It's probably time to update our dog loving friends who often wonder how Peanut and Pepper are handling our golf indulgent life style. Imagine waking up yesterday in Ocala and this nature walk is your backyard...
Then mommy and daddy round you up and put you back into your house. The next time they open the door, this is your new backyard...
And after chasing pelicans into the sea, mommy now has to shower you in front of all of your new neighbors!
Considering that yesterday morning we were in Ocala and since then we've been to Flagler Beach, St. Augustine, and are now camped at Jekyll Island, I think they're holding up pretty well.
We were lucky to get the only spot available on the beach at Flagler. What a view!
We haven't had a better tasting Cosmo than what we enjoyed at this modest sea side RV Park.
Last night we toured around historical St Augustine the oldest European city in America.
The barmaid said this establishment was built in 1702. The bartender said 1698. If either of them had bothered to step outside their front door they would have read the placard that said 1734. Old by our standards nonetheless.
The street scene was busy as there was much to see and do.
We were told to eat at Harry's Seafood. We expected great food (New Orleans style) and were not disappointed. What we didn't expect was the fun atmosphere.
We opted to share appetizers, crab stuffed eggplant, fried green tomatoes, and shrimp/crab fondue. We topped it off with their home made key lime pie that made the Key West pies wither by comparison. Everything was fantastic!
Historical St. Augustine is a must stop for anyone with a traveling bucket list!
This morning after enjoying a beach sunrise (rare for us),
we pulled up stakes and were off to Palencia Country Club, a private club in St Augustine that was able to accommodate our rig in their parking lot:
Palencia was another recommendation from a World Am friend and thanks to our pro, Jeff, back at Barefoot, we were able to book a tee time at this Arthur Hills designed course. As it turns out this course also meets our needs for a private course-- reasonable dues and a trail fee for crazy golf addicts like me. It felt to me as though we were finally back in the south, with the beautiful centuries old maritime oak trees, the wrap around porches, and the relaxed pace of life. A new community, Palencia is just down the road from the Golf Hall of Fame.
You hear this all of the time from me--this was a challenging course!
Although I had SEVEN tee boxes to choose from, this was a 406 yard par 4 to an elevated green (yowza):
Mike played the tips which played more like shoots than tee boxes.
Check out this unique par 3:
Some go over, some under this bent oak, seen more clearly here from the green:
Not the only tree to get in the way from the tee box, Mike had this with which to deal:
How'd he do?
Despite that soaring finish, he only pruned a few branches and found the right side of the fairway. Tough for whiny baby but I thought this was one of the most beautiful views from a tee box that we've seen.
There were several elevated greens:
The greens were running at about an eleven and were fair (no over seeding). Other than a poor approach shot there was no excuse for a three putt today.
Behind this green is the intra coastal waterway.
No course is complete without trouble in the form of the wet stuff.
Nice homes, eh? This was the only hole in which we could see any homes, such a nice quality in a course.
Of course there were plenty of southern golf cart paths...
It was a great day of golf and I am happy we found this course to play through the help of the World Am and Jeff!
After fish tacos and hot dogs at the 19th hole, we hit the road again, heading north. We'd tried to stay at Jekyll Island on our way through Georgia in October but there was no vacancy. We planned ahead this time and booked a spot for three nights. We plan to tour the island as well as play some golf (surprised?) while here.
Peanut and Pepper seem to enjoy new scenery at every press of the parking brake:
Thanks again for listening. We'll be seeing our South Carolina friends soon!
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