Five Weeks!

I've started a countdown until our flight out of loud, humid Miami takes us to the picturesque Emerald Isle.  Can you believe it's only five weeks away?  Well, you better because that's what it is.

Just this morning, I booked our rail tickets from Dublin to Tralee.  We'll spend a day and half in Dublin, which isn't nearly enough, but it'll have to do because our adventure begins clear across the country in the small village of Tralee.  The train ride from Dublin's Heuston Station is about four hours.  During the first two, we'll have access to a dining car, but after that, we're on our own.  Before we change trains in Mallow, I'll have to avail myself of the dining car and stock up on beers to take on the second leg.  Imagine yourself sitting comfortably on a train, watching gorgeous, green countryside slide past whilst you sip on suds.  Heavenly.

We'll spend the night in Tralee at the Greenview House, which sits right on the edge of The Dingleberry Forest.  (In Ireland, they refer to it as The Dingle Way.)  Convenient, to to say the least.  For a small fee, the owners have agreed to transfer our stuff (that which we won't be carrying on our backs) to our next night's accommodation in Camp.

The walk from Tralee to Camp is approximately 11 miles.  We'll walk past the Blennerville Windmill and then have a rather steep climb for a couple of miles until it levels out and then begins a slow descent into Camp.  It shouldn't prove very difficult and will be a easy way to slip back into distance walking.  (My responsibilities at the Police Academy have allowed zero time for training.)

Our first night in Camp will be spent with Mr. John Doyle, who owns the Camp Junction House.  Near the end of our walk, we'll spend another night there (remember we're walking a peninsula, so we end the walk in the same place we start) and he has graciously offered to drive us back to Tralee the next morning.  I don't know why, but in our last email exchange, he asked if we'd like to ride with him.  It seemed like an offer I couldn't refuse, so its a date.  Don't tell Doug or Mrs. Doyle.

I don't want to overwhelm or bore you with details, so I wait to describe the rest of the walk in future posts to the blog.  Until then, I'll continue to study maps of the peninsula.  Each time I do, the excitement builds.

Only five more weeks!