Whew. Slept so well last night in my big fluffy bed at Emlagh that I actually overslept and had to rush to get down to breakfast. We have decided to take the sight seeing easy today, only thinking about a boat rip out to the Blasket Islands and then a drive up the Slea Head. The boat trip should give us a great view of Fungi, Dingles famous dolphin in the harbor, ad possibly a couple of whales, and on the island, we can see puffins. Who doesnt love a puffin? I am looking forward to it, but I also feel a need to give D and V a day to the themselves, since they have been stuck with me all vacation. Besides, the town of Dingle is so quaint and Emlagh has this great little picnic table out front by the water, where I can watch the boats go by and eat my lunch. It sounds like the perfect way to spend my last day in Ireland. So, when we get ready to buy the tickets, I blurt out that I want to stay. After much going back and forth and making sure this is what I really want to do, we agree to meet up after their boat trip. This will give me 4 hours or so of free time what to do first?

Shop, of course! I go further and further into the town, up and down tiny streets, until I am lost in an alleyway and have to backtrack to get out. It is a gorgeous day: the sky is blue, the birds are chirping. Life is good. Have you ever felt so relaxed, so at peace with everyone and everything around you that you just feel completely whole For the moment, my hair is not too brown, my hips are not too wide, bills are far behind me, and the sun shines only for me. I lack nothing, I need nothing, I am not too much or too little in any way. Life is good. I buy the makings of an outdoor lunch and eat at the picnic table, writing, and offering bits of my sandwich to the dog who comes up to talk to me. Occasionally, a boat passes in the harbor or a gull calls out, but otherwise I am alone to my thoughts. I am so grateful to have had my journal to download my thoughts at the end of the day. It has been my steadiest companion, and my closest confidant.

I am looking as forward to the plane ride back home tomorrow as I looked to the plane ride coming over here. I miss my bed, I miss my stuff, I miss my kids. I miss my shower, my clothes (clean clothes!), and my telephone. Mostly, though, I miss W. Prior to this trip, I would have thought that we were too opposite- too little in common. But now I realize that he is the yin to my yang, the positive to my negative, and vice versa. He balances me. Having said all that, this trip has been amazing, and I cant believe Ive actually seen things I had only read about until now. I have walked where I had previously only dreamed, and I am already planning to go back, hopefully sooner than later.

I meet back up with D and V as their ferry pulls in, and they are thrilled with the Blaskets- I have to admit, there are some great shots, which I am sharing here:

We then head to the car and make a drive around Slea Head. We travel the length of it, stopping at Mulcahys Pottery (http://www.louismulcahy.com/ – wish I were a rich girl!), and to take pictures of what is possibly the prettiest beach available in Ireland. It is warm enough for only short sleeves (yay! No jacket!), but we are still shocked to see people on the beach sunbathing and swimming! I can not imagine how cold that water must be. Check out the blue green water- it looks like it belongs in Hawaii or something!

We get back to the B&B where we all go to our separate rooms and promptly fall asleep. After our brief nap, we head out to our last dinner in Ireland, where we all order really traditional food. I think it might be because we know we wont get it again for a while. D and I have fish and chips, V has an Irish stew with lamb meat and big chunky vegetables. We stay for some trad, and the music is really great tonight. Lots of ballads and foot stompers, and even some we can sing to, since weve heard them on CD.

I call W and check in, and hear that a good friend of ours has been diagnosed with a very progressive form of cancer. It is a shock, he is fairly young, and I am even more grateful to have gone on this trip before it is too late. Please pray for a man named Ed Bennett, if you are the praying type.

Posted from USA:

posted Monday July 2006