I know I didn’t capture everything in my recap of the trip so here are some random memories of our time in Scotland:

The house we stayed at was 6 Queens Garden. Will called it New Home or Number 6. He also remembered that the door to the house was green. The house had 3 levels. Tim & Tricia & their family had the bedroom on the main level and there was also a small living area with a dining area, kitchen & patio. My parents had the 2^nd level which also had a larger family room space where we spent most of the time hanging out. We shared the 3^rd level with Pat, Amy, Riley & Mara (all in 1 bedroom) and we had our own bedroom. We rented a pack n play for John and an air mattress for Will from a local company. Unfortunately, the air mattress deflated on night 1 so Will basically slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. Luckily it didn’t bother him at all and he slept like a rock each night because he was so tired from all the activities!

Will and Erik spent a lot of time in the HSBC future golfers tents while we are at the tournament. He learned how to hold the club properly, hit golf balls, received golf balls and tees for participating. He had such a great time and it was really neat to see how much they focused on introducing the next generation to the sport.

The tournament was incredibly family friendly. There were people with small children & strollers all over while we were in St. Andrews and at the tournament. In fact, it was friendly for people of all ages.

There were a number of bleachers setup all around the course so that if you wanted to stop and take a seat or have a bite to eat you could do so and watch a number of golfers come through the same hole. Some people walked the course (like my dad), some followed specific golfers and some liked to set up camp in one spot and see as many of the big names come through as possible.

The Old Course at St. Andrews is very flat. It was so interesting to see in person because it was very different than what I expected. And it is amazing how within one golf course there is such a change in weather from one place to the next. Granted, it was a little chilly the entire time we were there and had to buy winter hats and use jackets and blankets on the boys to stay warm some days. I remember specifically the day we walked the whole course that the weather was a little chilly, maybe 5o degrees, and damp but when we got out to the holes directly adjacent to The North Sea there was a course volunteer in a snow suit because it was in the 40s and raining over there!

We didn’t eat in many restaurants while we were there, except for a couple of lunches and one night when Erik and I went out to get dessert from a local café after having dinner at the house. We either grocery shopped for the night’s meals on our way home from the course at the local grocery store, Tesco, or my mom had arranged a couple of catered meals. Also, don’t plan on making pancakes unless you have all the ingredients to make them from scratch because Tesco does not carry pancake mix and traditional syrup! Lol!

One day when walking home from the tournament we stopped with the boys, my parents & Amy to grab a beer at Dunvegans. While we were there, Erik off loaded the diaper bag that he had been carrying around all day so that he could enjoy his beer. We finished up and all of us walked home. When we got there I asked him for a diaper and wipes because John needed a change and since our room was on the 3^rd level grabbing it from the diaper bag was much easier. Except there was one problem. He didn’t have the diaper bag. He realized he never put it back on and left it at Dunvegans. Now normally I wouldn’t freak out about a lost diaper bag but we had our passports in it (don’t ask me why!) and so it was sort of important that we get it back. He pretty much ran back to the pub while I stayed back with the kids and my family, freaking out. Luckily, it was exactly where he left it with everything still exactly where it should be. It’s a really funny story, looking back, but I assure you that in the moment it was not funny at all.

Will was obsessed with the little “train” that carted you around St. Andrews. It was a little trolley called the Local Motion (haha, get it!) and once he saw it we had to ride on it.

The people in Scotland, and St. Andrews specifically since we spent most of our time there, were very friendly and helpful, not to mention accommodating to a family with very small children.

We explored St. Andrews as much as possible in the time that we were there because it was small, therefore very walkable. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The architecture, the streets, the flower gardens, castles, everything is just beautiful. I hope that we can get back there someday with our family but if we don’t at least we have a ton of pictures of our experience there and can share these memories with our kids once they are older.