Getting Out and Around in Hatfield

Hi Blog!

It's been a few weeks since we posted a blog entry. We've spent most of the last couple weeks working our way North in order to get back to the Philly area in time for Dave to serve his Jury Duty. To answer your burning question, no, Dave did not get picked. He was called to a panel, but they filled the jury before they got to him. Now that duty has been done, it was time to turn our attention to getting out and about again.

We decided to make the most of the most recently nor'easter by heading up to Jack Frost for some spring skiing.

Jack Frost was always our go-to ski mountain. Our extended family spent many a winter day schussing down Frosty, Powder Puff, Ridge Run, Easy Rider and, the most dreaded - Jane's Lane!

We really got lucky with the weather. The recent snow was groomed into powdered corduroy. We practically had the place to ourselves.

The recent cold snap has given way to warmer and wetter weather. We probably won't get another opportunity to ski while we are here. However, we are looking forward to getting in a round or two of golf once the weather improves.

Because today was forecast to be rainy, we were looking for an indoor driving range in hopes of working on our swing. As we searched, we came across an indoor golf course called Play-a-Round Golf. You can virtually play over 70 different famous courses. With so many to pick from, we decided to try the oldest and most famous - The Old Course at St. Andrews!

The Old Course at St Andrews is considered by many to be the "home of golf" because the sport was first played on the Links at St Andrews in the early 15th century. Golf was becoming increasingly popular in Scotland until in 1457, when James II of Scotland banned golf because he felt that young men were playing too much golf instead of practicing their archery. The ban was upheld by subsequent kings of Scotland until 1502, when King James IV became a golfer himself and removed the ban.

We probably should have picked an easier course for our first time out this year.  We never made it to the Swilcan Bridge.  Spanning the first and 18th holes, the bridge has become one of the most famous icons for golf in the world. Everyone who plays the 18th hole walks over this 700-year-old bridge, and many iconic pictures of the farewells of the most iconic golfers in history have been taken on this bridge.

After two hours, we made it to the 10th hole. We congratulated ourselves for both shooting 74, which was just under double par! (Lots of room for improvement...) 

Time to celebrate at the 19th hole!

After lunch, we decided to give another indoor sport a try!

The computerized scoring makes the game go much faster.

While we sported the day away, the misty weather moved on. By the time we got back to camp, we were greeted with a little sunshine and 68F weather! Baxter wasted no time getting out and enjoying it!

The next few days will be filled with more chores and family visits. Stay tuned!