Dalry

We’re down again today with two more having tested positive. Need to make it to 4:10 tomorrow for “good to fly” test. Need good thoughts coming my way!

We took off to St Andrews. What a cool town with St Andrews Golf Course, St Andrew’s University, ruins of a castle, ruins of a cathedral and the beach all close to each other. St. Andrews dates to the Middle Ages when St. Andrew (patron saint of Scotland) made the town cathedral one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Christians. After the Reformation the mayor started introducing a popular game called golf.

St Andrew’s, considered the mecca of golf, was first played here in the early 15 century. It’s nicknamed “Old Grand Lady”. The St Andrew’s Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in the world and is celebrating its 150 anniversary this year. There are 7 courses with the Oldest Course the most popular. The Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course was built 700 yrs ago for shepherds. The course is not private but owned by the town. It’s a beautiful setting at the edge of the bay. I learned what a links golf course is, too. Basically links are built on sandy soil on coastal land that is buffeted by the wind. There are few if any trees but it has tall thick grasses (some several feet) and there are many bunkers of which some are quite deep. Tiger Woods hates it here…to hard with the grasses and wind, I guess.

We’re back in Edinburgh for the last two nights and Nigel took us on an orientation walk of the neighborhood. It is quite close to where Rebecca and I stayed at the Airbnb. This hotel is probably my favorite. I have a view of the castle, cathedral, and it is beautiful. Rebecca has a view of what we call a fairy tale village. The two of us explored and wandered until we found the place. It’s my favorite area of everywhere we’ve been…so peaceful, beautiful, and just magical. We had such a large lunch and dessert that we skipped dinner and enjoyed conversation in the lobby with an employee, Ronnie. This whole afternoon and evening here has made a wonderful memory for me.

Wee bit of info: There’s a good chance that Scotland will break away from England because the Scottish people were against the Brexit exit and have completely lost trust in Westminster and Parliament. Ninety two percent of the people voted in Scotland compared to about 61% in our election.They are not against the monarchy. They want to keep the Queen, but if they do she will be known as Queen Elizabeth I here in Scotland. There’s never been an Elizabeth on the throne in Scotland. She would still be Queen Elizabeth II in England. These names are so confusing on how they change.Read more