We had a full Irish breakfast at the Ashmore House in Cashel. Laura served us juice, eggs, bacon, sausage, black and white pudding, toast and tomatoes. The coffee was hot and the conversation, I mean craic, was going strong. We met a couple from South Tampa and had a great conversation about Ireland and Rome. It was time to head south, so we pointed the car toward Cork and our minds on Kenmare. Our goal was to arrive in Kenmare as early as possible because they were having their annual fair.
We traveled in a mixture of sun and rain - and saw our first Irish rainbow - we followed it to its end, but did not find a pot of gold.We arrived in Kenmare to find, as our B&B hosts - Noreen and Neil, had warned us, cars parked a mile out of town. We got in the slow moving line and worked our way through town parking 3/4 mile on the other side. As we walked back into town, we were struck by the breadth of the fair...everything from crafts, trinkets, and farm animals to food, clothes, and tools. The atmosphere was festive and the distance flew by without effort.
As we turned onto Henry Street, we saw Virginia's Guesthouse, which is located about Mulcahy's Restaurant. Heading upstairs, we were greeted by Noreen and Neil and shown to our room. We had left our suitcases in the car to bring in later. The place was fabulous - just the local flavor we like and our hosts were incredible - true Irish and full of energy. After checking in and discussing the best way to see the Ring of Kerry, we walked to a local restaurant and had a delicious chicken pie, vegetables and a huge (no we mean huge) piece of lemon merange pie. The walk back to the car took us back through the fair and when we arrived at the car, it was time to began our tour.
Our path took us through Moll's Gap, Sneem, Castlecove - well it's easier to say we were driving the ring in a clockwise manner. To our left was the Kenmare River and on our right was Mac Gillycuddy's Reeks, water to the left and 
mountains and valleys to our right. The views were astonishing. You drive near the river at times and you climb into the highlands and mountains at other times. The contrast is fantastic and the views and narrow roads take your breath away. Personally, we love the narrow roads, which at times are no wider than a small european car. When you have the pleasure of meeting an oncoming car, one of you moves to the edge (or into one of the cutout areas) until the other car passes.
The skies were sunny, cloudy, and simply overcast - creating interesting shadow patterns on the land and water. Every turn triggered a new emotion and it was one great high after another.
As we completed the southwesternmost portion of the Ring,
we entered Cahersiveen, the birthplace of Steve's relative, Daniel O'Connell. As you can see, the sign posts are written in Irish and English. We know you are as glad as we were that the translation is offered - otherswise, don't you know we would have been totally lost - or we would have purchased an Irish-English dictionary.
We left Cahersiveen and headed up.....this is a route less traveled (buses can't make it and faint of heart should not try). We kept climbing and went through the Ballagshisheen Pass and contined on the narrow, narrow road and went through the Ballagh Beama Pass. The views were unbelievable - the wild goat we saw at about 200 yards was a true surprise.
The sheep are everywhere (it really feels like New Zealand) - and I mean everywhere. When you go through these passes, the sheep are in 
fields, but many have found their way to the grass that is greener on the other side and you find them by the edge of the road staring at you with big inquiring eyes. Our winding road trip brought us back to Kenmare for a quiet dinner and a restful sleep.
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