Watching golfer Todd Hamilton survive a playoff to claim the claret jug trophy for winning the British Open at Royal Troon earlier today brought back memories of my time in Scotland last month and two years ago. I flew in and out of Prestwick International in June; the airport is just a couple of miles away from the golf course and planes were visible flying over the tournament all weekend. I also took a ferry from Troon to Belfast in 2002.
On my last trip a few weeks back I met recent Choate grad Jack Fennebresque and his father Kim for an enjoyable evening of conversation and dinner at the scenic Loch Lomond Golf Club north of Glasgow (the club hosted the Scottish Open in 2004). I continued on north to the Isle of Skye where I reconnected with Dan Otto--a friend since the third grade whom I hadn't seen in over twenty years. We had a great time getting reacquainted, though I almost got swallowed whole by a Scottish bog while hiking back from kicking the soccer ball around in the hills.
I snapped the picture above while driving through the Highlands. The scene of a bagpiper doing his thing in front of a spectacular waterfall overlooking a picturesque valley would have been thoroughly charming had it not been for the hat left out to collect the odd quid and the handful of tour buses that had stopped on the roadside with me.
Last thought on Scotland: while rushing back through Glasgow to catch a flight to Ireland last month, I passed a liquor store with what may be the all-time best name for a retail establishment I've ever seen: Ministry of Booze.
