearing was indeed the answer to my prayers, once I got there. The young woman at the desk took a while to remove the filter which had been forced into place and was able to replace both left and right ears' devices with the right filters. To my great relief, I could hear again, in stereo. A mere €20 was enough to cover her work and a new set of filters and domes. Should I need to repeat the cleaning, I can now do it myself.

I'm very proud to say that I didn't need to consult Google for the route home. After lunch, I drove over to say hello to the folks in Minmore and then set off to see The Copse (where my ancestors emigrated from) and Bob's tree (planted in memory of my Dad, some of his ashes are buried below that lovely Canadian Maple.) It is nicely surrounded by lovely daffodils. 

The Copse - where our Byrne ancestors had their cabin

The exact place where my life changed in 2008
We were directed to Jim Byrne and he turned out to be related

The rest is history

Bob's tree and its lovely daffodils

That tree is on Jim's farm, so I put on my wellies and visited the trees, then had a peek at the new lambs. I took a couple of pictures. 

Mama and the triplets - one day old

Then I adjourned to the kitchen with Mary and Jim for a cup of (green) tea and a biscuit. I'd brought my wellies and left them there for anyone to use and possibly be available on a future visit. 

As I type, it's pouring rain. The blue skies have been replaced by grey clouds, so now it's sunny, and then suddenly it's not. You don't even have to wait five minutes for this weather to change. 

Tonight's play is "Hooked," by Gillian Grattan. It has had good reviews in other places so I'm expecting to be well entertained. 

Slan

Just another dry day in Co Wicklow

Have I told you about parking in Carnew? It's unlike most other small towns in that the residents and I suppose, the visitors as well, have mastered the art of creative parking. The main street poses a particular challenge where it narrows. More of that in a minute.

The street where I'm staying is a two-way street. There is room for two cars to pass if there are no cars parked. Often, cars are parked with two wheels on the sidewalk, leaving a little more room on the driving surface, as my rental car is now. Two small cars could still pass, slowly, by mine. Usually, there are gaps between the cars parked, mostly, along the side where I am. Those gaps provide excellent shelter for vehicles when an approaching car is using the oncoming lane. Most of the time, it works like a charm. Without even thinking about it, a little slalom move here and there keeps everyone safe.

However, there are no restrictions. You may park on either side. Yesterday morning as I looked out the living room window, with my own vehicle in plain view, a car parked directly opposite. There were no cars in front of or behind that new interloper. The driver could have pulled up or reversed one car length or more so that the slalom pattern would not be disturbed. Oh no, she had to park right there.

Fortunately, no really large trucks or vans decided to come this way. My grey Hyundai remained remarkably unscathed.

And now we come to the main street. There is parking on both sides, and there is enough room for two vehicles to safely pass as they go in opposing directions. Toss in a bit of convenient double parking at least once a day, preferably close to one of the ramps (speed bumps/traffic calming humps). It's probably to challenge the patience of drivers waiting to proceed safely around those who are just running into the shop for a moment or chatting through open car windows to the neighbour who is legally parked. 

And then there's the spot where the road narrows, and turns, and parking is still permitted on both sides. This area has no designated parking spots. Carnew is a truck route. When cars are parked on both sides at that spot, it's a case of who is the more aggressive driver coming from one direction or the other. There's only room for one vehicle, and even large trucks have to pass through the eye of the needle.  Ridiculous. I'd drive out of town and walk rather than park my car on either side there. I'm just too timid I suppose.

Yesterday afternoon a little anecdote revealed the meaning of "no parking" indicators. A visitor asked what a yellow line on the curb meant. The answer, "no parking." What does a double yellow line mean, then? And the reply. "really, really do NOT park there."  Carnew's corner needs triple yellow lines and a bylaw enforcer with his ticket-writing pen ready to go. 

My daytime sortie was to visit Susan Byrne for lunch. They have a long narrow driveway up the side of a hill from the road. To warn visitors to be careful, Damian has put up signs like "no passing" and "bike lane closed." They have an enchanting property with a fabulous view. Over the years, the garden has expanded and even includes an area of Standing Stones. I did not tempt fate and walk into the centre. If you are an Outlander fan, you'll know why. 

The Standing Stones with a Dolman in the centre

I took a few photos of various vignettes they've created. And one sign that tells you where in the world you are relative to many other places.

Just a lovely little daffodil

Old implements from the Dempseys who originally lived there

How far from here to there?

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading. The evening was spent watching "The Lonesome West" by Mark McDonagh. It's apparently part of a trilogy. It's set in Connemara and almost all of the action takes place inside the home of two bachelor brothers. One had "accidentally" shot their miserable father and the other's testimony kept him out of jail. The "good" brother became the sole heir by agreement, and he was tight with his money, spending most on "figurines" of religious figures. His name was Valene and he marked everything he bought with a large V. This included the furniture and his collection. The arguments were both funny and petty. When Valene was out, his brother Coleman collected a potful of the fibreglass figurines and baked them in the much-loved stove that Valene had paid 300 pounds for. All in all a great production. 

I'm off in a few minutes to join a couple of friends for brunch in Arklow. I hope that Ms Google is in good humour today. I will take the route via Gorey and use the motorway. We are going to Coffee 4 U, and apparently, their food is very tasty, with pancakes a specialty. I have not yet eaten, saving myself for a guilt-free meal. I hope their Lattes are good too. Or maybe I'll have a Cappucino or just a Flat White. The only thing I'm sure of is I won't order tea.

I set out in the opposite direction to a different destination and an unplanned stop en route

Fix yourself a drink, maybe get a cookie, and put your feet up. This could get quite wordy today. There's a lot to fit in.

I finally decided on Altamont Gardens as my destination du jour, but then I went to Duckett's Grove instead. But not directly. This is how that happened.

Just as I locked the door when leaving, I glanced up the street to see a large crowd of people on foot, followed by a couple of cars. There was a funeral and the body had been waked at home. This was the procession to the church. I was hardly going to join the parade, so off I went in the opposite direction.

This new route passed through Shillelagh, not the way to Altamont Gardens. I can't tell you how often I've driven over the narrow stone bridge that brings you to "downtown" Shillelagh, but it's dozens and dozens of times. This time I noticed a footbridge parallel to the stone bridge I was driving over. What to do? Well, pull over, park, and explore, of course.

And I discovered what I'd been missing. The pedestrian bridge isn't anything special, but it led to the playing field and a lovely meandering walking path. And every so often, there is a sign that reminds you it is also a fitness path. The first sign I came to suggested doing squats. LOL - not today. I was on a photo mission. Here are a couple of examples:

The stone bridge in Shillelagh as seen from the pedestrian bridge

Just another pretty daffodil

Just some pretty flowers to practice focusing; the camera not my mind

Another lane I've yet to explore

I followed the walking path until I came to another footbridge, which turned my walk into a loop and brought me back to where I started. Of course, I had to immortalize the clock tower on the Shillelagh town hall. Lo and behold, the quick brown fox was jumping over the weather vane and the clock was off by a few hours.

 

The time was about 11:30 so someone needs to tell that clock

Because I was already parked and pointed towards Tullow, it seemed only right to visit Duckett's Grove, en route to Altamont Gardens. Well, OK, they are not on the same route, but I had hours to spend. 

Google Maps provided perfect directions, with no diversions onto narrow boreens and paths to nowhere. I travelled on good roads all the way. And it certainly was worth the trip. I can't believe I've been this close so many times and never visited before. It must have been quite an amazing home when occupied and intact.  

I was quite struck by the flora and must show you some samples of the flowers here.

Pink Magnolias of course

Feltleaf Ceanothus

Cherry Laurel

Ramsons - flowering garlic

Oriental Paperbush

And then, of course, it was on to Altamont Gardens. While not on the direct route to anywhere, it really wasn't too long a drive to reach what would have been my original destination. It's always lovely here and it might have been nicer on a sunny day. But, IT WASN'T RAINING, and that was good enough. And of course, more floral abundance and the season of flowers has just begun. 

Enter Altamont Gardens and prepare to be impressed

Giant Trillium

Magnolias over water

Purple Rock Cress

Speedwell - playing with focus

Magnolias admiring themselves in the lake with Altamont House in the distance

Then it was time to head back to Carnew and prepare to meet some new lambs, some special helpers, and a curious cow. And I forgot my wellies with the Byrnes. Oops!

Latest arrival; its twin is resting

Daddy's little helpers

Waiting for space in the delivery room

Recuperating with the twins

Peek-a-boo

Nothing much happened

 Greetings

There isn't much to report about Monday other than it came and went. Because I have a cold, my company opted not to join me for dinner. With other health issues going on, it was too much of a risk. Maybe if this cold clears completely, we can arrange a raindate.

Today it's not raining so I'm about to go somewhere - as yet undecided. I can't waste a dry day. 

The play last night, The Wake by Tom Murphy, was intense. The acting was superb, and the sets were really imaginative and set the scenes well. I wasn't expecting it to be the way it was, based on the summary in the program, and it took me a while to adjust. I wondered if they'd mixed up the descriptions of the action we were expecting. The second act was more like the description. There were some quite comical moments but this was about family conflicts and how they were resolved, or not. I have to give the actors, director and others involved in the production full credit. Those seated around me were as confused as I was about the action unfolding in front of us. 

The adjudicator, Imelda McDonagh, is fabulous. Part of the fun is watching to see what she will be wearing. She always looks lovely and her clothes are slightly unusual and suit her to a T. She introduces the play and the author and goes on to critique and praise all aspects. It's quite the learning experience. I viewed it just from the point of view of being entertained.

Not much actually happened during the day other than doing laundry, reading and wondering if and when the rain would stop. 

I think Altamont Gardens will be my destination now. It's a short drive away and always lovely and I want to see what's in bloom. I'm sure there's a shorter route than I'll take, but I can get there without the GPS and that's good enough. 

Tonight's play is The Gin Game, which I've seen, so depending on what else comes up, I might (not) attend. 

Slan

And a wonderful day it was

There's no better place to be on 17 March than in Ireland. And no better place in Ireland than among the relatives. And it didn't rain, and it's not raining now. 

Around noon I found the Byrne connection at Jim's pub in Carnew, where they had gathered to watch the parade. 

Jim the publican, smiling at his customers

It was very much a country parade and lots of fun. 

They drive tractors at a very young age here; but fear not, he's on Daddy's lap

The biggest smile in the crowd

Carnew Community Care, a senior living facility was the official grand marshall as it was celebrating 40 years of service. It's kind of like a village within a village. All the residents live in their own "cottage" and make some of their own meals. It's always an option to have dinner in the Centre and share the companionship of your neighbours. And those dinners are delicious and filling. 

After the parade, we returned to the pub, where I had a Guinness and, of course, more conversation. The antihistamines kept my very runny nose in check, and I hope I didn't spread this cold to too many people.

Let it settle, top it up, let it settle and then enjoy

In the evening, I enjoyed dinner at Coolruss and a very rural experience of Jim bringing a little lamb into the house to be bottle-fed. He was the smallest of a set of triplets and his mama could only feed two. Today, they hope that a sheep whose lamb died will accept him and continue with a more natural feeding.

Dinner time for the little lamb

To back it up a little, the play on Saturday night was "I do not love thee, Dr. Fell." It was a great comedy which was a take-off on the encounter groups in California in the 70s. The characters were all well-played, and the psychiatrist/group leader produced an amazing American accent. I would have believed she was a California girl, but she was not. The adjudicator liked the play as well, and that's important as her comments and rating will determine whether the play will end up in the All-Ireland finals in May. 

It had rained all day and I caught up on my reading. There was nothing to be enjoyed outdoors for sure. Yes, I finished my book and started another. I came reluctantly to the e-reader but it's perfect for travellers. I will never run out of something to read.

Today is a bank holiday to make up for St Paddy's Day falling on a Sunday. However, the stores will be open at least from noon. I'm having company for dinner, but don't tell anyone that I'm going to purchase the entire meal and "cook" it myself. Ahem. The kitchen is well-equipped but somewhat unfamiliar when it comes to creative cooking. At least, that's my excuse.

I'll be off shortly to see what I can find to explore in the vicinity. However, as I look out the kitchen window, I can no longer see the nearby hills. Fog is rolling down quickly, and it could be that the promise of a dry day was too optimistic. Maybe I can go madly off in a different direction and stay dry.

Sunny all afternoon - YAY

With the forecast NOT calling for rain, I simply had to go to Avondale, Beyond the Trees on Friday. And I was certainly not disappointed. While Ms Google had a different idea of the route to take, by making a compromise and using the parts of the route that I'm familiar with, my rental car took me to Avondale. Where I climbed up and out in only a few minutes. Here is the nefarious bucket seat with its horrible raised sides. Why did they design them like that? As a challenge to a quick exit?

My timing couldn't have been better. It was a school day and the only children I saw were little preschoolers with their parents. Most of the visitors were adults and none of us were in a hurry to get anywhere. Starting off at the information desk, I paid for my ticket and had a nice chat with a gentleman who is involved with the Rathrum Historical Society. Somehow if you are into genealogy/history, a conversation is probably lurking around every corner.

Suitably briefed, I headed out for the treetop walk. Everything was accessible, meaning there were no stairs to navigate. Everything is ramped. The treetop walk started at ground level and the incline was never more than 6%. 

It is very early spring now, so there were a few flowers here and there, and the deciduous trees were still bare. That, of course, meant that some views were more open and not blocked by lovely green leaves. I was surprised to see so many Eucalyptus trees and had a momentary flashback to my long-ago trip to Australia. I scanned for koalas, but not surprisingly, there were none. 

The treetop walk takes you along a pretty route with lots of potential diversions and detours for kids (and their parents it seemed.) In case anyone was watching, I didn't bother with those but they might have been fun. Plenty of signs indicate what you are looking at, notably the wildlife, of which I saw none.

At the end of the trail is the tower—a giant spiral, again with great signage and views along the way. On the inside is a huge spiralling metal tube that flexible and adventurous people can use for a quick descent. If you wish to use that slide you must pick up a mat before heading up. It's like a thick felt toboggan, and the rider's feet go into the pocket at the front. I roughly timed the trip down by that slide, to something more or less than 10 seconds. Given that my body has the flexibility of a steel construction beam, I opted to walk both ways.

The famous slide - exit and try to stand up while everyone is watching? No thanks.

I took a vertical panorama shot so it looks a bit wonky;
 it was not designed by the architect of the leaning tower of Pisa

I had lunch in the cafe and the sun came out. It would have been a waste had I driven straight back to Carnew. The destination I chose was Glenmalure. With all the recent rain, going back to last June, and being almost constant since then, the waterfall was indeed worth the trip. The sun was not in a good position for the photo I wanted to take, but eventually, a cloud drifted in front of the sun, and I got a picture. The one below cropped off the very top of the hill. Imagine, wishing for a cloud. That road beckoned me to drive farther along.

There I encountered an Irish traffic jam. Those sheep were little devils. A farmer came along on his ATV with his trusty sheepdog who made many attempts to keep them together to get them home. It was quite the task, which allowed me to get photos and a little video of them. I drove all the way to the dead end, which was a parking lot for hikers. My feet had been through enough for the day, so I walked about 75 metres along the river and doubled back to the car. On the drive back, I didn't see the farmer or his sheep at all, so he either gave up or managed to successfully get them home. 

It was no surprise that I couldn't get a phone signal there, but eventually, I did, and Google Maps reset to take me back. I followed directions until I got onto a familiar route and then made Ms. Google do a lot of re-routing as I went home my own way.

The first play of the Drama Festival was last night. Although there were a few moments of humour, I found it to be mostly serious. The actors played their roles well, but as the adjudicator said in her comments after the show, they could have played up the comedy quite a lot more. 

It's just a short trot back to the house and I called it a day about 11 pm.