Saturday 12th March 2011 – we’ve all arrived!

All our guests arrived on time and in one piece this morning. Kevin (our excellent driver) met all at Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport and with all on board brought them to the Brazen Head in Dublin for an “Irish Breakfast”. We forgot to tell everyone that potatoes are pretty much standard in all food offerings in Ireland – after that initial shock we got back on the bus and settled in for the journey to Sligo and to our wonderful location here at the Sligo Park Hotel. Here’s what Sam Blackwell has to say….. Most of the Road Less Travelled crew landed in Dublin a bit after 9 Saturday morning after leaving Chicago about 8 Friday night.  On the flight we ate Irish stew, watched movies, listened to audio books and read, and slept very little. Mike, Gary, Rick and I were groggy on landing but adrenalized enough about being in Ireland to want to go to the Guinness Storehouse right away. [SinglePic not found] Kevin, our driver, met us at the airport along with two other members of the trip: Virgil from San Antonio and Joe from Tampa.  We set out to sample some Guinness and begin our golf vacation. Once at the huge array of buildings that make up the brewery we balked at paying 12 Euros for the tour when all we wanted was a Guinness and a sandwich.  A Guinness and a sandwich can be had anywhere in Ireland. Instead we went to The Brazen Head, which claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland. It dates to 1198 and served as a hostelry in the coaching days. According to legend, the name refers to a sculpture of a talking metal head that could answer questions and predict the future.  Once inside we predicted this would be fun. The place reeks of real Irish history. The Irish revolutionary Michael Collins frequently visited. So did the writers James Joyce and Brendan Beahan.  Joyce’s masterwork “Ulysses” contains the reference “you got a decent enough do in The Brazen Head for a bob.” We had fish and chips and more Irish stew and Guinness, of course, and looked at the photos of luminaries who’ve also visited, including the singer Tom Jones and actors Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. We also learned a bit about the members of the tour we didn’t already know. Rick, Mike, Gary and I sometimes play golf together in various combinations in our hometown, Cape Girardeau, Mo.  Rick is an entrepreneur and former police chief. Mike owns a store that sells Oak furniture. Gary is a retired accountant. Joe is a retired Verizon exec.  Virgil manages a group of radio stations. Rick, Joe and Mike are talkers. Gary and I are quiet. Virgil is somewhere in between but has a radio voice and knows how to use it. Three and a half hours after leaving The Brazen Head we arrived at the Sligo Park Hotel, our headquarters for the first part of the trip. The hotel is comfortable and has all the appointments golfers might want, including a restaurant, a bar that stays open late, a gym and a hot tub. The staff is helpful and smiles a lot. Michael, Rick’s partner in Irish Golf Vacations, met us at the hotel. He is from Tipperary and drove four hours to meet our group. Michael has a taste for the wry. Hargadon’s, a highly recommended pub in Sligo, hosted our first evening meal. .  At the bar men nursing tall beers watched a rugby match. We sat far at the rear, an area with its own separate bar. Many in our group chose the excellent seafood paella, others the traditional bangers and mash. Our waitresses were happy to take our pictures and allowed us to take theirs.