Muckross House and Shannon Ferry

We stayed only one night in the town of Killarney, just outside of Killarney National Park. We drove through the park at the beginning of our Ring of Kerry drive the day before, but we returned to see Muckross House inside the park the next day.

The is the back side of Muckross House. It was built by a rich family in Ireland for a wedding gift for their daughter. It changed hands several times throughout its history, being owned by the Guinness Family at one time. (As we'd come to learn, what hasn't the Guinness Family owned or funded in Ireland??? They do so much good with their money.) The grounds are amazing and the house tour a fun glimpse into the early 1900s.

Me in front of Muckross Lake - also a view from every room on one side of the house. Not too shabby!

We left Killarney and drove north on our way to the Cliffs of Moher. We took a ferry across the Shannon River to shorten our driving time. Here are my boys celebrating Will's first time on a boat!

On a side note, two other notable firsts for William on this trip:
- Hamming it up for the camera -- the minute his hears the first shutter, he's all smiles! (As you could see in some earlier pics)
- Removing his hat all by himself and throwing it out of the stroller. It was unfortunate we discovered this trick on the busiest pedestrian mall in Dublin, but fortunate that my husband's awesome eagle eyes spotted it after retracing our steps three blocks back! (Remi Coleman, we credit you with teaching our son this fun new trick!)

Had to stop and take this picture on our scenic drive toward the Cliffs of Moher. Do these cows know how lucky they have it? Ocean front property! Lucky cows.