We arrived late morning at Shannon airport, west-central area of Ireland, with about 3 hours of sleep on the plane.  We picked up our miniscule rental car, and Jeff started driving on the left side of the road.  It was a thrill looking all around you trying to figure out where the traffic was coming from!  We napped in the car at Lahinch, then visited the stunning Cliffs of Moher on a rare sunny day.  It was about 50 degrees, sunny and windy.  We saw everything from shirtsleeves (on the Irish) to down jackets (on the tourists).

Our first bed and breakfast (B&B) was near Kilrush and overlooked the Shannon River estuary.  Yes, that is a palm tree in the photo below, but don't get too excited.  The climate in Ireland is moderated by the ocean, so they get little snow and little weather above 80 degrees.  But lots of rain!  And as our first B&B hostess, Mary Nolan, stated: " Ya didn't come to Ireland to get a suntan now, did ya?"