April 2023, Week Twenty Three

 Well hello again my lovelies! How are you all doing? I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip to County Mayo. I'm still several months behind in my adventures, but these next few posts should be shorter, as I didn't get up to AS much. I still took lots of photos though, don't worry!

Spring colours walking into Clonmany from my wee house.

Pollan Bay in blues and greys.

Catching up with family and friends!

During week Twenty Three I got to spend some quality time with family and friends, which was lovely. Monday night I was at my favourite pub McFeeley's, with the locals. I hadn't been for a couple of weeks and it was good to catch up with people. Wednesday I walked down to Pollan Bay and spent the entire evening with cousins and friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in decades. It was so wonderful to have a proper catch up in person after so long, and I got to meet their children too. Some of us stayed up late chatting, and then I walked home in the moonlight. It was a gorgeous full moon that night, and I got some beautiful shots of the light shining through the clouds.

Moonlight and Streetlights, Ballyliffin.

Moonlight and Streetlights, Clonmany.

Moonlight over Bulbin/Bulaba, Clonmany.

That Saturday was the Ballyliffin Coastal Challenge Run, and several of my cousins were participating, so I walked over to see them off at the start of the race, and welcome them back at the end. In between, I got to catch up with other family members and it was more of a reunion than I was expecting, which was a lovely surprise for me. The race gets bigger every year, so I look forward to cheering people on again from now on.

Blue skies and clouds over Raghtin Mor.

Stream next to St Mary's Church, Clonmany.

Start of the Ballyliffin Coastal Challenge Run, outside the Ballyliffin Hotel.

Low tide at Pollan Bay, waiting for the runners to return.

After the race, I got to go out for a few drinks with several of my cousins, which was a great craic. Once again, I have to say how happy I am to be living here and able to see my family more often. Half my life was spent on a different continent, and I feel like I missed out on so much, but now I'm making up for lost time and having quality time with loved ones.