We drove passed Mary's mother's place in Screen, Co. Donegal. It's been vacant for decades but the cottage is still standing. There's a modern home overlooking it in the first picture above. Nearby there are some new homes with stone and stucco exteriors that I really like. They were built before the economic crisis hit; some of the new homes were never completed and others are still vacant.
A big storm blew in overnight with high winds and trees down in Donegal. We started our trip to Dublin with a detour as the road from Milford to Ramelton was blocked with a down tree. Mary knew another way around and we detoured on a small road to Kilmacrennin and then south to Letterkenny. The detour road was narrow in places making it tricky for two cars to pass by one another.
We made it to Dublin while President Obama was visiting and there was a huge gathering in town at College Green near Trinity College. We had a room near the airport but the city center was packed; tv news was warning people to stay out of downtown unless they were already there. We were disappointed to miss seeing Dublin and watched the president's speech on a restaurant tv. The outdoor reception included Irish sports, music and film celerbities with a 20 minute presidential speech; the crowd seemed to love every minute.
We missed meeting Mary's cousin Kathleen in Dublin because of the crowds but hopefully we'll get another chance on the home leg of the trip. We fly off to Barcelona tomorrow just as Icelandic volcanic ash starts to spread to Scotland. So far south bound flights like ours seem to be ok, so fingers crossed here.
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