What a difference a day makes. We awoke to bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. The question was, would it last through the day, especially since we would be next to the sea at County Lough GC. The answer was a resounding YES.

About 40 minutes south of our current base in Dundalk, the drive was made easier by using the M1 which is the main highway along the east coast. There were still enough narrow country lanes, roundabouts and oncoming traffic of all sizes to ensure 100% concentration at the wheel.

Located where the Boyne River empties into the Irish Sea, County Louth is known to the locals as Baltray which is the nearby local village and is the 8th ranked course in Ireland. A two time host of the Irish Open and multiple major Irish championships, County Louth couldn’t be more different than the previous days round at Royal County Down. Massive sand dunes, rumpled fairways with more humps and bumps than you can count, blind shots both off the tee and to the green, steep runoffs around many tiny greens and did I mention – sunshine!

County Louth has a local club charm with members acting as caddies and two lady greeters who answered any and all questions and wished you full craic during your round. Look up craic as it’s a core word in the Irish vocabulary.

Without caddies we would still be wandering around, unsure of where to aim and in fact, where the fairway or green might be.

Another day of some good shots and some rather head spinning misses. The sunshine and limited wind made for a most pleasant round.

Knock on wood the weather holds for tomorrow as we’re off to Ardglass GC and then through Belfast and into our next base, Londonderry tomorrow night.

Ranked by many publications as the number one ranked golf course in the world, RCD was quite a start to our tour. A one hour drive through twisting, narrow country lanes and small villages heightened our anticipation. We anxiously kept checking the weather app as the rain beat down and the wind blew. Sadly both would only abate for short stretches for the rest of the day.

After a brief warm up we met our caddies and it was off to the first tee. The colour coordination of our outfits was purely by chance. It was all about trying to stay warm and dry.

The course is dotted by masses of gorse which was in full bloom. Very attractive but very nasty.

The wind blew, the rain fell. Some good shots, some head shakers.

At the end we peeled off the rain gear and luxuriated in the warmth of hot tea and bowls of soup. Then, of course, the obligatory purchases of logoed shirts and for Mo, a serious upgrade of her rain jacket. We’re hoping that means the weather changes going forward and the jacket stays dry. All agreed despite the weather today it was a great experience and good fun.

Tomorrow, County Louth GC.

We said goodbye to Dublin, sadly, on a cloudy, windy, wet day. Picked up our rental car, (P&G have their own rental as there’s no vehicle other than a bus that can accommodate four travel golf bags, four suitcases, four people, etc.) and started north to Trim Castle. Remembering the left side driving rules and dealing with turning in a multi lane intersection was an early challenge.

Built initially in the late 1100’s, the existing stone castle was completed in 1220. It is the largest and best preserved Anglo Norman castle in Ireland.

The castle’s location on the River Boyne was determined by the presence of a place where the river could be forded. We were lead by a very enthusiastic guide who provided a rapid fire description of the castle’s history and architecture, including the fact the movie Braveheart was filmed there in 1995.

We climbed through the ruins and up a steep stone staircase that required hanging on to a rope banister, eventually ending up on the wind swept parapet.

Parts of the wall surrounding the grounds of the castle including two gates still exist.

The castle is also surrounded by multiple ruins of other structures that existed outside the moated, walled boundary.

Next up was a short drive to the location of the Battle of the Boyne, fought in 1690 between William of Orange and James II. It was the largest battle ever fought on Irish soil, involving over 60,000 troops and had massive implications across Ireland, England and Western Europe given the warring sovereigns involved.

Once again a very knowledgeable guide connected all the threads of how and why 13 different nationalities fought in the war and the implications had James II been victorious.

The majority of the visitor centre was indoor displays and films, hence no photographs.

Back in the cars for the final leg of the day into Dundalk and our Airbnb for the next three days as our golf adventure gets underway. First up – Royal County Down.

Our last full day in Dublin kept our streak of sun and blue sky going. It started off quite crisp but warmed up to a very comfortable 13C/56F. A semi brisk walk through the gardens of St. Patrick’s on our way to Trinity College.

Started in 1592 by Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII) as a University for Protestants in Ireland, Trinity College is one of oldest universities in the world (can you guess the oldest? Answer at the end).

Our visit was to see the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript and Celtic Gospel book in Latin containing the four Gospels of the New Testament. Although details surrounding its creation are a bit murky, consensus has it being made around 800 AD and subsequently surviving various relocations and poor handling before arriving at Trinity in 1661. It is comprised of 340 folios resulting in 680 pages written on high quality calf vellum. In 1953 the original “book” was separated and rebound in four separate volumes.

Pictures of the book in its humidity controlled glass case were not permitted hence no photos here. Suffice to say it is incredible in its detailed artwork.

The second part of the tour involved visiting the university’s library called The Long Room. At nearly 65 metres in length, it is normally filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books. Since 1801 the Library had been given the right to claim a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland hence the massive collection.

In 1743 14 Marble busts of great philosophers and writers were added to the Long Room. The collection now exceeds 50. The finest antique bust in the collection is of the writer Jonathan Swift by Louis Francois Roubiliac.

Another treasure in the Long Room is one of the few remaining copies of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic which set off the Easter Rebellion, eventually leading to Ireland’s independence in 1922.

There is also a medieval (late 1400’s) harp on display known as the Brian Boru harp. It’s the oldest of its kind in Ireland.

More wandering through central Dublin to wrap up the day. We’re approaching 60,000 steps in 2 1/2 days without having seen a golf course! Fingers crossed the weather holds as we start our journey out of the city on Monday.

Oldest university – Bologna, 1088

Sneaky cool weather on a day filled with walking and beer. Bright sunshine meant the locals and tourists were out in droves albeit 47F/8C meant multiple layers and gloves. We ambled to the north side of the river to meet our tour guide for a three hour walking tour of, naturally, the south side of central Dublin. James was an excellent historian and story teller as we visited numerous landmarks including the O’Connell bridge, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Viking settlement ground zero, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College and so. A long walk but very worthwhile.

More walking after the tour to resolve eSIM cards for our phones and then a late lunch at one of the ubiquitous pubs in center town. I don’t want to know how it earned its name.

Then it was more walking to the epicenter of tourist attractions, the Guinness Storehouse.

Little did we know we would be sharing our tour with a few thousand of our closest friends. What a madhouse! The tour requires you walk up four flights of stairs with each level providing a detailed description of the brewing process including raw materials, equipment, unique yeast, history and marketing. The volumes of input materials and output of beer are staggering.

The facility is mammoth and is only Guinness facility in the world to produce its best known beer, stout. Of course, tradition dictates the “right way” to pour a glass. One could learn as part of the tour.

The official instructions are: You want to hold the glass at a 45-degree angle beneath the tap’s spout. Pull the handle forward and let the stout flow, filling it up until you reach .75 inches below the top of the glass. Let it settle for precisely 119.5 seconds. Bring the glass to a 45-degree angle again, but push the handle backward this time until the head is “just proud of the glass.” Don’t let it overflow, and “never use a spatula to level the head.” That’s just blasphemy!

We then climbed three more flights to the roof top bar to enjoy the real thing. And yes, the bartender did follow the ritual.

An excellent Indian curry dinner capped off another great day. More tourist stuff in Dublin tomorrow. Count down to golf is underway though.

After meeting Peter & Gloria (hereafter P&G) at our central Dublin hotel we set off to explore the city. Bright sunshine and 50F/10C made it very comfortable. The crowds were out in force. The street busker scene is very active and the music surprisingly good. Grafton Street and its many side streets are pedestrian only and full of people, shops, bars and pubs.

We then took a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and were fortunate to enjoy 90 minutes with a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guide. It was a tremendous history lesson.

Surprisingly, St. Patrick’s is a Protestant church and the stained glass and other artifacts are non secular. The building itself is also a very large cemetery with 500 bodies buried in the walls and floor (there is no basement crypt due to a river flowing across the original site).

Our day finished with more walking to a non touristy pub for the first Guinness of our trip. It was a long day given the previous night’s lack of sleep on the plane. Tomorrow is more touring of Dublin and the Guinness brewery.

Anxiously awaiting our flight to Dublin where we will meet Mo’s brother Peter and his wife Gloria to start our circumnavigation of the Island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, for LOTS of golf and plenty of sightseeing. Including flight days we will be on the road for 27 days.

This adventure was partially inspired by Tom Coyne’s book “A Course Called Ireland” (well worth the read) where he visits every links course for the entire two countries. Our adventure falls well short of that but we are going to do battle with 15 of the best of the best including a number ranked very highly on the world’s top 100 list.

Along the way we will be visiting numerous landmarks, learning the correct way to drink Guinness (is there a wrong way), determining if Irish whiskey is better than Scotch (over to you Mo) and hoping we don’t get blown into one of the various seas and oceans that surround Ireland. Fingers crossed.

We will have a summary of our touring Dublin in the next day or two once we’ve got our sea legs. Stay tuned.

Well our lucky star run of great weather was shattered overnight and into Friday. Sheets of rain and high winds meant doing anything outdoors was out of the question given it guaranteed wet clothes. Not a good pre flight strategy. So it was a leisurely morning packing up and heading out to the airport early given our limited options. Even then getting from the car rental return to the shuttle required running through the pouring rain. Despite checking in super early we just missed out on snagging a second sky couch for the Auckland to Vancouver leg but we do have one which will give us much more room than our inbound flight. The international terminal at Auckland is very impressive with the largest duty free area I’ve ever seen. Although we’re virtually souvenir free (suitcases bulging with hiking gear will do that) we resisted the chance to add to our load. It’s been a long day but killing hours and hours before a flight isn’t so hard with a good book and strong wifi. With a pre boarding glass of wine in hand it’s hard to believe all the adventures we’ve had here. Wonderful people, exceptional geography, unique settings and a series of challenges made this an unforgettable experience. Hopefully you have enjoyed the blog as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it through actions and words.

Stayed tuned for our next adventure. Imagine if you will Arabian nights and the desert skies……….. Hmmmmm. Cheers.

Our penultimate day in NZ was devoted to visiting Waiheke Island and sampling some of the fine wines produced there. Access is via a 50 minute ferry ride from the Auckland port across a fairly large bay.

Our weather streak continued so we grabbed seats on the upper deck outside.

The primary mode for tourists getting around the island is a hop on/off bus which has stops in a couple of the small settlements as well as many of the wineries. The scenery is enchanting with different hues in the water, sandy beaches and lots of greenery.

We rode the entire loop (about 5 km in each direction) and jumped off at the Mudbrick winery. After a full flight of tastings with very very little spitting out or dumping, we sat down to a huge lunch looking at the ocean.

We also stopped at the Cable Bay winery where we completed a repeat performance except no second lunch. A very knowledgeable employee took us through the process but by our 9th glass of wine on the day we weren’t sure what she was saying. So rather than move on to another winery we felt it better we should get back on the ferry and head home.

The bay leaving the island was calm and blue while the crossing was green and choppy. Thank goodness we were out in the open air.

Back to the Auckland harbour and the hustle of a big city versus the idyllic setting we had just left. Really two worlds apart.

Tomorrow we have a museum or two on the agenda (all done with the active adventure calendar) before packing up and starting the long journey back to Toronto. Not looking forward to 20+ hours in the air but hey, we do get back the day we lost a few weeks ago.

A chance conversation last summer at a golf tournament led to an invitation from David van Wely, a Canadian who winters in NZ, to join him at his club as part of our holiday.

The Muriwai GC is on the west coast opposite Auckland and looks out onto the Tasman Sea.

The urban sprawl of Auckland is immense. Traffic volumes have simply overwhelmed the road system and we were extremely fortunate to be heading out of the city while thousands of cars stood still heading the other way. The last half of the drive was a stark contrast. Lots of horse farms and green space complete with the requisite twisty narrow road.

The day of golf was fantastic, even with rental clubs and running shoes, as we enjoyed yet another hot sunny day with the breeze (wind?) coming off the sea and over the dunes. OK it was WINDY at times and it swirled. Very challenging.

And of course what’s a round of golf without a wee nip of birdie juice?

After a well deserved very cold beer we drove a kilometer south to a large Gannet colony. It too provided spectacular views of the birds, the coastline and back towards the golf course.

Our drive back to the city was without incident and as in the morning, the outbound volume of cars was unbelievable. The commute for some people for relatively short distances must be hours. There doesn’t seem to be much if any mass transit or rail service so everyone is in a car. Oh well.

Tomorrow is ferry rides and wine tasting. Can’t wait.