Exercising to the Beat of the Street

I love to mix a race with a vacation.  When I ran a half-marathon in Arizona for my 40th birthday, we stayed for few days longer & visited the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Navajo National Monument, Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend.  Running & swimming are such great ways to experience an environment. So when Kevin & I were planning our long-planned vacation to Ireland, I tried to find out if there were any open water swim races and/or groups I could join for a quick dip. I learned about the Dunmurry Dippers , a group that swims everyday at the Colin River in Northern Ireland, & the Walrus Winter Swimming Group , who jump into the Dublin Bay at Forty Foot. Logistically we could not meet up with the Dippers, so we set our sights on the Walruses. After picking up our rental car, which Kevin did an amazing job driving on the left side of the road, we headed to Forty Foot  at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove.  During the 40-minute drive from Dublin (which is