Kathy Comerford and pals on West of Ireland Tour

The early morning sun on the rise today as i made my way to Shannon airport to collect Kathy and her pals on their arrival there from the USA. Despite the fact that they had travelled a long way, with two different flights involved, and a wait over at Newark, they were all in great form and ready for their Irish adventure. Kathy is the only member of the group who has been to Ireland previously. She had put so much time into the preparation to ensure that everybody would have a memorable vacation, and she was a joy to work with in the planning.
Our destination this morning was the world renowned Ashford Castle in Cong, County Mayo. 

When travelling from Shannon to Ashford you pass around Galway City and we stopped off at the Huntsman Inn, on the outskirts of the town, for a light breakfast. This is a really nice place to eat, and also very reasonable. Above you see the group tucking into their first sample of good Irish produce.
From the left; Myself (of course), Kathy, Tea, Karen, Marcie, Robin and Johnna.
I know you guys who are looking in.... are already saying "Lucky you Dave"

Here we have the group pictured, with Ashford Castle in the background. The weather had changed a little since earlier in the morning, and there was a bit of a cool breeze, as you can see. Ashford castle is situated on the upper end of the Corrib Lake, the south of Ireland's largest lake. It is a spectacular hotel in a spectacular location.

Relaxing at last in the lounge at Ashford where we had complimentary tea and coffee on arrival. Again, from the left here, we have;
Robin, Tea, Johnna, Karen, Marcie, and the woman in charge, my right hand, Kathy.
By now, everybody was exhausted and it was not long before i was on my way back to base, and they were enjoying their well earned rest. This was for me a lovely day today, and a great start to what i know will be a lovely tour.
Tomorrow we set sail for Galway city.
Feel free to travel along with us.