Although we didn't expect Thursday to be our second last full day of our time in Ireland, in retrospect it couldn't have been a better second to last day. Our friend from our last trip picked us up in the morning and drove us on the Atlantic Drive where we saw fantastic scenery and spectacular views. As I look at the pictures I'm attaching, it all seems like a dream. But I'm still not sure I could dream something so stunning. It was great to see Mike again and to continue some of our conversations from last year.
The other thing we wanted to do was visit the Jackie Clarke Collection in Ballina and Mike dropped us off there. In a strange confluence of coincidences, we happened to see a tweet from the NY Times for
a story about the opening of a museum dedicated to showing and preserving a great collection of historical materials that had been assembled by Jackie Clarke over his lifetime. Remarkably, it was just down the road from us. It opened only a few days before and we were thrilled to be able to go to it. It's a fascinating place and a remarkable story about history and historical preservation. And even more exciting, both of us saw projects we can work on related to this collection. Guess that means we'll need to return. Here's a
great video about it. It's worth a watch and the museum is also worth a visit.
We took the bus back to Westport from Ballina and both of us felt a rush of "we're home" as we rolled into town again. We headed back to our apartment and were soon picked up by D who took us to their beautiful house and its amazing view of Croagh Patrick. As I mentioned before in a previous blog, I think Dale and I both assumed we would spend the whole time away by ourselves and we were fine with that. I don't think either of guessed that we would find people who, in the course of a few short weeks, would seem like friends we've known for years. Finding friends who took such good care of us, who made us laugh and smile, and who made us feel at home was such a gift, especially with all that was happening at home. Every day of this trip has been filled with blessings. It's no wonder that my dad sent me an email
asking me to "Thank the folks there for adding so much to our lives and for making my daughter so very happy."
Although we didn't expect Thursday to be our second last full day of our time in Ireland, in retrospect it couldn't have been a better second to last day. Our friend from our last trip picked us up in the morning and drove us on the Atlantic Drive where we saw fantastic scenery and spectacular views. As I look at the pictures I'm attaching, it all seems like a dream. But I'm still not sure I could dream something so stunning. It was great to see Mike again and to continue some of our conversations from last year.
The other thing we wanted to do was visit the Jackie Clarke Collection in Ballina and Mike dropped us off there. In a strange confluence of coincidences, we happened to see a tweet from the NY Times for a story about the opening of a museum dedicated to showing and preserving a great collection of historical materials that had been assembled by Jackie Clarke over his lifetime. Remarkably, it was just down the road from us. It opened only a few days before and we were thrilled to be able to go to it. It's a fascinating place and a remarkable story about history and historical preservation. And even more exciting, both of us saw projects we can work on related to this collection. Guess that means we'll need to return. Here's a great video about it. It's worth a watch and the museum is also worth a visit.
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