Tuesday September 24th – En route to Waterville, County Kerry
Boston, Massachusetts is widely considered one of THE worst cities on the planet to drive. I can’t even imagine what outsiders trying to drive in our fine city experience. A street grid that doesn’t make a lick of sense. Shall I say…’over zealous’ drivers repeatedly suggesting we go have relations with ourselves. And there are more single fingers raised to the air than their are after one of our great sports teams wins a championship! Obviously, I don’t take part in any of this ‘over-zealous’ tactics on the roads of Boston. I have been one of our best drivers for over 30 years. I should give a Ted Talk on parallel parking!
What I experienced yesterday driving from my hotel in Killarney to play a round of golf at one of the finest golf courses on the planet was truly terrifying. Words can not even describe the experience. It was 60+ minutes of the most sweat inducing, white-knuckle, terrifying driving experiences of my life. There is not a road in Greater Boston that compares to this. The only thing I can compare this to is the Jamaica Way. But reduce its four lanes to 1 and a half. But have cars and trucks zooming past at full speed. And drive on the left side, and not be able to see oncoming cars until 20-25 feet before they are mirror-to-mirror with you. Then also add some of the most breathtaking landscape and views you’d ever want to look at, but you can’t, because there is a cliff on your left ready to accept your car into the depths of this canyon. Get the picture?
The blue line was the long and winding road
Click HERE to watch a drone video going through the Gap of Dunloe to help you visualize what the landscape looks like…
Oh there are also thousands of sheep along the way. Grazing on the hills…but also in the road. Yes. Think for a second there being a pack of sheep in Storrow Drive, if you will. Same idea.
Much of this 52 kilometer (I have no idea what this is in miles. Still too traumatized to try and convert that. (A 5k road race is 3.2 miles. Get out your calculator, ok?) trip was on a road that had barley enough room for ONE car, let alone two! There were bridges over streams that were wide enough for most cars. Many of the SUV’s we have in the states would not fit over these bridges. In some instances, you have to slam on the breaks if an oncoming car is approaching the bridge too.
It was pure chaos. I just dont know how this is still a thing in Ireland. This road above was one of the roomier parts of the trip. And by roomy, you can clearly see that a moped would still be uncomfortable driving on the other side of the road…but yet oncoming cars, multiple trucks with horse trailers behind were zipping by.
Needless to say, it was a harrowing experience, and I obviously did not go back the same route. I don’t wish this experience on my worst enemy. It was stressful every second of the trip. Not until I pulled into the parking lot at Waterville Golf Links did I blink.
It was a picture perfect day at Waterville. Sun was sneaking in and out of the clouds. The wind was being polite, and we even got some requisite sprinkles that is, pardon, par-for-the-course for golf in Ireland. The caddy that was accompanying our foursome told us that the conditions were a 2/10 in terms of strength of wind and overall playability. We got lucky for sure!
I got paired up with a trio of older guys originally from Massachusetts. I feel like that course was teeming with New Englanders that day. They were all good enough golfers and we had a really nice time. One of the guys had a caddie with him, who was nice enough to give us local tips and read some putts for us.
I can’t imagine there being many more beautiful spots for a golf course than Waterville. Every hole on that course took your breathe away. It was a REALLY enjoyable round. This current trip to Ireland was never intended to be a ‘Golf Trip’ with the boys. But I couldn’t come to Ireland and NOT play one of the many stunning course on the Emerald Isle. I brought a dozen brand new golf balls with me, and I am taking a dozen back with me. I was very happy with the 91 that I shot, and appreciated every step of that wonderful walk.
There was a great plaque on one of the tee boxes toward the end of the road…and I thought it appropos for the quartet of golfers in our group:
If you want to take a proper look at the golf course…click HERE to look at a wonderful drone video of the track.
Tomorrow: Last Day in Killarney and Meeting Some New Friends
👆That should have been an opportunity to REALLY think about what I was getting myself into. Weeks ago, I thought it would be a great idea to check out Killarney National Park by way of horseback. (Check out Drone Footage HERE) The thinking was that a 2-hour horseback ride would be better than a 4-5 hour hike through the National Park. I learned my lesson, thats for sure.
The tour and the views and the landscapes were stunning, don’t get me wrong. It’s really my own fault. My ONLY issue with the experience is that my aging hips had a hard time with the ride. I did have fun for most of the ride…but it all starts with my partner in this escapade.
I introduce you to PETER THE HORSE! I am not messing with you. The horse’s name was Peter, too! I couldn’t believe it! Everyone got a kick out of it. I don’t think that Petey was giving me the stink eye in the above picture, but he clearly didn’t like what he was getting into. Getting on to the horse was not as smooth as I would have liked. Let me paint a picture for you: It was definitely not one of those old westerns where the rider was hopping on like they were on a trampoline. It was more like Herman Munster trying to get into a Fiat. My wearing jeans probably didn’t help the cause either…😆
We left from the Killarney Riding Stables, and we had a quartet of amazing guides. They were true professionals and I would recommend the stables to anyone that is coming through Killarney…as long as you aren’t nearing AARP age. I asked one of the young ladies guiding us: “How old do you think Peter is?” Her response…”Ummm…he’s not too young…he’s not too old.” I quickly responded: “JUST LIKE ME!” I don’t think the young woman appreciated that Hall of Fame response as much as I did, and I don’t think anyone else heard this all-time response!
Killarney National Park is absolutely stunning. We followed horseback riding trails through the forest mostly, and came across lots of people going for walks, some with their dogs. I REALLY like when we were just walking. Peter and I had a good understanding I think. I quickly came to realize that Peter (The Horse) had a bit of a reputation of being a little prickly at times. He marched to the beat of his own drum. Five or 10 minutes in…he started looking for opportunities to chomp on overgrown vegetation close to the path. At first, I thought it was my responsibility to keep him focused and away from his treats. Truth be told, there was very little I could do to keep the hulking beast away from the widely available assortment of greens along the way. I quickly realized that keeping Peter as happy as possible was in my best interest as well. Who am I to try and stop him from his snacks?! I like snacks. Anyone that tries to get in the way of my snacks is essentially my enemy. SO I left it up to the guides to yell at Peter. I just gave him a pat on the head and made sure he knew I was on his side!
Where things got really uncomfortable was when the guides thought that WE all wanted to start trotting with the horses. We’re not warming up for the Derby here, lady! Let’s keep things civilized, here. It got very uncomfortable quick. I don’t need to get into specifics here, but rest assured, there was a lot of discomfort here. Additionally, whereas the horses (Including and especially Peter) would relieve themselves at their convenience along the path, the riders did not have that same luxury. Peter (the rider) wasn’t very far into the ride when he would have gladly hoped off at the first sign of a port-a-potty. Therefore, the trotting was DEFINITELY not helping with that particular situation. Se La Vie…
The ride ended up nicely enough, and Peter and I got along quite well over the 2.5 hours. He got his snacks. I got back to the stables without being thrown off. That’s a ‘Win-Win’ in my book! I should note, that I was probably on the younger end of the age scale for this group of 7 riders. Most of us got off our horses and gingerly sauntered (in the most Western sense of the word, if possible) out of the barn to our cars, all seemingly having had a nice afternoon.
Tomorrow: A Drive From HELL! 😫 (and also an amazing round of golf)
Pete's Wanderings of Ireland! 