Scotland

This past weekend we went to Scotland and it was fantastic. Cimp, Erin and I flew out to Edinburgh on Wednesday night after work. After arriving late, we went out for a late night pint and met a bombed local who told us we needed to go to the Trussochs and Borders....at least 27 different times. It became the running joke for the rest of the trip.

On Thursday, the three of us drove to St. Andrews so that Cimp and I could get our name on the list to play golf on Friday. Unfortunately, the Old Course was closed for a tournament, but we were able to get our name down for Friday on the New Course. Turns out the new course was established in 1895! The entire time we were there on Thursday it rained. We were dedicated to playing on Friday, so we spent the afternoon looking at all of the local golf shops for rain gear. I decided to wait until Friday to buy rain gear since it was so expensive.

After leaving St. Andrews, we wanted to try to play 9 holes on Thursday to help justify why Erin and I shipped our clubs. We went to a small course about 10 miles south of St. Andrews called Anstruther. When we got out of the car in the empty parking lot that held 10 cars at most, we weren't sure what the round would be like. The course did hug the coast though, so we had high hopes. After paying our 12 pound green fee we set off. The course was simply spectacular. It hugged the coast, had a castle/turret on the second hole (that served as a backstop for my approach). It continued to go up and down near the water, one spectacular hole after another. We had amazing time. Even better, it didn't rain a drop during our two hours on the course! On the drive home the skies opened up and rained all night long.

Cimp and I decided we would get up early to play St. Andrews. We were prepared for a wet day on such a famous course. When we left the hotel, there were only high thin clouds. We were both too nervous to jinx ourselves so neither of us discussed the weather for the entire 1 1/2 hour drive...but it kept getting sunnier. As we were about 10 miles from the course, we could see the entire coast absolutely socked in by big clouds. Of course it would rain. After putting on eight layers, winter cap in the bag, a little sunscreen just in case, we set off. It didn't rain a drop! In fact it was about 75 degrees and we were mad we weren't wearing shorts. My biggest problem was what to use to wipe the sweat off of my head.

The day was absolutely fantastic. We played St. Andrews...hard, rolling fairways, littered with pot bunkers and gorse on the sides. There wasn't a range near by though, so we went off cold. At least that's what I'm attributing to my 122. Cimp shot 88. Would have been better but an eagle putt that turned into a birdie putt...then a par putt, then a.... Needless to say the next drive didn't help.

We drove back to Edinburgh to meet up with Erin and Honor (who flew in Friday for the weekend). We toured Edinburgh on Friday afternoon, went out for a great dinner and hit a couple of local pubs. On Saturday...it rained.

Saturday we toured the Edinburgh castle before loading into the rental car for our Erin-guided tour of Scotland. Cimp quickly got the hang of driving on the wrong side of the road...he only ran over the curb a few times. It was nice to have a driver and a tour guide.

We went to the town of Perth and visited the Scone Castle and grounds. We then rented a couple of rooms in a local B&B. Cimp and me in one room, Erin and Honor in the other. It was a debate about how to split them up. One had it's own bathroom, but only one bed. The other had a bed and a day-bed, but no bathroom, it was shared in the hall. Cimp and I had the no bathroom. Apparently Erin and Honor's room was 200 degrees and they didn't share a bed well...I slept great, not what they wanted to hear.

On a recommendation from the host of the B&B, Saturday night we went to a local restaurant that we think was the predecessor of Chile's or TGIF with memorabilia on the walls. OUr hopes were low, but it was great. We followed that with a couple of pubs and dancing. There was a guy at one club who looked just like Jack Black, but danced like Michael Jackson. He was amazing and created a great time.

On Sunday we got up to head for Aberdeen where Erin, Honor and I left Cimp on his own. On the way we took an amazing drive through Scottish mountains and ski areas that were gorgeous. On a stroke of luck we were near Balmoral Castle, but were running late so decided not to stop. When we were driving by though we saw a bunch of people on the side of the road with several police officers. In the middle of nowhere. So of course we parked the car and went to see what the fuss was about. The Queen was across the street in church and was about to drive down the road to the castle where she was staying. We stood there for two minutes and there she was in her Rolls Royce waving to us all. Very cool.

The next stop on the Erin tour of Scotland was the Dunottar Castle on the coast near Stonehaven, south of Aberdeen. This was an amazing castle surrounded by water on three sides. Truly breathtaking.

After Dunottar, Cimp left us at the airport in Aberdeen before heading off for a couple of more days of golfing famous Scottish courses. I've been jealous back at work this week knowing the fun he's having. He gets back in London tonight before headed home to Seattle on Saturday.

Scotland was fantastic...I look forward to going back soon.

Ted