thursdaysd, Thank you for the link to the AA site. I think this will be very helpful. And thank you for the links to the travelogues. They were well written and gave good information, as well as personal impressions, for the destinations.

Nelson, thank you for suggesting Penrhyn and Plas Mawr as places close by. It is useful to have some sheltered destinations as the forecast in Wales often includes rain.

We’ve decided we will rent a car. Probably with Enterprise. Instead of doing traditional Mothers Day outings I’ve asked my husband to sit down and read the info I’ve gathered and to take a look at the map to plot out trips and draft an itinerary.

An an article I read suggested using google earth to get a better sense of road conditions in areas that are off the main roads. I may give this a try for B roads and secondary A roads. At least this might give us a sense if the roadside is vegetation, stone walls, or a ditch. Hedgerows and bracken can be daunting, but the other two situations are hair raising and unforgiving.

We probably won’t do the western coast road down the St. Davids. Instead, we’ll drop the car in Wrexham (after touring Llangollen, Erdigg, etc) and take the train to Swansea. From Swansea we’ll rent a.car, and drive to St. Davids, taking in sights along the way. We’ll then take the train to Swansea, drop off the car, and take the train to London. In this scenario we’ll miss going to Hay-on-Wye, but we can do this another time. Definitely still on the bucket list.

We we have to firm up our itinerary and flights before we know if we’ll have time for Cardiff. We have to be back home for a wedding on June 22nd. Cardiff is an easy trip from London so we could see it (and drive to Hay-on-Wye) on our next trip. And there will Always be a next trip to England. I’ve been 12 times and know I’ll never get tired of trips to the British Isles.

A day trip to Snowdonia is one part of our travel puzzle that I’m having trouble with. Snowdonia is obviously best enjoyed on foot. I think I mentioned I’m recovering from a broken foot and hiking isn’t in the cards for me.
There are several entrances to the park, by car, tram, or train. Is there one that will give us the highlights of the park? The thought of a bumper to bumper crawl along the roads makes us wonder if we should try to book a bus tour for the day. I assume there are day tours by bus. We typically don’t favor these tours but it would be nice for my husband to see scenery instead of watching the road. I’ve also noticed that from the height of a bus you can see things you’d miss in a car.
Any thoughts or suggestions on Snowdonia are appreciated.

Times I've been to Snowdonia (in the dim, distant, past) we've driven, and taken the train up Snowdon.

We stayed at Bryn Guesthouse in Conwy on three visits. It is our favorite B&B ever.
Bed and Breakfast (B&B), Conwy, North Wales, UK.

We also enjoyed staying at Gwydir Castle - quite a unique experience!

I hope you can visit Bodnant gardens.

Thank you for your information about Snowdonia and Conwy.
I think we will take the train to the top. Those trains are fun and they travel slowly enough to take pictures.
We are going to Bodnant Gardens. I hope we’ll have dry weather. Fingers crossed.
I’m getting a driver for a day trip to Snowdonia and Portmerion. I want my husband to see the scenery in Snowdonia, and not just the road. I’ve heard parking is terrible at Portmerion. If we have a driver we won’t have to deal with parking problems.
The Itinerary is coming together. Fortunately a map I ordered arrived and I was able to find information and photos on our destinations online.
My husband made plane reservations. I guess that means we’re heading across the pond!

Thank you for the info on parking problems in Snowdonia Natl. Park. It makes sense that parking would be limited. Using the bus seems like a good solution.
There isn’t much specific info on Wales in the Fodors Forum. Every little bit helps!