The next morning we headed north to catch a ferry that crossed the mouth of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, where it meets the sea, on our way to the Loop Head Peninsula.  The peninsula road wasn’t a coastal drive like I expected, but when we arrived at the Loop Head Lighthouse at the end of the road and got out of the car, we were met with rugged cliffs along the sea, pretty flowers, abundant sunshine, and very few tourists.  It was amazing.

We arrived at our airbnb for the night in a beautiful area on the west coast called Spanish Point.  Our home for the night was awesome– it was brand new and out in the country with cows for our neighbors, the scent of manure in the air, a view of the sea (and the sunset on the sea), utter silence at night, and a beach at the end of the road.  The kids loved being here in what felt more like home than our usual B&B and hotel room, we enjoyed cooking our own food in a kitchen and going outside to walk in the grass, and we relaxed on the couches with the sunset view.  I would love to go back and stay longer.