After a jet lagged poor night of sleep, the ladies are still raring to go for their maiden round of the year. First things first though…….our breakfast awaits……..typical buffet with all the usual suspects, and as tradition dictates, it is the FULL IRISH for me. What a load……..no way I can keep this up for the next three weeks…….not a chance.
I found the Portmarnock Hotel very difficult to navigate upon my arrival a couple of days ago, and even more so with the ladies yesterday. Arriving with a golf travel bag and suitcase each, there is no easy way to get to the reception desk without taking on sets of stairs both outside and inside the hotel. No doorman except on weekends during the shoulder season, and the concierge is a woman easily my age or more, so I wasn’t asking her for a hand either. Once you clear that hurdle and want to golf, you have to get to the golf shop, outside on the extreme other end of the hotel, load up your clubs, and then go back the length of the hotel through two parking lots before getting to the practice greens and first tee. We developed a system where I would go to the golf shop and pick up my cart…….drive back to the front door, where the goats have used a luggage cart and the handicapped lift to get down to ground level with the bags…….I take them to the golf shop and load their PowaKaddy’s and we are good to go. What a production, and the club doesn’t have storage available at the golf shop, so we do this daily. I don’t think a lot of thought went into this design. BTW the prices in the golf shop are through the roof!
There is no starter today, so we self manage ourselves at the first tee, choose our tee boxes, and we are off……I am playing 6,300yds (next choice up was 6,800…..nope) and the goats are off 5,500 which should be manageable except for the wind which is howling in our face off the Irish Sea……the pro mentioned it would be “breezy” today……..you have to love the Irish!
As you can imagine, I am in near mid-season form after five alcohol fueled rounds in the Azores, so not going too badly for me……..the ladies understandably are struggling to find their groove, but hitting some great shots along the way. Plenty of do-overs, and re-hits, but that is to be expected. I thought at one point they might be trying out for the men’s team as they had two balls out on many of the tee boxes.
Following golf, I suggest we might scoot down the coast a little to Howth, the primary town on an interesting peninsula jutting out into the sea, and helping shape Dublin Bay. Howth is well known for its hiking trails along the cliffs, the commercial fishery, many restaurants, and touristy shops. It has a huge long pier that is well travelled by walkers, hikers, and bikers. What a great vibe here……..loads of people all over, and more fish and chip shops than you can imagine……..all advertising the freshest fish ever………yeah, they caught it next door just this morning! Tons of parking, nicely organized, and get this, it’s free……..what a concept. We just can’t resist all this food, and it is well past feeding time for the goats anyway, so we decide on The Pier House, largely because we are standing in front of it at the time. Inside we meet Jacob, our waiter, a large bearded, tatted up, Polish guy, who talks us into a bottle of wine rather than glasses, and suggests a few appies to tide us over until dinner. Really hit the spot, and after overhearing the neighbouring table say this was the best fish and chips…….EVER…….we decide we are coming back here sooner than later. We just happened to have eaten some of the best shrimp tempura…..EVER…….so if you are EVER in Howth, this is the spot. We tour the town a little in Cash Cab, spot a golf shop, talk to a local about the trail system, and discuss plans to return here tomorrow for a hike.
There are still people teeing off outside as we are getting ready for dinner……..dinner, I’m not even hungry! Downstairs in the Jameson Pub we are having a wee dram, and eventually decide that just a bowl of chowder would hit the spot before hitting the sack. Served in cast iron bowls on a wooden plank with soda bread on the side, the soup could have been hotter, but never more delicious than it was. Jutta scooped a large spoonful of fish from her bowl and transferred it to mine, as she noticed I was a little light, and she was never going to get through what she had. Really delicious, and we are told it is the best thing on the menu here……..homemade, they sell vats of it.
I hate to say it, but we are sacked out pretty early, but with another round at Jameson Links tomorrow, a good sleep will do us all well.
HUGEBLOGSITE 
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