THE HILLS ARE ALIVE

Absolutely no rush this morning as we are playing Sandy Hills, basically in our back yard here at the hotel. We will actually grab a golf cart right outside the front doors and drive it over to the course…….how convenient is that! We did make our usual stop at the food trough, and yes, another MFI for me with the fruit/yogurt/bird food appetizer, and Jutta decided to change it up this morning and have oatmeal……..they call it porridge darling……….which explained why earlier she was served a creamer with warmed “oat milk” in it. Oat Milk………total misunderstanding by the waitress, but how can you milk an oat anyway? Straightened it out and Jutta got her porridge.

We arrived at the course early, 10:30, and were told we could tee off whenever we liked……..the last group to tee off was at 8:30, and there would be nobody following us for at least an hour or two. Wow……things do appear a lot quieter than when we were here last year, but thinking back, we arrived in Rosapenna probably a week later than we did this year. I don’t know if the flood gates will open next week or not, but having the course to ourselves today was an absolute treat. Sandy Hills was everything we remembered it to be, and more. Just a stunner of a day with bright warming sun and clouds that passed quickly. A little chilly perhaps, but a couple of layers and a light jacket was all that was needed. Each individual hole was all you saw from the tee box, lovely design, and the shape and texture of the holes was phenomenal. I think some of our pictures actually depict what we were looking at for once……..the greens with no backing that seemed to drop off into nothing, actually did drop off into nothing…….don’t hit it long! Scores…….Jutta still stuck on 87…….Hugh, 80, with two doubles on the back…….crap, had a good one going. It was time for our now traditional post round Guinness and an order of chips (french fries), and we sat outside on the patio in the sunshine, with Old Tom Morris looking over us, watching golfers (only a few) come up the 18th.

Once finished it was back in the golf cart, and time for a little recon looking for access to Tramore Beach so my beautiful goat could stretch her legs. On the way, we happened to see a For Sale sign pointing to a cottage up the hill so we went and saw it, and bought it on the spot………..kidding……..it was nice but on the wrong side of the street! Jutta was dropped off for her hike, and had a fantastic walk along the shore……..see pictures……..horses in the water……..locals going for a swim…….fantastic.

Dinner this evening is at the Olde Glen Restaurant, just a quick 10 minutes from the hotel, and a place we tried to get into last year, but screwed up. I happened to meet the chef Ciaran while I was scoping out the dining room one afternoon when they were closed……..he was nice enough to offer that he could get us in that evening, and just to wait for a message from the maitre d’………unfortunately for us, it was getting late, so we decided to order dinner at the hotel…………. literally minutes before the text message came in that they would have a table for us in 45 minutes……….I ran into Ciaran again the next day at the pub in town, and told him we would be back next year, and here we are! Sitting right next to the kitchen, we watched all the dishes being prepared and sent out………had no idea what to order as everything looked fabulous. I had a chat with Chef Ciaran and he remembered and joked about our previous meeting. These guys have been written up by the Michelin folks……..quite an accomplishment for a small restaurant in northern Donegal, but we can attest that it is more than worth it. We should have booked every dinner her during our stay. Everything was perfect. We met a nice couple at the neighbouring table, and they drive out from Letterkenny, stay at a small hotel close-by, just to eat here. Too bad this is our last night in town…….tomorrow we play a last minute addition to the itinerary Cruit Island (a 9 holer) before driving north to Ballyliffin.