Travels in Eire #13

Cailin woke up a little worse for the wear but decided after a hearty breakfast that she would continue on the tour plan that she set up. Today she would head up to Gleveagh Park at the northern tip of Couty Donegal, and then head back down south and into Budoran or the town of Donegal depending on time.
It was a beautiful drive through the Derryveagh Mountains. Glenveagh was owned off and on by Irish Americans until it was turned over to the Irish government. The castle borders on Lough Veagh and this morning there was a hauntlingly misty fog over the lough. It just added more to the beauty of the area. The gardens were wonderfully manicured and the trails lead Cailin winding in and out of incredible views of the mountains and lough. Cailin was hoping to catch of glimpse of some of the red deer who roam the mountains here as one of the few remaining herds of red deer in Ireland.

Wishing she had a day or two here to hike the trails, Cailin put this location on her list of places to revisit and headed south toward the town of Donegal. The funny thing was that when she arrived at the crossroads on the motorway with one direction going further south to Donegal and the other heading back toward Derry, she suddenly found herself on the road to Derry. She was changing her plan and was not quite sure what was in store for her.
Cailin knew that if she was going to head back to Derry she needed to call Darren. She pulled off the road to grab a quick snack at Letterkenny and dialed his number. “What am I doing?” she asked herself as the phone rang.
“Well, well, Cailin, what can I do for you?” answered Darren.
She could tell by his voice he was pleased that she called.
“Well...,” she paused as she was not quite sure what to tell Darren. “I was coming south from Glenveagh and decided to come back to Derry.”
She waited for a response from Darren that would help her decide if she made a mistake heading back to Derry.
“Cailin, where are you? I can't believe you're coming back! What a very pleasant surprise.” Darren was being cautious with his enthusiasm.
“I'm in Buncarna and will be in Derry in about thirty minutes. Is that okay?” again she was trying to get a feeling as to whether she had made the right decision.
“Let me give you directions to where I am. I'll be off work by the time you are here and we can spend the rest of the day together.”
At last the slightest of a suggestion that Darren might be glad to see her.

She followed the directions into town and drove through the gateway to the hospital entrance finding Darren standing out front waiting for her. She couldn't miss that smile turning into a great grin, and she felt so much more at ease.
“I don't know what possessed me to do this,” she explained apologetically to Darren.
“Well, if you had not come back to Derry, I probably would have taken a day off to come and find you,” Darren chuckled surprising himself.

There was something so comfortable about being with Darren. Cailin had never met a man so easygoing and comfortable with himself. Darren watched Cailin as she seemed to be getting her bearings as a young woman. Smart, intelligent, but still a little unsure of herself, and not really connected yet. He found her openness very appealing.

This time Darren drove the rental car to a beautiful park just on the outside of Derry. They exited the car and walked over to a bench overlooking a pond. As they sat down Darren sat close to Cailin and asked, “Do you mind?” as he put his arm around her shoulders.
Cailin turned, looked into Darren's eyes, smiled and said, “Not at all.”

Cailin recounted her visit to Lough Swilly and how she felt the mystery of the place envelop her. And then told Darren about the beautiful gardens and trails at Glenveagh Park. He loved hearing about his country through Cailin's eyes.

“So what now, Cailin?” Darren asked. Cailin didn't quite know how to respond.
“ I guess I should get back on track and head for Galway. But it's a long drive from here, so I guess I'll be spending the night in Derry.”
Darren had a plan, but was unsure how Cailin would take the idea.
“Cailin, I have the next 3 days off, and like I told you the other day, my parents have a B&B just outside of Galway. I was going to take the train and visit them this weekend. How would you feel if we drove there together tomorrow? You would have a place to stay at the B&B and I could be your tour guide on the way?”
Cailin was thrilled at the idea, but didn't want Darren to think she was too anxious for the trip.
She gathered her emotions together and calmly told Darren that it was a wonderful idea, especially having a personal tour guide. Besides, driving all alone for hours was not what she considered a fun trip! So they sat and planned the next day's trip until dinner time. Darren suggested a little bistro where they went to eat and finalize plans. Cailin would stay at a B&B tonight near where Darren lived so they could get an early start in the morning. After Darren saw Cailin settled in the B&B he left, walking home in the still evening.