For a brief moment, upon waking this morning, I was unsure of where I was. Rationally, I knew I was in the pretty little cottage, nestled between cow fields that sit just above the River Blackwater, but for a split second, I thought I was back home listening to the sounds of the highway that runs down the road from my house. I quietly climbed out of bed, so as not to disturb Kevin, to looked out the window. I could tell something large had just traveled down the narrow cottage road as the cloud of thick dust was still billowing in the air. Still confused but now too awake to return to sleep, I grabbed my laptop to start my morning ritual and heard the sound again. This time, I saw it: An extremely large truck was barreling down the road. It was too dark to tell what the truck was for and as I was without my glasses at the time, and was unable to read any identifiable signage. I only took note of its incredibly large size, blinding lights, and its incredibly loud noise. A very curious site to see not just because of the size of the truck, which appeared far too giant for the narrow country road, but also, because of the time. Now, as dawn is breaking and the trucks have moved on down the road, it is just me and the sounds of my fingers on the keyboard, birdsong, and the occasional ‘moo’ from the cows across the road; I am back to the Irish mornings I love and treasure.

We experienced a slow and easy morning yesterday complete with a leisurely breakfast, a load of laundry, and postcard writing. While I cleaned up, Kevin and the girls were able to witness the cows in the field directly across from the cottage be released through the wide swinging gate, and ushered down the road to the next field over. I could hear their laughter and excitement from the next room as the cows raced out of the open gate and bolted down the road. Some attempted to come up our cottage driveway, but the farmer, in anticipation of such antics, had closed our gates prior to their momentary bout of freedom. Shortly after, we ate a quick snack and made our way to the town of Tramore.

Tramore is a seaside resort town on the southern coast of Ireland. Kevin equated it to Atlantic City and I would agree to the comparison. We had passed through Tramore last year when we traversed the Copper Coast and despite some pleading from the kids to stop at the seasonal amusement park there, opted to save the destination for a future visit, which happened to be yesterday. After locating parking we made our way down to the beach. Despite everything I have read claiming it to be a sandy beach, it was predominately rocks with sand patches. We located a rocky section to sit down on that was next to a sandy portion so the girls would not hurt their feet while entering the Atlantic ocean. Ellery was the first one into the water and from the sounds of her squeals, I knew it was going to be too cold for me. I assigned myself to camera duty and the other two quickly joined Ellery in the water. Kevin went out quite far and floated over waves while the girls stayed closer to shore jumping over them as they crashed to shore. We did not say at the beach for long as the air temperature was quite cool and the sun had not emerged from behind its cloud cover.

With a quick change of clothes, we proceeded to the seasonal amusement park which was reminiscent of an American carnival. Ellery wanted to try more intense rides than her usual, I think perhaps, to keep up with her sister and after taking a turn on a mini rollercoaster, felt confident in her decision. Unfortunately, the next ride was a bit too much excitement for her and the previous laughter quickly changed to tears. I did a smaller ride with her and Kevin took her through a fun house and the previous tears were quickly forgotten. For Audra, the more intense, the better; she went on a wide variety of rides that would have thrilled me if I was twenty years younger, but alas, I am not, so she did these alone, laughing hysterically the whole time while I attempted to take pictures from below. We tried to find a restaurant or pub to get dinner, but everywhere we looked was booked up. Due to the copious amount of people and the hour drive to get home, rather than wait for a restaurant to open up, we drove into Dungarvan for dinner instead and ate at The Moorings. Audra had a pasta dish, Ellery a burger, and both Kevin and I had the largest serving of fish and chips I have ever received. We made a quick stop at Garvey’s for some grocery staples and enjoyed the familiar ride home.

By the time we arrived at the cottage, everyone was exhausted from the day’s activities. Although it was only half past seven, everyone quickly readied themselves for bed, solidified upcoming plans and with the exception of Kevin, was in bed by eight. Today is sure to be a great day and I look forward to discovering all the joys in it, but only after I finish my cup of tea.