It is earlier this morning than yesterday. Rise and shine came swiftly in the dark at 4:30 a.m. Rather than blissful quiet, Kevin and I greeted the morning with the sounds of blaring alarm clocks and the heavy pitter patter of rainfall on the cottage roof. The girls awoke to the sound of my voice. I would like to say they woke to soft and gentle tones but seeing as though I had just woken up, it was probably more akin to the sound of frogs; deep and gritty. No time for deep thoughts this morning or quiet contemplation. No morning music from our animal friends. Just the typical sounds of a family grabbing breakfast and getting ready to go forth and conquer the day.

After I completed my writing yesterday, David, who slept in his pretty blue camper van, sat down with us to share a small farewell breakfast, Kevin prepared, before getting back on the road to continue his journey towards home. Laughter was had, hugs were given, and hopes of getting together sometime again were shared. A happy encounter, I will not soon forget. The girls woke a short time later and we slowly got ourselves around for the day.

We have made a very thought out choice to take our adventures slowly and incorporate rest in between events to avoid burn out. Alas, a lazy day at the cottage. We enjoyed the rain from indoors, where we could stay warm and dry, read books, sketched pictures, and wrote post cards to send to family. We again, spent time with our unique cow friends and it is still just as entertaining as it was on day one. An interesting event happened with them late morning; I have never seen an entire group of cows completely engrossed in eating, suddenly stop and take off running at full speed down a hill. Not quite sure what was going on but the field cleared very quickly and I did not see them for the remainder of the day. A very curious happening.

Once the weather cleared a bit, Kevin drove us into Youghal to visit the post office, do some gift shopping, and make our obligatory stop at Tesco for food staples. It seems, even on vacation, our family is constantly eating. Audra and I stopped to listen to a street musician set up near a Chinese restaurant in town and found it charming. Gift shopping was cut short as the rain began again, but we did manage to find a couple of perfect gifts for family. The girls both requested dinner at Urchin again so we complied. Ellery opted for the fish and chips because she loved mine so much last night. She had a few bites and in her typical Ellery fashion, decided that she does NOT, in fact, like haddock. She is back to hunting for a fish to enjoy eating. Audra had pizza this time around and thought it was amazing.

We have new neighbors now; not of the cow variety but human this time. Shortly after returning to the cottage for the evening, new guests from the next cottage over arrived. Kevin was there to greet them, but I have not had the opportunity to do so yet. Perhaps today or tomorrow. I think they are only here for a few days but I would like to meet them and say hello. I think everyone used their rest day well and are geared up for the next expedition, but only after I finish my cup of tea.