This was the place, or close enough. "Can you imagine, your grandfather grew up near here!" I shouted to my husband, waving my hand around vaguely in the dismal rain.

"I mean, his house could have been on this very spot!"

Expectant, we stood upon the naked peak of the N-86 road near Camp, Ireland, as it fell away toward the distant villages. My husband gazed over the spread of hilly fields, stony houses and soggy sheep. He looked at the gray whipping sea that took his grandparents, Patrick and Nellie, to America 105 years ago.

And I think he was waiting for something. A spark of recognition. A lurch of the heart. Some distant O'Donnell relatives popping out of the bushes, perhaps, with open arms and a pot of tea.

But the wind kept blowing. The rain kept raining. We got back into our tiny scratched-up Ford Focus and drove on to Dingle Town.

'Legs, Bums and Tums' - Irish aerobics class poster

Thirty-six million Americans claim Irish heritage, and Ireland is always near the top of dream-trip lists for travelers - it was No. 2 on the "best family vacation" survey conducted by Virtuoso Life luxury travel company this year. And it can be that place you dream about, bedecked in green and roguish charm.

What Ireland can no longer be, however, is a quaint little brother to the United States.

Long gone are the days when jolly Americans could disperse a few bucks and live it up in Ireland. American tourists will feel poor and even desperate when they get hit with $5 coffee, $14 tomato sandwiches and $800 car rentals.

Fueled by a huge increase in its citizens' standard of living and paychecks in the past 15 years, Dublin is now the fourth most expensive city in the world after Oslo, London and Copenhagen, up from 13th in 2006, according to the annual survey by Swiss bank UBS. The Euro-trendy boomtown has nightclubs and sex shops along with its cathedrals and books - and, really, how can the 1,000-year-old Book of Kells illuminated gospel be expected to compete with Shauna's Naughty Adult Fun Store?

I won't say much more about Dublin, a tense, traffic-jammed place whose major redeeming virtues are its bright-painted doors and Trinity College.

'Slow - Loose Chippings' - Irish road sign

So it's another day, and I've found my way to Killarney, 185 miles southwest of Dublin. The blazing sun reveals bright green mountains just outside the hotel, perfect for a pretty 3-mile walk through the magical Killarney National Park to Ross Castle, whose history dates to the 13th century.

The blue lakes of Killarney glisten as boats glide across. Equestrians trot horses down quiet lanes. Cyclists ride trails and a little girl feeds the ducks in the castle pond.

When the sun shines in Ireland, it's like a big smile. Flowers bloom ardently in small gardens and public parks. Historic castles are clean and shining. Everything is green, green, green.

The 10,000 acres for the Killarney National Park was donated to Ireland in 1932 by an American, William Bowers Bourn, and his son-in-law, Irish Sen. Arthur Vincent. It was Ireland's first national park, and a good gift it was, too.

Ross Castle, one of the most photographed spots in Ireland, shimmers with Gaelic good cheer. After touring inside the castle, tourists can ride back to town on a traditional horse-drawn "jaunting car," an open-air cart that jostles along with the auto traffic on narrow roads.

Killarney is the start of the "Ring of Kerry," a 110-mile scenic loop south toward Kenmare and beyond to the west. It's a picture postcard. Sheep wander across mountain roads. Vistas that even Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting found astonishing spread below. Kenmare, a jewel of a tourist town, is tiny and neat, with brilliantly colored gift shops as bright as a dancing girl's closet. Inside, they are chock-full of heavy Irish sweaters, blankets, crystal, lace and souvenirs.

Most people in the United States with Irish ancestors have their roots in western Ireland - Kerry, Cork, Clare and Mayo counties, which were poor areas near ship ports. Luckily, this is also the most beautiful section of the country - and the closest to being old-fashioned.

Notice, however, I did not say cheap.

'Accident Black Spot Ahead' - Irish road sign

In the past three years, American tourism to Ireland has grown at a hearty pace, with 2.3 million visiting from 2005 to 2007. Tourism was predicted to jump again in 2008, but first-quarter data reported by Central Statistics Office Ireland shows visits from the United States this year are flat, while they are down for European visitors and up for the British.

In mid-June, I saw not a single line anywhere - not even at the Blarney Stone or the Wedgwood factory. Hotel rooms were available at the last minute.

Local merchants confirmed it was quiet. Their logic? The dollar is down in value because of President Bush's unpopularity. After President-elect Obama takes office they expect the dollar will rise and Americans will be back.

"It's so expensive, it would serve Ireland right if no tourists come," says Mary Tobin, a former Detroiter who has lived in County Kerry for 10 years. "I'm past sticker shock. I think there is profiteering."

I'm hoping that when they realize we are missing, they will immediately lower their rates and welcome back their hardscrabble cousins from America.