We loved seeing our friends in Dubin, but after the wild weekend we are ready to enjoy some R&R and a leisurely drive around the emerald Isle! We had breakfast this morning with our friends said all our "good-byes" and then we were off to the airport to pick up our Rental Car.

It was quite sudden and about 10 minutes before we arrived at the car rental lot when Heide remembered that the Irish drive on the left-hand side of the road. Oh goodness... why was the reservation under Heide’s name? Good thing Mark has some experience with a left-hand drive! From Dublin, we drove South through Wicklow County where we encountered just the first of what we expect will be lots of incredible scenery. Early in the afternoon, we passed through the beautiful town of Avoca where we would have loved to stop, but it was just too early to call it a day.

We continued driving through the beautiful countryside and decided to stop for a break in the National Forest of the Wicklow Mountains. It was so nice and fresh! It’s been raining quite hard which makes that wonderful, fresh, green smell! We considered stopping for the night in the town of Enniscorthy, but felt that it was a bit too large... so we ended up here in the little town of Fethard on Sea. The largest attraction here is the "Hooks Head Lighthouse" which is marketed as the oldest lighthouse in Europe, and possibly in the oldest lighthouse in the world. They have somehow determined that there has been a settlement here for around 2000 years all with the purpose of keeping the fires burning to warn the passing ships of the sharp rocks.