B4 you change gates B2 careful!!

So far so good with a few hiccups along the way!

I thought I’d set the thermostat to vacation as we were heading out the door to the airport.  It’s a touch screen that turned into a poke screen then a smash screen when it reported a problem with the outside unit.  After flipping the circuit breakers it had to reset, initialize, and connect before finally coming on. Of course I could have set it remotely, but now it shows ‘not connected’.  I hope the squirrels are comfortable while we are gone!

Got to the airport in plenty of time and had a nice flight to Chicago where we only had an hour between flights.  We arrived 15 minutes early and arrived at gate B4.  Our connecting flight was at gate C 23 which means we had to walk under the tarmac to the C terminal.  That is the quarter-mile tunnel that goes underneath with all of the flashing neon artwork. There was no plane there and about the time it was scheduled to depart they announced a gate change to B2. 

So 150 passengers and the crew trucked back to about 100 feet away from where we started and adjacent to a very busy bar. 

We had a smooth flight with aisle and window seats and  no one in between.  We arrived about an hour later than scheduled, 8:30 Wednesday morning and quickly went through customs and got our car heading to the Cliffs of Moher. 

The drizzle turned to rain and then to a dense fog where we could only see about 50 feet. We pulled into the parking lot near the cliffs and was told by the gal collecting money that we should not waste our time or money as the heavy fog was predicted for the full day and we would not be able to see a thing. So we continued North stopping in Doolin at the O'Connor Pub for lunch and then along the coast in the Burren area where are all of the dirt has blown away over the years.

The roads are extremely narrow with no shoulders and the tour buses were a good foot over the centerline. Needless to say it kept us awake. 

We found our place without too much trouble and arrived about 3:30. Our host, Patrick, met us and showed the place which is very nice. It was in a very nice neighborhood and all the homes have larger lots. 

After a couple hours of rest we took a short walk to a nearby convenience store to buy some coffee and beer.  They didn't have any ice and there was none at our place either. Not even an ice cube tray. 

On the way back Pam stopped a man walking a dog to ask about the area and explained we were staying at an Airbnb. We said we were staying at Patrick's and Eleanor's house and he did not know who we were talking about. After pointing at the house he said "Oh that's Paudy's house.  I never knew his name was Patrick. He is famous hurler player, the best of Limerick County in his day."

When we got back to the place Patrick brought over a space heater as Pam's had mentioned she was cold. We invited them over to discuss the next days travels and they discouraged us from driving to Dingle since the weather would be bad, we couldn't see anything, and it would be full of tourists and more buses on the roads. 

So today we will head to Killarney. 

Pictures to follow tonight, or the next, or the next.

by the way Pam's email is blocked so send any notes to Reed