Day 8 - The Murder Hut

Due to my cold, I’ve been pretty bad at jotting notes during the day, so if the last few days are less detailed, I get a pass.  Our first stop today was the House of Waterford Crystal.

We learned that while most of Waterford Crystal is now manufactured outside of Ireland, they do still have a working factory and do custom orders locally.  The sun was shining (yay) as we headed to the plant.  We went on the tour and everyone enjoyed it.  There was a lot of talk about Waterford history, but as I was drugged up on Dayquil and the remnants of Nyquil, I recall very few details.  There were, however, a few things that sparked my interest.

We watched the workers blowing glass for trophy bases and vases; glass blowing is actually really cool and I’d like to see it again whilst not in a drug-induced haze. 

We saw the different stations where they did the marking, cutting and engraving.  The cutting is amazing – they make the decorative cuts in each piece individually and by hand.  One guy just holds the crystal up to some type of sanding blade/pad and knows exactly where and how deep each cut needs to be.  They require five years of training before they can cut.  The guy we saw had about 50 years of experience and is retiring in a few months.  We got to play with some of the pieces and Triecia had the honor of breaking an imperfect piece. 

Damon & Bobby playing crystal football

Triecia breaking glass

It seems that each and every piece of Waterford Crystal is handled by about 8-10 different people in the process and each piece is made completely by hand.  We did not see anything that remotely mechanized the process other than a weird Frankenstein machine that spun and held a bunch of sharpies and springs to assist with marking each piece for cutting.

After Waterford, we made our way to Wicklow National Park in hopes of getting in one last hike.  Triecia really wanted to visit the nearby Powerscourt Estate, house and gardens whereas Damon and opted to go on one final nature walk.  We dropped them off and found a path about 10 minutes away that would lead us to the Powerscourt waterfall – Irelands highest waterfall.  Our hike was a little over 4 miles and we had agreed to be back at the gardens by a specific time, meaning, we didn’t have time to dally.  It looked like a relatively flat hike, which I wanted given that I was prone to coughing fits and exertion didn’t seem like an awesome idea.  But, the sun was shining, the temps were reasonable, and we wanted to be outside.

The first part of our hike was on a paved road and paralleled a river.  Damon got antsy and was worried our hike would take too long, so he decided we needed to take a shortcut through the woods.  Since we did have GPS and I also had a map with the path marked on my phone, I begrudgingly agreed to do it.  The marked path is a really long narrow U shape, like a huge switchback.  The idea was to cut across the U near the “prongs” so we could meet up again with our marked path.  Oh, and there was a river that we had to get across.   Anyone who has ever followed their husband into the woods because he wants to take a shortcut should realize this was not going to end well.

We basically marched around lost in the woods going back and forth trying to meet up the path. 

Immediately before getting smacked in the face with a branch

Bushwackng through waist-high fern field

At one point we did have to cross the river and we found a narrow point that had some decent walking logs on it.  I managed to not fall in (a small miracle), Damon is much more graceful than me. 

The branch I'm hanging onto bounces

Runs across like a man

We also came a cross a fence with barbed wire that had an opening, so we went through that.  Seemed like a good idea until in the middle of the woods we found what I describe as the sacrifice site.  When you are marching through the woods and come across a huge clearing with logs outlining a triangle with a weird tee-pee in the middle, one should realize that it is clearly a site where people are sacrificed, and one should walk in a different direction.  We had to stop and take pictures. 

Murder tee-pee

Upon continuation of our journey, again, hiking through the middle of the woods, we came across what I dubbed, the murder hut.  Why is there a lean-to in the middle of the woods near a sacrificial tee pee?  I’m not waiting to find out.  Damon took more pictures. 

Murder Hut

We were neither murdered nor sacrificed and eventually popped out near the waterfall, which was spectacularly beautiful.  NOTE:  It took us the same distance and time to take Damon’s shortcut as it would have to stay on the marked path.  Damon swears the lean too and tee pee were just for weary hikers.  I don’t think so.

Back to waterfall - my favorite picture

After our harrowing journey, it was a little disconcerting to see lots of people at the waterfall until we realized there was a road that allowed people to drive right up to it without risk of sacrifice.  Noted for next time. 

The waterfall.  One of the (smart) driving visitors took our picture

On the way back, I forced Damon to stay on the marked path, which he agreed to.  We made it back to Triecia and Bobby, only an hour after our designated meeting time.  They had a great time perusing the beautiful gardens.

Prettier than waist-high fern forest

Well marked paths

Did not have to cross water features by log

Garden house was less scary than murder hut

Our last day in Ireland is tomorrow and we will be spending it in Dublin.  So, we agreed to finish the drive to Dublin tonight, so we could wake up with lots of time to explore.  We stayed at the brand-new Hyatt Centric, just opened a week earlier.  It was a bit embarrassing to show up with our car that we had half been living in for the past week in our grubby hiking clothes, but since Hyatt is my home away from home, all was good.  We went to the bar for dinner as the restaurant was closed for some pop-up music event with some famous Irish singers – if you’ve ever heard of Soule, she was there.  We had a quick dinner and then settled in for the night.

Day 7 - Rainy Day

I woke up with a sore throat and cough, not a promising start to the day.  Plus, the prediction was for all rain all day.  Having been spoiled by near perfect weather days so far, rain was not something we were looking forward to.  We started with a wonderful cooked to order B&B Breakfast, plus the continental spread was second to none.  Thank you Eileen at The Mountain Dew B&B!

For our first stop, we walked the 2.2km to Dunn Castle.  How we’ve made it all this time without visiting a castle yet is beyond me.  There was a light drizzle during our walk that had turned to a medium rain by the time we arrived.  We were all going to do the castle tour, but unfortunately, there were only two tour spots left so Bobby and Tricia gave the spots to us so they could wander the grounds and walk back to town to do more shopping.

No photos allowed in the castle :(

The tour was interesting, specifically, how much thought went into every design detail to ensure the Chieftan and his family were not murdered by intruders.  From the single spiral staircase so there was only one way up and included “trip” steps (uneven steps heights that would throw off intruders’ balance), and a right-handed guide rope (assumed that attackers would need their right hand to hold rope climbing stairs and thus could not wield a weapon) to the doors that were had at least four defensive design mechanisms including cross grains to there was no single point of weakness to the cross beam that was built into the wall to provide extra support.  Then there were the more functional designs – like the holes near every window to guide water out into drip panels a few feet below to guide water away from the building, to the toilet “bench” where waste was captured at ground level, but a chute allowed the ammonia back into the toilet area where they hung their clothes to let the ammonia kill lice.  Gross, but functional.  We weren’t allowed to take any pictures…

After the tour, my cold was in full force, so we thought it best to head back to the Mountain Dew where Triecia and Bobby were waiting for us with tea and cookies.  It was a “lovely”walk in the now rather heavy rain.  We spent a few minutes drying out in front of the fireplace and as a group, ate about 600 cookies and Irish Ho-Hos, loaded back in the car and on to our next destination – Waterford.

The drive was about 2 ½ hours and along the route, we had another Invisilign experience.  This time – it was mine.  I was the only one who did not have any cookies before leaving the Mountain Dew.  This is relevant because it means that my Invisiligns were still in my mouth when we got in the car.  During the drive, I wanted a banana so I popped them out.  When I went to put them back in, they were gone.  Thus began the 30 minute search of the car looking for my Invisiligns.  Bobby & I tore apart the back of the car – we each looked in every pocket of my two jackets, we searched the front seat, between the seats, we searched every bag and the storage area behind our seats.  We went through our accumulated pile of tour books, maps and random snacks piece by piece.  Triecia helpfully moved her seat back and forth three times asking if she was helping.  Tree – I love you, but no, not helping 😊  I was on all fours looking under the seats.  Then Bobby was on all fours looking under the seats.  The strangest thing was that I had been sitting in the exact same spot since we got in the car with my seatbelt on – there was literally no where for them to go.  We were baffled.  Finally we gave up (don’t worry, mystery solved shortly).

On our drive, I noticed we were passing a town called Midleton.  Recalling that Bobby had showed me a brochure for the Jameson whiskey plant in Midleton, we detoured there for a lunch stop and a stopover at Jameson.   When we got out of the car and I opened my door (it is sort of like a minivan door and slides open), BOOM!  There were my Invisiligns in the door frame!  How they got there, I have no idea.  But mystery solved. 

We visited, yes, another pub. 

We started with Murphy’s Pub because we thought it was funny that we’ve already been to a Murphy’s Pub.  Shockingly, more than one in Ireland.  We walked in and (from what I recall) it was a tiny, dark place, mostly empty with no tables – just a bar as you walked in the door.  There were about four older men huddled around the bar and they all looked up as we walked in.  The man closest to use looks up and in the thickest Irish brogue we’ve heard to date exclaimed “oy, it’s a bunch of yanks!”.  Realizing rather quickly that we were probably not in the best lunch spot, I turned around and ran out with Triecia and Bobby in front of me.  We sort of forgot to tell Damon who was furthest in.  He figured it out eventually.

It was lightly raining when we finished lunch but we were close enough to Jameson to walk over.  Damon really wanted to do the tour but Bobby and Triecia did not, so we all had a drink together in the tasting area and they waited while we learned about Jameson.  Damon is our designated driver, so when it came time to do the US vs Scotland vs. Ireland whiskey taste test at the end of the tour, it was left to me.  The one who has a horrible cold, no functioning taste buds, and who generally does not have a fondness for whiskey.  I did the obligatory taste sip of all three – they each tasted like rubbing alcohol mixed with Halls cough drops.  Nope, I’m still not a whiskey gal.

Back in the car, we continued to the town of Waterford.  We found a hotel around 7:30 and I think everyone was pretty zonked and we parted ways.  Damon and I found our way down to the bar for a light dinner before turning in.  Here’s hoping for some sun tomorrow!

Day 6 - Ringa Dingle

Our adventure today was to drive the scenic Loop around the Dingle Peninsula.  But before I write about that, a little side note.  We spend a lot of time in the car and we all have our same spots.  Bobby and me like children in the back seat with our pile of food, maps and other miscellaneous crap; Triecia as navigator and Damon driving.  At least once a day we have some laughable moment with our SUVan.  Every morning when we get in the car, the driver's seat adjustment automatically resets the seat for a midget.  Given that Damon is 6’4”, the morning routine is… get in the car, Damon turns it on and then starts yelling when the seats automatically moves forward squishing his legs while he flails frantically trying to re-adjust.  Yes, every morning.  He got out the car's manual and tried to reprogram it yesterday, but today proves that it didn’t work.  Keeps the rest of us entertained.

There are several famous loop tours on the West Coast of Ireland, the main three being the Connemara Loop, The Ring of Kerry, and the Dingle Loop.  Given that the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Loop are right next to each other, I had nicknamed the Dingle Loop the Ringa Dingle.  It really rolls of the tongue better.  All we knew about the Dingle Peninsula was that it was scenic, and contained 10,000 residents and over 500,000 sheep.  If we are ever going to be part of a romantic comedy where our car breaks down and we get waylaid by a herd of sheep, this was going to be our best chance.

It took us about 2 hours to get to the town of Dingle.  The drive was just gorgeous.  Weather went between cloudy and sunny, but the hills and valleys and stone walls and sheep were everywhere.  

Our Sheep Wall pictures are getting better!

We also see old buildings dotting the landscape.  I don’t mean a building from 50 years ago – I mean crumbling stone castles, forts, etc. everywhere, interspersed with modern housing.  They just leave stone towers alone and build around them.  

Old Castle (?) next to a modern house

We heard that at one point, there were 3,500 castles in Ireland – I imagine some of these buildings we see are remnants.  I haven’t mentioned it yet, but since we’ve been in the car so much, we downloaded Demi Moore’s new auto-biography, which has kept us entertained the entire week.  

Dingle is a small town and we had to circle it twice to figure out how to get to the Main drag.  We’ve noticed that in all Irish towns, you can park in your direction on either side of the street, which makes figuring out if a street is one way exceptionally difficult.  We had a few close calls on that one!  Once in Dingle, we had, you guessed it, a pub lunch. 

Dingle Harbour

Dingle Street

Lunch Pub

The Ringa Dingle is about a 30-mile loop if you do the whole thing, which was our original goal.  I had been so excited for the Ring, but the first few miles were just more sheep and walls and I was starting to feel a little guilty about dragging everyone out here.  There were a few historic places to stop but given that each one cost 3 Euro per person and it was cold and windy outside, we would send one person out to scout to see if it was worthy.  Damon found one cool thing but didn’t tell us about it until he came back to the car – he got to pet a sheep and a dog and crawl in a hole.  He said it was cool. We trust him.  

Then all at once, we hit the ocean, the sun came out, and the scenery changed to breathtaking landscapes.

Narrow curvy road with stone walls on both sides

No passing room

One of the coolest unexpected things we found was a film site that was used in The Last Jedi.  Since Damon is a total Star Wars geek, we had to stop.  And by total fluke, he was wearing the most appropriate t-shirt for the occasion.  

For some unexplainable reason, both Damon & my Invisiligns seem to be characters in a lot of our stories.  This time, Damon was taking off his raincoat for a picture with the Star Wars sign and his Invisiligns went flying out of his pocket.  He and Bobby worked together to clean the street grit off of them before we continued.

The film site was on private land and up at the top of a steep grassy hill.  We donated 1 Euro each to the land owner and hiked the hill dodging sheep land mines as we went.  Triecia only wiped out once.  For those keeping track, we are at 1 each hiking wipeouts for me, Bobby & Damon, and 2 for Triecia.  We are a coordinated group. 

At the top of the hill, which was at least 3 fake summits later, there was a little building completely filled with sheep poop (the only shelter on the hill) and one very phallic looking rock. It was very windy at the top.

Sheep Shelter

As a fellow Outlander devotee, Triecia was desperately trying to move through this standing stone to find Jamie Frasier in 1745 Ireland.  Only he is Scottish.  Oh well.

On the way back down Star Wars hill, we ran into a heard of sheep.  Since Damon was able to pet one earlier in the day, I wanted to give it a go as well.  We slowly approached the group, but with this guy giving us the death stare, we thought maybe this was not the right herd to go in for the snuggle and backed away with eyes locked until we were a safe distance.

We spent so much time at Star Wars hill that we opted not to do the full loop and cut back across the middle to get back to Dingle.  But not before we stopped at Inch Beach.  No clue how the Inch name came to be, but I read that you could drive your car onto the beach.  It should go without saying that as we entered the beach, I had to tell Damon “NO DONUTS.  NO GOING IN THE WATER” because I know how his mind works and I know he was headed right for the water. 

stopped, did some artistic leaping pictures, and then finished our Ringa Dingle. 

We were just getting back into Dingle and we were all commenting on what an awesome driver Damon has been – especially on these crazy narrow twisty turny streets.  We had the gopro on all day today and one day I will post pictures of how nuts Irish drivers are as they pass people.  In any case, as we were pouring on the accolades, Damon is making a left turn.  A very wide left turn.  Into oncoming traffic.  I just started yelling WRONG LANE WRONG LANE WRONG LANE and he luckily swerved into the left lane narrowly avoiding a head-on crash.  No more accolades until the car is returned unscathed. 

Our stop for the night was Killarney.  We found a B&B that had a phenomenal rating, so we decided to start there.  Triecia and I are usually the room-getters.  The B&B side door was unlocked but we couldn’t find anyone.  We wandered the house yelling but no one came, so we started to leave and then Eileen popped out in her slippers – she didn’t have any residents this night, so she was going to close up shop, but then decided to open for us.  We had two wonderful rooms and run of the common areas, including a lounge/library well stocked with drinks and snacks. 

We walked into town because we knew there was a great Irish wool sweater shop, where we loaded up on all things Irish wool, then had dinner, then went back to the B&B where we had cookies and tea before heading into a bed that, I kid you not, had 3” of down cushion below and like 11” of down blankets on top – it was awesome!  Unfortunately, I had started to feel a few cold symptoms coming on and loaded up on Advil and sleeping pills to try to ward it off, which pretty much put me into a coma until morning.

Killarney at night