Crow Creek - the third time is a charm

We have been trying to golf at Crow Creek for the past couple of years but sadly our rounds always got cancelled due to bad weather (hurricanes etc).  This year, the morning started off very hazy and warm and we were able to finally play our round here.  Its a very nice and challenging course.  It's very "lady" friendly which Teresa and I enjoyed.

Sadly another player lost his game ball.  Can you guess who?

The course itself is very pretty.  We were sad to see that it had sustained a fair bit of damage from the last hurricane with many tree's knocked down and branches torn off.  They have been really good at cleaning up the course though and it was in good shape.

It was my plan to spend some time at the beach today but I never got there.  We all got distracted by the Ospreys flying around our balcony and spent at least two hours acting like paparazzi photographing the birds.  It was pretty exciting to see them flying around and catch fish in the ocean.

We also saw plenty of pelicans fly by.  It's interesting to see that they fly in formation which is very similar to our Canada geese.  What made it even more interesting was seeing them at eye level as they flew by.  

We finished off our day with a lovely home cooked meal (thank you Ralph).  He made a very delicious pasta dish which has enough leftovers for a 2nd meal.  Yummy!!  It was awesome.

A day for rest

Today dawned as a beautiful and glorious day.  I was up early and set up my tripod on the balcony to take a few pictures.  It was 6:00 a.m. and the temperature was already in the mid 70’s.  It was going to be a beautiful day.  With the coffee pot delivering a nice cup to enjoy while watching the beauty of the morning, it couldn’t have been nicer morning.  I was by myself until about 7:45 when the rest of the gang decided to wake up.  What a shame that they missed such a beautiful part of the day,

After morning showers we headed to the Sea Captains for a relaxing breakfast and then went to church.  We regularly go to the Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) which we find to be very welcoming and we are fed by solid preaching from Pastor Irwin.  Today’s sermon was on Stewards of Diverse Grace - based on 1 Peter 4:7-11.  It was a good sermon to hear.

Afterwards we came home and enjoyed a nice coffee before enjoying our favourite Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for lunch.  We sure enjoy these.  

Earlier on we had checked the tide schedule and decided that 2:30 was the optimum time to go to Huntington Beach as this was when low tide would be.  Surprisingly there weren’t too many birds.  We wondered if this might be a result of the temperature as it was 34c and very humid.  We did a bit of exploring and saw some beautiful birds including the Rosy Spoonbill, Osprey, Heron, Egret andWood Storks.  It was a nice and relaxing day.

We finished the day with a nice steak dinner (prepared by Ralph).  Plans were made and lunches packed for our game tomorrow at Crow Creek.  

A view from the “top”

Today we are all unpacked and settled into our condo. We are in the Penthouse Suite 😀 on the 21st floor.  Well it's not really a Penthouse but we are on the top floor.  Sadly Ralph's stomach flip flops when he looks over the railing as it's just too high.  I personally love the height.  What a great view we have. We are so high that we are soaring with the eagles. Well maybe not but we did see an Eagle fly by.  

Today was beautiful and hot. It was at least 33c and very humid. We were thankful to have an early tee time.  We were up early enjoying coffee at 6:00 a.m. before heading to breakfast at 6:30.  We met up with our friend "Michelle" who takes good care of us at the Sea Captains House.  We were thankful to hear that her cancer treatment is going well.  She is so full of life and energy and has such a positive attitude and a real love for God.  It was nice to see her again.

After breakfast we were off to the golf course.  Today we are playing at Wild Wing Advocet Golf course.  We are playing a "game ball" which is used on 1 hole per "9".  The goal of the game is to not loose the ball for the entire week.  2 holes are played per round.  Sadly Teresa lost her ball on her 2nd "9".  We're sorry to see you leave Teresa.

Teresa's game ball - bye bye Spiderman

  The course was nice and in good shape.  It was pretty hot with the temperature hitting about 33c.

After golf we did some grocery shopping and came back to the condo.  It was so nice to sit back and relax on our balcony.  While enjoying the beautiful weather we saw this Osprey flying around.  It circled right by our balcony.  I managed to capture a few pictures of it.  This is one of the benefits of being up so high.  We can enjoy the birds. I just love the intensity of the eyes on this one shot.

Ralph prepared an amazing dinner of Nasi Goring.  Everyone enjoyed it and we all felt very satisfied.  We went down to the ocean to see the Sunset and feel the water temperature.  It was nice and warm and the sky was a beautiful pink and red.  What a perfect end to a beautiful day.

Back in the saddle again

Wow where has the time gone? It’s already Friday and we are leaving Nashville and heading to Myrtle Beach. I do apologize about the tardiness of my Blog but I haven’t been feeling well this week. On the day we left I started with a cold which came with a fever, chest congestion and a sinus infection. As a result I’m totally wiped out by the end of the day. I’m starting to feel better but I think I still have a ways to go.

On the day that we arrived we checked into our hotel and then found a place for dinner. We ate at a local restaurant named Hickory Falls. Imagine our shock when ordering a beer and wine to be asked for identification. Hah hah, carded at 60 years old. The server couldn’t have been older than 18. We have since discovered that this is common practice here. Back in our room we made plans for the next day. We decided to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery. The Distillery is in Lynchburg which was about an hour drive from Nashville which surprised us as we expected everything to be local. This place is steeped in History. We found the tour to be very informative and enjoyed the guide (Ben). It was a 90 minute tour which finished with 5 samplers. While Jack Daniels No 7 made my mouth go numb when I tried it, I did find that I really enjoyed their honey flavour whiskey. We purchased a bottle and it has been good medicine for me this week. 

We enjoyed a nice BBQ lunch in the town of Lynchburg. This place was really fun and very eclectic.

Later in the afternoon we had reservations at Ole Red which is a local bar that provides live entertainment. It was fun to sit back and listen to the group playing, they were pretty good. After dinner we strolled up and down Broadway Ave. Every restaurant/bar had a band playing in it trying to get the interest of the crowds. It was pretty loud and noisy as all the windows and doors were opened to the street. 

The next day we decided to do a bit of shopping before enjoying our time at the Grand Ole Opry. This too was away from the main strip of Nashville which surprised us. We checked out the wide variety of western wear and boots. There was all kinds. plain, stitched, glittery, high boots, low boots, multicoloured. You name it, they had it. In the evening we went to the Opry. What a fun night. The shows were all good. Watching Charlie Daniels on the fiddle was incredible. We had a comedian who had us laughing the whole time.

On Thursday we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. That was really interesting to see and experience. We spent a couple of hours there before heading out to play a round of golf at Gaylord Springs Golf Course. We had a tee time set for 3:10. The course was extremely busy and our round was slow. In the end we didn’t finish as the sun set before we could get 18 holes in. That was too bad but we still enjoyed ourselves. It was a beautiful course and very challenging. After golf we enjoyed a quick dinner at “Cheddars” before returning to our hotel to pack. 

We left early this morning for Myrtle Beach. It was a 10 hour drive and we arrived in the early evening.  Our condo is on the 21st floor so we're pretty high up.