Clara Lara

When Garreth was a kid, his family went to a place that was one of his favorites on earth. It was like heaven to him, a fun park nestled in the Wicklow Mountains. Naturally, when we took Grace and Liam to Ireland in 2006, he wanted to take them there, but alas, it was mid-May and the fun park didn't open until summer. Such crushing disappointment. So after booking our tickets for this trip, the first thing he did was go straight to the Clara Lara website to make sure they would be open while we were there.

I can't remember ever seeing this guy so excited.

On the way, we stopped at a lovely little river to let the kids stretch their legs.

When we got to Clara Lara, we had a picnic lunch, then the fun began. It was only about 65 degrees and rainy, but that didn't stop Garreth, who was the only adult I saw on any of the rides.

I've never been any place like it, but I'd describe it as a cross between a nature adventure park and an army training course. Rope swings, bridges, treehouses, balance beams, a floating dock, go karts, a pirate ship, rope ladders, ziplines, a water slide, kid kayaks... in short, it was Ratchford kid heaven. And our kids fell just as hard for this place as their dad did. They didn't want to leave.

You know how when you go somewhere as a kid, you build it up in your mind, and then when you go back as an adult, it's just not as cool as you remember it?

Yeah, not the case here. Garreth said it was even better than he remembered. And like so many other places we went on this trip, it meant so much to him to share it with the kids.

It was a great day for everyone.

And I've never seen so many pasty white Irish legs in one place before.