An Outing to Horseshoe Bay, TX

The Marriott Horseshoe Bay Resort

We arrived on Friday afternoon, settled in,
and had time for the G-man to
practice a little golf before his
big two-day tournament.

Friday was overcast and dreary,
but warm.
Standby, a front scheduled
to blow through overnight
will bring clear skies, 30 mph winds,
and cooler temperatures.

As you can see from my photographs
the sky is indeed clear.

On my walk around the property
I found this lovely Zen Garden.
It is a serene atmosphere
and lovely meditation spot.

This little fellow is floating
and sunning.

This area is the Palm Trail
and wends around an 18-hole putting green.

I love winding walkways and this one is perfect.

After my walk I sat in the hot tub for a while
and then met the G-man for lunch.
After the first day he was tied for 2nd place in his flight.
He came in 3rd place after both rounds
and now qualifies to go to the National Finals in
La Quinta, CA in late September if he wants.
All in all it was a nice weekend and I think my back is getting better!!!

Road Trip to Florida

The King & Bear Golf Course


The G-man & I are leaving this morning for another golfing road trip!
He will be playing in a 4-day tournament at Ponte Vedra, Florida.
He will play at 4 different courses one is the King & Bear at World Golf Village
another is the famous TPC Sawgrass... tough course!

Egret at St. Augustine Beach

While my guy is golfing I plan to stroll the beaches.
I've got my sunscreen packed, my suit, camera, sunglasses & a book.
What a way to spend the days!

Girl & her dogs on St. Augustine Beach in June

Couple on their boogie boards
Dare I try this?

We'll be back in a couple of weeks.
I may be posting on the road depending on my internet access.
On the road again... Happy trails!

Running Away

We're running away from home for a few days.
Our friend, Isidro, will get everything painted while we're away.
He likes to come in & work at his own pace
& not worry about being in our way or us being in his way.

Louisiana here we come with other folks from Pine Forest Golf Club.
The course will be greener & flatter than courses in Texas.
We're playing at Koasati Pines Golf Club in Kinder, LA.
Hopefully I'll have photos to share.

Be back soon.

Looking Back to Golf in California

Day One - Photos from PGA West Jack Nicholas Course in La Quinta, CA.

The morning started out lovely with temperatures in the low 70s.
The humidity was about 7%.
By 1:30 when the G-Man finished his first round the temperature was 108 F.
Yikes!!!

Larry from California was fashionably dressed
in his golf knickers & argyle socks.

The G-Man teed off on the first hole
and proceeded to make his second shot.


Day 2 - The Greg Norman Course, La Quinta, CA

The G-Man's tee time was 7:06 AM.
A beautiful sunrise at the Greg Norman Course

G-Man is warming up for his match.

Today the G-Man has the Knicker-Man riding with him.
They both have red shirts & it looks like it was planned.

Above is a lovely house & reflection of same in the little pond on the course.
Below is a pretty bird sitting in a tree on the Norman Course.

Day 3 - The Mountain Course at La Quinta and it is stunning.

This may be the most dramatic course in the area

because of the mountains surrounding it.

More dramatic views at the Mountain Course.

The water makes it look cool, but this was the hottest day of play.
The temperature reached 109 in the afternoon.

The Team Event - Days 5 & 6

Last 2 days of the tournament was a team event.

Above are 6 of the 12 members of the
Austin-San Antonio Team.

Lots of golfers participated in the Team event.
There were 35 teams participating from all over the U.S.

The G-Man and his team partner, Mike.

Team Mates

All are lined up and waiting for the go-ahead.
The outcome was that Team Austin-San Antonio finished in 8th place.

The G-Man really enjoyed all these events and played 6 days straight.
Unfortunately he didn't do as well as he hoped and was pretty low on the
overall individual tournaments.
However, in the Team event he played well the last day and
helped his team move from 20th place to 8th place overall.
It was a respectable showing & he felt vindicated.

After leaving the hot southern California desert we headed for the
mountains and much cooler air of Utah and Arizona.
More in another post about Zion National Park
and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

And the Champion Is...

The G-man won the
2009
Callaway Order of Merit
Sarazen Senior Flight Award
in the
Golf Channel Amateur Tour
for being the top player in his flight for the year.

The G-man also won 1st place in the
Sarazen Senior Flight
2-day Austin - San Antonio Tour Championship
played at Wolf Dancer Golf Course
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines
on August 22 & 23, 2009

Here he is holding both trophies.

Whoops, there is my reflection in the trophy!

A Golf Outing at Barton Creek Resort and Lunch in Austin

On Thursday the G-man and I played golf at the Barton Creek Resort & Spa. There are 4 or 5 courses at Barton Creek and we played the Crenshaw Cliffside Course. We teed off at 9 AM and the weather was really nice. The sky was clear & blue and there was a nice breeze to keep us cool. As you can see in the following photos the scenery is beautiful Texas hill country perfect! Going back & looking at these photos I am amazed at how well manicured this course is. Oh to have my yard look half so good!

The G-man teeing off on the front 9.

Here I am teeing off from the forward tees.

Me in a cool fashionable golf outfit!

Another fairway looking downward from the tee box. The hills are in the distance.

The G-man posing for me.

Looking down from the tee box on a Par 3 hole.

One needs to hit the ball & get it in the hole in 3 shots.
(A little info for novices)

Another pretty hole where the tee shot is from the top.
From my tee box it is 294 yards to the Par 4 hole.

A beautiful oak tree at the edge of the green.

Under the old oak tree is lovely, cool shade.

This is from the green on the 18th hole.
The golfer has to hit the ball over a ravine to get on the green.
Challenging for us relatively new players.

Gardens around the 18th green.

Me fooling around as we drive away.

Now we have driven into downtown Austin for lunch. We parked by the old Treaty Oak on Baylor Street, it is 1/2 block from the condos I lived in for 20 years. The Treaty Oak was once known as the most perfect specimen of oak, but about 15 years ago a man poisoned the tree and it has struggled to remain alive. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, much effort, good wishes and love is what saved this tree.

Mr. Bustin's house across from Treaty Oak. He was an old man who lived in the neighborhood from birth til his death. He & I visited at Treaty Oak every day.

Ahh, and now for lunch at our favorite Austin restaurant... Z Tejas. Great food & a fun place right next to the condos where I lived.

Deck seating at Z Tejas.

A beautiful window looking outside to the deck.

An original stained glass window in the restaurant.

The Z Tejas window again from the outside. This of course is new.

... and I leave you with a little Austin art.
Bicycles are placed around the downtown area as an art project.

I hope you have enjoyed our little outing. It was great fun, but as the G-man said the other day, "we seem to have fun even when we're running errands!" And in the words of my niece when she was very small, "I love my life"! Oh yeah.