9 Days in Ireland, running and playing golf every day. Click on the photos to advance the slide show.
I went to Ireland from the 5th to the 14th of June with my frequent traveling companion, Greg Wright (sans wife Kathy). Number one on the agenda was playing golf, and we did that 8 straight days. For the first time in my 4 trips there, I wanted to run every day as well, and I also looked forward to driving around. I rented a small car with a manual transmission for that purpose and was rewarded every day by the challenge and adventure on the often narrow roads (though I did not complain when they reserved us a GPS). The weather could hardly have been better: sunny every day, only really windy once, and warm enough for short sleeved shirts (at least for me - Greg is reptilian in comparison). The rest of the style will be of a diary. You can ignore the things that don't interest you, but there should be some decent stories in there somewhere. The slide show above, if it works, is chronological.
Day 1, June 5th
Run: up before 5am to do sprints at the track and weightlifting at the gym before leaving at 7:43am.
Driving: Danville to Herndon Park & Fly, near Dulles Airport
Flying: Dulles to JFK on Jet Blue, probably my best domestic flying experience ever, then JFK to Shannon Airport in Ireland overnight, a flight of 5.5 hours, not much time to sleep and little advantage taken of my empty row other than keeping my feet up.
Drama: I erroneously thought I could get to Frederick, MD via I-81 after seeing warnings of construction on 15 around Harrisburg. It dawned on me when I looked at the directions for the first time since writing them down two weeks ago that I was going the wrong way. I chose a route to divert looking at a map while driving and again erroneously went all the way through Hagerstown, MD instead of getting on I-70, then got terribly lost in Herndon and had to have Greg talk me in to the parking garage, finally getting there 45 minutes late. The rest of the trip was like a fine watch....
Day 2, June 6th
Flying: arrive in Shannon just after 5am, quite early. It took a while for our golf clubs to come out and for the van to the rental car place to arrive.
Driving: Shannon to Tralee, about 90 minutes, the first of which were getting used to the GPS and ignoring its pleas to make wrong turns.
Golf: We got to Tralee Golf Course (Arnold Palmer's first course in Ireland) before 9am for our 11:42 tee time and the starter told us he would get us out early. He did, around 10am, and it worked out great, as we got out before the tourists and played in just over 3 hours in a fierce wind at the limits of playability (I wished for a sensory deprivation tank after the round). It was a fun but difficult round, tough course, better than I remembered.
Driving, 2: a little less than an hour to Killarney after lunch at the course.
Sightseeing: We quickly checked in, and the B&B hostess advised us to drive out the Black Valley and Gap of Dunloe right away. We did and were rewarded with excellent scenery, though it was a challenging and narrow drive, especially clockwise on the Ring of Kerry early on against the big bus traffic.
Dinner: Italian in Killarney.
Day 3, June 7th
Driving: up very early to depart a little after 6:30 (the B&B staff showed me how to get all I needed for breakfast the night before, as they usually don't start breakfast until 8am). Going counter-clockwise on the Ring of Kerry down the west coast, through lots of little towns and some nice scenery.
Golf: Waterville Golf Club, one of my favorites, did not disappoint. The weather was beautiful, with so little wind the bugs were bad early. We played with a couple from Quebec who were really fun. The wife taught us the phrase, "the full Irish experience," which described getting in a deep sand trap and not being able to get out.
Driving and sight-seeing: the next part of the Ring of Kerry is beautiful, though it got tedious the closer we got to Killarney, culminating in a traffic jam
Run: as soon as we got back I was out the door and retracing the stretch we'd just driven to run in the Killarney National Park. There were paved and rougher trails and lots of people biking and walking. I was very excited and ran quite fast when I could, getting as far as the Torc Waterfall parking lot for a total of 9 miles. I was exhilarated.
Dinner: excellent Indian food in downtown Killarney, followed by gelato.
Day 4, June 8th
Run: up early again to run a different set of trails in the Killarney National park, on the northern end, including by the Ross Castle, which looked fantastic in the early sunlight. 6.2 miles. Really nice run.
Driving: Killarney to Ballybunion, a nice mix of back and main roads for an hour or so.
Golf: Ballybunion Cashen (New) Course. Not that long but hard and not in as good condition as the rest, it was a fun round where we went out as a twosome but then later joined up with another twosome, a 78 year old retired urologist and his son-in-law who had just lost in the congressional elections in Connecticut (and had the hair of a politician).
Sight-seeing - walked around Ballybunion and posed with the statue of Bill Clinton playing golf
Dinner: worst meal of the trip, as most places closed on Mondays. Plain pizza in a dive.
Day 5, June 9th
Run: speedwork on the country roads. 4.5 miles. Worst run of the trip, though it still had its moments, and the golf course is easy on the eyes.
Golf: Ballybunion Old Course. One of the world's best, and it was great, with a sunny day and manageable winds. They had just mowed the rough, which had been impossible, so we lucked out. Played with a super-rich and nice guy named Eric from Chicago and Tom from Orlando. We had a caddie, Mark, who was very entertaining. He competes at darts and claims to be on the cusp of greatness. He told this story: Recently, the group he was caddying for said they would give him 10 Euros for his best joke. He told them he didn't really tell jokes but was more of a quipster, with quick rejoinders. They then all hit their shots and each one was worse than the one before it. He told them it was going to be a long day today for him but he was going to make a lot of money telling stories about them from now on....Greg and I got him going talking about the Irish people refusing to pay for water ("We live in a country where it &%$ing rains more than anywhere in the world, and they want us to pay for water!?!") and a movement he favored to remove fluoride from the water ("How could you trust a Mick to make it 5 parts per million? He's going to take the whole month's dose in a bucket and dump it in the first day and go put his feet up!" He also claimed it would be used for mind control). Eric bought us lunch afterward in the much-improved clubhouse.
Driving: Ballybunion to Lahinch, via the Shannon Ferry (18 Euros) and then ridiculously narrow back roads until we ignored the GPS and went along the coast the rest of the way. About 90 minutes plus 30 for the ferry.
Sight-seeing: walked downtown and ate at a place with a beach view, then walked the VERY wide beach, which was busy with pale Irish people having a lark.
Dinner: Bland fish and chips at a pub (with beach view as above). Smoothies around the corner.
Day 6, June 10th
Run: found a bike path along the main highway to Ennistymon and ran all the way there and through the town, for 5 miles. Very pretty countryside.
Golf: Lahinch. One of the best days, but my worst golf. Played with an older wealthy couple from Chicago. They were super nice and the guy could really play. We won Mike the caddie over by the end (he invited me to work out with him that evening and I would have except for the Cliffs). The course is quirky but much nicer than I remembered (the good weather helped).
Sight-seeing: the SPECTACULAR Cliffs of Moher. Best seacoast scenery in the world. Greg was very daring on the cliff edges (I was also when in my 20s, but not now), posing for and taking pictures of others. My video camera, bought in 2009 and taken all over the world, died while Greg was on one of the scariest cliffs, so we walked back to the parking lot and got my new waterproof camera I'd purchased to use on the courses. We then walked the southern portion.
Driving: shortest of the trip - to the Cliffs and back, about 30 minutes total.
Dinner: Joe's Cafe in Lahinch. We saw the menu after eating the night before and realized we should have eaten there. Several good vegetarian options. I had the Moroccan Vegetable Stew, hummus, and a mixed fruit crisp. Excellent.
Day 7, June 11th
Run: speedwork in town after failing to find a passable trail along the cliffs to the south. On the way back, noticed the tide was out so I ran all the way around the golf course on the beach - super nice, for 5.6 miles. Run and post run preparation for departure complicated by the dire need to expel the Moroccan Vegetable Stew which managed to smell nearly as good.
Driving: Lahinch to Royal Dublin Golf Club on the northeast side of Dublin. About 3.5 hours, and easier than I thought, as we picked up the M7 without problem and zipped across with a MUST STOP at the Barack Obama Plaza, an all-in-one petrol station with several restaurants in Moneygall. One of Obama's mother's relatives hailed from there, and President Obama visited there with Michelle a few years ago to ecstatic acclaim. Drive through Dublin at lunch time was crazy, concluding with a crossing of a wooden one lane bridge to the golf course.
Golf: Royal Dublin Golf Club: What a nice place. First of all, it was created when material moved by dredging the harbor to deepen it was piled there. Wetlands grew naturally and someone decided to put in a golf course around 1896. We checked in and went upstairs in the clubhouse to get some lunch. In the dining room, two men jumped up to greet us heartily: the club president and the manager. We talked with them and ordered lunch, and then Eric, our friend from Ballybunion who told us he might play with us here after he also played in the morning, popped in. He joined us for lunch (Greg bought it for him) and his playing companion, last year's club president, Enda, came in and ate with us as well. We had an enjoyable and wide-ranging conversation (the Civil War!) before we went out to play. The course had a tight, tough front 9 into the wind, then a wider, kinder back 9 with the wind. We stayed a while after and had a drink with Eric (he played 36 holes at age 68). Definitely the friendliest place we played.
Driving Part 2: after a long day, we now had to get across Dublin to our hotel. It was nearly a nightmare, with lots of one way streets, trips around the block and finally arrival at the hotel, leaving me frazzled.
Drama: I'd been through a lot and was looking forward to getting into the room and then heading out on the city for some dinner. After bits of confusion with the concierge and the car, then trying to check in while a bunch of Americans were shouting at each other while standing a few feet away, we got up to our room. One bed. No mention of it at check in. I was furious. We'd made the booking months in advance for twin beds. The girl who checked us in said she didn't mention it because there was supposed to be a portable bed already in the room. Even being tired, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep in the same bed as Greg. They brought around the portable bed, but it was too big for the space so they had to take out two chairs and a table. They promised us a new room in the morning and they would move our stuff while we were gone. Having lost my will for more adventure, we ate at the hotel (It was delicious) and then went to bed (I slept great in the regular bed).
Dinner: I had beet root and goat cheese risotto, with a delicious piece of cheesecake for dessert.
Day 8, June 12th
Run: 6.2 miles around Dublin. Fun, relaxing.
Driving: worst of the trip. Dublin rush hour getting out of the city on a circuitous route. Took us 15 minutes to go about a half mile. Then the M1 north into Northern Ireland, ending up on more crazy back roads to get to Newcastle.
Golf: Royal County Down, often ranked the best in the world, almost always in the top 10. In fantastic shape since it just hosted the Irish Open (in terrible weather). Hard and fast greens, and a beautiful, sunny day with a light breeze.I continued a trend of swinging and missing (if you hit behind the ball, the club can bounce right over the ball off the hard ground). Greg played very well on the back nine, and I turned it around some. Played with an American couple, but cannot remember where they were from. We had a drink with them after as well.
Sight-seeing: on the way back we went to see friends I met in Swaziland, Michael and Grace Chilombo, and their two children. We got a little lost trying to find them, but had a nice visit and Grace made us dinner. It was great to see them doing so well in such a strange country. The trip back into the city was much easier from their neck of the woods.
Day 9, June 13th
Run: speedwork in St. Stephen's Green, got in right as it was opened after 7am. 4.6 miles or so.
Driving: Easier to leave Dublin on Saturday morning, got to the course near Drogheda early despite more narrow back roads.
Golf: County Louth/ Baltray: a sneaky good links that has hosted the Irish Open. In good shape, played us tough, but was my best round (90). Ate lunch there and headed back.
Sight-seeing: enough time to work out quickly at the hotel gym before Michael, Grace and their daughter arrived. I'd promised them I would take them out on Temple Bar, the big nightspot, but it was a crazy night since Scotland had just played Ireland to a draw in a World Cup qualifier across the canal and people were everywhere. They came to the hotel instead, and after the hotel seemed reluctant to seat us, we had another delicious meal there. I walked back to their car with them and then walked all over the city looking around and watching the crazy drunken behaviors. The highlight was hearing some shredding guitar and heading towards it. I found a band playing in the street, with two drummers, a bass player, and an absolute guitar virtuoso. His solos were so well played and phrased, I bought and ate a three scoop gelato and watched while I ate it. It took me a while to get back (it is very easy to lose one's bearings walking in Dublin at night). Greg was already in bed, having decided to make his own way that evening after a late night the night before. It was the only night I wasn't in bed before it got dark (which usually occurred after 10:30pm).
Day 10, June 14th
Run: I wanted to do a long run to Phoenix Park, the largest city park in Europe, and I had studied the routes and even took a map on the run with me. I got up at 5am just so I could have enough time, but I still got lost and only ran about a mile and a half in the park, in the most boring part. I was able to stretch it to 10 miles, stopping for a brief look at the much-more-impressive-than-I-thought Dublin Castle.
Driving: easy drive to the airport only to not be able to find the rental car place - bad directions. Dublin airport is quite nice and we had a smooth flight back after much hassling with security (twice) and a lot of standing in line. Then I had a 3.5 hour drive back to Danville (I still made some wrong turns in Herndon, but they only cost me a minute or two).
SUMMARY:
It was a great week: 8 rounds of golf, each in great weather and very memorable, with enough good shots to make me love it, and 8 really good runs (Greg is a good runner but he didn't run once), plus I enjoyed driving our diesel Toyota Corolla, which had spectacular fuel economy (about 70mpg - even luxury Audis and Volvos get over 50 miles per gallon in Ireland) and handled great (It is a better car than my Jetta). I don't think I ever slept more than 7.5 hours, never took a nap, and had no trouble with the time change either way. Greg and I are a good team and we are both used to our peccadilloes by now. Ireland is a great, great place, much better than New Zealand (yeah, the weather is probably worse in Ireland, but).