The Boys Have Arrived

Mardi and I played Sanctuary Ridge with Fred, while Matt and Maureen went to pick Calvin up at the airport.

It was very hot, but we hung in like the troopers we are.

Sanctuary Ridge is beautiful as you can see, but the course conditions leave a lot to be desired.

We headed home to find Calvin on the pool deck.

....and we enjoyed the pool before dinner - Italian Lovers Pizza.

I suppose that I should divulge the fact that I beat Mardi by one hole, but she had taken one stroke less.  Could it be because of the hole where I took five shots to get out of two bunkers?

We're all tired tonight due to the heat, although that's what made the pool more inviting.  So it's off to bed early.

Tomorrow Mardi and I, Calvin and Fred, take on Swiss Fairways, while Matt rests his back and Maureen does her packing (does that sound fair?).  Then it's off to Tampa to send the ladies home to Hamilton.

A Quiet Day

The coronavirus is creating incredible havoc and affecting every facet of life, but at the same time everything seems relatively calm around us.  We haven't seen the signs of panic when going about our daily lives, although the store shelves are being stripped clean of items such as toilet paper (does anyone understand why toilet paper?).

I must admit to a bit of a concern regarding Mardi's flights home and back.  She flies to Hamilton on Sunday with Maureen.  That part shouldn't be a problem.  But our plans are for Mardi to fly back from Buffalo two weeks later in order to share the drive home with me, since driving in convoy with three drivers last year didn't work very well. We planned to use golf rain checks in Myrtle Beach and New Bern to make the trip home a mini vacation.  But, who knows what the border situation will be in two weeks?  It may be more sensible for me to drive home by myself and take my time.  I'm sure that the unfolding events will determine the answer.

Today was a rest day.  Pool time for some, card games at other times.

Fred Cassidy arrived just after 3 p.m from Myrtle Beach.  Calvin Wong flies in tomorrow morning and the guys' two week golf holiday will begin.

Matt and Maureen will be picking Calvin up at the Orlando airport.  Mardi, Fred and I will head to Sanctuary Ridge.

A Packed Day

We started the day with our morning coffee by the pool.  Temperature mid 20's, sunny and we had our usual Mockingbird entertainment, augmented today by a Cardinal.  I must be in Heaven!

We began our day's adventures at 11 a.m.  Heading for golf in Lake Wales, we stopped at Davidson of Dundee for a candy fix.

We loaded up on Candied Ginger and other delicacies, including a jar of Mango Butter jam.

Next stop was the Florida's Natural juice factory for a video tour of their operation and a free sample of their orange juice (or ruby red grapefruit in my case).

The property includes demonstration orchards as well.

And they let me drive the truck.

Also saw a beautiful Bird of Paradise plant outside the facility.

Next stop was the Lake Wales Golf and Country Club.  It is a traditional design, built in the 1920's by golf architect Don Ross.  For years a private club, it changed hands three years ago and is now open to the public.  

The view from the entrance is impressive.

....as is the garden at the entrance itself.

And the course doesn't look too shabby either.

I've commented previously on the poor condition of the greens on some of the courses we have played down here.  In contrast, the greens at Lake Wales, while slow, were immaculate.

....and pretty large in some cases!

The gardens matched the quality of the course.

All in all a nice experience, even though our scores weren't noteworthy (although Matt managed to get a birdie on a par four, which entitled us to some of Mardi's "birdie juice" - thanks Matt).  

The guys will be back here on St. Patrick's Day with our green shirts.

Next stop was the Crazy Fish Restaurant in Lake Wales.

...and the fish are a little bit crazy!

The food chosen was Crab Cakes and Hog Fish (I'm not kidding!), and both were deemed excellent, especially the Hog Fish.

Next stop was Disney Springs.  At this time of night (about 7:30 p.m.) the lighting was interesting as you can see from this ghostly image of the Cirque Du Soleil building behind the House of Blues.

In traditional fashion, we took the ferry to the other end of the Springs and walked back.  The skyline was interesting.

......and the Rain Forest Cafe blew it's top.

Maureen found a Lion King toy she had been looking for.  Matt and I found something more interesting - a very tall girl!

We strolled along until we reached The House of Blues and sat down for a drink while we listened to Jeff Howell and his group.

This is the third time we've been able to enjoy Jeff (he only plays at the House of Blues on Thursdays and we haven't picked the time of our visits too wisely).   Our first time was several years ago with Brother Roger and his wife Chris.

Mardi particularly enjoyed Hey Jude.

And then it was time to head home, after almost twelve hours on the road.  A busy day, but an enjoyable one!

Tomorrow we'll probably take it easy!

The Loch Ness Monster

Spent some time in the pool this morning.  Matt and Maureen went shopping so I thought that I was alone.  But I was wrong - a denizen of the deep scared the hell out of me!

Needless to say I was out of that pool in an instant!

Today was a slow day.  Took it easy, had a nap (old people do that you know) and then spent the evening playing cards.

But, for tomorrow we have a busy schedule.  Should be a longer blog then.

Remington

Poor Sven seems to continue to have trouble getting his comments published.  His Apple must be rotten to the core!  So I have copied his comment below for my other readers (all three of them).

"Unfortunately I am still mysteriously blocked from commenting on Dorsal’s Diary.

This will go down as one of your best blogs ever partner!  Jill is mightily jealous of the girls. Kudos to both of them;  you look fabulous and what poses!

I must admit I ‘smirked’ at your joke but my humour was tempered by my recognition of the obvious target of the jibe.  It certainly was a fitting post for International Women’s Day and you were most gentlemanly in taking a dive to facilitate yet another victory by Mardi - whatta guy!

Sven"

I tried something different today - a back brace to see if it would help me to get through a round without wrecking my score on the back nine.

It doesn't show up very well against the black shirt, but you can see the gray "v" in the above picture.  My total score didn't improve, but I scored better on the back nine than on the front, which is a marked improvement over my results to date.  We'll keep using it to see if it can help me keep up with the other folks.

Saw a couple of small gators today, including this one.  For some reason Maureen didn't want to play her ball from his side of the cart path.

And another first - this fellow was spraying the shoreline from his air boat.  Not sure if it was a herbicide or an insecticide. 

Mardi captured the following picture of an Osprey, before he/she was chased out of the tree by a hawk.

My shot of the day - from where the picture was taken, over the trees slightly left of where Matt's cart is now located.  OK, I didn't find the ball, but it did go over the trees!

On hole #14 they had a hole-in-one contest.  For $1 you could have a chance to win $1,000 with an ace.

The ladies had to shoot from 120 yards out, the men from 135.  We all landed in the right area code, but no prize today.

The following picture also won't win any prizes, but that's a Carp on a spawning bed.  Saw a couple today.

Unfortunately, our late tee time put us in rush hour on the way home.  Added about a half hour to our commute.

Following a great pork chop dinner courtesy of Maureen we played Skip-Bo again.  One hand each, but their margin of victory was bigger.  We'll keep trying.

Tomorrow is planned as a pool day.  If they don't drown me I'll report what happens.

Shopping Day

The ladies toddled off on a shopping excursion this morning - four hours worth!  But the results were awesome!

Wow!  Matt and I sure know how to pick them!

While the ladies were doing their shopping Matt and I had three hands of Skip-Bo.  I have a slight lead so far.

A rain shower altered our plans to hit the swimming pool, so after the fashion parade we headed to Miller's for the Baby Back Rib special.  We were seated immediately (it was just before five and the parking lot was almost full - we got lucky!)

A couple of hands of Skip-Bo against the ladies and some ice cream and strawberries topped off the day.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but we plan to enjoy it.  In the meantime, here's your smile for the day:

Five surgeons from big cities are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on.
The first surgeon, from Vancouver, says, 'I like to see accountants on my operating table because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered.'
The second, from Regina, responds, 'Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded.'
The third surgeon, from Halifax, says, 'No, I really think librarians are the best, everything inside them is in alphabetical order.'
The fourth surgeon, from Toronto chimes in: 'You know, I like construction workers...Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over.'
But the fifth surgeon, from Ottawa, shut them all up when he observed: 'You're all wrong.  Politicians are the easiest to operate on.  There are no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains, and no spine. Plus, the head and the ass are interchangeable.'


Amen brother!

International Women's Day

We played Swiss Fairways today.  Those who played it in past years will know that it was always a great layout, but was in terrible condition.  About three years ago it got a new owner and since then great strides have been made.

In fact, now it is in better shape than over half the courses we have played.  They've done a fine job.

I managed to get across #2 again today.  That's my ball on the front fringe.  

Hey, an inch is as good as a mile!

No ski boats today.  This is a business.  They don't work on Sunday.

I had my best front nine of the season so far, finishing with a 44 and a 2 hole lead.
But then, Mardi and Maureen reminded us that this was International Women's Day.  So, on the back nine I pulled the throttle back and "let" her win by 5 holes.  In other words I only won one hole on the back nine!  Just to rub it in she birdied a par four.

Home for dinner and a game of Skip-Bo.  Matt and I eked out a narrow win.

Tomorrow is a pool day.  Then it's off to Miller's Ale House for the baby back rib special.