Day 1

Day 1

Landed @ Shannon before 7:00, toddled through to the Hertz counter after exchanging some $$ for some Euros. Once we fit all the bags into the Toyota Avensis (Hertz so called mid-size car) we programmed the GPS for Ballybunion, county Kerry. The GPS insisted on taking us north on N19 towards Galway. After going around in circles on some beautiful but very narrow back roads we over rode it and followed signs towards Limerick. (later found out that it was trying to take us to the Shannon to Tarbert ferry, which would have saved us a good bit of time) On through Limerick we followed the coast road west along the River Shannon. In & out of rain we made our way to the Ferry town of Tarbert where we stopped for brunch in "The Swanky Bar". At this point, after nearly 3 hours on the road we began to wonder why we were going to Ballybunion. Mom couldn't remember being there and the Hertz attendant said it was good for Golf. We decided to press on to see the coast sooner rather than later. It was only 18 Km from Tarbert and we made good time till we started looking for the cliffs and beaches (The Men's, The Ladies, & The Nun's)

After a few kliks on some pretty back coastal roads we turned around and headed back into town. A few blocks past where we turned off was a nice sign "Cliffs & Beaches this way". Drove down the steep, narrow "street" to the beach. Chris & I walked the cliffs and beach while Mom rested in the car. This walk made it clear why there were so many wind turbines along the coast.

After Ballybunion we programmed the GPS for Listowel with more success. On through to Tralee and eventually Killarney. We programmed the GPS (w/ no street #) for the Larkfield House with NO success. We tried adjoining streets, intersections and everything. I am sure it was only about (Chris says 10 minutes, Mom thought a half hour) it seemed an hour. We eventually popped from under a railroad bridge and there it was.

We initially thought the room too small ( we could not fit our luggage and ourselves in it) but decided to adapt rather than spend hours looking for other accommodations. A nice 4 hour nap and we were alive again. Once we unpacked what we really needed from our bags and put them back in the car we drove downtown. Free parking after 18:30, a short walk around town gawking at the sights (Fridays are wedding night in Ireland) we found Danny Mann's for dinner.

After a rather dry but tasty meal of Duck, Lamb & Stew we were soon back to our room and in bed before 23:30