Sheep, Kenmare River, Old boat, and an Old Church make for interesting exploration

Day 4 Ireland –
Day 4 in Ireland was a busy exploration day.

I woke to sunshine and frost on the ground. I slipped my bare feet into hiking boots, picked up my camera, and walked out to the back patio and took pictures of the sun shining over the mountains and the crystal sleeping on the grass. Peaceful and beautiful.

This morning I took the long route into Kenmare Town Centre, which is about 2.2 kilometers. It was less scenic, but the sun was shining and I did see a sheep farm up on a hill. I managed to get a few distant shots of sheep roaming or grazing. See the little specks in the background? Those are sheep.

In town, I stopped in at Café Mocha for breakfast. This morning I had a fried egg, bacon, and cheese on a croissant and a coke to drink. I will say that you know how everyone says a Guinness in Ireland tastes better than anywhere in the world…well, a cold Coke tastes better in the states better than any place else. I have had two cokes since I’ve been here and both times it tasted a little funny. I checked and it’s bottled in Ireland. Must be the water. :-)

I have my cameras packed and after breakfast, I am heading out to find some picturesque places Eoghan from the Skyline Gallery recommended to visit.


Well, I found one place that Eoghan recommended called The Pier and The Sound, an inlet off the Kenmare River. On this area of water is an old boat that I took some great pictures of.

This place was so beautiful on a sunny day, I could have stayed there all day just soaking in the rays.




On my walk back into town I found an old church called St. Patrick's Church, Church of Ireland. St. Patrick's Church was dedicated in 1858 and replaced the old ruin church called Killowen Church that was built in 1811.

Look how beautiful this hundred plus year old church looks.I mean look at the detail on the windows and how the roof line matches the design. I'm in awe of such work!

I walked back into town and decided to play tourist by doing a little shopping. Very little. I found a little shop called The White Room that specializes in old world Irish linen and run by a lovely woman named Sheila.

I swear to you the first words she said to me were, “You’re from America then?”

She heard my accent. Then we chatted a little over a few things and she asked if I was of Irish descent. She said, “You look Irish.”

HA! She could have no idea how that made me feel. All warm and fuzzy inside. Especially since I’ve been doing family research ad know that at least two branches come from some part of Ireland.

Sheila and I ended up chatting for quite some time about this and that and then I gave her a copy of one of my books. Of course, then we talked some more.
On my walk back to the cottage, I stopped and bought a small lime green bucket filled with a rose bush from a woman on the street and then walked the short route to the cottage.

After a short rest, I trekked back into town on foot and did some more exploring. This time I found a small bookshop where a bought a book of Irish superstitions and a walking map of The Kerry Way.

Guess what I will be doing tomorrow? That is if my legs survive. Today was a huge walking day for me. I did at least nine or ten miles between the trips from and to the cottage on top of the exploring.