Excerpts from the travel journal of Eric Leach and Tanya Bricking Leach on their road trip around the coast of Ireland:

DAY 1: DUBLIN

He says: And I thought Rome was bad. It's no wonder the Irish are crazy. They drive on the wrong side of the road. The B&B staff is wonderful. Alex (a French student) had to drive the car to the parking lot. Great time walking around. The Temple Bar area is a young crowd. Had a nice lunch at a pub with my first Guinness in Ireland. Can't wait to see the rest, though. Great dinner at Il Primo (an Italian bistro at 16 Montague St., near St. Stephen's Green in Dublin).

She says: Aside from the challenges of finding Kilronan House in a busy city, we had fun walking around Dublin. It reminds me of Waikiki, in a way. I'm sure this is not the Real Ireland. Looks kind of like Boston.

DAY 3: WATERFORD AND CASHEL

He says: Left Dublin to find the real Ireland. Boy, did we. After a long drive to Waterford, we stopped to see the tall ships. Very cool, but cooler from a distance. We arrived here at the Dualla House (a farmhouse in Cashel). "Gone with the Wind." Our room is as large as our living room in Hawai'i. The Rock of Cashel was very cool, even though the camera died. Had dinner at Davern's Pub. Early night, long days.

She says: We were going to skip Waterford until we read about the Tall Ships Festival going on. That was neat, but it was too crowded to get on all of the ships. From there, we went to the countryside and walked around the Rock of Cashel and down to the Abbey. Our room is huge. I love it. We took the hostess' advice and went to the pub on Main Street for dinner. We're staying on a sheep farm tonight. Beautiful.

DAY 4: MYRTLEVILLE, BLARNEY, KINSALE, CORK

He says: Today I kissed a nasty rock, upside down. To top it off, I had only had one beer. Wow, Ireland is great. Checked into our B&B (Bellevue, in the coastal town of Myrtleville), and it is cute. Not old, but large room with a tub. The view of the Atlantic Ocean is terrific. Went to Kinsale. Great harbor town. Very touristy, but then we are tourists! Great pubs, great woman.

She says: Today, I bought my first gift for the baby: a christening gown made of Irish linen. I found it in Kinsale, a little seaside village. And that was only after kissing the Blarney Stone and stopping in a pub with my honey. We had a great time today, right down to a wonderful dinner (at Bunnyconnellan's on the "Irish Riviera" in Myrtleville) and daylight past 10 p.m.

DAY 6: DINGLE

He says: Thank God, no driving! What I thought was going to be a boring day/night turned out to be one of the funniest. We walked around Dingle. We got everywhere we needed to go in the car, and then we set out on foot. A very small town, but full of character. Murphy's seems to be "our place" (just like Hawai'i). Of all the pubs in town, we of course ended up there. Yippie-aye-aaa! (There was singing.)

She says: We slowed things down a bit today and explored Dingle by foot. It was sunny and hot — probably 80 degrees, and I had to stop and buy T-shirts because I brought sweaters. Dingle is old, a bit dingy, but it's interesting. We found a pub with lively music tonight. We're staying at a nice B&B (Greenmount House in Dingle). It was a good place to nap this afternoon. Everyone says "grand" here. We're having a grand time.

DAY 7: LISTOWEL, BALLYBUNION

He says: If I needed a haircut or a sensible pair of shoes, this IS THE PLACE! I swore since it was off the beaten path of tour buses we would find a good shop to find gifts. Note to self: No tourists, no souvenir shops. Went to the beach. My toes are still blue, but it was as beautiful as Hanauma Bay. The B&B is great (Ceol na Habhann, a thatched-roof place on a riverbank in Listowel). "Grandma" and "Grandpa" are truly great hosts.

She says: The innkeeper in Killarney warned us that Listowel was a little odd. It's OK, lots of shoe shops and hair salons and not much else. We were the only patrons at the town's hotel restaurant tonight, which was a bit depressing. But we visited the beach at Ballybunion. Not quite like Hawai'i, but nice. We stopped at the Horseshoe Pub. Now we're staying in a thatched-roof home with sweet, grandparenty hosts.

DAY 9: KINVARA, GALWAY, CONG, CLONBUR

He says: I was in the same pub as John Wayne (in the town where "The Quiet Man" was filmed). I am pretty sure life doesn't get much better. We left this morning with our luggage and two black bags of dirty laundry. Stopped in Galway to have it done for us. Came to Cong and had a blast. The B&B is nice (the Ballykine House in Clonbur) and the hostess is very nice. The town of Cong is small, but like the rest of Ireland, very friendly.

She says: We saw a neat castle in Kinvara and arrived in Clonbur and took a "nature walk" from our B&B. Cong seemed like more of a happening town, so we ended up back there for dinner (Michilin's, where they played Frank Sinatra music) and a pub with fun music (Lowry's, where there was an Irish band). Fun day.

DAY 13: BELFAST

He says: After trying to figure out where to stop for the day and realizing the trip wouldn't take as long as we thought, we decided on Belfast. They say it is a political destination as opposed to a historic one. Well, the history this place has is short but by all accounts amazing. We took the bus tour and stayed at the Marine Guest House. Nice old place on the edge of the city. I would come back for more time.

She says: Belfast was a good choice: It was kind of like a big city, like Dublin. The Crown Pub was really neat with stained glass and little booths with doors. The political "troubles" in Belfast seem real when you visit the neighborhoods. Oh yeah, some teen girls on a street where we were looking at murals told Eric to "shake his chute."

DAY 14: CASTLEWELLAN

He says: Northern Ireland is just as beautiful as the south but much harder to find things. Seems here in the north, they aren't as reliant on tourism. We finally found the castle, but the cashel is still MIA. The Slieve Croob Inn is not what we expected. It is a nice enough place, but the service is lacking. On our way for our last night in Ireland. A wonderful vacation.

She says: The countryside is just spectacular, rolling hills dotted with sheep and cows. We even saw a deer preserve near the old castle. One more night in Ireland, and then we're back in the U.S. of A.