Phew! This is the last installment of our summer travels to England & Ireland. The last few days have been full of great feedback & I wish I was able to take all of you with me! Unfortunately, I could only fit 50 lbs. in my luggage and my camera equipment is about half of that weight and Cadbury Chocolate was definitely the other half of that. If you missed the earlier parts to this, you can see part 1, 2, 3, and 4 by clicking on their link! Once again, going through these pictures, I just sit and thank God that I'm so blessed to make all these expeditions. I really do hope to be able to do this for some sort of good one day, so if you know a way I can impact the world through photography or a story that needs to be told, hit a girl up.

For my photographers, these photos are all from my D800 or my Nikon FM with Fuji Pro 400h film (side note: how coincidental the light leak on the opening image!). These are from 3 different day trips to the towns of Dingle & Cork and the Cliffs of Moher. Each such a different place, but each with a gorgeous, jaw-dropping drives through the Irish countryside. Never in my life have I seen such beautiful light just pick and choose what it wants to illuminate and actually be able to capture it in a single frame. Never have I seen such thick fog become a luscious gray backdrop for some of the most colorful buildings & street life I've seen. Never have I been able to stand over 700 ft. above sea level & look down to not only see the sight of where Harry Potter & Dumbledore's quest to destroy horcruxes began, but to also just inhale such a fresh sea breeze, that I realized that everything I'm doing in my life now has some sort of purpose and not have my fears overcome me. And never have I been able to meet such wonderful people, who despite terrible economic conditions, continue to strive to make their lives and their country beautiful by just caring and being thankful for what they do have in life.

We set out one day to explore the Dingle Peninsula & then the town of Dingle, home to the famous Murphy's Ice Cream! The countryside was amazing, and the peninsula unlike anything I've ever experienced. There were even surf lessons happening in that 55-degree weather! More power to you, Irishmen, you couldn't pay me to get in that water.

Meet Frank, one of our drivers! He was such a sweet and hilarious guy! He also knew the best spots for photos & stew!

So many Irish wildflowers were picked for pressing!

ICE CREAM & STEW!

The next day we headed out to the city of Cork. We did some shopping, some exploring, and found some utterly delicious food at the Idaho Cafe! I even found a sweet shop that had my favorite Haribo eggs & gummy dolphins, which reminded me of my years in England as a kid. Although, when I thought the gummy dolphins were sharks, the clerk was quick to correct me that they were "dolphins, not sharks, because the Irish are nice and the English are sharky people." After we left Cork, we stopped in Blarney to visit the castle & kiss the Blarney Stone. While I decided to overcome my fear of spiral staircases and heights, I leaned back head first and kissed the stone for luck. Then wiped hand sanitizer all over my lips, haha. May favorite part though were the poison gardens, which made me feel like I was in Professor Sprout's class at Hogwarts!

Our last day, we headed out to the Cliffs of Moher. Such a beautiful place. We stopped along the way to grab some photos of some very, very old (I'm talking Middle Ages era), graveyards that just hang out in old castle ruins or along the beach. Once we got to the Cliffs, the view was just spectacular. No photo, I think, could ever do it justice. It really just makes you stop and take a breath of fresh air. I wish we could've been there during sunset or sunrise, but it was just too far away for a day trip to try and get there at a certain time, but nevertheless, the Cliffs are stunning anytime of day!

What I would give to be a cow who lives at the Cliffs!

We stopped in Adare, on our way back to Springfield Castle and stopped in to this quaint little Abbey Church. Adare was a beautiful little town with thatched cottages, but was really overrun with senior citizen tourists. Must be the golfing!

And here are some of the Instagram's from the last leg of our trip! Enjoy!

Thank you again for following along with these adventures! I'm always up for shooting, so let me know if you're in!

After our couple days in Dublin, we caught a train and headed out to West Ireland in County Limerick. We hopped in a van, drove through some tiny villages and ended up at Springfield Castle in Dromcolliher. A. Castle. Sleeping. In. A. Castle. How awesome! We stayed in the tower house of the castle, which had been in the gatekeepers' family under the name of Lord Muskerry since 1281! The castle's decor and knickknacks are even family heirlooms that date back throughout the 19th and 18th century. That, my friends, is an old castle! The grounds were stunning. The woods surrounding Springfield were enchanting, the farm land was beautiful, and you could literally just walk around the property for days. At night the temperature in July is just absolutely pleasant, and you can sit to watch the sparrows fly around the grounds feeding on bugs in the air. Such busy little birds. Springfield is just such a peaceful and relaxing place. On the grounds, Jonathan & Betty have horses, raise deer, raise trees, grow shitake mushrooms & other organic produce, and brew their own beer. Betty is an avid gardener and her rock garden in the front of the tower house is amazing, even Pete the Peacock thinks so, too. Jonathan is an all around handyman and they are currently working on restoring the 2nd tower of the castle. And their dog, Fitzy, just follows along behind them during their day. Jonathan & his wife, Betty, have such a beautiful piece of history in their hands & were such gracious hosts!

I have just a handful of photos of Springfield here today, because believe me, I couldn't quit taking photos of how beautiful it was. I have a solid mix of digital, black & white film, and colored film for you guys! Enjoy!

Pete the Peacock was our dear friend while we stayed at Springfield. He ate homemade french fries, steak, lots of lettuce, and would surprise us in the most peculiar places. Such as a second story window sill, the back kitchen door, or even on top of our car.

The wall behind the bronze dogs was probably my favorite that included receipts, papers, and posters from Lord Muskerry and his family. So amazing to be able to have all these antique documents from your family!

If you ventured far enough out on the trails around the property you came upon a little cemetery. Some tombstones were new, while others were hundreds and hundreds years old. Tess & I found the "Kneel & Pray" tombstone to be our favorite.

You know, gotta take a selfie in a castle, right?

The outstanding sunset our last night in Ireland. This shot is from the top of the tower and you can see the sparrows flitting around. I shot this on digital, film, and my iphone and got different colors with each. This was the most accurate, although throw in a little more magenta, just a tad, and that's the true color. Beautiful, nonetheless, and definitely makes me thankful for the traveling opportunities I had this summer.

And what would be a blog post without some instagram's!

Up tomorrow-our excursions in Cork, Dingle, & the Cliffs of Moher!