5am. I’m woken up by Ruben’s going to the tiny bathroom because his stomach just went into a revolt. It was either that he got what Elias had, or the sausage or the Jameson’s from the day before but Ruben’s stomach just revolted on him. He was for the count for the rest of the day.
I went for a run around 6:30 am by travelling up and down the path by the river a couple of times. It still was only 2.8 miles. After I showered, I had breakfast with the girls. Matthew and Elias ate separately (and were apparently pretty well behaved) while I took the laundry to be washed. We had to leave the laundry, but tha tgave us the time to find coffee and internet access.
Around 11, all of us (except Ruben who was asleep in bed fighting off whatever it was he had) drove towards Craggaunowen (or as we said, with as much as much of the backs of our throats as possible, Cragannnnnnowowowowowen). On the way we stopped at the Quin Abbey - the last Franciscan Friary. There was an incredibly cute pup hanging out there, and he had somehow managed to get behind the locked gates. No one could figure out why it was closed - all indications said it should have been open, but we walked around outside anyway. 
We had a great drive to Craggaunowen and stayed for a few hours. First we went through the castle and then followed the path to see the ring fort, farmers house, etc. We even saw the stinky boars. It was much better when we got up wind of them. Seriously.
On the drive back we had a bit of an incident though. An oncoming car was across what you could call the centerline (if it existed) of the road. There was a slight pull out on my side, so I pulled to the left. After the oncoming car passed, I pulled out of the pullout, but apparently there was a rock right at the corner. I hit the side wall of the tire on the rock, popping it instantaneously. I pulled over (and back into the pull out) and we started to change the tire (or tyre as the case may be), but there was NO documentation in the car. It turns out the tyre is under the back of the car, and there are covers over the lug nuts. Some very nice older Irish man came by and helped us out. I think it was after that that we stopped at the pub across the street from the Abbey and we had lunch. The little pup wasn't anywhere to be found though.
Once I had dropped everyone back at the hotel, I called the car company. It turns out that even though I was paying an extra 15 euro a day for insurance, "tyres, windscreens and wing mirrors aren't covered." And as a matter of fact, the woman I spoke with at Irish Car Rentals wasn't very helpful at all. In fact, we had a number of problems with the, including the rental car return in Limerick, so I doubt I'll rent from them again.
I drove around Ennis on the spare and found a small tire shop where they were able to fix the tire very quickly for 110 euros. An older gentleman from the north part of County Clare (and a friend of the owner of the tire shop) was looking at a phone book in the spot where I was waiting. It was a bit difficult to understand him, but I got most of it. He asked if I had "relations" in Ireland and I said no, but that my friends did and that their last name is Mulhern. He immediately said "Oh from Galway."
He also suggested that if you ever drive to the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren, to go from West to East. He says that way you're not on the cliff side of the road AND the sun is not in your eyes.
Another short, older gentleman (also difficult to understand) asked me to dance while I was standing there. He's apparently a taxi driver who is also a matchmaker and a dancer. It was funny, and it did get me into a better mood (I was pretty steaming about the car rental/tire/insurance thing).
Ruben got out of bed for a while when I got back and we walked to pick up the laundry and hit the internet again. He faded pretty fast and went back to the B&B while we stayed a little longer in town, looking for a converter for Matthew's game boy which was out of charge.
For dinner, I took the kids to the Town Hall. We had a really good time together. The food was fancier than the kids were interested in, but it was good. It was apparently owned or run by the same Corner House where the Poets Corner is located.
That evening, Matthew convinced me to see Snakes on a Plane. I told him I didn't know why I was going, and he asked me "Why *are* you going?" to which I replied "To do something with you." Pointless movie, but we had a good time.
