This year's Florida vacation was again similar to past years as we took three days to get there, stopping in New Bern, NC and near Savannah, GA overnight with a golf round the third day just north of Jacksonville. After the condo stay, we golfed our way farther south to our Caribbean cruise ship at Ft. Lauderdale with an overnight stay in Floridana Beach, and 3 nights in Deerfield Beach.
As in past years, we played golf on most weekdays, weather permitting. And again, here are photos of a few activities during the stay and trip south. You can select an activity as listed below, or use your browser's scroll bars to see them all. The page is best viewed with a broadband connection and Internet Explorer 7 at 1024 x 768 x 32 bit color in full screen mode and 100% Zoom Level!
|
|
|
|
| From Our Condo Balcony: Maybe the Saying is "Red Sky in Morning, Sailor Take Warning", But This Day Turned Out Perfect for Golf! | ||
We walked the final 18-hole round of the South Atlantic Amateur Woman's Golf Tournament (SALLY) on January 13. It is held at Oceanside Country Club in Ormond Beach and dates back to 1926. Three years ago, we were spectators for the back nine, and two years ago only the front nine, intending to go the 18, but bailing out at the turn as we were soaked and the weather didn't look like it would get any better. Last year, we didn't attend at all as it was cold and windy, said to be a SALLY tradition. But this year it was a calm clear 80 degrees, one of the best final days in the 81-year old tournament's history, they say! The women play the middle tees, 6071 yards, rated (for men) at 70.1, with a slope of 122, and usually are only a couple over for the four rounds!
| 
| |
| A Class Event at a Classy Site | Pat And Flags Representative Of The International Field | |
| 
| 
| ||
| The Entrance Road to the Club Has Signs With All (We Guess All!) The Past Winners. Here, Some Famous Professionals | ||||
| 
| 
| ||
| These Thai Twins Took Turns Winning Here | Saw This Winner Two Years Ago (in the Rain) | Career Amateur. Here Every Year. 2 Wins | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| 1st Tee - Virginia Grimes in 4th | Leaders (High) Scores After Windy 3 rounds | L. to R. Calkin, Sheary, Meixner (and 2 Dads!) | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Kira Meixner, 2nd Rated Canadian Amateur | Kelly Calkin, U. of Maryland Junior | Natalie Sheary, Connecticut High School Senior | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| A Good Size Gallery in the Perfect Weather | On the 3rd Green - Leading Calkin is Caddieless | Sheary Making a 5th Straight Bogie on the 5th! | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Meixner on Par at the 6th, But Still Five Down | Calkin Drives the Shortest, But is 1 Under Here | A Birdie on the 9th Puts Calkin in Great Shape! | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Meixner's 2nd in the Hazard -- Another Bogie | Calkin is Always Down the Middle! | Pretty Flat Course, But Gallery Thinned Some! | ||
| 
| 
| |
| Another Sheary Bogie With a Little Flier Here | Sheary & Calkin With Spectacular Downhill 2-Putts. Sheary's Was 90°. All 3 Made Par! | ||
| 
| 
| |
| No Chance Now for High Schooler Sheary & Kent State Junior Meixner (& Caddie Dads.) | Calkin is 5 up & Home Free on the 17th | ||
| 
|
| Calkin Wins by 4 at 7 Over. Sheary Was 3rd, Meixner 7th As Some Previous Finishers Snuck In With Good Final Rounds, One a 4 Under 68! | |
The Daytona Beach News-Journal had ads and articles about the Gaelic Storm, with their "Traditional Irish Melodies and Compelling Originals" It was a one-day only concert, and with only a few days to go, we secured tickets in the 3rd-to-last row. However it is a modern small theater with 623 seats and the view and acoustics were both fine. While we would have preferred more numbers with which we were familiar, they still put on a great show. Who can forget Bring Yer Wellies?
| 
| 
| ||
| We Had Driven by Here Many Times Over the Years, but Never Noticed It! | 5 Musicians, Most Playing Multiple Instruments | |||
| 
| 
| ||
| Co-Founder Patrick Murphy Here Playing the Accordion, and Electric(!)
Bodrun. From Ireland via California, He Provided Most of the Patter, and Also Many Harmonica Pieces | Steve Twigger, Born in England, Vocals, Guitar, Bouzouki, But No Bouzouki Tonight, We Think! | |||
| 
| 
| ||
| Canadian Pete Purvis, a Grade 1 Piper, Here With Irish and Scottish Pipes He Also Played an Electric Bagpipe, a Tambourine, and a Variety of Irish Whistles | Ryan Lacy, Percussionist From New Jersey 2 Degrees From L.A. Music Acc. Sticks & Hands! | |||
| 
| 
| ||
| Ohio Fiddler Ellery Klein Was in Most Numbers She Has a Master's in Traditional Irish Music! | The Crowd During Intermission Mostly Older, But With a Mixture of All Ages! | 125 Dates a Year, Including Cruises, and Are the Steerage "Party Band" in The Movie Titanic | ||
| 
| 
|
| From Our Balcony: Kiteboarders! Most Have Wet Suits and Don't Seem to Care Much About the Temperature! | ||
| 
| 
|
| They Need Wind of Course, But They Also Like a Lively Surf. With the Right Conditions, They Can Leap 30 Feet in the Air! | ||
| 
| 
|
| 
| |
| Also From Our Balcony: Probably a Private Yacht (Even Small) Cruise Ships Are Usually Much Farther Off Shore | Another From Our Balcony on a Clear Morning Sun Reflection On the Ocean |
This is the fourth year that we have been condo neighbors of Canadian owners John and Joyce Neilson. John plays golf, but Joyce doesn't! What does she do for aggravation?
| 
| 
| ||
| John Nielsen, Our Condo Neighbor From Hamilton Ontario On Daytona Beach South | ||||
| 
| |
| Replenishing Fluids After 18 Holes of Golf | With Wife Joyce At Betty's A1A Cafe For Dinner |
| 
| 
| 
|
| From Our Balcony Again: A Delta II Rocket (With Five THEMIS Satellites) At Cape Kennedy 70 Miles South,
Postponed a Day Due to Strong Winds. The Satellites are Dispersed Around Earth to Determine What Causes Aroras to Change From Shimmering Waves of Light to Shifting Streaks of Color. | |||
| 
| 
| 
|
| 
| ||
| This Seems a Lot Easier on the Arms Than Kiteboarding! Don't Think it is Supposed to Land in the Water Though! | |||
| 
| 
| |
| A Couple Graphics of the Ocean Without Wires for Daughter Penny's Screen Saver! | A Minor Bike Week Accident in Front of Our Condo | ||
Dick Demckak and Dennis Ferry spent a couple of days with us before heading west to see some other friends. We had a couple of Dinners, a round of golf, and tasted some wine together.
| 
| 
| ||
| Dick on the Practice Green at Turnbull Bay | Dennis on the Practice Green | Pat on a Turnbull Bay Tee | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Dick on the Tee. Water Doesn't Come Into Play! | Dennis Teeing Off. Some Holes a Little Tight | A Tough Turnbull Bay Approach | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| February 2 Tornado Passed Through the Course | Dinner at Norwoods in New Smyrna Beach | Norwoods is a Wine Spectator Award Winner | ||
We're done with the Ormond Beach condo and golfing our way south to Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean cruise. The first stop was at Sherwood Golf Course in Titusville, we first played here in 1986(!) as Pat's Dad's house's screened pool is next to two greens and two tees. The course has gone through four names, Sherwood, Bent Oak, Space Coast National, and finally back to Sherwood. We played here under all of its names. It's been a so-so course under all four, and hasn't changed much. They said in the pro shop that it has had many more owners than names! The house has probably had at least as many owners.
| 
| 
| ||
| Pat's Shot on 1st. Dad's Former House in Back | Pat Putting on 2nd Green. House in Back | The House. Looked Like it is Well Cared For | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Sherwood Club House. Hasn't Changed at All! | A Cul-de-Sac Between the 12th & 13th | Bird Drying its Wings, Turtles Sunning | ||
We have a tee time at Delray Beach Golf Club with plenty of time, heard that Delray Beach has a nice tourist area, and since it is just a little above our Deerfield Beach hotel location for the next three days, we stopped there for a while before heading out to the golf course. It was nice if you are beach fanatics, but somewhat underwelming for us strolling tourists!
| 
| 
| ||
| Delray Beach Street Parallels the Beach | Perpendicular Street Has Shops & Restaurants | Shade On The Beach! What's the Point? | ||
| 
| 
|
| Lots of Regulations, Warnings and a Price List for Stuff. If You Just Want to Use the Beach, it Seems to be Free! | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Intracoastal on Delray's Main Drag | Ordinary Golf Course, But What a Trash Can! | Ugly Birds. We've Seen These on Many Courses |
We spent the last 3 nights before the cruise at an Extended Stay America in Deerfield Beach. Boca Raton Municipal Golf Course was very nice, but expensive. So was dinner, but we are in South Florida! It was pretty hot, even for here this time of year, our golfing partners said!
| 
| 
|
| Whew, Too Much Information! We Tipped Properly, Drove Properly, and Kept Pace, But Hitting From the 150s(!) Would Save Us a Lot of Strokes! | ||
| 
|  |
| On-Cart Hole Diagrams We've seen, But GPS' Are Usually In The Upper Cart Front. Here it is above the Hole Diagram Book. It Shows the Hole Number, and Once You Get Going, the Yardage! | Dinner 100 Miles South of Daytona Beach But Bike Week in Melbourne Beach Also? | |
| 
| 
| ||
| Pat On The 3rd Tee, Florida's Turnpike Adjacent | Course's Lunch Room is "The Chess Cafe" | Dinner at Upscale Mizner Park in Boca Raton | ||
Our last day before the cruise, we drove the 19 miles south on traffic clogged Rt 1 to Ft. Lauderdale and took an inland waterway tour boat. We normally don't play golf on the weekends anyway, so this worked out perfectly. There were many really nice homes, with (it seems like) most of them belonging to multi-millionaire Wayne Hyzinga.
| 
| 
| ||
| Ft. Lauderdale's Touristy Las Olas Street | Light Lunch & Sancerre Before Our Boat Tour | An Interesting Name Slides by While We Wait | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| We're Finally Off Touring | A Canal Off the Main Waterway | Man and Dog on a Sand Bar in the Intracostal | ||
| 
| 
|
| A Few of the Many Elegant Homes on the Intracoastal Waterway and its Tributaries | ||
| 
| 
|
| 
| 
| ||
| Cruise Ship In Port Everglades Harbor | Harbor Patrol Was Upset at This Boat | Room for One More? | ||
| 
| 
| ||
| Very Prominate, We Will See This Tomorrow | Another Interesting Boat Name | Just a Glass At This Wine Bar After Boat Tour | ||
The next day, we boarded our cruise ship at Port Everglades for a Seven day Eastern Caribbean cruise.
| Comments Welcome: |
| ClaytStahl @aol.com | Created: 01/15/07 Changed: 11/21/08 | © 2007 - 2008 Levittown, PA. Clayton Stahl All rights reserved. |
Back to Clay's Home Page |