We're now in Aberdeenshire, specifically in the village of Newburgh-on-Ythan (you're on your own for the pronunciation), a couple of miles south of Cruden Bay.
To Cruden - John and Elsie suggested that we take the back roads to Aberdeen, as the route would be quite scenic (and the main road is quite slow and aggravating.) Unfortunately the entire drive was made through heavy rains, though the navigator's refusal to take any pictures was disappointing. I'd encourage you all to take it up with herself at an appropriate time.
Before leaving, I did manage to grab the one photo of the Scottish Housewife in her native habitat. She does wondrous things there, and we're very lucky earned their friendship. Though after publishing this photo....
Ski Blogging - About the only picture from our travels is this of a local ski area that we passed. John used to take his boys here when they were wee lads:
We did see their son Ross briefly, who is far from a wee lad these days. More importantly, he made it through qualifying in The Carnegie Shield, the major annual competition at Royal Dornoch, and only lost to a well-regarded +3 handicap player when he hit his shot through the green on No. 18 and the ball wasn't found. Bad luck that, but well played, Ross.
Bale Blogging - In addition to the red phone boxes, back in the day I used to love the cone-shaped bales of hay found on Scottish farms, such as those below:
This isn't a particularly good photo, but I loved their simplicity and found them oddly captivating. That said, I was always curious about the shape, as in the States they'd be perfect rectangles, which I would think preferable for bulk shipping (no wasted cubes and all). However, calling my knowledge of the agricultural world limited would greatly over-state it, as the only connection to farm life that my forbears would have had would have been in the role of moneylenders....
Cruden Bay - We're to play their famed links on Monday, but drove by to take a gander. There are two simple things the reader needs to know about the Aberdeenshire coast of Scotland, at least as relates to golf:
- It is the most dramatic dunes land in Scotland by far, featuring towering dunes that one can perhaps only find in Western Ireland;
- It has the worst weather in Scotland and, as we've previously noted, that's a notoriously competitive category. It features an atmospheric condition called the haar, usually defined as a cold see fog. Though in this case we need a better word than fog, which doesn't capture the icy particulates that come with a proper haar. If you prefer your cold see fogs with a high degree of viscosity, this would be your spot... It's nasty stuff that can come upon you without warning, and my rule of thumb is that when locals give weather conditions their own unique names it's best to pay attention.
We drove into the village of Cruden Bay and were treated to wonderful views of their impressive duneage:
Despite the rain, there were plenty of folks on the golf course.
Banoffee Blogging - Reader reaction to my ode to Elsie's banoffee pie has been overwhelming...to pick just a couple, reader and longtime work colleague Mark W. posted this comment:
Readers, please note the two fisted drinker - Stella Artois in the right hand, French claret on the left. Must have used the swing oil to shoot 38.
Occasional reader but good friend Glenn had this to add in an e-mail:
Banofee pie in 'my' chair with a Stella Artois?!?!?! That is sacrilege, no?
Hmmmmm...getting a little territorial there, aren't we? I failed to note any name on the chair....
Now, to be clear, the bottle of claret was there for John, as I was in beer mode that evening. But of far greater importance is the fact that the only minor negative note was when I sought to wash down a mouthful of banoffee with the aforementioned Stella. In fact, beer might be about the only thing that could put me off the banoffee... trust me, I didn't make the same mistake with the leftovers.
A Blogger's Remorse - Our hotel in Newburgh hasn't proven to be one of my finer travel decisions. Nothing disastrous, just a bit on the curious side. After dinner Saturday we went for our traditional evening walkabout, which typically involves pointing ourselves towards the water.
A reminder that it had rained heavily for most of the day, yet when we traversed the tenth tee and eighteenth green of the Newburgh-on-Ythan Golf Club we over heard this little exchange between two golfers coming off their last green:
Golfer No. 1: (With a large smile) That was just a great day!Golfer No. 2: I could go another nine.
Past the golf club we found a wooden walkway that we followed, into the dunes. The path meandered through the low-lying dunes and up and over, ending at just about a perfect spot with views of the massive dunes fronting the North Sea. The Sea was more heard than seen, but the combination of long sea grasses and wild flowers in the stunning late day light created a cacophonous tableau, which I'm unable to share as our camera and phone were resting comfortably in our room. I know, you'd think I'd done this before...
The bride and I ventured back out the following morning and captured these images...it's quite the spot, but it was that late day light that I rue missing:
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| The golfers were out in force for their monthly medal. |
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| Theresa was quite taken by the NOYGC clubhouse. More on that below. |
The Laws of Economics, Not Yet repealed - As noted, the clubhouse of the NOYGC seems wildly out of proportion, likely the product of a well-meaning but unrealistic edifice complex. Build it and they will come....or not.
My caddie later in the day told me that the club's back nine is actually quite good, situated as it is among the dunes and close to the water, but that the outward nine isn't much to speak of.... also he alluded to financial difficulties, not hard to imagine since clubhouses rarely build themselves.
We saw a few groups making the turn and I approached one and asked whether the club's bar would be open, would the golf be on and would we be welcome? He answered yes to all there, but then his mate a few yards back said no, though initially I thought it was only to the last of my queries, and I was about to suggest that my reputation had preceded me.
As he approached he explained that the club does not have Sky Sports, it being too expensive. Ponder that if you will, a golf club with a clubhouse that reminds of the Crystal Palace cannot afford to have the golf on their bar's television. It's a bit of a tale of twp countries, but beyond the majesties of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and the R&A and Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Scotland remains a relatively poor country.
I did find a spot to watch the PGA, the small bar in our hotel. Amusingly it was completely deserted, but it met my needs in the moment. Of course it finished at about midnight local time, so Messrs Day and Spieth hadn't even made the turn when Employee No. 2 tucked me in...
Sealed With A .... - For unexplained reasons, our hotel does not serve breakfast until 9:00 a.m., so fortunate that I didn't have any early tee times booked. Actually I did have one, but it was readily moved....
Theresa took a morning stroll without me, as I had a world to catch up with, as well as some candy that needed crushing. But she found the seals we had heard talk of, though she refused to carry the camera with her. I'll give it a look tomorrow...
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