Nov 01 2006
To see the first installment of my Scotland series click here.
After a few days in Glasgow we had the opportunity to take a field trip for the day (opportunity meaning we didn't have a hotel reservation in Glasgow for the night and didn't feel like sleeping in the streets). After confirming with the trains schedules and guide books we decided on taking a visit to the Scotland coast and a little town called Troon, famous for Royal Troon golf course, a regular course on the British Open circuit.
We arrived early in Troon with our backpacks, a guidebook, and not much else. After wandering along the coastline for a few hours we headed downtown (downtown meaning a road with a streetlight) looking for a place to stay. We stopped in a Thomas Cook travel agency and asked the agent about local hotels, and were quickly informed that there weren't many places to stay, and the best option was the resort along the golf course...at over $300/night! Well, that really wasn't what we planned to do. As we conferred a nice little Irish lady came up, apologized for intruding, and then offered us a night in her house, which she ran as a bed and breakfast, for about $30 per person per night. We quickly decided to take her up on her offer and she rushed us along to her car, as apparently Jo had Spanish lessons to run off to.
A few miles out of town we pulled up to a lovely little house, were handed a key, and told to make ourselves comfortable as she ran off to her lessons. Needless to say it was all quite surprising and it was tough to believe our good fortune. Seriously, how often to you run in to a random person in a small town who offers up their house for a night and within 30 minutes is handing you a key as she runs off to Spanish lessons?
As for the town of Troon later on that day we headed out for an evening on the town. The folks of Troon were fantastic as we spent hours drinking beer, whiskey, and the occasional tequila shot with our new found friends...none of whom we could understand. Imagine yourself in France as the locals speak a mile a minute...now imagine the same thing, only they are speaking English and you still can't understand them. I think the locals found Californians visiting their small coastal town in the middle of winter as odd as we found drinking with the locals. And later on that evening we also found something else out...not everybody in the UK actually hates GW. And how did we find this out? Well, it was karoake night at the Pig & Poke and as the American visitors we were offered up the first change to show off our wares.
Needless to say I'm not much of a singer so I passed, but Baxter, ever the social butterfly, decided he'd take a shot...and as it was December 2004 and the US had recently (and stupidly) conferred 4 additional years in office for GW Baxter decided to apologize.
"I'm sorry for George Bush...I'm so f-------- sorry". Course bridge and verse.
Didn't really go with the tune, and as we soon found out from the grumbling bluecollar tough arse crowd...didn't really go with their opinions as well. So, the national singing debut over and international incident closely averted we headed back to our bunk for the night.
Now, you'd think three drunk Americans wouldn't necessarily be the type of company an old irish woman would want to entertain, but you'd be wrong! Joe spent the night entertaining the three of us, along with her lovely daughter and a Swedish couple who were staying for the night. Wonderful evening, and lo and behold Jo and her daughter were fans of the Pogues. So, after much cajoling we got Jo to commit to at least consider joining us for the Pogues show.
Flash forward a few days, as we head off to the Pogues show. We seriously didn't expect to find Jo and her daughter at the show, but a nice little surprise, as we head back to the end of the line who do we see? Jo and her daughter!
Needless to say our little field trip was quite memorable, not just for the town but for the amazing people we met. Joe, her daughter, the couple from Sweden, and our bluecollar drinking buddies at the local tavern.
As for the photo, taken along the boardwalk in Troon.
December 2004