Driving Skills

I can’t believe I’ve been here for 3 weeks. Sometimes I feel like I just got here and sometimes it feels like it’s been months.

I’m very happy to report that cousin Ben has arrived safe and sound. He even survived my driving. I’ve actually been doing quite a bit of driving and I think I may have been a bit dramatic in my last post. It’s really not that bad. I’m getting impatient now to get my own car. I opened an account with an Irish bank and have started the process of applying for a car loan. If all goes well I’ll have a new set of wheels next week.

In other news, the weather here has been absolutely amazing…sunny and 70s all week. I even got a little color, although I know anyone that knows me well won’t believe that for a second. It’s not fair that all Irish people (even the red heads) tan better than me. And Ben is the tannest one here. Why didn’t I get those genes???

The last few days have been very relaxing and we’re expecting a very slow weekend. I think that’s because last weekend was a holiday weekend. But starting in June the season gets into full swing. We’ve got a chef arriving and another staff member who goes to college with Ben. That’s three Americans. As Oran would say, the damn yanks are takin’ over!! JK and Tamara are also here, so we’ll be fully staffed in a few weeks. Then the real fun begins!!!

Here are a few more pictures from my adventures this week:

This is me standing on the deck of Morrissey's, a restaurant in Doonbeg in County Clare. Our friend Hugh owns the place and we spent last Monday night there. Those are the remains of an old castle behind me. On Tuesday morning I picked Ben up from the airport and we went to the Doonbeg golf club for lunch. There's some amazing photos on the website. http://www.doonbeggolfclub.com/index.html

Random sheep in the road...I passed by them when I was driving back from the beach on Thursday with Ben. Usually Oran drives and he won't always pull over to let me take pictures (we'd be pulling over A LOT), but I can pull over as much as I want when I'm driving. Yet another reason I need my own car!!!

I took this driving back from Westport, where my office will be. Quite a different commute than the one I had in D.C.!!

Love, Kim

P.S. Congratulations Walker Family!!! I can’t wait to see little baby Logan. Please send pictures!! Also, Ragni, how on earth did someone so tiny manage to give birth to a 9 pound baby? You’re amazing!!!