The first stop of the day was Daniel  Kessenich’s farm. He was a dairy farmer with a small herd  of 24 head who could no longer make a go of it so he sold the herd and  augments his income by giving tours and explaining why small farming is no longer possible. Margaret his wife bakes scones with some “help” from the tourists. They are quite delicious!

Toward the end of the tour a tray of small glasses of holy water or Poteen appeared.  In Ireland Poteen has a different meaning than in Canada. It is known in the states as ‘shine. This was much better than what I have sampled back home.

We learned that “an inch is a mile” at this stop on Inch Beach which is indeed a mile long

Finally we stopped at Tom Crean Pub. Tom Crean was one of the three survivors of the Shackleton attempt to  be the first to reach the South Pole. Amundson beat them by three weeks and the group making the final push all died on the return. Crean and two others had stayed back to permit the lead group to make the final push. Tom Crean endured 450 miles with his two team mates then pushed the last 35 miles solo, barely beating a storm into the base camp. The publican bought the pub which was originally built by Crean and continues to tell the story.

Stop at a great v

Our last stop, after checking into our hotel was Dick Macks, famous for its Coffee Stout. It is definitely worth the trip.

Carol and I were desperate for some “Trad” music so we headed across the street for dinner at Dingle Pub. The dinner was okay – pub grub – the music was fun and then David Geaney took the floor:

https://photos.google.com/u/1/photo/AF1QipNXa6PIg3prLR3z_1Vq-MMxjTRXlL43aJ0BsF0m