On The Ground In Scotland

Flight was uneventful... Was able to get a few hours sleep... GPS with the maps of the UK loaded up got me to Ryan's B&B in Edinburgh and then got us to the Guest House in Prestwick... The 'residents lounge' overlooks the Prestwick Golf Club - home to the first Open Championship (known as The British Open in the US)... The Open was held here the first 10 times (between 1860 and 1870) before starting the rotation among other courses as we are familiar with today... Speaking of Open Championship courses - tomorrow we start this golfing oddessy at Turnberry - host of the Open that just finished up this past weekend... We drove down to the course this evening to be sure of location and drive time, and they still have all the grandstands in place... Wonder how many locals will be sitting in the stands to see Ryan and I hack our way around (and through) the gorse?

I thought driving would be a piece of cake - afterall I piloted a campervan on the 'wrong side of the road' in New Zealand for a couple weeks... Bring on the little cars of Europe, right? What I forgot is that these little cars come almost exclusively in manual transmissions... So not only am I trying to remember to 'keep left' at every intersection and roundabout, but I am trying to do so while shifting with my left hand! More difficult than I imagined... Oh, and never had to parallel park the campervan... That was 5 minutes of our lives that Ryan and I will never get back!

The guest house (Golfview Guest House) is lovely... Allison is a great hostess and we are looking forward to meeting her husband Neil tomorrow.

So far in Scotland - so good.

Cheers,
Joe

The Adventure Begins!

6:17am and I find myself in the Portland airport waiting on my breakfast and eventually my flight to SFO. From SFO I head to London and then connect to Edinburgh... I'll be updating my blog and facebook notes as often as I can, hoping to post pics of the golf courses, castles and distilleries I visit in my month in Scotland.

I explained to Steph last night that leaving for this trip was a huge conflict of emotions for me... On one hand, I am beyond excited about the golf trip I have built, and look forward to catching up with some friends and making new ones... on the other hand - 1 month away from the family is a little depressing. Steph explained that once I hit the ground I'll manage to find ways to deal with the homesickness... I know she is right - which is where the guilt begins... especially as I left for the airport and she was walking the floors of the house trying to get the baby back to sleep - at 4:30am!!!

I know I'll miss the family terribly, but look forward to all the interesting and exciting things I hope this trip - 4 years in the planning - holds for me!

Stay tuned, and say a few extra prayers for my wife and kids! :)

Cheers,
Joe