Rainy Day in South Haven

Kiplink, kaplank, kuplunk!

Happy Day!

August 1991. What a great celebration of Mom and Dad's 40 years together. What a privilege to gather with their friends and all the relatives! All the grandkids had their part in honoring their grandparents. Thank you Lord for this great memory!

Peter takes off....

Here is a slide show of Pete Pete walking! He is one happy boy!

Grandma Visit

I'm busy keeping up with all the fun! I'm still getting to know these three little people.

They have quite the imaginations. Today we were camping. I explained all about making a camp fire and sleeping inside a tent. Soon we had a living room full of pillows and a camp fire piled with books!

And they imitate. If one gets on the swim suit the other follow "suit". If one wants a drink you can be sure the other will need one also. Peter sits quietly watching. Soon enough he'll be part of the fray!

Other Adventures and Side Trips

We enjoyed visiting with all our cousins in Galway. An overnight in Connemara was an unexpected treat as our cousin Marie spontaneously offered to accompany us and booked us in at the hotel in Renvyle. She took us to hidden nooks and crannies where we enjoyed picturesque countryside, unusual cottages and lots of interesting people. We had fabulous meals at the hotel. Dan and Mike got to play a round of coastal golf. They came back with great excuses of the wind carrying off their drives!

We spent our days between Galway and Dingle in Ennis with Catherine. In addition to a great visit with my cousin Maeve we had a glorious day hiking around the Burreen. Our evenings were filled with Irish music and dance!

Then after Dingle we headed for Cork which was overwhelming after the old country days in Dingle! We had a wild night in the city but the next day Catherine wowed us with the beauty of the southern coast. We had fabulous weather in Kinsale and we learned a great deal of Irish history as we toured the Charles Fort. Our meal on the patio at “Fishy Fishy” was a leisurely feast of fresh Hake, Sea Bass and Scampi and lovely desserts! Then we walked the cliffs of “Old Head” and sat to gaze at waves, birds, butterflies and bees. Catherine then treated us to “tea” at her new location and topped the evening off with “Crunchie” bars!

Galway Visit

Our trip started out with an unexpected tour of New York! Because of bad weather our plane was delayed and Mike had to fly off without us. Our friend's daughter picked us up in NY and let us crash at her place! The next day she and her boyfriend gave us a great tour and we took the subway to the airport. Our flight went very smoothly and we arrived well rested.

We found Mike and drove from Dublin to Galway via Clonmacnoise Abbey which is a beautiful spot on the Shannon. We arrrived at the Dolan's house without a hitch. It is now called "Castlefield House" because of the field on the property that has the ruins of a castle. The field next to the house is filled with sheep so were greeted with much baaing! It was our most rainy day so far but we were cheered up with a rainbow that evening.

We had a good time with our cousins who have very busy lives and flat screen T.V.'s! The three Mannion kids, Niamh, Eimear, and John are all teachers and all speak proficient Irish. In fact John teaches at an Irish speaking school.

We went into the Skehana village and bought a few supplies at the Diamond's store. The Diamond's have had a store in the village for many years and now they have a new up to date place. One afternoon we thoroughly enjoyed a visit with the neighbor Sonny Killarney and a walk to the bog--lots of good memories of our mother as she loved the bog. (Today is the 10th anniversary of mom's death. We celebrated by having a mass said in Dingle this morning.)