Cork: Day 2

Yesterday was our final day in Cork before the long drive home. I have to say, that coming home felt much shorter than going there, but maybe that's because I slept from Newry to Belfast.

Sunday morning we all got up and went to Mass in Ballingeary. The church was small and had a medieval feel. However the service was in Gaelic and I had to try and keep Olivia quiet the whole time so it really didn't feel like a church service, but it was fun and different.

After mass we had a BBQ and then the whole family went on a boat cruise around the lake. The captain of the boat was a neighbor to the family down there. He had built most of the boat himself with the help of local tradesmen in the area. Ballingeary is near a bunch of tourist stops so he's hoping he can get then to stop at his boat. In fact there was a huge bus full of tourist that drove through town just as mass left out and I had to laugh to myself thinking they were taking pictures of me, an American.... Ok, not that funny, but kind of ironic, don't you think?

The boat ride was about half an hour and Jerry, the captain, gave us some insight on the local history. After the boat ride, R and I did a short kayak trip on the edge of the lake. The water was nice, but very weedy and the air was too cold to even attempt a swim. Some distance cousins of my MIL came over and we ended up taking until about midnight. Then it was up early this morning and straight onto the road. No stops this time and a lot less traffic. It's nice to be back "home." It was a great time in Cork. I wish we could have had one more day, I had wanted to try the local pub and also a nice sunny day would have been nice. It never rained, but it wasn't warm enough to go swimming in the lake or suntan. Maybe next time.

Tomorrow starts the festivities of the 12th. I'll be giving you all a history lesson about that this week. There will be parades and bonfires, maybe even some fireworks, who knows. We already missed the family BBQ in the local park, but I'm sure we'll still find something to do. I hope you all had a great weekend.

Boarding the boat

Looking out on the lake from the dock. The house we were staying in is just around the corner at the far right of the picture.



Can we say "booze cruise?"



More lake. This shot is looking away from the house toward the mouth of the Paudeen river that we swam in yesterday.  

oíche mhaith