Mission Accomplished...So Far!

Yet another delightful BA flight, made by a wonderful cabin crew whose smiles captivated me the moment I stepped onto the aircraft.  They all looked so happy with the knowledge that they had an eight hour flight ahead of them, interspersed with looking after 285 passengers!  The most striking feature, other than their smiles, is their youth, such that instead of feeling like a 63 year old, they actually made me feel like Methuselah!!  This was only compounded by my first visit to the bathroom and a glance in the mirror.  I am Methuselah!  Can someone pass the Botox?

Get over it Al and console yourself with the fact that not many 21 year olds could ever consider the adventure that I find myself now having.

My last experience of US border controls was only a few weeks previous when it took Sarah twice as long as me to be allowed into the country which was total madness bearing in mind her almost weekly visits here!  Maybe age does gain you more privilege and makes you look less like a terrorist.

Surprisingly, the experience in O'Hare airport was almost pleasant and certainly ten times quicker than LA.  Perhaps some coaching had been provided to make all the European fans welcome and I did register a smile on the face of a border control official...or did I dream that one?  I swear that before my days are past visiting this wonderful country, I am going to get a selfie with the man who stamps my passport and lets me in.

The skies were leaden in Chicago and I collected my hire car from Dollar Rentals - that's a first and last - and perhaps the name provides the warning.  No great product placement there then!  

It was lashing down as I left the rental lot and set the Sat Nav for my destination, Minneapolis, exactly 400 miles to the North West.  This was going to be a long journey in these conditions but no,  within 40 miles, the skies had started to clear, producing the most beautiful afternoon and evening topped off by a great sunset.  The journey took 6 hours and I find myself staying in a lovely house with wonderful owners, Jim and Pam who you like instantly.  Jim and I sound like kindred spirits with our views about the noble game.

And so I sit at 0330 American time pondering the three days ahead and looking forward to the action beginning.  The first hurdle is to get to Hazeltine and I am leaving the house five to ensure I am on the course for the opening drive at 0735.  At least that is the plan but I do wonder with 40,000 spectators expected just how traffic and crowd control is going to pan out.  The next dispatch will tell you.

    Rory Looks Terrified!

    Lee Westwood and Billy Foster.  Ryder Cup Stalwarts.

    The Ryder Cup

It's a Good News Day

I did promise a brief dispatch from Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport so here it is, composed whist drinking a Pret latte complimented by one of their delicious, fresh baked shortbread biscuits.  What with Ibis Styles, UPS and Pret, anyone would think that I am monetising my Blog and getting paid for product placement!  Oh and Terminal 5 remains amazing and British Airways my favourite airline.  Move on Alistair.

The good news is that I am drinking my coffee airside which means I am almost certain to get on the flight.  Another hurdle jumped in fine style.

One thing I need to do before writing further is to acknowledge my new American family and to say please don't take it personally regarding my wanting to bring your nation to its knees.  I meant it only in a golfing context but I am sure you are aware of the longstanding and highly competitive sentiment that exists between our two nations.  We both hate to lose and I think that's very healthy.  Anyway, I'll still love you even if we get tousled!

So assuming I get to Chicago O'Hare airport, I have to pick up my rental car for the five hour drive up to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul.  This is really where the adventure starts because I will be missing my wingman or should that be woman, in the form of Linda.  She has been a consistently brilliant navigator over the years although when she says turn left or turn right, I always do the opposite!  It works.

The advent of Sat Nav has been great in some ways but that extra pair of eyes sitting alongside you can't be replicated by a little computer attached to your windscreen.  I just hope I don't end up in Mississippi!

Having used Airbnb (more product placement!) in Seattle for the first time recently, I turned to it again when I saw the hotel prices in Minneapolis for the weekend!  I think you might call them obscene particularly when you check what they revert to, come next Monday night.  It's a little like the airlines here and the inflation of prices during school holidays.  Some would call it business but for me the prices meant sleeping in the car or not going, the latter being favourite.

That's where my luck continued and I came across Jim and his wife who live close to all the action.  Jim is a keen golfer but what's more, he is marshalling on Saturday and Sunday at the event!  A kindred spirit and he has been fantastic on the communication side to the extent that I already feel like he is a friend.

So an eight hour plane journey beckons which for me requires flight socks, lots of walking around and H2O aplenty, all because of my recent shoulder surgery.  There had been a doubt about permission to fly but Consultants and Doctors agreed that I was good to go in light of my incredible physical condition!  Oh and the fact that it was a keyhole job only with light anaesthetic.

Enough said.  No photos of T5, BA planes or my latte and biscuit but a couple with my other golfing heros.

The next post should be from the dark side!

    Martin Kaymer Says Hello

    Chris Wood.  And I Think I'm Tall!

What Is This Madness That Overcomes Me?

I don't know whether this is madness, stupidity or the reality of every year appearing to pass more quickly than the last and wanting to cross things off the "Bucket List" but I'm going to the Ryder Cup in Minneapolis!  Yes, that's Minneapolis in Minnesota which this week hosts the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine Golf Club.

When I woke up on Monday morning, the only plans I had for the week were to clear Friday, Saturday and Sunday of any commitments in preparation for becoming a couch potato and watching every minute of this phenomenal sporting event.  Why it has become so popular I don't quite understand although my own instinct tells me it is because for the last 20 years, we have dominated the event and been able to watch American golfers cry at suffering one defeat after another!  It makes wonderful viewing to see this nation brought to its knees by 12 European golfers.

So the plans were laid but at 11am that morning while sipping my latte, a firework went off in my head which sowed the seeds for what has now happened.  Could I go to the Ryder Cup?  I didn't tell Linda to start with, deciding first on booting up the computer and beginning the research.

Good old E-Bay which came up with two potential sellers of tickets, both quickly e-mailed with a first offer and both quickly rejected.  Second offers were rebutted and at that point I decided the couch potato idea was much more sensible.  

However, an hour later, I returned to the computer to learn that one set of tickets had been sold and the other seller was sticking out for £500!  This was £200 more than the official price and for a Yorkshireman like me, not the bargain I was seeking.  Game over.  Forget it I thought to myself.

Forget it?  Me?  At 2pm and with nothing else to do, still being post recovery from shoulder surgery, I decided to have one more look and there in Luxembourg were the tickets I was seeking and what's more, advertised at a sensible price.  My instant communication was met with an almost instant reply and before you knew it, the deal was struck and I was on the phone to my new Dutch friend, Lieselotte, trying to organise shipping overnight.  Incredibly and within an hour of our first contact, the tickets had been collected by UPS and were on there way to the UK.  Hard to believe but they arrived at our house at 9am on Tuesday morning.  Rock on UPS and feel free to contact me for a testimonial any time you like.

Of course, getting the tickets was just the start of it with so many other pieces to slot into the jigsaw puzzle but happily, they all came together and I flew down to Heathrow last night, Wednesday and am writing my first dispatch in the Ibis Styles Hotel prior to heading to T5 for my 1120 flight to Chicago, which incidentally, is extremely busy.  At this moment, it means that I am only holding a standby ticket!  Eeeeeek!  The best laid plans may yet fail but fingers crossed.

I will do a short update from Heathrow, possibly reporting on my 1240 flight back upto Leeds Bradford airport!  On the other hand, the golfing Gods were smiling down on me on Monday so why shouldn't the same happen today?  Wish me luck.

    Pure Gold

    Me and My Mate Justin

    It Will Be Good to Catch Up With Henrik!