The Departure

On Friday, May 10, Suzie and I picked up Greg and headed to the Concord Coach Lines terminal in Bangor. The day was sunny and bright.

There was one issue, the cat had eaten Greg's breakfast, at least some of it rendering the rest unpalatable. This would turn out to be the only issue with our departure. After Suzie left us off and we said our goodbyes, Greg headed to Dunkin Donuts for sustenance. We were a bit worried about seats as it was Friday of exam week at UMaine and we figured that there would be many students getting "out of Dodge". That assumption was correct but the influx of passengers wasn't so large as to hinder our departure. The ride to Boston was uneventful leaving me time to take a self portrait on the bus.

Everything went like clockwork. There was little traffic and our arrival at BOS (Logan) was on time. We approached the counter at Aer Lingus with some trepidation as you are always concerned about the weight of you checked luggage, even when you know you're well under the weight limit. The clerk was professional and efficient and our concerns were unfounded as she never weighed our golf bags. After our bags were checked we headed to security.

At the beginning of the security lines we encounter a strange avatar woman who kindly gave us instructions as to how to proceed. I'm glad we didn't have any questions because she couldn't have answered them. As per everything else so far, security was a breeze, no issues, leaving us time for sustenance and refreshments prior to departure.
Boarding went smoothly. Aer Lingus treats it's passengers well. We took off and there was an opportunity to purchase a beverage, we were then served a light dinner that was tasty, and later a small snack. Small LED screens were inset in the back of the seat in front of you and there was a wide selection of music and movies. I chose to try and get some sleep and for the most part I ignored the entertainment. My only complaint was that the cabin lights were not dimmed during the flight like that have been on all the previous trans-Atlantic flights I've ever taken. This made sleeping more difficult.
We landed at Dublin in a pea soup fog, with cold rain and mist. The Dublin airport is a curious place. Getting from one flight to another requires that you clear security again and pass through a maze of corridors and hallways that would baffle a rat. Eventually we found our gate and were soon escorted out into the rain to queue for admission onto the plane. Our puddle jumper was dirty, dingy and noisy. The flight attendant looked like she was totally unhappy and miserable. This last leg of the flight was the only part of the journey that was unpleasant and it really wasn't all that bad.
Our arrival in Edinburgh was early and into a the same weather we had in Dublin. We deplaned and headed to baggage claim where I am pleased to report that our baggage arrived at the same time we did. This is good when you are headed to Scotland to golf. Knowing that our plane was due to arrive at about the same time as Dylan's, I kept and eye out for him and sure enough I spotted him soon after we arrived. I watched him as he walked the length of the baggage claim area and he only spotted me when he was within range of a makable putt, and for me that's not very long. Now we were three.
We emerged into the main area of the Edinburgh airport. No Dan. Dang. We set up shop at the COSTA adjacent to international arrivals. We needed energy for the upcoming day so coffee and breakfast rolls were ordered as soon as we used our debit cards at the cash point to obtain some currency. No sooner than we had our breakfast, Dan arrived. And then we were four.
Dan ordered as well and was promptly served. Introductions were made as Dan and Dylan had not met Greg before. It was then time to go. We called Arnold Clark, our car hire (rental) company and proceeded to spot 12 in the queue for busses, taxis and such. In no time at all a driver showed up and whisked us away to the off site car hire location. It took a few moments to fill in the paper work but went well overall. It was then time to load the van and head for the Home of Golf, St Andrews!