Blue Skies, Smiling at Me

Yesterday we left Kilkenny, and headed south towards Cork. On the way, we took a small detour so that's could take Rachael to Mahon Falls. She wanted to see sheep, and I knew that this was a place where I could make that happen. For those of you who don't know, Rachael loves sheep, and loves drawing them in a cartoon form that would suit a children's book well. The weather was not great, but it was not raining, so we felt good heading out. When we got to the falls it was 11*celcius (multiply by 2 and then add 32 to get the Fahrenheit equivalent of 54). I was excited because the weather was very different than the first time I went, so everything looked very different. We got about 2/3s of the way to the falls when the skies opened up, and it started pouring rain. We took shelter by a large rock, and waited it out. After about fifteen minutes the rain stopped and we were able to continue our hike. I said to Rachael that I had no idea that she had packed her adventure pants, as she was scurrying up and down the rocks and boulders, looking for the perfect picture. The waterways slightly lower than when I went previously, which allowed us to get to areas that I had not seen. Quickly we were both sweating in our raincoats, and the temperature had increased to 20*celcius (72*F). We were so glad that we did not turn around and head for the car when the rain started. It turned out to be an amazing day.

Looking back on my first trip.

Looking back on this trip, who knew that the ocean was out there?

Blue skies, smiling at me.

One of my favorite shots.

Rach finding just the right spot to shoot from.

Leading away from the falls

Another of my favorites

A secondary fall off to the left.

We finished adventuring, and loaded into the car to continue our drive. About thirty minutes into our hour drive, we realized that we had not had lunch. We came upon a town called Dungarven, and pulled off the main road in search of sustenance. The restaurant we ended up in was called The Mooring. It was by far the best food I have had since I left the states. Their seafood chowder was rich and full of large pieces of crab, clams, and fish. Amazing! I then had tagliatelle carbonara, with mushrooms, ham, and parmesan cheese in a cream sauce. I could not have been happier. Our waitress was awesome, and took ten minutes to write down the names of restaurants for us to visit along the remainder of our trip. Rachael finished the meal with a fantastic chocolate fudge cake.

Dungarven Harbor

The Mooring's Seafood Chowder

Finally, we showed up in Cork, and with the help of a kind local man, found our hotel: The River Lee Hotel. As you may have deduced, we are ON the River Lee. The receptionist was great, and moved us to a room overlooking the river and the city. It is an amazing view.

The River Lee Hotel

Views from the room

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