On their night of arrival my mother would cook a traditional Irish dinner of bacon and cabbage. She’d cook the bacon in cider first and finish it like a glazed gammon with mustard, brown sugar and cloves. My brothers would take them for a tour of the farm, to see the calves, the hens and the sheep, always accompanied by the family dog Rex.   After dinner my father would take them uptown to our pub. One of my mother’s American cousins Shaun (a director of a paint company in Jacksonville) offered to paint the back bar for my father for a pint an hour.   What I’m trying to say is that Mayo people truly love making visitors welcome and at home, so even if you haven’t relatives ask the locals what to do and what to see.   A trip to lough Carra (the largest marl lake in Ireland) was a must for my family as we swam and picnicked there during the Summer and my brothers went fishing, sailing or windsurfing. Driving visitors to the lake I was always surprised at the comments of my companions on the beauty of the landscape. I love seeing my county through new eyes.   Parking in the carpark we would explore Moore Hall opposite the lake and take one of the many walks leading to and from the house. Walking around the nearby Doon Peninsula is another magical walk. Tom Quinn has written a fifteen stop guide to the Doon Experience which is available on the internet.   Lough Carra has many islands and is joined to Lough Mask by the Keel River. We would try to swim out to one of the islands and when my brother got a boat we visited Church island. I have lovely memories of standing on the edge of the lake watching large murmuration of starlings flying and swooping with amazing synchronization.