Happy St Patrick's Day!

As a South Dakota raised Lutheran farm girl it has never been a big day of celebration for my family, even if I do love to wear green. Once I became an adult and realized I loved Guinness, I will admit it honestly became a day to justify buying/drinking some. I also like Irish food, but why in the world am I writing my very first blog post today, and why would anyone care? Well, to be honest, I always wonder that about blogs anyway, but I know it is something that I have put off for way longer than I should have. Therefore, I decided that even if I have zero Irish heritage, there is no time like the present to give myself one more thing to do! 🙂

I realized my dream of visiting Ireland last summer, which was my #2 bucket list country. I have plenty to say about our amazing trip, and also about destination photography. Don’t worry, I am not going to write a book here. Who has time for that? I am not even sure who in the world will have time to read this, but I am diving in anyway and trying not to care.

View from St. John's Castle in Limmerick, Ireland

First stop (technically second- we went to Aldi for some food first.), the view from St. John's Castle in Limmerick, Ireland. We met up with the leaders of One Collective for a tour here.

What a trip! I accompanied a group called One Collective to Ireland with my daughter as a model. It still seems like I am dreaming when I think back on it, but my 6000+ photos prove I really was there.

See what I mean? A pretty random blog post, but at least it is all Irish! I could write SO much about our Sightseeing Ireland adventure. We saw so many amazing things in our 10 days there. This is not even a tip of the iceberg. It was fun to spend hours working on this and looking through photos again, but I had better wrap it up before St. Patrick's Day is over.

Just for the record, I never fulfilled my dream from long ago of drinking Guinness in an Irish Pub, because nowadays that would have made me tremendously sick. However, we did get to listen to Celtic pub music, eat traditional Irish food, and just take in the culture, so it was even better than I had dreamed. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Our home during our photo adventure near Adare

We started our Irish adventure by staying at this country estate, Captain Lysley's. That is also our sporty rental car in front.

Is this a dream?

Claire and I in front of the first location for the One Collective adventure. This sweet castle ruins is not far from Adaire, Ireland.

Amazing views in every direction

Minard Castle in Dingle Peninsula was one of the four locations we photographed our models.

Wow, the most dreamy location for a sunset photo shoot!

Dunquin Pier was the location for our models for their 'epic' site. And, yes, it could have not gotten anymore epic!

Following our tremendous time with One Collective, Claire and I became full-fledged tourists. I drove us around as much of the stunning country as I could in our sharp looking, left-handed, stick-shift car. Driving in Ireland is not for the faint of heart, and I had been warned, but since I grew up on a farm I wasn't worried. I will say, however, the first few hours Claire thought I was going to kill us, but I blame her doubt on her lack of sleep. The roads didn't get any wider, nor did the shifter & steering wheel switch to the correct side of the car, but there was less panic once everyone was better rested. We were able to see SO much of the country this way!

Idyllic Ireland

Tiny roads, livestock grazing near the ocean, and sometimes on the road. It was slightly crazy to drive around the country, but so fun to see as much of Ireland as we did!

There just wasn't enough time to explore everything, but we sure enjoyed what we were able to see!

Cahir Castle

We saw castles everywhere, many of them just ruins in the middle of cow pastures, but we also visited some in great condition. This particular one, Cahir Castle, has been in many movies.

Swiss Cottage

Swiss Cottage was a fairytale lovers dream. Claire totally fulfilled Cottage Core here!

Barron Bakery

This bakery was also in a movie-one that a BLC student edited. He did such a great job that when I saw the documentary footage I was inspired to visit, and I can't even eat baked goods! I did take a taste though, and the whole experience was worth it!

Dunbrody Abby

Dunbrody Abby was fun to explore.

Our version of the Cliffs of Moher

I didn't do enough research to know the Cliffs of Moher closed long before sunset. Whoops! We found these nearby the next morning. We didn't have to pay, nor were there thousands of people, so I consider it all a win.

Kylemore Abby

Kylemore Abby/Castle and gardens was a phenomenal stop. They had a beautiful chapel on the grounds also.

We did this!

Quite possibly my favorite memory of the entire trip. We got to Irish Dance! Being immersed in the Irish culture because God put us in the right place at the right time is something I will never forget. SO Fun!

Some artistic culture as well

We did not spend a ton of time in Dublin, but we enjoyed Vermeer and other art at the National Gallery.

Just for the record, I never fulfilled my dream from long ago of drinking Guinness in an Irish Pub, because nowadays that would have made me tremendously sick, and certainly not been able to drive. However, we did get to listen to Celtic pub music, eat traditional Irish food, and just take in the culture, so it was even better than I had dreamed.

I can't wait to go back someday, and if you are reading this and want to look like a supermodel in an amazing country let me know, and we can go together!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

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