The drive to Bundoran- Day 5

Hurricane Helene and Tropical storm Ali hit the west coast of Ireland today. Heavy rain over night, but it was the wind that was causing all the problems. Gusts of up to 143 kph with sustained winds of close to 80. We kept hearing reports of trees down and flying debris. Our plan was to head north to Bundoran where we are staying for the next 2 nights via the Wild Atlantic Way. Stops were planned to see the Clifden Castle and Kylemore Abbey- both iconic places in Ireland. We started out and boy, was the wind blowing. I thought I was going to get knocked down it was blowing so hard. We went a few miles and saw branches broken, and some trees blown down. Crews were already doing clean-up. That was impressive. We continued until the traffic stopped. We waited in the line of cars and then were signaled to turn around. Trees and power lines down. We also heard on the radio that a woman in a camper was blown off a cliff in Clifden- exactly where we were headed. We decided it was probably best to head directly to Bundoran. Even taking the major roads, we passed over a dozen trees down and big power lines down. The wind continued relentlessly. The sun would come out, then it would be raining sideways.
We arrived at our lovely sea side home safe and sound. The view amazing. Drove into town for a local Irish meal. We had a relaxing day just hanging out at the house, gazing at the ocean. We watched surfers and windsurfers.