Taking an 8 month old on a 10-day International trip was ambitious, at times chaotic- but ended up working out well.
London/Edinburgh/St. Andrews. Didnt do much more than stroll around in London and my wife did her standard shopping. There were tons of Packers and Giants fans all over for the NFL game. Was surprised to see how many in the UK follow the NFL too and when i asked a guy about he responded honestly that "we like anything you can bet on"
Edinburgh was beautiful, in an old, gothic way. We were blessed with great weather while we were there (ie it wasnt pouring rain). There was a train strike and our timetables and train bookings had to get rescheduled which cost me two tee times, but ultimately spending that with the family worked out fine. Pubs and people in Scotland were both great. It was a walkable city for the most part, and safe enough to just take off and go explore a bit.
St. Andrews was the crown jewel of the trip, for me anyway. I tried for a couple of days to get on The Old Course through the ballot without any luck- so I ended it waiting in the singles queue overnight. Was freezing (mid 30's) and a wind/mist coming off of the water- but it was a cool experience. Met guys from all over the world. Ultimately was out there all night and at a little after 7:30 they let me know I was on with a group at 11:00. I played with Pete from Raleigh, Clint from Calgary, and a guy who spoke very little English at all and thus we knew very little about him.
The sun was out for the whole round- but the wind was amazing. I hadnt played in anything like that. Ended up shooting 44/44. I felt like I hit the ball ok- but scoring there, especially the first time- is tough. Missing your target by a few yards means youre in a bunker, the ball is rolling off the green, or coming right back to your feet. Most fun i've had playing golf in a long time. Played out sideways from a fair amount of fairway bunkers on the back, I did get up and down from the Road Hole bunker, and also tried the same putt from the valley of sin that Cam Smith had and obviously he did it better. Finished with a beer at the Dunvegan. My child already hanging out at the Jigger Inn and the Dunvegan will hopefully somehow put some type of golf nature in her.
Made it home late Saturday in time to catch the game... nothing really to add but god that first half, coming off of the last two weekends left me confused at to what the hell our offense is supposed to be. Still not really sure- its not a pro-style offense. They can keep calling it that, but unless pro-style means "some run, some pass, take some snaps under center" there just isnt much *pro* about it.