DAY 3: Gap of Dunloe and Boat Ride through the Lakes of Killarney

This day is Ireland may have been one of the highlights of our entire trip. While many people visit the major attractions like Killarney, after talking to friends who had visited Ireland, no one had heard of or visited the Gap of Dunloe. I spent some time reading through travel forums on ideas of what to do while abroad and this mysterious Gap of Dunloe kept coming up. One of the comments stood out when he commented that the day he spent in the Gap, hiking through and taking the pony trap with his new bride was still one of his favorite memories 20 years later. I immediately planned the trip, booked the necessary guides and tours, and Adam and I gifted this beautiful day to my in-laws for Christmas. We had the most perfect 65 degree sunny blue bird day for this adventure and we all loved every aspect of the trip. 

Ross Castle

The day went like this

1. Meet at the Old Weir Lodge in downtown Killarney
2. A bus takes you to Ross Castle
3. From Ross Castle, you hop on a 1.5 hour boat ride through the lakes and rivers of Killarney National Park
4. From there, you have lunch at an old hunting lodge, Lord Brandon's Cottage
5. From the cottage, you have the option to hike the 7 miles through the gap (a now paved tiny single lane road), or hire one of the ponymen for a pony trap (horse and carriage ride) down through the gap.
6. The hike or ponytrap ride takes you to Kate Kearney's Cottage. From here, you can grab a coffee or a bite and wait for the bus to take you back to your car at Old Wier Lodge. 
   You can book the tour here

Day 2: Killarney, Ireland (Castlerosse Park Resort and Killarney National Park)

We spent days 2 through 6 in Killarney (Sunday through Thursday, 4 nights) and it was magical. Ireland's beauty is quiet here in the states in the sense that you don't hear much about it, but it is so apparent when you spend time in this country, especially outside its major city. The greenery, the restaurants, the outdoors, the friendly people, the amazing food, we fell in love with Ireland and it started right here in Killarney.

Between the resort we stayed at, the access to the trails and National Park, the city/downtown area itself, and the launching point to Gap of Dunloe, Blarney Castle, Kinsale, and Dingle Peninsula, this corner of Ireland was our favorite. The town itself is dreamy with busy cobblestone streets, live music, quaint shops, a ton of restaurants with outdoor spaces, and everyone out on the sidewalks enjoying a pint. 

Ireland with Kids Day 1: Red Eye, Rock of Cashel, Aherlow and Mallow Castle

International travel has always been important to me. I love to experience a new culture, new food, new scenery, and a different part of the world. You probably won't believe me but I promise I've done the math but more often than not, a trip to Europe is more affordable than a trip I can take within the states. While flights sometimes cost a little more, everything is cheaper once you are there, lodging especially. I knew when we had kids the gift of international travel was something I wanted to share with them and so, every year we try to visit a new country. Whitney has a few stamps on his passport first to Portugal at 15 months (Lisbon and the Algargve), then to Italy and Switzerland at 3 (focused on the Lake Iseo region). This year his newest passport stamp was Ireland and our newest challenge was traveling with both kids at the challenging ages of 2 and 4. Let me start by saying that traveling with kids is not for the faint of heart and it will test you and your marriage in ways you can't imagine. Yet, every time we do, we get through the hard parts, we have an amazing trip watching our kids enjoying life abroad, and do it all over again.

I picked Ireland for my first international trip with both kids for a few reasons: direct flight from our smaller international airport right in Connecticut, affordable with a lot of options to explore the outdoors, and a relatively small country that is easy to see with kids. With that being said, I knew a few things were going to be challenging: the time of the red eye (6pm to midnight - truly couldn't be any worse), the 5 hour time difference, and driving a car on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car. 

Essex Steam Train Half Marathon - 10 Years Later

Essex Steam Train Half Marathon

In March, I ran my first half marathon since having kids, my first half marathon in ten years. 

Ten years ago I was 27 years old, living in Utah and in amazing shape. I was running, hiking, biking, as much as I could and when you live so far from your family, you have a lot of time for the outdoors.  Ten years ago, I ran my fastest half and set my PR, the Salt Lake City half marathon. I was running against my Garmin time of 1:55:36 at 13.15 miles which was a PR for me. AFTER the race, and only after, I logged back into the race website to see it was an entirely downhill course, and my official race time was 1:59:15. It's always best to go with the race timer knowing you add a bit of distance as you wind your way through the course (the course is measured on the shortest route possible running the tangents etc).

Intro to Backcountry Skiing - Tuckerman Ravine to Sherburne Ski Trail with Inclusive Ski Touring

Birthdays feel special to me. So often we celebrate the milestones: 16, 21, 30, 40, 50 and on, but we kind of let the rest of the birthdays go on as ordinary days in between the bigger milestones. I choose to savor and celebrate all the birthdays in between. Throughout my 20s and into my 30s, I embraced my love of winter and snowy birthday month, usually celebrating in the snow. I spent many birthdays on a ski slope, my 30th birthday dog sledding in Canada, 31st birthday snowmobiling in the Adirondacks, so on, and so forth. My birthday ski celebrations were put on pause for a few years thanks to my winter pregnancies, but 2025 and my 37th birthday was the time I crossed something big off my bucket list, while using my birthday to coerce Adam into joining me. Instead of just heading west or north for a ski trip, we were headed to the backcountry to hike up a portion of Mount Washington and ski down the back country on New England's famous Sherburne Ski Trail.