Northy Goodness

Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Donegal. It was Tommy's friend's 30th birthday and nearly 40 people converged on a tiny town in Donegal to celebrate. The first night, we all went out for a meal and then to the pub (of course) which featured a "local" band whose oldest member couldn't have been older than 15. (Check out the pic!)

It was one of those weekends that was a perfect mix of debauchery and ruggedness. A night at the pub follwed by a day spent outdoors. It was the first good weather of the summer and I was actually able to go swimming (with a wet suit of course!) in the icy Atlantic. I also borrowed a body board and I can't tell you how amazing it was to be in the water again after 10 months on dry land. I was meant to live in the tropics I think. If there's anything better than surf and sun, (even if the sun is weak and the water is subzero) I don't know what it is. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of our swimming adventures or the pristine beach we were on. (Fortunately, there are not photos of me in my wet suit... ;) ) Swimming was followed by a pub lunch in my favorite Donegal local. (I had raw oysters and soup and brown bread and hot port...Irish food at it's simple best.) And then a trip to a nearby waterfall and an evening spent sitting by a roaring fire. When Ireland is bad, it's cold and wet and dark and dismal, but when the sun shines on this little island, there is really nothing like it, and Donegal is it's pinnacle.