From Dingle to Killarney to Kenmare

I changed my mind about driving the 120-mile Ring of Kerry today. Nothing could be more beautiful than Dingle. (The two nights in Dingle were a rest I needed.) So I planned an easier day of driving, ending up in the little town of Kenmare (population 2,672) as originally planned. The church steeple just rang 4 pm. I'm staying right in town in Hawthorn House, probably the best B&B since I've been on the road. Only a spot of rain today, so the drive out of Dingle was magnificent, with views of the Ring of Kerry all along the way. Instead of the Ring, I drove about 30 miles north to Killarney and then drove down through the Killarney National Park, which is forested and mossy with all forty shades of Irish green. Freshwater lakes. Waterfalls. [Note to Colleen: I got over my prejudice about the English having owned the Muckross Estate and visited the house. Mary O'Neil, my Dingle connection, explained how the entire estate of 11,000 acres had been donated to the Irish government, so that made me feel better about stepping across the threshold of Muckross House. First time I've been in a manor house with a literal upstairs/downstairs.]

After checking into the B&B, I walked the town and found signs to a prehistoric stone circle, as it turns out, the biggest of its kind in southwest Ireland. It's tucked up a tiny Kenmare Street. Three beautiful horses were grazing alongside.