Highways and Fairways

Good Bye 2009, Heeellllllooooo 2010!!!!

It's amazing the difference 250 miles can make!!!

From 41 to 81 in 5 hours of drive time!  We left Destin with an overnight stop in Perry (Walmart) where the temp was still ridiculously cold for a Florida address. I do realize that my sister in Indiana is a little sick of my whining about 40ish temperatures, sorry.

We stopped for lunch and exercise at Mexico Beach (still in Florida), a fabulously charming seaside community along US 98.

Thanks to Tim in Destin we found probably the only affordable RV resort with 80 degrees in winter in the city of Ellenton, just outside of Sarasota.  We're here for a whole week!  Ahhh, roots!  What was the first thing we did?  Grab our suits and towels and head straight to the pool...for about a minute and a half.  The water was too cold!  Instead, we explored Long Boat Key.

Trust me when I say I took 300 sunset photos and I promise to only bore you with a few...

A couple got in my way while I was shooting:

Yep, a surprise proposal in front of God and everybody!  A round of applause ensued when she said "yes".  Of course I asked them if they'd set the date yet to which they responded with grunts.  I recognize those grunts!

Mike is on his way out the door to the Suffleboard weekly club meeting and I am arranging our golf for the next few days.  We have plenty of recommendations while here, yay!

Tonight we will be thinking of all of our friends celebrating at Jack and Jane's home and wishing for warm weather at the beach cabana around midnight.

The happiest, safest, and healthiest of new year to all y'all!

I'll leave you with just one more Florida sunset...

No wait...just one more!

What a gift!

Mike and Juanita
 
 
 
 
 

Good times in Destin, FL

After pulling up stakes at the Gulf Shores State Park, we drove 1 mile down the road to the State Park Golf course.  We (I) wanted to get in 18 holes before our short drive to Destin.  Not much to say about this course, but it's definitely worth the money if you happen to be camping down the road.  I'm sure I must sound as if I've never met a golf course I didn't like and I suppose that's true (I just love smacking that little white ball), but this one is low on the list.  Putting on the hairy greens may have caused irrepairable damage to both of our games.  Only two pictures as this wasn't too scenic...

The best part was the oak trees with the low hanging Spanish moss...

After a 2 1/2 hour low scoring round for both, we hopped into the coach and drove the 81 miles to Destin where Kaye, Tim, and Rhonda had dinner waiting for us!  Actually we lucked into sharing their belated Christmas dinner with other (invited) houseguests that evening--and oh what a meal!  Tim and Rhonda had been captains on charter boats in the Carribean and while there met Paul and Wendy, also captains.  We spent an evening with captains and probably could have had one of them marry us the other night.  Nah.

Wendy was not allowed to continue as a captain on the same boat once she and Paul were married, so she went to culinary school and became a chef.  Lucky for us again!  She baked a rye Santa Claus that has been sharing the trip...

Her husband Paul's claim to fame was that he repo'd the yacht of the infamous Salahi's (white house crashers).  So now he's in the witness protection program:

Anyway, thanks to the hospitality of our Destin pals, we had a fabulous home cooked meal!

While Rhonda, shown here desperately trying to get in the shot with Santa, was once golfing in St. Thomas (the famous Mahogany Run), she tripped over this ball in the woods...

Yep, apparently even President Clinton misses the fairway!  What a prize!.  Rhonda had numerous offers to purchase the little souvenir from golfing in St. Thomas, but declined even the highest of bounties.
 

Yesterday we met again with a realtor to see homes in the Sandestin community (recommendation of many).  Our realtor also finagled a free round of golf on one of the four courses there and the only private one, Burnt Pine.  Although we didn't find the home for our budget, we loved this challenging and incredibly scenic course--probably my favorite.  Not sure if it was the cold (40 degrees!) or the swing, but neither of us played our best.  Mike had to pull out the lumber jacket for this cold/windy day along the gulf coast.  He spent much of the afternoon like this:

After he went through his supply of balls and then my last one, I made him walk the plank...

Kidding aside (he has trimmed his index from 10 to 6 on this trip), check out this "island tee".  Island greens are almost common, but I'd never seen an island tee (from the tips) before.

Several holes took my breath away:

Mike had good reason to fear his approach shot on that hole.

 

Imagine unlimited rounds of golf, driving your own cart for $450 per month on such a beautiful and impeccibly maintained course!!!   Rees Jones Jr. outdid himself on this design, but he had a lot of help from Mother Nature:

They assured us that the weather here is perfect this time of year.  We just happened into town during an aberrent cold front.  Hmmm.  Besides great golf, we have another reason to keep Destin high on the list, Kaye and abundant fresh fish!

Kaye again arranged for us stay at the beautiful military R & R park along the bay, in fact she got us the last space available. To show her our appreciation, Mike decided to cook for her last night.  So we took a field trip to the fabulous fish market he's discovered on our last trip through Destin. 

A kid in a candy store:

After careful consideration, he opted for the red snapper and we were off to host our first RV dinner party!

And there's always a party crasher:

Mike raided the wine cellar:

And after dinner Kaye assisted Mike with dessert:

She made Bananas Foster a lot more fun with her Food Network Channel play by play!

Thank you Destin friends for an unforgettable stop!  We'll miss you and the sugar sand coastline:

 

Hitting the road today for warmth, puhleeze!

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

Kiva Dunes, AL

Did you know that the oldest Christmas tradition in the US is held along the Mississippi River?  According to the New Orleans local news, bonfires are set ablaze all along the rivah so as to light the path for Papa Noel.  It's a big family tradition locally to bring burgers, marshmallows, the kids, and firewood to the river on Christmas Eve and watch all of the fires (generally speaking the kids are not thrown in).  We enjoyed it too, at least watching it on TV (too cold for us sissies).

With Christmas behind us, we continued our southeast trek toward the Florida warmth.  We wanted to stay in Gulf Shores Alabama long enough to play Kiva Dunes and found a beautiful state park to put down stakes for a day or two.  We found more beautiful sunsets at our campground...

This area, like much of the country, has been drenched by storms for weeks.  Today was the first dry day they've seen in awhile and yet Kiva Dunes was surprisingly NOT cart path only.  Perhaps this is why:

I don't think this course is normally played along so much water and made for added challenges...

Not that it helps, but I didn't get to practice any putts beforehand:

 

This pond wasn't part of the course's design:

Nonetheless, we bundled up in layers and played Kiva Dunes in 46 degree sunshine.  Other than a few nasty wet spots, it was a pretty course with some nice wild life:

Fairways were in great shape (where they drained which really was most of the course) and pretty easy to find from the Ladies tees.  Not so much from the tips:

Good thing Santa still managed to find us and stuffed a certain good boy's stocking with Pro V 1's!

The last hole was a long one and even from the Ladies tees, it took a big wood to get to the green in regulation:

In the words of Ernie Els, "Happiness is a long walk with a putter."

 
 
I was hoping this course would be more along the Gulf or the Bay, but it still was a nice course with terrific bermuda greens and fun to play (and certainly plenty of water).

The State Park we're staying at also boasts an 18 hole golf course.  We're going to stop by on our way out of town in the morning and play it before the drive to Destin.  We're looking forward to seeing Kaye, Tim, and Rhonda again.  We just learned that Tim and Rhonda are getting married on New Year's Eve!  They were kind enough to invite us to share in their celebration but we have an appointment with 78 degrees in South Florida!  These four layers are hindering my swing!

Denise, can't answer your question exactly about where we'll be New Year's Eve, but it had better be warm.  Will keep you posted.

Thanks for listening!

Juanita

 
 
  
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Merry Christmas from N'Awlenz

Or as they say in these parts, "PEACE Y'ALL"

We arrived yesterday to a quaint RV resort located walking distance from Bourbon Street.

We were all set to play TPC Louisiana today, but the weather Gods thought otherwise.  Rain, 58 mph winds, tornado warnings, lightening.  OK, OK, I give!  First cancellation of the trip.  We are spending Christmas Eve watching Christmas movies and making fudge, my dream.  Though Mike isn't big on watching Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye prancing around, frequently breaking out into song.  Lucky him, the storm just knocked out the satellite so we'll never find out how White Christmas ends!$%#@&!

Jody and Mary; the lights you gave us for the rig double nicely as Christmas decorations:

OK, so they're flamingos and plam trees, but at night they look red and green!

We have already experienced our first Christmas miracle.  Last night while exploring the French Quarter, I lost my wallet with everything I own in it.  After a panic attack, we retraced our steps and found it at one of the clubs we'd ventured into earlier.  Everyone at the bar cheered and said that never happens...except at Christmas!

Now if only this city could have just a few more miracles:

It is amazing how fast most of the city has bounced back.  We'll leave you with a few photos showing Christmas in New Orleans. 

Thank you for all of the kindness bestowed upon is this year by friends and strangers (new friends now).  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Mike and Juanita

 
 
 
 
 
 

Lovely Louisiana

Since we had to rush through Baton Rouge on our first trek through, racing to Thanksgiving in CA, this time we took our time and saw some of the sites.  Did you know that Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the US?  At least that's what the flyer in the trailer park says.  We had to see it.

Around the corner, I loved the entrance to the Governor's mansion:

We visited this campus:

Having grown exhausted from always riding the birdie horsey (Ha!), I wanted to ride something else.  How about Mike?

LSU has had dozens of live tigers over the years, all named Mike, from Mike I to Mike IIV, or more.  I never did figue out why the name.

We did the bar crawl thing...

Enough of all this tourist crap...get me back on the fairway!

 

Tuesday we drove 45 minutes to St. Francisville to play The Bluffs at the suggestion of many of our friends.  Set in the hillside in a sparsely populated resort town, we loved the feel of the place.  And how many courses start you off with the ability to say a little prayer before your first shot?

and we needed it with these tight undulating fairways:

 

And when "Trouble Man" missed the fairway, he still managed to stick his approach shot from wherever he was:

 The par threes were all beautiful and nicely elevated:

 

I especially loved the imagination of the course's maintenance crew:

The greens were pretty easy (as long as you got your approach shot within 20 feet), dormant, rolling at a nine or ten.  Like many of the courses here, they don't overseed the greens, which isn't quite as pretty but makes no difference when trying to sink a putt.  Some of the greens were so large and winding that if you weren't within 20 feet, just write down a 3 putt and move on.

We thoroughly enjoyed playing this course on the most beautiful day they've seen here in weeks.  I'd like to play it again in the Spring or Fall to see the colors.  Mike thought the course was short from the tips (7003 yards) and it was absolutely short from the Ladies Tees (4700).  My choice was to either play from 4700 or 5700, (Driver- wedge or driver- 3 wood).  My next career may be to help these moron course architects get in step with the needs of women golfers.  That being said, short doesn't always translate to easy.  I lost three balls on the first two holes from the short tees.

We normally do the whole "experience" by stopping into the 19th hole for an after golf cocktail.  Sadly, this course went through some financial woes (like most of the country) and had to shut down their full service club house.  Oh well, we were anxious to get back to the equestrian RV resort to shower up meet up with our friends for sushi anyway.

We met up with Tom and Teri who carefully prepared and delivered the Toro package that had arrived that day via Fed Ex from San Diego.  Also joining us were (the famous) Billy and Sue.  Billy's father is the head Track & Field coach for Nebraska and previously held that title at LSU, making him Mike's new hero.

These party animals chose the perfect Sushi place, Tsunami's, in the heart of downtown Baton Rouge.  As well, we got the perfect sushi chef, Henry, who turned our sushi into something with a hint of romance:

Funny story...we got to gabbing with the owner of the sushi place and briefly told her our story.  Turns out she has friends from San Francisco, also avid golfers, who are doing the exact same thing--scouring the country for the perfect golf community to live.  And where do they see themselves settling?  None other than South Carolina!!!

After a fabulous dinner we topped the evening off with a nightcap at a cute little pub with live music. 

 

I'm pretty sure Norah Jones was on stage, but I may be mistaken. Whoever she was, she was terrific. 

Mike and I were so touched that Tom, Teri, Billy, and Sue dropped everything during this hectic holiday week to hook up with us for a meal and a great time!  Who knows, we may hook up with them again for skiing in March in Colorado?!  We just have to bring the sushi!

That's about it.  Pulling up stakes today and heading to the French Quarter RV Resort in New Orleans for the Christmas weekend.  Billy promises that TPC New Orleans will cut us a deal to play while there.  We'll see how benevolent they're feeling this time of year!

Until the next time,

 

 
 
 
 

Lake Charles, Louisiana

After enjoying our free waffles at the RV resort in Beaumont... (that's Beaumont, Texas, if you can't tell)

 
we decided, quite abruptly, to spend Christmas in New Orleans.  On our way, I found a golf course to play in Lake Charles, Gray Plantation.  I called them en route to see if # 1 we could play in the next hour or so and # 2 could we park our 40 foot RV in their parking lot?  With a resounding "welcome to Lake Charles" affirmitives on both counts, I put on my hat and spikes and off we went. 

We were delighted to meet one of the youngest golf hopefuls ever, three year old Taylor...

 

After this near toddler nailed three straight drives in the sweet spot 100 yards down the middle I heard someone say, "He's the next Tiger Woods."  The driving range became unusually still.  Less than a month ago that was the highest of praise for a young golfer.  Nonetheless it was a real treat to watch Taylor hit the ball.  We'll be watching for him!

His father, Kevin, turns out, recently made the move here from Baton Rouge Country Club, where Mike and I had played on our quick tour through LA the first time.  He moved his young family to Gray Plantation on Lake Charles for the more casual lifestyle and is their new Director of Golf.

The homes in Gray Plantation are beautiful and reasonably priced. 
The membership fees fits the bill AND they offer a trail fee, a must for us.  The course, now nearly dormant, doesn't show as well as it would in the Spring nor does it show as well as it played.  The greens match the name of the course...more gray than green.

This was one of their signature holes, the par three Island Green  Gray.  Don't let the colors fool you,  These greens were quick and rolled beautifully.  Mike laughed when I sunk my 4th long putt in a row and said, "I love these greens...the read is obvious."  I am not know for my putting skills (understatement).

The back nine was filled with Risk/Reward shots.  Mike was faced with several tough decisions, "Safe or Go for the Green?"  Going for it required carrying the drive 280 yards.

 

What do you think?  Big Guy lost 4 balls on this hole...all great swings, all nearly made it (within inches of clearing the water) but of course the balls were no good.  When even the Pro V couldn't make the distance I called it quits for him because, dang it, I want to play too!

Lots of water, equal number of decisions...

Then there was the Par 5 that was just like playing the 9th hole in Wii golf (play it safe and lay up  to the right or GO FOR IT).  We both went for it, natch.  Worked for him, not for me, sigh.  

We enjoyed both the hospitality of the local folks and the low country course...

We especially liked being able to stop by home on the turn for a cup of cocoa and to let the dogs out for a spell...

 

Tonight we are staying at an Equestrian Center (no, Henry, not like the one in Myrtle Beach) that allows RV'ers which we chose due to its proximity to LSU and to our friends in Baton Rouge.  We shipped some prime San Diego sushi to Tom and Teri to share with them tomorrow night, after we play The Bluffs in St. Francisville.  We have had so many golfers tell us we must play this magnificent course.  Will tell you all about that later.  Wednesday we're off to New Orleans for Christmas.

Stay well!

Juanita
 

Ft. Stockton, Schertz, New Braunsfel, San Antonio, Universal City...Texas

Five Texas towns we've visited in the last 32 hours.  After a quick overnight in Ft. Stockton (nothing noteworthy about Ft. Stockton other than we found a $10 campground), Mike finally let me help with the driving toward San Antonio.

Whew, nothing broke this time!  I may get to drive again!  We checked into our RV Resort in Schertz on Thursday.  What makes this one special is its Cowboy Ghost town right here in the park.  Mike approved:

After hooking up the rig we set off to find a place for dinner in New Braunfels.  We were so impressed with this enchanting little town that lifted our Christmas spirits to new highs:

This was the center of this quaint Mayberry-esque town.  A Christmas symphony by the local high school had just ended inside the gazebo.  There was only a small turn-out due to the chilly but clear 48 degree night.  Just down the road from where this was taken was THE best decorated home I have ever seen!

Pictures just don't do it justice.  I decided I want to live here.  For now that is.

Afterward, at the recommendation of the very kind Barney Fife handling traffic duty for the big "symphony" night, we strolled to Huisache Grill and Wine Bar.  What a pluck, Barney!  We had one of our favorite meals in a warm and inviting setting.  We also found a bottle of red zin my wine buddies (you know who you are) must try to find...2003 Amici from Napa.  The best!

Friday it was off to golf Olympia Hills ($29!) in Universal City, FINALLY, I got to golf!  This municipal course was recommended by a World Am buddy, Roger Kilgore.  We'd hope to play with Roger but the website didn't give his contact information.  We did however get paired up with Doug and Dan, two great locals who were perfect for giving us the color commentary on this course.  Set where the mountains meet the plains, this was a long and hilly challenging course...

Other than the tee boxes, I couldn't find level ground anywhere on this course!

The greens weren't friendly, but Doug and Dan insisted this was unusual.

We inducted another member into the Birdie Horsey Club.  Unfortunately for Doug, his birdie came on the 9th hole so he did his trotting in front of the spectators at the 19th hole...

He was a great sport with an equally great sense of humor!

Here's an interesting rock formation for your science class, Elizabeth, the backdrop of one of the greens:

 I love Dan...No picture (camera shy) but he said I was the best woman golfer he's ever played with before.  Dan needs to get out more!  In addition to the compliments he was giving out, he also gave me one of his treasured archaeology finds.  Apparently this course, like everything else in the US, was built atop old Indian ruins (they even closed the course in the 60's for a dig).  Dan provided me with an arrowhead he found recently after a rain storm brought it to the surface...

My new lucky ball marker!  He and his daughter also are the ones to come up with the logo for the club. Dan and Roger (World Am Roger) both recommended we play Vaaler in Blanco, a little known golf gem in the area.  We tried to play there today but they closed for a tournament, sigh.

Last night, at mom's suggestion, we went back to the River Walk in San Antonio to take in the stunning lights.  Great idea mom!

The Alamo was beautifully lighted as well.

We skipped the carriage ride, hrumph.

Mike was able to combine two of his favorite things this night...on the water dining and all you can eat ribs!

We're on the road now with plans to stay in Beaumont, Texas, thanks to Carolyn for the RV Resort suggestion--Gulf Coast RV Park.  They offer free waffles for breakfast!  Not sure yet where we'll golf again but it had better be soon!

Thanks for listening!

Meeting with Reindeer

Thanks to another pluck from my Aunt Clare, we stopped for lunch in Fabens, Texas at a working Dude Ranch, Cattleman's, set 5 miles off of the 10 freeway.  However it was poor timing as they only open for lunch on the weekends.  So we parked the rig and walked around to stretch our legs and who to our wondering eyes should appear (or something like that)?:

Pepper scared Donner away, but when Donner caught a glimpse of Peanut, he thought it was his "Minnie Me" and came right over to introduce himself:

As we were walking away from the pen, Dancer decided to dance for us...

Cattleman's was full of all sorts of interesting things to see...

Everything but an open restaurant, sigh

Oh well, the nutritionist says I shouldn't eat red meat anyhow (same bitch also says no coffee or alcohol-Ha!).  So we took our disappointed bellies on down the road and happened upon this place:

I thought the words, "I am so tired of Mexican food" would never cross these lips, but I am!  That being said, Mike couldn't pass up John Madden's Haul of Fame:

Apparently, in 1987 Madden was driving on the 10 through Texas (he is afraid to fly) and was looking for a place to watch football.  He found Chuy's, loved his meal, wrote about the restaurant in an article for the Times, and has been back every year since.  He is a hero to the restaurant and they hold his table and chair for him:

 For the curious among you, he always orders the # 21 combination plate.

One last thing to show you that you just don't see everyday...our waitress was sporting John Deere fingernails:

Yep, tiny tractors!  Come on! 

Tomorrow promises to be less interesting, and Friday we golf!!!

Take good care,

Juanita

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Just a quick note to let y'all know we are alive and well.  We left Arizona today, though we got a little lost and nearly stayed yet another day in Rio Rico!  We made it to the small town of Mesilla, recommended by my aunt, and had a wonderful New Mexican meal at La Posta.  The restaurant sits in the heart of a charming old town that dates back to the 1840's and we met some of the kindest people we've met on this trip (as we were looking for a place to park this thing in a very small town).  If you're near here and hungry, this is a must stop!

Tonight we are tucked into another Walmart (Las Cruces), with plans to get to the Florida warmth at a faster pace than I'd hoped.  It's either that or run into the 24 hour Walmart and buy more warm clothes!  I've been charting our route and squeezed in a round of golf in Universal City, TX (near San Antonio) as we continue speeding toward the sun.  Thank you to another World Am buddy for the suggestion!

Will write again when I have new pictures to show.  The trip back across is a bit of a deja vu.  

Juanita

Southern AZ: What a great week!

Yippee!  We got to golf 5 times this week, and no, we didn't play Ocotillo & Heritage Highlands three times as my post in triplicate might suggest (more technical problems).

We are still in Rio Rico enjoying the fabulous hospitality of Gene, Carolyn, and their son Jeff.  Unlike most places in the country the weather has been beautiful making for pictures you will swear I have doctored the colors.  But I'm not that smart and it really is that beautiful here.

 

Check out those clouds!

Friday we played here, of Tin Cup fame:

Although this area lacks the elevation fun we've had with other desert courses, it made up for it with length, shape of the course, and other neat stuff like this:

Because this is known as a "free range" golf course, they had to add the following to their score cards:

Which reads: "Ball landing on cowpie: pick, lick and place no closer to the hole."

Mike opted to play it as it lies (can't blame him):

Sorry for that...hope you weren't eating.  Mike par'd the famous tin cup hole:

This was the hole, if you're familiar with the movie, in which Kevin Costner was caddying for Don Johnson and they had a bet that Costner couldn't reach the green in two on this par 5 (568 yards). It's also the hole in which Cheech Marin broke all of Kevin's clubs save his 7 iron.

If the 17th hole isn't hard enough on any course (that's usually when I spoil a great round), we had to deal with this:

Yep, 651 for Mike and 544 for me.  I was proud of my bogie and Mike pulled off another incredible par.

We both played this course well and enjoyed the history as well as the gorgeous day.

Afterward Carolyn, Gene, and Jeff met us for dinner at one of the restaurants at the Tubac resort.  We chose Stables for the atmosphere, great food, and fun:

Saturday, Carolyn set us up at the Rio Rico Country Club for golf.  It was finally a perfect day to pull out the shorts!

Trees like these planted in a variety of landing areas and length (5650 from the RED tees) made this a challenging course to play.  Because it was a Saturday afternoon, we had a lot of time to wait on the foursomes in front of us and to goof off:

Last night Gene made my favorite Chile Rellenos and the thickest pork chops I've ever seen!  Carolyn made her famous Pico de Gallo and homemade beans--yum!  And our four fur children kept watch in the kitchen while they worked:

Gene arranged for us to have our rig washed and waxed in the morning and then we'll be back on the road again.  Not sure if we'll head to south Texas or sprint to south Florida.  We're both anxious to get back into tee shirts again.

While in town, Gene and Carolyn also introduced us to their favorite local Mexican restaurant, Wisdom's just outside of Tubac in Tumacacori.  This 50+ year old establishment has been in the family for three generations and serves amazing food--including the best (and only) peach burritos I've ever had!  Plus it's so dang charming inside and out:

To summarize, should you find yourself in the south AZ neck of the cacti, you must play the course and explore the art colony at Tubac, eat at Stables and Wisdom's, and beg Gene to whip you up some Chile Rellenos!

Thank you Gene, Carolyn, and Jeff for a fabulous few days at your RV Resort (they've had as many as 7 other RV'ers parked at their ranch at one time!).

I did tell you they are avid RV'ers, but I neglected to tell you who the real "stars" of the family are:

Until the next time, from some as yet unknown destination, take care!

Juanita