There and Back Again

 Well, it has been a while since I posted. Ed and I were away on a long-awaited vacation. We started planning for this trip with our friends back in 2019 to go in 2020. You can guess how that went. 2021 also was out. But this year we were able to go.  

Cliffs of Moher

Our trip self-driving tour with 8 days in Scotland and 8 days in Ireland. It was a busy but great trip. I loved the smaller towns in Scotland and Ireland. The guys were excited because they golfed in St. Andrews and Carnoustie (they also golfed in Ireland but St. Andrews was the bucket list item). Cynthia and I rode once in Scotland and once in Ireland. 

A rider and her do on the beach in Carnoustie

I like riding when I travel because you get to see different things then you do in a car or walking. In Scotland we rode at Barbara Riding School. It was a 2 hour hack through fields of sheep and cows. My horse was quite funny- he was  gray gelding who at first was like 'I'm a race horse' and at the end was like 'Okay, enough cantering for now'.  

rode by this old castle and manor home

In Ireland we rode on the mountain in Dingle. The views were stunning. which was great because I was riding a gray opinionated mare (I swear, it's like I have a type).  I enjoyed the ride. To be honest I don't care whether I canter, trot or walk. I wanted to see the view. But of course, I can canter whenever I want so my perspective is different. 

you can't see it here but sheep kept popping up out of the heather

I loved the views

Besides riding we toured around, kissed the Blarney stone and ate far too much and drank just enough. After pandemics and lock downs it was lovely to get away. We got a booster before we left and I've done two rapid tests on our return that were negative.  Despite all the horror stories, our flights were uneventful. As nice as it was I really missed home. I was very happy to get home to my farm. I really missed Guinness and the horses. I think that 16 days is too much for me or I'm just getting old. Both can be true, I guess. But I came home rejuvenated and ready to tackle the fall. 

Blarney Castle