Exploring Cleggan, Clifden, and the Sky Road

On Thursday morning we explored our environs, driving down country lanes and making friends with our neighbors - primarily sheep, horses, and the occasional cow. Paul served as our guide. He had taken his usual morning constitutional, walking and running for over an hour and discovering a beautiful cove beach. He is the solitary man in the photo. Probably thinking great thoughts and pondering the eternal truths.
Before we left the states, I purchased a chip for our Garmin GPS that shows the roads in Ireland. It’s really been helpful and quite astonishing - even roads that our van can barely pass through are marked in detail. Two years ago I was frequently lost; now I feel confident that only when Candee intervenes might I lose my way.
Lee and Lionel, Lillie and Laander - our daughter and her family should enjoy the picture of “Lowry’s” - their namesake pub in Clifden. Seemed quite popular with the locals.
At the Atlantic Hotel in Clifden, we met several American college students from Notre Dame and Hamilton College who were involved in an archeological dig on Inishbofin, an island just off the coast. Nice kids, quite evidently aware of their good fortune in staying in this wonderful area. Stacey was quite disappointed that the Atlantic did not have her recently discovered favorite liquid on tap - Smithwick’s. She sends a shout out to Eryn for the recommendation and the guidance to pronounce it “Smiticks.” Somehow, she was able to choke down a Guinness.
At this time of year, we are in the land of eternal sun. The sun rises at approximately 5:00 a.m. and does not set until 10:00 p.m. Stacey and I will be returning to the Sky Road outside of Clifden to catch some sunset photos. The road is several hundred feet above the Atlantic and the ocean is dotted with several beautiful islands - it should afford some great shots if the sky remains clear. As always, we have found an outstanding local bakery/café, this time in Clifden, serving a wonderful mix of sophisticated pastries along with hearty peasant breads, scones, and rolls. Tonight, we’ll eat in, having local vegetables in our salad, rib-sticking soup, and good Irish brown bread. Then to the pub. We’ll close our night out with the aforementioned trip to Sky Road, then retire to our beds, the windows wide open, awaiting the bahhing of the sheep to let us know our next day has begun.