The Munchkin's Notebook

Places Visited Our trip to Ireland came to an end on June 14 th with our flight back to Virginia.  The trip overall wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.  It was a variety of things from the accommodations, activities, and us dealing with sinus infections that really put a damper on the overall trip. The flight out was good.   I will be booking 1 st class lay flat seats again for international travel.   It was very much worth the price in my opinion. It would have been even better if there wasn’t heavy turbulence for the first couple hours of the flight, but that is always unpredictable.   On the way back we did regular economy since it was a daytime flight, which wasn’t too bad for being a 3x3. The other unique thing was they did all the US customs and immigrations stuff in Ireland so when we landed back in the US it was like we just arriving from an in country flight, allowing us to get home quicker.  In general, I think I should have done a little...

 Today was our last day in Ireland, again not a lot of pictures mostly driving.  We got on the road around 9:00AM.   Our first stop was supposed to be Newgrange tombs, however I didn’t book a head of time so by the time we got there, there were no tours available. The only way you can see the tomb is by guided tour.  So that was a bust.  The next stop was the Hills of Tara. This was actually free to see, but really hard to see since it is an earthen mound.   The only good way to get a picture of it is from the air, and you can’t use drones in the area. Plus, I don’t have a drone.   We did walk out to the major stone, from which you can see 1/5 of Ireland on a clear day.    We might have walked around the area more, but it is a big field with tall grass and my allergies were just saying no.   Point from which you can see 1/5 of Ireland on a clear day From there it was off to the hotel to drop luggage off before heading over to...

Today was mostly a day of driving. We got up around 6:30 AM and had breakfast at 8:00AM.  We were on the road to Galway by 9:00AM.  To avoid driving around the peninsula, again we took Conner’s Pass which is one of the quickest way across the peninsula and involves going up Dingle’s highest mountain, using a narrow one lane twisty road.  From there we joined up with a more “major” two lane road before joining a “N” road which is a very major road but not quite freeway.   Our first and only stop today was the Cliffs of Mohr.  I wanted to stop at the oldest working windmill in Ireland, but it was closed today.    Along Conner's Pass I was last at the Cliffs of Mohr in 2006, it has changed. When I was first there was a basic gravel parking lot and some gravel paths with signs saying don’t fall off the cliff.  Now it is like a Disney attraction with way too many tour buses and people.  It has a visitor center, with a museum, gift shop, café,...

This morning we got up around 7:00AM and had breakfast around 8:00 AM. Breakfast was good, they always give us way too much food. After breakfast we decided to head out to the “sheep highway” that I missed yesterday before heading into town for our ocean safari.  However, the weather had alternate plans for us, since it was rainy and foggy.   We braved the rain out at the sheep highway so I could get a picture, it was obvious where to stand since it was the worn-down spot on the top of the cliff.  So, I now have a picture just like everyone else. Honestly there is really no other place to take pictures from and still know what you are photographing unless you have a drone.  From there we stopped back at the B&B briefly then into town to get an early lunch and go on our ocean safari.   Sadly, our ocean safari was canceled due to the weather, I did get a full refund.  We weren’t exactly sure why it was cancelled due to the weather since the sea ...

This morning we got up, ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel by 8:45AM.  After checking out we stopped by a drugstore/pharmacy to pickup some Sudafed for Jim, since his sinus are all stuffed up. Then we got on the road headed for Dingle. Our first stop was Parkavonear Castle just outside of Killarney.   It isn’t much of a castle, just a round turret next to some abbey ruins. The location also would have had a nice view of a town and lake, but it was all misty and overcast so you couldn’t see that far.   From there it was off to our stops in Dingle. Parkavonear Castle As we were coming into the town of Dingle proper we were surprised to find out today was the Dingle Peninsula race which includes running, hiking, biking, and kayaking.  Not sure if you were supposed to do all four events or if you could only do one activity.  The race messed up traffic through town and our route, so we ended up taking Google’s alternate route that added 8-minutes to our jou...

 Today we got up around 7:00Am and had breakfast around 7:30AM, beating most crowd from the bus tours, also staying at the hotel.  We then got ready to leave and travel around the Ring of Kerry clockwise, the opposite direction the tour buses go. Our first stop was the Torc Waterfall in Killarney National Park. The waterfall was only a short 600m walk away from the car park.  It was a nice waterfall, and we found where Ireland was keeping all the gnats and mosquitoes. From there we were going to see Derrycunnihy Falls but missed the turn so skipped it.   The next stop was Kenmar Stone Circle.  It is a nice stone circle not as picturesque as the one yesterday, plus I had to pay 2-euro each to enter to see the circle.  Wouldn’t recommend.   The next stop was in Sneem, the pyramid huts.  They were just what the title says, stone huts in a pyramid shape.   Again, not very picturesque. The next stop was the Staigue Stone Fort....

 After we checked out of the B&B in the morning, we got on the road headed to Killarney.   Our first stop was the Timoleague Friary ruins, which was about 15 minutes away from our first B&B.  I was expecting standard ruins, however what we got was ruins turned into a cemetery.  Every “room” except one had grave plots in it, and they were not all really old graves, some were as modern as the early 2000s.   I realize in the 1600s and earlier they buried people in the abbey, but this seemed a little odd.  After walking along the friary ruins, it was on to our next stop, the Drombeg Stone Circle. The nave of Timoleague Friary  The Drombeg Stone Circle is a nice little stone circle. The circle itself isn’t very big, and the stones are about my height some a bit smaller.  There were also some remnants of an ancient well house and home.   It was a nice little stop.  The next stop was Baltimore Beacon in Baltimore Harbor...

Today we started with breakfast at the B&B at 8:00AM.  Breakfast consisted of a fresh omelet with ham, cherry tomatoes, cheese, and mushrooms, Jim didn’t have mushrooms in his, well as fresh scones and tea.  After breakfast we headed up to Blarney Castle. The drive up to Blarney Castle took about an hour.   Technically according to the tour company, and the voucher they gave us we should have done Blarney Castle tomorrow but that didn’t make sense with our plans.   Thankfully the castle took our voucher a day early.   We toured the castle; it took a bit over 45 minutes to get to the top of the castle. Way longer than it took me last time I visited Ireland back in 2006.   I didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone this time, but Jim kissed it. He was like it took us forever to get to the top, might as well kiss the stone.   The trip down was a lot faster. Then we walked through the poison garden, the stable area, and of course the gift shop.   By that t...

Today we got up at 7:00 AM had breakfast, finished packing up, and then checked out of the hotel.  We took a taxi from our hotel to the rental car place to pick up our car, which is an Audi A5.  Thankfully it has Android Auto so we can easily get directions to our destinations.  The first destination of the day was the Irish National Stud and Gardens, about 45 minutes outside of Dublin.  We started with the self-guided tour of the Japanese gardens which had 15 marked spots associated with a life journey.  It was a nice garden. Then we went to the other side and looked at the other gardens and the retired racehorses.  We only saw two of them because they were out in their respective pastures, and we just didn’t feel like walking the whole length of the pasture.  We also saw the ruins of a small abbey that was on the property.  After a quick walk through the gift shop, we got back on the road headed to our next stop, The Rock of Cashel. Part of th...

Ha'penny Bridge After sleeping for 12 hours, we got up and headed down to breakfast.  Breakfast was a choice of ordering off the menu or doing the buffet which was a traditional Irish Breakfast. We ordered off the menu. We both had Belgian waffles with bacon; the bacon was sandwich between two waffles.  The waffles were good but a but sweeter than what we get in the US. The waffles were supposed to come with a berry compote but only came with syrup, disappointing.  After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready to head out for the day. Our first stop for the day was Trinity College to see the Book of Kells and the long room of the library.   The ticket said it was a tour, but it really isn’t a tour, it is a self-paced walk through some information panels describing the history and making of the Book of Kells, then you walk into the room where the book is housed.   It is a book with fancy pages.   I saw it and can now check that off the list.  ...

June 3 started with us dropping Teddy off at the pet sitter and then stopping at Tysons on the way back for lunch, then REI to pick up a last-minute item.   Thankfully, we didn’t have to rush to get home or to the airport since our flight didn’t leave till 8:55PM.    We checked in for our flight around 5:30PM, we were flying first/business class on Aer Lingus, which gave access to the British Airways lounge.   The British Airways lounge felt classy and upscale. Compared to the Delta lounges we have previously been in; this lounge has table service (i.e., order from the menu and they bring it to you) as well as a very nice buffet.   The buffet had a sampling of Indian food, mini chicken wellingtons, finger sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and deserts.   The other main difference is the beer and wine are free, as compared to other places that only have free soft drinks, coffee, tea, and water.   We hung out in the lounge till 7:00PM.   We probably woul...

On May 27th, I attended the D.C. Cosplay Photo Shoots ’ meet up at the Walker Nature Center in Reston, VA.   The Nature Center is part of a small park that has a pavilion and sever short wooded walking paths.  As well as a paved path that leads down to stream. For these sessions I used: Canon 80D 1 Speed light Trigger Light stand 18-200mm lens Camera Settings: This was a completely outdoor event, in a wooded area that had a mix of sun and shade. The biggest hurdle here was green cast due to all the green leaves.   For this event I shot at ISO 100 and ISO 200.  I was trying to utilize the natural light, while just filling with my flash so my aperture was moving around quite a bit. My aperture ranged from F4.5 to F9 with most shots being taken at F6.3. I was running a delicate balance of light and depth of field, as I usually prefer to shoot closer to F9 for the increased depth of field/focus area.  My shutter speed ranged from 1/30 t...