I have been awake for a while now; quite a few hours actually. As it is my last opportunity to enjoy a lazy day wake up on this trip, I did not feel much like writing first thing upon rising. Instead, I sat, curled up in my blanket and heater, and admired the nature happenings going on outside, soaking in as much serenity as possible. The magpies seem to be everywhere, thankfully in pairs, as I tend to be a bit superstitious at times. The crows and pigeons are sharing the field in search of breakfast, and the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is glowing from morning dew, and from my vantage point, I cannot see a single cloud in the sky. I do not want to move from this spot as I do not want to miss a single moment.

Yesterday was the first day on this trip that really did not go to plan. It was not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but a bit disappointing nonetheless. We started the day with a trip into Ardmore to have one last hoorah at the Ardmore Farmers Market. We were hoping to have a fun lunch of sampling different foods amongst the variety of vendors there. Upon arriving to the parking area, the rain that had begun as a light misting, turned to a drenching downpour and there was hardly a vendor to be seen on the field. The few stands we could see appeared to be packing it in so we opted to skip our lunch and head up to Mahon Falls. Kevin enjoys the twisty drive up the mountain and we love the waterfall and had yet to see it on this visit. We made it up to the parking area, taking pictures of the sheep that reside on the mountainside and opted to remain in the car. The rain was coming down harder and the fog had grown much thicker; to the point that we could not even see the mountain we were on. After taking what pictures we could, we journeyed back to the cottage, ate a small snack, and everyone separated off into their own activities.

Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun came out for a short while. Kevin and I took advantage of the brief respite from the rain and walked down to the beach to look for treasure, making it back to the cottage just in time to avoid another downpour and to clean up for dinner. We opted to do a night out at The Old Bank in Dungarvan; a bit more of a fancier food destination than our usual but not as fancy as our Cliff House experience from last year. The restaurant itself, is quite beautiful and is set in a gorgeous location overlooking the Dungarvan Harbor. I can honestly say we enjoyed our time together as a family, but I can conclusively say, we will not be returning there for a meal on future visits. Unfortunately, all of us left the restaurant feeling quite ill, disappointed, and a bit perplexed, as we had done a lot of research on The Old Bank, and our experience did not seem to line up with the experiences of others. It was not the end of the world, and we just focused on having a good time together.

We headed back to the cottage and stopped at our favorite look out point to take a few more photos, readied for bed, made a few phone calls home and called it a day. We had grand plans for games; however, as no one was feeling very well at this point, opted for rest over fun. Today is a gorgeous day and we are going to fill it with fun activities and some not so fun activities, but only after I finish my cup of tea.