Team Whitney: Day Four: The Scenic Route to Kilkenny

Wednesday's route, from Carlow to Kilkenny, was about 25-30 miles on relatively flat land. So, we anticipated an easier day. In fact, Freeman found a river path called the Barrow Way advertised in a pamphlet in Carlow that would take us most of the way there. So, we agreed, let's avoid the big roads and take the scenic route.

Let's Go! It was time for a ride on Jenny's bike.

The path was very scenic. (Notice the decidedly grayer hugh to the sky--that will come into play later.)

What we discovered, though, was that the path went from this...

...to this...

... at which point our plans for a leisurely ride turned into a bit of a hike. (But, as with other points on the trip where it didn't go quite as planned, we did notice that is was quite beautiful!)

Anyhow, by the time we hit the next road, we decided to take it, which led us to...

...this cool old church where (if I remember correctly) the date for Easter was reportedly set.

It was at this point in the journey that Freeman and I had to pull out our rain gear.

We also decided it was time to stop for lunch and at the advice of several locals, we ended up at a nearby hotel, where we were definitely lost in translation. Every question we asked was answered by the phrase, "No, it's carvery." Although I am still not positive, I believe carvery is cafeteria-style. Anyhow, regardless, Freeman and Hamilton shared some yummy chicken and I enjoyed some brown bread and soup.

After lunch, we decided just to take the largest, straightest, quickest road for the rest of the trip and were quite happy to arrive in Kilkenny. You can catch the full effect of our rain gear in our arrival picture.