day 1: Dublin to Tralee

location: Dublin to Tralee
transportation: Airlink 747 and train from Heuston Station to Tralee via Mallow
distance on foot: 3.59 miles
distance by rail: approximately 200 miles

entertainment: The Lost Fleet, Haunted Ground, Erica repeatedly falling asleep while attempting to read the latter.

having a vague sense of a nation's geography and public transit system does make a difference when plotting out one's first maneuvers, especially if you're making a quick escape from population centers on which most travel books devote the majority of their time. the Airlink bus brought us directly from the arrivals area of the Dublin airport to Heuston rail station, with a pleasant tour of central Dublin on the way. we had a bit of a snack while waiting at the train station and then had another delay in boarding the train (something about having to switch vehicles or tracks -- the announcement was virtually indecipherable). the trip was uneventful, cutting across the heart of southern Ireland. we changed trains in Mallow and were not unhappy to to lose the company of the odd woman across the aisle who spent the entire ride from Dublin swaying like a metronome and singing along in a low voice to the music on her phone.

our B&B in Tralee was grand; it was the first of several instances where someone who didn't run the establishment booked us in and tried to cover the essentials of getting us settled. in this instance, the owners were up in Dublin for the birth of a grandchild so another daughter who lived in town was holding down the fort while her kids watched television and offered to help.

since we had a comfortable amount of time to adjust and settle in before heading out on the hike the following day, we availed ourselves of the proximity of the "omniplex" just around the corner from the B&B and went to see "Pacific Rim," which was an excellent decision, even if the audience wasn't as large or appreciative as if we'd gone with friends at home. in general, Tralee was pretty quiet for a Friday -- everyone up to Killarney or someplace more populous?