Yesterday we took a big step and adventured out of the Adare/Dooradoyle area and drove to the coast to visit a town called Lehinch.  Julie had found there was an aquarium there and thought it would be fun to take Afton.  We got all packed up in our car for the day, said a little prayer, entered the town into the GPS and we were off! All went well until we hit road construction... First off there was a sign that said something to the affect, "Unstable shoulder, use caution."  Yes, we were driving our Beast on a little country road that was unstable.  Great.  But we managed to get out of there alive and continued on our way.  The next inconvenience we came across was a detour.  Now in the US, a detour might add 10 or so minutes to your travel time.  But not here.  No, I think you can safely say you might be adding an hour or so to your time because they force you to go on other country roads that feel like they wind around the whole country!
After about 2 hours, we finally made it to our destination.  It was breathtaking!  And the taste of the salt off of the sea and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore made me forget where I was.
The aquarium was smallish and was home to many fish that were caught off the coast of Ireland.  It was fun but the fish were nothing out of the ordinary, except for the couple of clown fish they had and a cuttlefish.  The best part of this facility was that it is located right by the ocean.  They have a little boardwalk that has access to the water.  There is also a surfing school there and you can watch everyone surf.  How neat is that?
On our way home started heading our but the road we needed to take happened to be closed and the GPS wouldn't find another route for us.  We ended up asking a road construction worker how to get back and in his thick accent told us where to go.  The way he said it made it seem like it would only take 5 or so minutes to get there.  After traveling through The Burren and almost getting in a head-on collision with another vehicle, we finally got to Corrofin and then on to Ennis.  I can't tell you how much I love main roads and roundies!
The aquarium may have been a dud but it was worth the trip just knowing that we can go places without getting too lost!

The boardwalk.

Look-out point right outside of Lehinch

On the boardwalk.  It is windy!