Day 4 (May 20th)

Well, after the fun of last night, someone (not Brian) was moving a bit slow this morning. Bittersweet morning though – it’s time to leave Athlone and get underway with our journey by heading to Clifden for the weekend.

With relaxing Covid restrictions, a flood of travelers has been unleashed upon Ireland. Much of the lodging is sold out, especially on the weekends. But…Brian’s luck (harumph, skill and talent) held out and he found us a place to stay in Clifden. Yay!

Before leaving, there is a practical matter to deal with. Repacking our suitcases so one can stay in the car is my job. This requires a full repack, but it certainly a benefit when the room is on the 4th floor and there’s no lift (elevator). While I did the repacking, Brian went to get coffee – driving all the way to a Am/Pm style gas station, there is nothing else open at 7:30. The Irish are committedly slow risers, and their times are estimates, as in this pub opens at 5’ish. Yup, true story 

As we couldn’t check into our lodging until 4, we decided to stop en route in Galway to do some shopping. With Galway being the birthplace of the claddagh ring, a girls just gotta shop and we hit the main jeweler who had in the past provided me with several nice pieces. No success, or as they say here “No joy’ this visit. We continued the hunt for a ring for Brian. His original wedding band is quite heavy, and when one types all day, it’s like lifting barbells, and he LIKES wearing a wedding ring. Victory at our last shop and the purchase was made! The owner was from Clifden and was full of suggestions for our stay there

Shopping completed, it was onward to Clifden. The drive was lovely with beautiful landscapes, lots of rock walls, rain, then sunshine, then rain, a typical Irish day. Arrived in Clifden about 3 ish, (yes, i have adopted the Irish sense of time) and drove in circles trying to find our lodging. Come to find out we parked right in front of it 20 minutes earlier. Whapa. We decide to get a pint while waiting until 4. Sat outside the pub under an easy-up and enjoyed some people watching. This is one of my favorite things to do, and there was no shortage of interesting folks, especially travelers. Decided to eat dinner there, as last night was a long night and we wanted to get a good night’s rest.

Well, the best laid plans – the owner of the Airbnb gave crap instructions on how to get into said place, Brian ended up scaling a 10 foot iron gate, we find & enter the apt and every instruction was either confusing or downright wrong. It did have a lift though!

I’d say more like…. three people? Two? Anyone.

All in all a successful travel day.