Today
Planned Event
World Golf Hall of Fame March 8-14, 2008
Our friends, Hugh and Chiaki, invited my wife and I to go with them to St. Augustine, Florida for a week of relaxation and golf. They had reserved a two bedroom condo for a week at the Grand Villas located in the World Golf Villages. So, on Saturday, March 8th., we loaded up the Suburban and headed south. We arrived around 3:00 PM and checked into the Grand Villas.
Once we were settled, we decided to head for Old Saint Augustine. It was a beautiful day even if it was a little brisk. Fortunately, we had our jackets with us so it wasn't too bad. We walked around the old part of St. Augustine and the market areas for a couple of hours. Since it was the last weekend of Bike Week in Daytona, the market area was fairly crowed and there were several bikes parked along Cathedral street. Click on the following links for more pictures of St. Augustine: [Colage 1] [Colage 2]. And in case you didn't know it, St. Augustine is one of the oldest cities in America and as a matter of fact, the first Catholic parish (Cathedral Basilica ) in America was founded in St. Augustine in 1565. We left the market area and walked through the gates of the city over to the Castillo de San Marcos. Unfortunately, it closed at 5:00 PM and we didn't get inside for the tour. The picture to left was taken outside the entrance of the fort at sunset.
We headed back to the condo for a couple of cocktails and a little R&R. Later, we went out for dinner and had a great meal. I guess by the time we finally got back to our room and settled in for the night it was around 12:30 AM.
Sunday morning we got up around 10:00 AM because we forgot to move the clocks forward. We had to fix a quick breakfast and get moving since we had a 1:00 PM tee time about 25 miles from the condo. Fortunately we made our tee time and played the Champions Club [See map of courses played] at Jullington Creek. Even though the course was beautiful and in excellent condition, none of us played it very well. Maybe it was because we were in such a hurry all morning long. Oh well, that's the way it goes. During the rest of the week we played Palatka, Flemming Island, Bent Creek, Hyde Park and Mill Cove. Of all the courses we played, we probably liked Bent Creek the best of all of them. More golfing pictures. [Golf #1] [ Golf #2] [Golf #3] [Golf #4] [Golf # 5] [Adrienne's golf swing] [Chiaki's golf swing] [Hughes golf swing]
On Tuesday we visited the World Golf Hall of Fame . If you're a golfer, the World Golf Hall of Fame is a must see. And even if you're not, it's still quite interesting. Most of the staff are volunteers and are very helpful. There were hundreds of static and interactive exhibits along with autographed pictures of golfers like Arnie, Sam Snead, Jack Nicholas and many others . The Hall of Fame Locker room had lockers for all it's members and each locker was filled with memorabilia from each of it's members. The view from the top of the Hall of Fame building is quite dramatic. Click on the following to see pictures from the Hall of Fame. [Hall of Fame # 1] [Hall of Fame # 2] [Hall of Fame # 3] [Hall of Fame # 4] [Hall of fame # 5]
Wednesday, we went back to the Hall of Fame and played putt putt on the 18 hole course. Hugh and I took on the girls and got beat the first 18 holes but played again and won the second time. I think Hugh is the only guy I know that hit the ball out of bounds on hole number 18. After our little match, we went to see Spiderwick Chronicles at the IMAX theater located in the Hall fo Fame. More putt putt pictures [Putt # 1] [Putt # 2]
After golf on Thursday we went to the Dog Track in Orange Park, Jacksonville, Fl. Chiaki and I almost broke even. Adrienne won a couple of races and Hugh hit the ball out of bounds again ( NO WINNERS).
Friday morning we loaded up the car and checked out of the condo and headed north for Charleston, SC. We stopped just north of Jacksonville on 9A and played Mill Cove. The trip home was uneventful and we got there just in time for Happy Hour at Shadowmoss. We had a great time and are looking forward to going on the road again. It's great being retired.
