Kerry Way

See that extremely large hill there?  I climbed that puppy!  And did it while hacking my lungs out too!

My first trip with the Outdoor Pursuits Club took me westward to County Kerry on a little hike known as the Kerry Way (for the location to where I was, click here: http://bit.ly/bXXzF3).  Basically it takes you up and through the woods in order to see great views of Ireland’s largest mountains…

…greenest farmlands…

…and friendliest sheep.

I’m sure I would have enjoyed the trip a lot more if I had a voice and my head wasn’t pounding out of its skull.  Long story short, I started feeling sniffily on Thursday, and it’s been getting worse ever since.  I don’t know if it’s the Irish weather (there hasn’t been a day without rain since two Saturdays ago) or if I’m allergic to Irish classes (I guess I better stop going then), but something’s got a hold on me.  Luckily, I have these Irish cough drops called “Strepsils” which, as unhappy as the name sounds, actually work better than any American cough drops I’ve tried.  It’s good craic!

I guess I should explain craic, shouldn’t I?  It’s basically an Irish word that can be used for anything at anytime, but mostly used to denote fun.  It’s most often used in the phrase, “It’s good craic!” meaning “It’s a heck of a lot of fun!” or “Where’s the craic?” as in “Hey, where are the fun times to be had?”  It’s pronounced the same as “crack,” so you can imagine what I was thinking the first time I heard someone say, “Where’s the craic?” (I believe my thought was, “Is there a drug-deal going on here?”).  It can also be used as a salutation (“What’s the craic?”) or an exclamation (“Oh, the craic is on!”) or a permutation:  

No matter how you use it, it’s all just good craic!  Hopefully I’ll get better soon so I can properly enjoy my Irish experience without being all sickly and gross (not the best way to make friends).  Either way, I’ll keep the craic going for my blog!  That didn’t sound right…