Jamie Thingelstad

We are not a golfing family. I’m not a golfer. The extent of our golfing is really some mini-golf once in a while. But while in Doolin we walked by the Doolin Pitch & Putt and it looked like it might be something we could do.

Many people go to Ireland in part to play on gorgeous golf courses. Our Pitch & Putt was right off the ocean and had some great scenery. Our golf game? As bad as expected. 🤣

I was pretty anxious about today. Today was the day that we did the hike along the Cliffs of Moher.

First of all, I’m fairly scared of heights. Going to the top of tall buildings is not something I look forward to. Being on very tall things with a lot of wind makes me just more uncomfortable. And then you add people that I love to the mix and I’m just a ball of nerves. We did a cliff walk in Ballybunion and that got me spooked a bit and I knew that was beginner level for the heights that we would get on the Cliffs of Moher.

The plus was that we were going with Pat Sweeney of Doolin Cliff Walks. Pat has grown up in this area and he was instrumental in this cliff walk even coming about. He worked with all the farmers that own the land along the way to get hiking routes through and make this a reality for the last 14 years. Pat was calm and confident, but also realistic. He stopped a couple of times along the first half of the hike to remind us of safety and being careful. He shared that accidents do happen on the cliffs. Every year there are people that fall off. Some for doing things that they really shouldn’t be doing. Others because an accident happens. At one of the stops he shared that just four weeks prior a college girl traveling with three friends fell off the cliff. There was flooding on the trail. So they got on the grass edge to avoid the water, which was probably fine. But then there was an oncoming group and she stepped aside to let them go through and lost her footing.

In fairness I know people fall into the Grand Canyon every year and you should always be aware and cautious in places like this. So, that is what I focused on. That and keeping myself firmly in the right place on the trail. The kids were kind to me and realized I was anxious and they did a great job. Tammy was helpful too. In the end, we did it and it was an incredible day with amazing views. All while sometimes just a few feet away from a 600 foot drop. 😬

The walk started very close to the cottage that we are staying in, just down the road. The first stop was to take a moment to take in the area and see Doonagore Castle and appreciate the stone bridge we were walking over that was over 300 years old. The cottage that we are staying in is actually connected with Doonagore Castle and only became an Airbnb recently.

We passed through and along many farms as we went along the coast.

After rising about 150 feet above the ocean the views become more stunning.

There were some stones laid as bridges across streams. Pat commented that this particular stone crossing had been washed out twice by the ocean in the last 10 years.

Our first true view of the cliffs.

There is always wind on this trail.

The “peak” on the left is the highest point we reach as we make our way along the cliffs.

Another warning sign of the extreme danger along the cliffs.

Here we are at the fort after we completed our hike.

The cliffs continue to go along the coastline. You could keep walking for the whole day.

Nice cappuccino from Irish Crafts this morning.

Weather: Mixed bag. Periods of cool and cloudy, sunny and warm. It rained at times. Quickly changing and variable.

We did everything on foot or bike today — walking between all of our destination.

• Up early to leave cottage at 8 AM.
• Walk 2 miles from cottage to the Doolin pier.
• Stop at Rocket House for breakfast snacks and cappuccino.
• Bumpy ride on Doolin Ferry to Inis Mór.
• Explore Inis Mór.
• Additional shopping in the stores along the Doolin Pier.
• Final shopping stop at Irish Crafts. Tammy ends up getting four sweaters today.
• Dinner at The Ivy Cottage for what most think is the best fish & chips we’ve had on the trip.
• Walk back to cottage.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.

Me sporting my Irish look with new Fisherman’s Sweater and Cap. ☘️

We took the ferry to Inis Mór to explore the island today. We rented e-bikes from Aran Bike Rental and took off from the port to check things out. We took the more casual green route for our riding.

Our first stop was at the Seal Colony. There were a few seals out relaxing on the rocks.

After that there was this unofficial stop where there were a bunch of cairns that people had created — including one giant one.

We took the bikes as far as we could and parked them at visitor center for Dún Aonghasa. After purchasing a family pass we hiked up to the ruins.

After getting our fill we hiked down and shopped at Aran Sweater Market. Mazie, Tammy, Jamie got sweaters and Jamie got a hat.

Got crêpes from food trailer. Delicious. We then decided to take off and retrieve bikes from bike park and Jamie dropped his bike with the chain dropping off the front gear. This took us a while to get remedied since the chain and gearing was in a fender and the cogs were very worn down. Eventually Jamie got it on and then had to wash the grease off of his hands for a very long time.

After resolving the chain issue we rode up the island to the Seven Churches.

Ride back down to the Kilmurvey Beach for a very brief stop for Mazie to run in the sand.

Somewhat quickly ride back to get to Joe Watty’s Bar & Restaurant for Jamie to have a pub lunch. Beef stew and a half-pint of Guinness hit the spot!

Return bikes to rental spot. Wait in line to get back on ferry, take ferry back.

Map of our day with pins on the various stops we made.

We took the Doolin Ferry to Inis Mór, part of the Aran Islands. The first 10-20 minutes were pretty bumpy. The ocean swells were sizable and there was a lot of water splashing around. Happily we were in the lower level protected with the windows. Toward the end of the ferry ride Tyler wasn’t feeling (or looking!) very good but luckily he held it together.

Cows grazing by Doonagore Castle this morning.

Woke up to these cows grazing outside our cottage window this morning.

Weather: Good weather today — partially cloudy and less wind.

• Tammy was up at 8 AM, completely ready to go and prepared by 9 AM. Everyone else awoke shortly after.
• Tammy and Tyler go to Marine Bakery & Cafe for light breakfast.
• We all go for final walk along Ballybunion Beach at low tide.
• Depart Ballybunion for Adare Manor in Adare.
• The best Afternoon Tea ever at Adare Manor.
• Post tea shopping at Adare Store where unexpectedly Tammy buys a jacket and Tyler swim trunks. Jamie gets 1893 Tea to bring home.
• Drive to Doolin.
• Stop at Doolin Lodge, check-in to Cottage at Doonagore Castle.
• Walk to McGann’s Pub for dinner, Guinness, and traditional Irish music set.
• Walk back to cottage.

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.

Sunset over a field outside of Doolin.

We walked from our cottage to McGann’s Pub in Doolin for dinner, Guinness, and music. All of it was delightful!

Checking in at the Cottage at Doonagore Castle for our stay near Doolin, Ireland.

Tammy modeling her new Ireland made Jack Murphy coat found at Adare Manor.

Today we had a special event — [Afternoon Tea](Afternoon Tea) at Adare Manor. The last time Mazie and I went to an Afternoon Tea she was three and it was in London. Tammy and Mazie have done a couple of them in Minneapolis but not as grand. It was Tyler’s first tea experience.

We had the 1 PM seating at the Manor in the Great Hall. The room lived up to its name completely. Both Tammy and I added an Earl Grey Bellini (Earl Grey & Apricot infused Peach Liqueur, Champagne) to our experience. We started with the special 1832 Blend that is custom to Adare Manor. I thought it was amazing. Maybe better than my favorite Earl Grey.

For the sandwiches we had: Baked Limerick Ham with wholegrain mustard; Free Range Egg Mayonnaise with asparagus, quail egg, brioche; Duncannon Smoked Salmon with caperberry, lemon gel; St. Tola Goat Cheese & Cucumber with goat cheese & cucumber roll, candied walnuts. I was the only one that tried them all and they were good.

Tyler got the “kids tea” (technically he was too old for it but they didn’t care). His tea included varieties of Hot Chocolate. HIs sandwiches included Nutella and Peanut Butter, Ham, Sausage Roll, and Chicken Arancini.

For the scones course we switched to Earl Grey Darjeeling. The scones were amazing. Mazie enjoyed the lemon curd so much that she made all of it go away. Mazie liked the Earl Gray a bit better than the 1832 Blend. Tammy thought both of the first two teas were okay, but found the white tea that we had as a digestif to be more her liking.

Deserts were amazing and included: Lemon cake, vanilla cream cheese, strawberry gel; Chocolate Guinness sponge, cherry, chocolate coating; Coconut mousse, sponge, lime curd, lime sable; Mango crémeux, mango jelly, apple compôte, mascarpone vanilla Chantilly cream, choux pastry; Raspberry cranberry mousse & confit, pound cake, almond sable.

For desert I tried a third and final tea — Tom Crean Vanilla. Tammy had the White Ginger Pear.

We had a fabulous time. The entire experience was incredible and very memorable. By far our favorite of the limited tea experiences that we have ever had.

Last beach walk this morning in Ballybunion during low tide.

I am excited to see sync improvements to OmniFocus 4.3 for Apple Watch. The new watchOS app is very good but sync is always behind and makes it very difficult to use. Smart to use the iOS app as a sync speed up!

• Sync – When a paired iPhone is nearby, the watch app will now download recent changes from that iPhone prior to syncing with the sync server. This makes syncing faster and more reliable when the watch doesn’t have a fast connection to the sync server.
• Sync – The watch app now attempts to sync automatically whenever it detects that the iPhone app has newer data.
• Sync – Sync errors are now automatically resolved by the watch app.

It didn’t occurr to me that Ireland was going to have much longer days. We are used to Minnesota at 45 °N. Ireland is at 53 °N with over an hour of additional light. Still a far cry from Iceland at 62 °N and yet 5 more hours of light, but super noticeable with light well past 10 PM.

Weather: Windy, partly cloudy. Cool but pleasant. Very cold for water activities.

A rare unscheduled Thingelstad vacation day with open options.

• Breakfast at Marine Bakery & Cafe.
• Wandered around Ballybunion.
• Walked and explored along the beach for extended time.
• Lunch snacks.
• Attempt to book Surf School but too late.
• Back to beach and Tyler and Mazie got on suits and braved the very cold water a bit.
• Dinner at Namir’s.
• Walk the Cliff Walk.
• Head to McMunn’s per my Barber’s suggestion
• Return to Airbnb
• Mazie and Tyler explore the beach even more

Jump to day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or see Ireland 2024 Collection.