Busy, Busy, Busy

"Busy, busy, busy." That's a line from the Christmas cartoon Frosty the Snowman. The evil magician utters those words. The holidays sure are busy, and sometimes it feels like there's a little magic needed to get everything done, and guilt for being busy. 

The week started off wonderful for me, though. I had a delightful helper (aka granddaughter). We baked cookies and decorated the golf cart, traditional Christmas and grandma stuff. She decorated golf balls for Papa and me. I do believe those magic golf balls have improved my game.

One of my favorite memories of our children growing up was the Friday after Thanksgiving. No, we did not spend the day in the crazy Black Friday shopping scene. That day was spent going through all their toys. We sorted, organized and cleaned. We reminisced about when they received the toys. We were grateful for all the wonderful memories with them, and, in the spirit of the season, donated some of the gently used ones. See, if they wanted Santa to bring more toys, they had to have room. It was surprising how their letters to Santa contained shorter wish lists this way.

This week I saw a posting online about the three stages of "stuff." How true! So this week, there was a lot of closet cleaning and donating. It is so easy to accumulate too much stuff. That said, I was very happy to find my large covered cake container on the very top shelf of the cupboard. I don't use it often, but it is very handy for when I do. Christmas is one of those times, when I make a large double-or-triple batch of Chex Mix for holiday snacking. It's a great place to hold the finished product until I can get it all bagged and tagged for gifts. It has been five years since I made this. I didn't think my smaller kitchen would be able to handle such an assembly process, but it worked just fine.

Last week I worked on interior Christmas decorations. This week has been exterior decorating and OH the beautiful sunsets I have enjoyed while working on placing the lights and decorations. Plus, I did not realize the trees at the end of our street were havens for the loudest, most beautiful birds happily chipping away as the sun sets. I'm sure for our neighbors close to those trees, the sound may become overwhelming because it is constant and loud. For me, it brought a smile at the beauty of the sky and the accompanying music. Nature! Add a full moon and what a wonderful week.

I keep thinking things will slow down and we will get more activity in besides golf and short walks. Hopefully this week we will. We definitely will the following week because we have tickets to a long-awaited excursion. Meanwhile, let the holiday fun commence with parties and friends gathering. How blessed we are!

Celebrations

As predicted, this week centered around the Thanksgiving holiday AND an anniversary. Thanks to friends, both were celebrated together and beautifully. What a wonderful day we had on Thursday. So grateful.

Although there was lots of cooking and holiday preparations, we still had time to get out on the golf course a few times. It is so awesome right now. The cooler temperatures make playing golf so intriguing. Instead of focusing on how to stay cool, we can focus on the game itself. Now, you would think that would help us improve? Not yet, nope. Still working on it.

After the Thanksgiving festivities, it was time to transition to Christmas. Hard to believe it is only a month away. Decorations are in the works and should finish early next week. 

Sale!

I'm a day late. This week was not wildly adventurous, but it was physically demanding. That was good. Papa and I helped a friend with their large garage sale. Lots of lifting, walking, standing, which was really good for us. Better yet, it turned out wonderfully for our friend and that makes it all fantastic.

We started the week by re-gripping our golf clubs. It was recommended we do annually and, well, it has been two years so definitely time. We also went with larger grips. I'm finding those more comfortable, especially the over-sized putter grip. With the garage sale, I only used those "new" clubs a couple times because something unexpected happened.

Our friend was a very good golfer prior to "retiring." She put a very nice set of clubs on her garage sale. I purchased that set after a little encouragement from another friend, kindly pointing out that I would be, say, less-than-smart if I passed up a chance to purchase those clubs. And, yup, I re-gripped those clubs too. What a wonderful set! I've enjoyed a few times out with them, and anxious for more as I get used to them.

Papa and I also paid a visit to our friends at Carl's Damaged Pet Warehouse. We made the mistake of going on the weekend and it was busy with lots of young families bringing bags of goodies. There were several whole pumpkins being devoured. As a result, we didn't get a lot of time with the animals. They had a lot of options. We learned we are best to visit during the weekend when the kiddos are in school. Animal time with the seniors. LOL!

A couple weeks ago we visited Veteran's Oasis Park and that got us curious about the other urban water parks. Short on time, this week we went to a familiar place, Freestone Park. This is absolutely one of my favorite parks to visit. There is a mini-amusement park area with small train, ferris wheel and carousel. Lots of water full of fish, ducks and so many birds. Beautiful spots for photography, both landscape and portraits. I think 90% of the time we visit, there is a professional photographer capturing a family group, wedding or prom. It's beautiful. This visit, we were amazed at the large number of birds that swooped by us and congregated under a tree.

This coming week is Thanksgiving and we're cooking. That means less time to get out and explore but plenty of busy activity. We do plan on getting those new grips out on the links, though. Hopefully a hike but that may have to wait another week as we get all the holiday preparations done.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Clockwise starting lower left: White Sands National Park, NM; Sitting Bull Falls, NM; 

Lake Hamilton, Hot Springs, AR; Washington Monumental, Arlington, VA; Statue of Liberty; 

Boston Harbor, MA; Marshall Point Lighthouse, ME; Arcadia National Park, ME; 

Marilla Bridges Trail, PA; Cataract Falls, IN; Southern CO; Devil's Bridge Trail, AZ. 

Center: northern Georgia

Our adventure started because we wanted to see a log cabin in Georgia and the people who built it. That remains the highlight of the trip, and hopefully a return trip in the future will happen. We also achieved our goal of visiting the lower 48, sailing on a tall-mast sailboat, seeing lighthouses, vibrant autumn leaves, and so much more. Grateful does not begin to describe the wave of emotions.

So what next? There's a song by Thom Shepherd, "Take a Vacation a Day." It's about how we need to take a vacation after a vacation because we pack so much stuff in that it's exhausting. Maybe having just a little fun every day would be a good idea? That's kinda what retirement is, having fun and doing things on our time schedule. Although it is easy to get caught up in things, distracted. So my goal is to be more purposeful in our activities. Mindful.

This week has been a distraction already. Just getting laundry done, groceries and all the necessities of life has taken more time than previous trip-recoveries. It's just a brief pause. We did golf once this

Finished ✔️

Currently there are fourteen Big Ten schools. As of today, we have visited all fourteen campuses, focusing on their football stadiums and basketball arenas. The final campus was the University of Nebraska, who joined the Big Ten in 2011. I do believe these are the largest facilities we have seen. Cornhusker fans are generous I guess. The Pinnacle Bank Arena hosts basketball games and the Memorial Stadium is the long-time football stadium with its towering press box. I was surprised how urban it was. Stories over the years gave me the impression the football stadium was almost in a rural setting. Nope!

Last week we saw lots of BIG things. Today another. 

The World's Largest Covered Porch Swing is 32 feet long and said to hold 24 children or 18 adults. It actually swings, too. Papa tried it out. It is located in Hebron, Nebraska. That cute small town is also home to the Blue Bison Coffee Shop. The coffee shop I had a group of several ladies visiting quickly. Young moms also strolled in with preschool children in tow. Nice place to meet friends, and they also serve ice cream. And, like so many small towns we have been through, the town is teaming semis and large trucks going to the grain elevators to deposit their harvest. That creates a challenging maze to get weave through. Thankfully they are the most courteous drivers. Note: avoid elevators during harvest!

Weather has been interesting on this trip. Several days of rain have greeted us. Rain was forecast again today, threatening another planned golf outing. Happily, we woke to a beautiful sky and warmer temperatures.  We headed to Minneapolis to golf. Minneapolis, Kansas that is. This is an unmanned, nine-hole course where you open a big green box, fill out your registration envelope and put in your cash, slip the envelope into the slot. Keys are in the golf carts. Pick one, load up and take off. Oh it isn’t totally unmanned. There were folks mowing and plenty of helpful people around the course. It was just a trusting, good neighbor place. 

The course is fairly flat. The challenge is a creek runs through this course. At least half of the holes have bridges on the cart path. That means judging your shots to stop before, or go beyond, the creek is critical. It was a fun break on a warm and windy afternoon. A beautiful day. 

What Did You Say?

We are in Massachusetts. I'm not sure if English is spoken here. Kidding. There definitely is a different sound to their pronunciations. Of course, I don't think we're mentally as sharp after the busy day yesterday. That calls for a morning stop at the Daily Brew Coffee House in Cataumet. I love that a house is now a coffee shop, or an attorneys office. Several area homes are now businesses. It doesn’t get old seeing the stone walls and bridges, and gray weathered cedar shake siding on homes, especially with the blue shutters. 

With our liquid energy in hand, we head for our first quick stop of the day: Nobska Lighthouse. This 40-foot round cast iron lighthouse is on the southeast corner of Massachusetts, in the Cape Cod area. In fact, only 18 miles across the water is Martha's Vineyard. Papa tried waving in case anyone was watching from the Vineyard. Eighteen miles on a ferry ride translates to one hour to the Vineyard. Not on our radar for today, and we're far enough away that, even if we could climb the top of the lighthouse, we wouldn't see Martha's Vineyard. The lighthouse isn't open, but that's ok. The views, the water, it is all a dream come true. 

We head north deeper into New England, skirting the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts to the east. I never realized the Cape Cod Bay is created by a hook-shaped peninsula that jets out into the Atlantic Ocean. It reminds me of Coronado Island on the west coast. At Coronado, there is the Pacific Ocean on one side, and the San Diego Bay on the other. At Cape Cod, there is the Atlantic Ocean, and Cape Cod Bay. That would be a wonderful spot to explore more. But we're heading north.

Plymouth Rock is our next destination, specifically the Plymouth Rock Park. The starting point of our county where the pilgrims landed in 1620. Of course we need to find the Plymouth Rock. We also walk by the Mayflower II. No it isn't the actual Mayflower. This is a full-scale replica of the actual Mayflower. It was a gift from the United Kingdom after WWII.

Yesterday was a busy day, and tomorrow looks to be, too. That means we need a little relaxation this afternoon. For Papa and me, that means golf. Yup, finally. No rain! Green Harbor Golf Club in Marshfield, Massachusetts is a privately-owned, public 18-hole course. They pride themselves on maintaining the purity of golf, which means walking the course—no golf carts. No worries, they have pull carts so we aren't schlepping our bags. One of the features of the course is the abundance of trees, which are quite lovely especially with hints of fall colors appearing. 

After golf, we grab a quick bite and head further north. Gotta "hit the hay" early and rest the legs. Tomorrow is a big day.

Rhode Island(s)

Rhode Island is a small state, packed with history and beauty. And the state name is misleading. Did you know Rhode Island consists of 108 islands? Seriously! I found this interactive map online. Of course some of those islands are very small and not inhabited. If you don't like going over bridges, this is not the part of the country for you. Personally, I'm giddy; love bridges.

Today we focus on Newport, Rhode Island. This city is filled with so much history and extensive wealth. There are numerous Gilded Age mansions, colorful, large yachts at the harbor. I cannot image Martha's Vineyard looking any more prestigious than Newport. 

Today in Newport, Papa and I checked out three of these famous summer mansions: The Chanler at Cliff Walk, The Breakers and The Vanderbilt Grace. Lifestyles of the rich and famous here we come, la-di-da!

New York Congressman, John Winthrop Chanler, built a grand summer home in 1873. Set on five-acres of beautiful gardens overlooking the ocean, this stately mansion along the picturesque Cliff Walk has changed hands over the years. It is currently the five-star boutique hotel called The Chanler at Cliff Walk. It features 20 individually decorated rooms and villas. Stunning! 
The Chanler at Cliff Walk is the only mansion with direct access to the Cliff Walk. The Cliff Walk is a 3.5 mile recreational trail along the ocean.The major thoroughfare through Newport is Bellevue Avenue, two-and-a-half miles of pure history and elegance. Many of America's elite families during the Gilded Age made their summer homes along Bellevue in Newport. Names like the Astors, Vanderbilts, Morgans, and many members of "the Four Hundred," New York's premier social list, vacationed here.

(Note the long hangers in the bottom left photo to accommodate the huge gowns of the period) Likely the most famous mansion is The Breakers. The original Breakers was built in 1878 and referred to as "unquestionably the most magnificent estate in Newport." It remains the largest mansion in Newport to this day. Vanderbilt purchased the property 1885 and the home was destroyed by fire in 1892. 

(Note the call board for the butlers, similar to Downton Abbey) The Vanderbilt's rebuilt The Breakers with the current structure completed in 1895. It consists of 70 rooms, 48 of which are guest rooms, on 13 acres of land. Mrs. Vanderbilt and the children were afraid after the fire, so the new construction consisted of steel, brick and concrete vs. wood. The boilers to heat the mansion were housed underground, connected by a tunnel to provide heat to the mansion while being a safe distance away. After construction, it is rumored Vanderbilt ordered the blueprints for the boiler setup to be destroyed so no one could copy his innovative design. 

We toured The Breakers. The rooms in this mansion are massive! We could fit two of our home in most of the bedrooms. The larger entertaining rooms dwarfed the White House ones. Absolutely incredible. Multiple staircases. The kitchen had three huge sinks plus another in the Butlers quarters. The cooking area was a long bank able to prepare food for hundreds. Remember, these summer mansions were their vacation homes. Most of them lived in New York. 

There is one more stately mansion to see: The Vanderbilt Grace (upper right). After touring The Breakers, the Vanderbilt seemed small. The city hall in Newport seemed grander. That said, I am also thinking we see more on a second or third visit to an area than the first. There is so much to take in. Still the drive around Newport, the marina areas were beautiful. And we see more blue sky!

One last stop for the day. Around 2000, there was a Friday night television show called Providence. It was a quirky show with a female doctor as the lead who saw visions of her dead mother. We watched the show faithfully, I think the scenery of the Providence, Rhode Island area was more a draw than the show content. Oh how I dream of being on a sailboat and smoothly gliding over the ocean waters. Nope, not happening today. It was fun seeing the rowers from Brown University on the river while we ate dinner. After dinner, a quick trip by the state capitol building in Providence, through Brown University and a few neighborhoods before packing it in. Busy day and now it's time to hit-the-sack.

Trifecta

Of course the day will be fantastic after the pampered breakfast we received at Hassinger Daniels Mansion? We depart the grand mansion reluctantly and head to a local golf course, Roebuck Municipal Golf Course. 

The website states they affectionately refer to themselves as "Roegusta," a reference to the famous Augusta National almost 400 miles away in Augusta, Georgia, home to The Master's Golf Tournament. It felt good to be outside on a beautiful day, playing one of our favorite, and admittedly frustrating, activites: golf. 

After golf, we're ready to spend some time in the car. That's good because we have an hour-and-a-half drive northwest to Fort Payne, a lush wooded area of Alabama. Time for our second and third favorite activities combined: a hike with waterfalls along the trail. Does it get any better? 

Little River Canyon overlook provided a great view of the falls. We looked at the map, scanned the area around us, and opted to hike the Bridge Trail. The narrow trail snaked through tall trees. The sound of the waterfall motivated us to keep searching for the source. We crossed under the highway bridge on a wood walking bridge. The trail took us up and across on a path along the highway bridge where we could look down on the families enjoying a sunny afternoon in the water at the top of the falls. What a relaxing, serene afternoon.

Time to head to the first of the major stop of this road trip; the reason we put the trip together. We are going to visit a newly constructed log cabin located in the wooded north Georgia countryside in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and, most importantly, the talented inhabitants of that cabin.

Monsoon Season

September, the end of our monsoon season approaches. This year we experienced record-breaking heat and not as much rain as we would like. There have been a couple thunderstorms in our area providing about a half-inch of rain each along with vivid lightning displays. The latest storm was this past Thursday. Whew! Lots of lightning! I've always wanted to capture a great lightning photo. This is my best one to date. I'll keep trying.

Extreme heat in the Valley pushed us north into the mountains for a little relief. Payson Golf Course is not a fancy country club. It does have tall trees, mountain views, and slightly cooler temperatures, which

U.S. Women’s Open

Oh so many firsts! I’m jumping ahead in my normal chronological posting of a road trip since The Open is still being played today and tomorrow. The Open is the primary reason for our trip. We have not attended any amateur or professional golf tournament before. We have not been to Pebble Beach or even the Monterey Peninsula before. Papa’s dad played Pebble Beach and we looked at doing that during our memory tour in 2022. That was a little out of our league, both from a price and skill level, so skip that idea. Attending The Open, however, worked out perfectly. 

The goal was to see at least two players: Annika Sorenstam and Rose Zhang. To do that

Trying New Things

 

Besides The Nutcracker at Christmas or kids' performances, Papa and I haven't attended a professional ballet performance...until this week. It was a unique outdoor performance under the stars and a close-but-not-quite full moon. It was a little warm and breezy, but the breeze helped counter the warmth so it turned out to be a lovely evening.

The temporary stage was so unique with the mountain-like backdrop contrasting the dark sky. The backdrop changed with the various illuminations

Out and About

 

Papa and I are in-between road trips so what to do? Well, golf is always an option but we're trying out new things too. Our second voyage on the kayak was one of those new things. After two tries, I personally love it; Papa, not so much. This try definitely went much smoother than the first. I think I enjoy the relaxing exercise aspect and peaceful nature time.

We went early on a Wednesday morning, so the beach was almost empty. We were much smoother/coordinated getting in-and-out of the kayak. Remembering to attach the fin underneath helped with navigating, along with configuring the paddles correctly. For a while, we had a smooth cruise going. We were able to do a couple laps around the marina area, spending almost an hour gliding the water. It was fun listening to the various birds, the occasional motor boat in the distance, seeing fisherman and hikers doing their thing. Slowly the beach filled in with mothers and children and various sun seekers.

Of course, I had to "up" things for us a bit by strapping a waterproof bluetooth speaker onto my seat. A little smooth jazz instrumental music aided in creating a relaxing cruise. I will

California Golfing

Although we did not golf Torrey Pines, we did find a couple courses with available tee times. Not an easy thing to do at the height of the season. One of the courses was another “memorial” course, a course Papa’s father played. Unfortunately the record rainfall in the area plus below-normal temperatures made Mountain Meadows somewhat unpleasant. Our foursome played nine holes and called it a day. On a beautiful summer day, it would be fun to try the course again. We had a delicious lunch before golf. It is a respectable golf club. 

The following day we drove to Palm Desert and marveled

Torrey

A year ago, Papa and I visited Torrey Pines for the first time. We were fortunate to golf the front 9 of the north course. This year we weren’t able to secure a tee time but we did enjoy a chilly-yet-relaxing break on the second floor balcony of the Lodge. We had a drink and an appetizer while chatting with a local chap about golf courses in the area. It was a cold, rainy, windy afternoon but

Memorial Ball Markers

In February, Papa and I started golfing courses where his father golfed. We tried to visit as many courses as possible and even took an extended road trip this summer. A family member is in possession of a couple meticulous log books that were kept. Using that information, we feel comfortable that 70% of the courses we golfed were ones played by Papa's father.

In October, we added the final ball markers to the collection "book" we started as a small memorial. It contains 30 markers from courses located in nine states. Goodness, that man played a lot of courses. We played a small fraction of the courses he played around the world and, guaranteed, didn't play them as well. We do have a nice little memorial to remember him, though.

BetsyB: Tests #1 & 2

 

Remember that feeling when you first had a driver's license and a car to drive. You could get in and go wherever you wanted, or where your parents would allow you to go. In some ways, we kinda feel that way. The confidence of a new car is pretty grand.

This week we put Betsy to the test a couple times. First, we loaded both sets of our golf clubs into the rear cargo area with no problem. That was a nice change since we weren't able to do that before. With clubs loaded, we drove to a friend's house and together, in their vehicle, we drove a couple hours north to beautiful cooler temperatures in the mountains. It was fun seeing the aspens starting to turn. It was refreshing to feel the crisp nip in the air. The course was wonderful, weather perfect. What a wonderful day. I was intrigued to learn that lilacs are plentiful in the area and fill the golf course with that wonderful scent. I think we will be back to golf here next spring.

The second test for Betsy was along the same lines. Can we fit four sets of clubs in the cargo area and four people comfortably in the car? Sure enough. On a separate day we loaded the car with clubs and people and ventured to a local course to join a group of friends for golf and lunch afterwards. Another fabulous day filled with fun golf and lots of laughs.

Note: we have four more courses to visit this year and we will have filled the memory packet with ball markers.

This coming week we take Betsy for a longer drive and hopefully a little hiking. Weather in the high country could be rainy so we will take our chances and see what happens.

Remembering

The mornings are slowly cooling but it is still warm enough that golfing early is more comfortable than later in the day.  Plus Papa and I enjoy watching the sunrise. This morning we also stopped to admire the full moon and stars in the western sky. What a beautiful gift. We continue to enjoy the LED golf balls, too.

This week we delayed our adventure until today, Sunday, September 11th. Each year the city of Tempe has The Healing Field around the 9/11 anniversary. We have been fortunate to visit the 9/11 Memorial in NYC. It is very moving. The Healing Field is equally as moving for me. Viewing the sea of flags with the Mill Avenue Bridge in the background is beautiful. Getting up close and reading the name and short bio of the individual each flag represents is sobering.

We have visited The Healing Field for many years. Today the bio I read struck me. The gentleman was 58. The bio said that often husbands and wives do not golf together, because their skill levels are so different. This wasn't true for him. His handicap was 20 and his wife's was 22. They enjoyed golfing every weekend together. Wow! Hard to fathom having golf plans, or any plans for that matter, and everything changes so unexpectedly.

Gilbert also has a 9/11 memorial. The names of the fallen are displayed along with a section of the steel framework from one of the towers. This mangled girder was salvaged from the World Trade Center site and transported across country. A shiver goes through me whenever I touch this memorial.

SOURCE:  https://youtu.be/C4F1ESgF-ds

Finally, a short 46 second clip from this morning.  It's about 6:15 AM and we drive our golf cart up the fairway to find a few coyotes. At first we thought they were playing so we stayed still in the cart and watched. Then there were a couple yelps and one of the coyotes, who wasn't limping before, ran off limping with an injured front leg. They didn't scatter until we finally moved from the cart and pulled our clubs out of the golf bags. These guys are trained to know to scram when they see the clubs! 

Listen to the final few seconds of the clip. We are rewarded every morning with beautiful singing birds on the 16th green. It's easy to get up in the morning when we know we will see a gorgeous sunrise and have our spirits lifted with these magnificent songbirds.

Recalculating

If you’ve followed our five-week odyssey, you know it has been beyond amazing. We have accomplished everything we set out to do and more, so far. Weather, health, road construction, you name it has cooperated. The few things we missed were no biggie. 

For those of you who believe in Murphy’s Law, well maybe that’s what happened. I personally believe we were guided to slow down for a bit. Whatever you believe, we had some “recalculating” occur. 

Here’s what happened. Tuesday we were coming into Salt Lake City for an overnight. There are lots of mountains. Betsy was struggling with the steep grades a bit and then, the check engine light came on. We were close to the hotel for the night. It was late afternoon so I called a repair shop with high review ratings. Nope, they were booked for a week. They gave me the name of another shop. Nope, they too were booked for over a week but they gave me another name. Success. Bring it in a 7AM. 

Golf, One More Time

The Wyoming/Idaho area is beautiful with mountains, forests, lakes, multiple campgrounds and outdoor trails and activity. Winter sounds totally different but activity continues with snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country and downhill skiing. 

Papa and I looked at the schedule for today and thought, yup, we can squeeze in another 9-holes of golf. We were staying in a remote but lovely cabin in Idaho. No cell phone service. So we decided to drive to Star Valley Ranch about 40 minutes away in Wyoming. It’s a new community incorporated in 2005. 

We walked into the pro shop and inquired about open tee times. The two ladies behind the desk told us, nope. Mens league playing this morning so no tee times until 1PM. Ah shoot, we wanted to get in 9-holes before hitting the road. 

The two ladies and a third, a golfer, provided the solution. Their 9-hole course was up the road a mile or so, located in the mountains, and we could golf right away. Perfect!

Final Golf Course

We did it!  Every day we planned to golf, we did! Weather cooperated. What a blessing. We have visited with so many friends and family, spent time in new places and familiar old places and, foremost, shared memories of our family member’s life. All went as planned without a major hiccup. Amazing!

The final course we played was one of the first our family member played. Lots of family history in the area and, when talking with relatives the day before we played, we wondered if anyone at the course would make the family connection. 

Well, of course. The starter knew several family members. He shared memories with various relatives, including living next door to a cousin for a few years. Even though Papa and I hadn’t played here before, it sure felt like home after talking with Mike. 

The clubhouse was very nice. It seemed to be a gathering spot for friends as several groups huddled around tables or stood and chatted. The course was nicely maintained. It wasn’t particularly challenging but it was long. It made for a pleasant morning. And, of course, more geese.