Today was moving day. Darn. I liked being in one place for a couple of nights. Every place we’ve stayed has been terrific in its own way, but the Golf Hotel is quite special, even when the neighbor runs water at 6 am and the whole building is suddenly awake. Hey, it’s 300-year-old plumbing. What do you expect!!

We said a fond farewell to Jo Jo, our bartender, breakfast attendant, and check-out hostess. At breakfast, I made a starting time for a course in East Lothian, the Golf Coast. We would be playing Gullane #2 today, one of our favorites, or so we thought.

“To be fair” (a very Scottish phrase), it was blowing a gale out there. And, we had forgotten about the hill— Gullane Hill, maybe you’ve heard of it?  It’s really a mountain, and it’s covered with fairways and greens to accommodate the three courses here, #1, #2, and #3. The first two holes went very well, but the third had us looking straight up at a striped pole. “That’s your aiming point,” John reminded me. I vigorously dislike straight-uphill holes, and this one behaved badly. While John was on in three and looking at par, I was next to the green, then behind it. Not a happy 6. I think it was mostly the views we remember from Gullane—which are stunning. And how cool to look across the water, the Firth of Forth, and practically see the place we were standing yesterday at the Crail quay.

Gullane goes up and down as it works its way around the mountain. Some holes were fair, others were ridiculous. Kilspindie, just across a small bay, was a delightful course… at the top of one hill, we looked at it longingly. Gullane has just completely rebuilt its clubhouse, however, which made a good final stop. Now it’s all glass with golf or soccer playing on every wall. The menu included good pub food and healthy fish. We started with beer, then ate heartily. After all, today was a hard-working day on Gullane Hill.

Finally, we returned to the wonderful Standing Stone Farmhouse, where there was a room for us waiting at the top of the stairs. Feels like home! We had a lovely long chat with Karen and Anne, and made dinner plans for tomorrow night. All set for our last day— rain in the forecast. What a surprise. Good night.