Connemara Coast to Westport

This ride was spent looking at scenery and for the perfect sheep picture. After a gorgeous ride, we found a B&B above a bar in Westport - a small cute town with lots of stores for shopping. We joked a bit about the room, which didn't have a light bulb in the ceiling nor a remote for the TV. Then the next morning Jeff had to climb out the window because we were locked in!! We couldn't believe it. Finally someone showed up who worked there presumably to start the breakfast, and she called her boss as she didn't have the key either. The boss was able to use our key to open the door - but it was definitely jammed. We again joked that it was a good thing Jeff didn't throw the TV through the glass window - which was his plan as it was a safety/fire hazard - as the owner probably would have been really ticked. :-)

Cliffs of Moher to Galway

After leaving Ballybunion we took a ferry ride and then went to the scenic and natural wonder of the Cliffs of Moher. The weather was good and we took a lot of photographs. Some of the best were taken by Jeff and Grandpa who climbed a fence on to some private property and stood near the edge.

Old Course and Cashen

Seaside at Ballybunion

We spent two nights at seaside B&B which was really fun - probably my favorite B&B of the trip because of the owners Joanne and Michael. A young couple, just graduated from college, and who had just opened the B&B 6 months prior. They were super sweet and always had extra treats for the girls (and us) cookies, icecream and homemade chocolate goodies. Jeff played two great rounds of golf. He had a caddy at the Old Course and then carried his bag for the Cashen Course. After 36 holes in one day he was tired, but had played well. Almost got a hole in one!!!

There was a nice playground and nature walk along the cliffs complete with an old castle tower. Great running too.

Kilkenny

We arrived in Dublin, got the rental car and drove to Kilkenny arriving just past dark. We felt lucky to finally find a place with space as it was a holiday weekend and there was a huge rugby game to watch. In the morning we toured the Kilkenny Castle, found a pub for lunch and then drove to Killarney.

In Killarney we found another B&B within walking distance from the main street. We headed into town for a night walk. Seeing the photos of a photographer in town and discussing with her the Ring of Kerry drive versus Dingle we decided to go with the later - being just as scenic but a shorter time commitment (2 hours vice 5).

The next morning we explored the Ross Castle and then drove the Dingle Peninsula, which because of the extreme rain was closed in one section. Because of that we ended up driving it twice, one from each direction, stopping for lunch in the town of Dingle inbetween where I bought the first trip souvenir - an Ireland sock cap.

We had a tougher time find a B&B we liked within our price range and kept thinking we'd see more that we ended up driving over the Connor Pass in the intense fog. Was a little eerie, but when we came out on the other coast we found a B&B that was absolutely gorgeous. The morning breakfast was excellent too - full Irish breakfast with real coffee.

The first few days in Ireland were the rainiest of the entire trip, and actually 100-year flood records for Ireland with massive flooding in Dublin causing public transportation to cease and cars to float away.