It would seem I am not the first to rise early this morning. Although I beat the alarm clock set for six this morning by almost two hours, it appears the guests from the neighboring cottage are already up. In our cottage however, it is just me and the big blue couch; a perfect companion in the early morning hours as it does not make a sound. I enjoy quiet morning hours no matter where I am as it gives me time to reflect on the events of yesterday and build anticipation for today’s adventures; just me, my own musings, and an organization of thoughts.

Despite the sun being up with me after I finished my writings yesterday morning, no one else in the cottage was. Audra had promptly fallen back to sleep as Ellery finally stopped snoring and Kevin had not woken yet. I ended up falling back to sleep on the big blue couch and claimed a few more hours of rest. Kevin woke around ten and I followed an hour later. We eagerly walked from window to window in search of our cow friends but, alas, no cows were to be found. At least not yet. We let the girls sleep till two in the afternoon before waking them. Although we have many adventures to experience and eager to see it all, life has taught me that experiencing them with cranky, sleep deprived children, is not the way to go and a rest day after a long journey is a great idea for everyone.

Keeping in the spirit of rest, we had a relatively “chill” day. After getting around for the day, we went into Youghal and explored a store called Lidl. Although we hit the Tesco for necessities the night before, we shopped in a sleep deprived haze and forgot many items on the list. We also needed to track down a fan for Kevin as he does not sleep well without one. Thankfully, Lidl had what we needed and a bunch of items we did not but bought anyway. After a quick stop back to the cottage to drop off our haul, we drove down the road to Ferry Point to walk the beach and search for treasure. I will never stop being in awe at the beauty and serenity of this place. We then went on a hunt.

There is another beach not far from Ferry Point called Monatray Middle Bay Beach. We unsuccessfully tried to find it last summer as we missed the turn off. This time was a success and it was glorious. The road to it was a bit of an adventure as it is hardly large enough for one car to travel down, let alone two and I was very grateful Kevin was driving. The road sits high above the beach and comes with a warning sign complete with pictures of a car on a cliff that abruptly ends and water below it. We used caution and after a bit of maneuvering managed to park the car without going over the edge. I meant to grab a picture of this sign because I have never seen one like it, but quickly forgot as the view of the beach took my breath away. After beach combing and rock climbing, we headed into my favorite town of Ardmore and went to Shipmates to get take away for dinner.

Ellery is constantly surprising me with her food choices on this trip as she is really reaching outside her comfort zone. Perhaps it is just what happens when one gets older or it is the fear of missing out on trying something new. Either way, I am proud of her for doing it. She opted for a spicy popcorn chicken basket. If you know Ells, you know she is not my spicy food eater, so this was a very adventurous choice for her. Spicy popcorn chicken may sound basic but it definitely was not. The chicken was coated in spices and covered with hot peppers, bell peppers, and onions and served over chips that were also heavily seasoned. They tasted almost like chili fries sans chili sauce; absolutely delicious. Audra went with a chicken burger and Kevin and I had fish and chips. I have no idea what kind of fish I ate, but whatever kind it was, it was delightful.

After we finished up dinner, we planned out some upcoming activities, got cleaned up and were in bed by 10. It was a simple, easy-going day. Perhaps boring to some but for us, especially for our first full day here and still trying to acclimate to the time difference; perfection. Kevin just woke up which is my cue that I need to get moving. There is much to do today, but only after I finish my cup of tea.