Wales to Ireland "It's a hellova day at sea"

Our last post left us just arriving in Fishguard Wales which was a breif 3-night stay to get things in order for our trip across the Irish Sea to Ireland.

Well, we made it to Ireland, but before I jump ahead and get you all out of sorts, let me tell you about Fishguard...

We were not expecting much here.   I saw it as a place to get the dogs EU paperwork completed, and  to catch the ferry.    Like so many places however, we were pleasantly surprised.    While there was no quaint village to stroll, and (thankfully) no blocks of gift shops for Kate to peruse whilst I wait outside, it was still a nice place to kill a few days with some pretty sights.

Just a few miles from our house - we took a short drive up the skinny roads to Strumble Head where the lighthouse keeps guard over the coast.

Kate & Annie at Strumble Head Lighthouse

I timed our visit in order to see the 1pm ferry to Ireland which we will be on tomorrow

Stena Line ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare

Java the hut with his trusty beasts.

Strumble Head Lighthouse

We want to welcome new blog followers Steve & Hailey plus Jason & Dawn.

It's the people that you meet along the way that really make traveling so special.

The thumbs up is Steve & Hailey thing, so this is a shout out to you both.

Thumbs up to you

After Strumble Head, we drove down into town, actually Goodwick, and visited the harbor.

We took a walk out onto the breakwater, then came back and had an ice cream cone.

Meanwhile, the dogs seem to be getting along better and better everyday.   Lucy has accepted this bundle of energy into the pack and they have even started to play a bit each day.     Sort of like a grandparent playing with the grandkids though.   Lucy is a bit older you know.

It was departure day, and on the way to the ferry and I made a stop at the vet to pick up a prescription for Lucy.   She's been having a bit of a stomach upset and I forgot to bring the meds that we have at home for that so the vet who did Lucys paperwork, and both dogs tapeworm treatments. gave me a bit for the road.

Fishguard Vet Services

Next...  it was finally time to head for Ireland.   But first we had to cross the Irish Sea.   We had priority boarding and loading went super smoothly.  

Driving onto the Stena Europe

             

Inside the ship on the car deck.

I had booked 2 kennels for the crossing, but on each ship they are in a different location.  On this ship, they turned out to be bolted to the wall of the car deck.   Rather than leave the dogs in that unfamaliar place, we both agreed that they would be much happier in the quieter confines of the car for the 3.5 hrs, so we decided to leave them in the car.

Before we knew it, we were on board, seated in the lounge, watching the coast of Wales recede in the distance.

We watched the Strumble Head Light fall off behind the stern.    If you look closely, you can see that I caught the light blinking

Strumble Head Lighthouse Wales

Settling in for the crossing, Kate and I had a lunch of Fish & Chips with mushy peas.

Then we went up on deck and I got a picture of me with Babushka O'Harra as she headed for the promised land.

Inside the ship by the duty free shops

The crossing was very smooth and soon the Irish coast appeared in the distance.

Along with the excitement of a new landfall was the apprehension of what we might find in the car.   We had no concerns had it been Lucy & Gracie.   But this was Lucy and Annie, the wildcard.   Would the new pup be as good as she had been thus far, our would we have some sort of surprise.   All sorts of things crossed thru my mind.    From shredded car seats, to intestinal explosions.  My mind was playing games with me.

Fortunately, when we snuck up on the car and peeked inside - there were two little angels sitting there just looking out the window at the people arriving back to their cars.

Whew!    Dodged another bullet.

Our next place, a VRBO, was about a 90 minute drive and we made a stop at a pet store for a few items, plus an Aldi to get a few groceries.    Then it was pretty much the N11 and M11 most of the way.

The N11 headed north from Rosslare

Our place here in County Wicklow is just fabulous.   It is one of the nicest - if not the nicest - places that we have stayed at.   And we've probably stayed in close to 40 Airbnbs now.

Our main open plan kitchen, dining, living area.    The photo makes it look narrow but it is actually quite wide and long.    They are old converted farm outbuildings updated to a very high standard.

The space is shaped like a big "L".  This is the far end of the open kitchen, dining area, looking across and down the "foot" of the L

Our bedroom with king bed and the most comfortable mattress

View from the courtyard looking at the kitchen door.

While here, I had made an appointment to get Lucy a new Pet Passport since her UK one was no longer valid due to Brexit.   Having them makes our travels throughout the EU much simpler.

So on Monday we went to PetCare Vets in Greystones, Ireland. 

All I can say is... Wow!   What a great group of people!    The nicest folks.

I think perhaps the Irish just might be the most friendly people that we have ever met on our travels yet!

Everywhere we go, we get into the most amazing conversations.

But all of that is for future posts.    We have the next month to explore the Emerald Isle and we have some really neat places that we will be visiting and staying in.   Including a floating barge, turned into a home in Belfast where we will spend a couple of nights.

So now, in just her first 19 weeks of life, Annie has been to 5 countries, stayed in at least 8 different homes, travels a couple thousand miles and has traveled on trains, ferries, and cars.    And she's only getting started.    

Welcome to the pack!

Now my 3 girls all have their passports.  One from Spain, and two from Ireland.

And then there's me....