Daly's Hotel Castlebar

We watched the clouds gradually lift off Lough Swilly (I just love saying that name!) before we went down to breakfast. We dined alone this morning--I guess the young couple’s hike did them in.

After saying good-bye to Marie, we headed north. We stopped just outside the town of Carndonagh to see the Carndonagh Cross. It and its accompanying pillars are all that remain from a monastery founded by St. Patrick in the seventh century. The markings ...

Today was a bit cloudy and slightly cool as we packed up. Kevin and his wife Maura served us a filling breakfast of bacon and eggs before we said good-by and left to fight the Galway traffic. Surprisingly, our exit went pretty smoothly, and we drove northward to the village of Knock.

In Knock, in 1879, the Virgin Mary appeared to fifteen villagers . With her were St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. Mary wore a gold crown with a red rose in the center front ...

3rd stop Croagh Patrick,

The mountain of Croagh Patrick is supposed to be where St. Patrick climbed and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights like Jesus. There is a church on the summit and hundreds of people a day climb to its peak. It has become a pilgramige to the people of Ireland and it is an especially big ordeal to the people in Mayo. Every year on one day in July about 30,000 people climb to its summit! Many of these people do it in ...

... and given 7,000 acres. Still a lot, but not nearly as much or as good of land as they had. The Inside was furnished as it would have been in the 1900's (we werent allowed to take pictures inside) and got to see how the landlord would conduct business with his tenants...by hiding behind a secret bookcase and having an agent do everything! The grounds were absolutely beautiful too. There is a large lake ...

... took the man in and kept him safe until it was his time to ascend the thrown. To repay the clergy for their kindness he vowed to build them a brand new church, but when he returned years later and asked the priests how they liked their new church he found that it had never been built. this is because the stone masons didnt have things like map quest or a tom tom, so instead of building the church where Ballintubbers Abbey is they built ...

... mistress of the house threw the menu down to the staff from a balcony above so that she did not have to step foot into the kitchen....wow...now i know how im going to remodel the kitchen,,,,all for now please read and tell your friends about this great travel blog so we can get some advertisers to sponsor for clothes for our poor shoeless father.....love you all....Sister Carolyn.

Nothing from Sister Leigh tonight - he's in bed in his really dirty clothes.

Ok so we drove about two hours in the pouring rain to get to Ashford Castle. The roads were narrow and lined with stone walls. Quite a harrowing ride. We gasped at all the cars coming towards us at top speed. I kept thinking they were in our lane. We stopped in a little village for a break and to have a pint of Guinness. We tucked into a little place that was so quaint and old world. The little old lady behind the bar was ...

... to endure it all alone. Normally, he goes off at his own pace (faster, of course), and then stops and has a smoke while he waits for me to catch up (pwht* on all of you who actually thought he’d actually quit!). Doesn't seem to make sense...the faster person get's lots of rests and the slower person doesn't...

Finally we arrived at a campground in Castlebar. A big American flag was flying over the ...

... Hasnt been easy making this move though. Is bit tough, being so far from family and friends at home (luckily Dan is easily on the phone in Dublin). I had just established myself in Galway when I had to move on to Co. Mayo with a new job - and the day before starting work - no home and no friends. It is a good experience though. Luckily Galway is not far away - only 1-2hrs on the bus. So weekends in the big city are on the cards!

... era town centre of which looked incredibly charming with the narrow River Carrowbeg passing though its handsome leafy streets. Any chance of further exploration was dashed when we spent a considerable period of time searching for a vacant B&B, and then once we had, as soon as we unpacked my energy level plummeted, and what I thought would be a quick little evening nap turned into a comatose night’s sleep.