Mayo 2015

Sorry for the delay in posting lately.  Still recovering from first communion, I guess (keep watching for that post).

Now, though, a trip back to the past.  Imagine a time not too long ago.  Say ... February.  Mid-term break for the girls' school.

A couple of my colleagues highly recommended the Mulranny Park Hotel in County Mayo (in ... Mulranny, of all places, on the way to Achill Island from Westport).  They were offering mid-term break deals which included breakfast, two dinners, and kids' club activities (for the mornings).  We were sold!

I have to say, this deal was the best of both worlds.  We had the comfort of a two-bedroom apartment, but we had breakfast and dinner provided at a restaurant in the main hotel, a short stroll away (3 minutes at ORBJ's pace).  Plus, the food was good - I quite enjoyed my dinners, as did LBJ.

The hotel has another advantage of being right on the Great Western Greenway.  This is the longest bike trail in the country, and it runs through beautiful, and sometime spectacular, scenery.  We arrived late Thursday night in a downpour, making us question the brilliance of the holiday (at least they have an indoor pool!).  But Friday morning wasn't too bad - reasonably warm and no rain.  So, after putting the kids in the kids' club, I was off on the Greenway (LBJ and I brought our bikes).  It started to rain within 5 minutes of departure, but I was prepared - pulled over and put on the rain gear (rain jacket, rain pants, "gaiters", and a hat).  But 5 minutes later it stopped raining.  So I enjoyed a beautiful ride.  I stopped a bit short of Achill Island to conserve energy for the rest of the day.

My turnaround point for my solo bike ride

I even had time to stop in the visitors' center and find out the location of a lunch spot just off the bike trail (in the opposite direction of my morning ride).

Then, we collected the kids from camp and walked one minute from the apartment to the bike rental spot, where we got a tag-along for FABJ and a trailer for ORBJ.  Off we went, with the wind at our back A couple of minutes before reaching our lunch spot, it started to rain again.  But the girls were tough (well, just FABJ - ORBJ was nicely covered in the trailer).  So we stopped for a well deserved pub lunch.  We lingered a bit at lunch to let the rain clear, but it did nicely.

Alas, for the return journey, we went directly into a nontrivial breeze.  If you don't already know, a trailer has quite a bit of drag, so I got a workout.   ORBJ fell asleep.  FABJ did great - pedaling away and helping her mama.  I was happy but exhausted by the time we returned to the hotel.  I didn't even mind waiting 10 minutes for the bike rental person to return.

ORBJ, her chariot, and her chauffeur

Two happy pedalers (is that a word?)

The trip was already a success, and it was only the first day.  FABJ and I needed a nap after that outing!

The next day (Saturday) was the one day a year that the Greenway was closed (so residents on the trail get a day off).  So LBJ and I went for a short hike near the hotel, where I managed to step in a deep puddle (in my low-top hiking shoes) and soak my foot.  And we got hailed on.  But it was a nice hike nonetheless.

The hotel (see, it snows occasionally in Ireland)

We then drove to Achill Island, which is gorgeous.  I had been there years ago (2002?  2003?) on my own, and it was better second time around with family.  We had lunch at a nice cafe, and then we hit the beach.  It's not an Irish vacation without a trip to the beach, preferably with hats and gloves!  But this time I had a secret weapon ....

Irish holiday: beach, hat, gloves, sand castles

Hot chocolate!  Yes!!!  The girls got me a thermos for Christmas, and, believe me, it was put to good use on this afternoon.  Even after sitting in the thermos for 2 hours, it was the perfect drinking temperature.

View from the beach at Achill

We left before it started raining again, and enjoyed an afternoon swim in the indoor pool, followed by dinner.

Sunday wasn't so great.  It rained steadily most of the day.  The girls got a bit of kids' camp while we finished packing and loaded the car.  Poor ORBJ threw up in the car on the way back (into a plastic bag, fortunately), but she felt better afterwards - and after a bit of lunch.  LBJ found a nice lunch spot in Longford, which was a nice break from all the rain!

It was a lovely weekend.  We would certainly enjoy returning again.  FABJ is ready to bike on her own, and ORBJ should be ready for the tag-along in a few months.