Day Three..Adventure continued...

Another beautiful day here in Ireland! We went to breakfast around 9:15 here at Heaton's guesthouse. Like yesterday..the buffet is put out before you even place your hot order. Again several homemade breads, including delicous scones,homemade jams, fresh compote of plums, granolas, homemade yogurts, meats, cheeses, juices, tea and coffee...then you place your order!! Shannon chose a ham and cheese omelet..I ordered the fish of the day which was fresh hake in a delicate lemon and basil butter. It was absolutely wonderful and light after the breads and fruits. We got on our way and drove the Sleah Head Drive. It's about 25 miles..but took us nearly four hours with all the stops we made! First stop was the Vestry Bay. The scenery is beautiful and the waters were calm. A solitaire fishing boat was in the water adding to the charm. Don't worry, friends, I got you souveniers! (~Shannon) We stopped several times just to enjoy the scenery and a couple of times for places of interest. One that was a favorite for both of us was the Dunbeg Fort. This remaining structure dates to 500BC and they believe was continued to be used up until 450BC. It was amazing. It has yet to be determined if it was actually a fort, a monastery,a fairy circle, or just a place that people lived. The fence around it and the huts inside, the ledges the lookouts are all made from stone. Only half remains as the rest has fallen into the sea..literally! We stood on the edge of the cliff...two feet away and looked down the side to the crashing waves below. It was absolutely breathtaking to view and the trek back in time to another way of life left us appreciating our comforts and admiring those who had been there. A few miles down the road we came to the BeeHive huts. A settlement made of little stone huts that look exactly like a bee hive. All spaced around each other, complete with tiny courtyards, fences, fields, sheep and beautiful views of the sea and cliffs. We had to climb the side of a mountain to get to them..but it was worth every step up and slide down!! From there we continued around the drive stopping to view the Blasket Islands..the drop off cliff we were edging our way around and anything that looked interesting! Our car was mostly in a good mood..although she did challenge me when I had to come to a complete stop at a stop sign placed directly ON the side of a mountain. I would have been fine if a local had not come flying up behind me and stopped a foot behind me. I could not her into first without rolling..so conceded and let the local get me past the stop where the ground leveled off. It was embarassing..but it also prompted us later this evening find a hill and learn how to slide into first while using the emergency brake to keep from rolling. A little tricky that is...emergency brake and sliding into first gear dont usually go so well..but apparently if you are going to drive up and down mountains..you have to learn it..so learn it I did! So Sybil has been tamed once again. I can proudly say we went the whole day without burning the clutch one time! Once we made our way back into Dingle..we decided to park the car in town and walk around. We first got some fish and chips and went and sat at a bench at the pier to watch the boats. We had a little lady from Northern Ireland come and sit with us..share our chips and visit. Her son lives in Philadelphia and they Skype when they can. People tell me things..my children will think this is funny! After our outdoor lunch we decided to go on the hunt for an antique store. Following a locals directions we traipsed through the whole town..uphill, until we came to the shop with Antiques above the door. We opened the door and walked into a dimly lit room where four people at a bar turned around to look at us. We asked if this were an antique shop..and the answer was "No..it's a bar..but you can purchase anything that is not screwed down". We kindly thanked them then left! We can say we've seen all the streets, alleys and colorful shops in Dingle! We decided to have our dinner at Murphy's Pub. A little homier menu..food we were more familiar with. We shared a bowl of seafood chowder with local fresh fish and a basket of brown bread which is quickly becoming a favorite of ours! Shannon ordered the smoked, curried salmon and I had the Shepherds pie. Both were delicous. Mine was very homey...served with fries (chips), but Shannon's won. Smokey, sweet and spicy it was wonderful. We were too full to do anything more than share a dessert..so we forced ourselves (poor us) to try the strawberry, rhubarb crumble with fresh cream. I wish I had had it first! The weather has been perfect. It was sunny and about 50 degrees. The wind is cold and we find that we are being whipped around pretty good by it. Every time we get out of the car we are assaulted by cold breezes of which feel both refreshing and exhausting at the same time! We have loved the mountains of Dingle and are looking forward to the valleys of Killarney tomorrow. We are on our way to Kenmare, but will be spending most of the day tomorrow in Killarney on our way. Castles, manors and abbeys, oh my! Again, this would all be perfect if those we love were with us. We think everywhere we go how much one of you would enjoy something. We did pass an education book store..out of great love for our children...we resisted the urge to go in. We are still on a quest for an antique store. Not sure what we'll find..but we are looking! Something that has been used and loved from here..to go back to be used and loved at our home..that's what we are looking for! XOXOOXO to our loved ones..just hugs for everyone else!! (Here is my attempt at video load up. these are short clips because the HD takes so long to load if over a minute. Let me know if these work and I will load more! The WiFi connection at this B&B is horrible. If these work and we get a better connection at the next b&B, I will load many more. I had to load to Windows movie Maker and then to YouTube. Hope it works!~Shannon) Test videos: