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!