Ireland

To celebrate Kat's 18th birthday AND high school graduation...

I took my beautiful girl on a trip to BEAUTIFUL Ireland!

First stop... The Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs declare the beauty and majesty of the Lord!

The first place we stayed was Delphi Lodge.

Delphi is a quaint fishing lodge,

but non-fisherman find it just as appealing.

By far, one of our favorite places...

and if I ever have the opportunity to visit Ireland again...

I will definitely be returning to Delphi Lodge!

There are beautiful ruins all over the country side...

With SO MUCH incredible history.

  We visited Blarney Castle...

and the Rock of Cashel and cemetery.

The Rock of Cashel was the place where St. Patrick introduced

Christianity to Ireland.  It is an incredible story!

Mount Juliet was another LOVELY estate home that we stayed in...

with incredible countryside...

and roads that required long, quiet strolls.

Moving on... we visited the Powerscourt Gardens.

They were the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.

and Powerscourt Waterfall was incredible too.

Then there was the quaint little village of Kenmare...

where the streets are lined with shops and restaurants

 all inviting you to come in and stay awhile.

Kat and I stopped in O'Donnabhain's for some delicious fish and chips

and live Irish music.  It was so very Ireland!

From there we went to Ashford Castle.

It was a grand place and holds some dear memories...

We went horseback riding...

walked around the gorgeous grounds taking pictures... and

A favorite memory is the Scottish/English couple we met

 who adopted a precious little girl from Ghana.

Love that!

The landscape in Ireland is breath taking...

with street scenes right out of the movies.

It's a lovely place...

just lovely.

This trip was such a precious time for me and my girl.

We traveled all the way around this beautiful country...

taking pictures... and enjoying every moment.

We met some amazing people that we will never forget...

and made memories that will keep us laughing for years!

It was truly...  lovely.