March 10, 2006 - World Golf Village, Florida

What a sleep! Even the sleeping is better at the Golf Village :-). We went to IHOP for brunch and then I went for a swim. We then played the 18 hole putting course which was quite interesting. The greens are of natural grass and very few straight level putts...every green has either an uphill or downhill grade and a break of some sort...some with pretty large breaks...have to have your wits about you, very easy to double bogey if you are not careful. Each hole is a par 2 and let me tell you, this course is a great test for anyone's putting.
Came back to the room and I had my usual afternoon rest and Darlene went for a walk around the Walk of Champions, then we had supper at the hotel...they had a seafood buffet on tonight which was absolutely lovely...the variety was unbelievable...tons of every seafood you can imagine, and other food as well, pork, prime rib, etc...and the desserts...well...lot's of chocolate things and cakes, etc...
Here are some pictures Darlene took today of the view from our suite...it is spectacular and wanted to share to give everyone an idea just how beautiful this place is....Pretty nice hey? We are feeling pretty fortunate this week.

March 9, 2006 - St. Augustine, Florida

We had to check out by 11:00am. It was off to Starbucks for our morning coffee. We met a couple of guys from Niagara Falls at Starbucks. There were down to Florida for Biker week. This Biker Week is really something else, motorcycles everywhere…people of all shapes and sizes and bikes of every kind. The Harley’s are the loudest and their owners are sure to let you know they are around, reving their engines, what a racket!
We visited the Fountain of Youth for a couple of hours. This is a park that is dedicated to Colonial history, the landing of Christopher Columbus and the oldest archeological discovery in North America. It was quite interesting.

We went to the Cracker Barrell for a late lunch, early supper, then it was off to the World Golf Village. We were met at the door by Eugene who helped us in with our luggage and gave us a verbal tour of our surroundings.
We have a suite overlooking the entire village. I will post a video of our view tomorrow to show everyone how beautiful it is here….all the golfers will appreciate this place as much as we do…Some highlights around here is, the World Golf Hall of Fame, an Imax Theatre, an 18 hole (real grass) putting course, the challenge hole which is a replica of the 17th hole at Sawgrass, the famous par 3 with the island green, by the way, the TPC is being played at Sawgrass in a couple of weeks. Next door is the Caddyshack, it is a restaurant owned by actor Bill Murray and his 5 brothers…tons of memorabilia on the walls form the Caddyshack movies and golf in general.

The golf courses here are pretty impressive as well, two close to the village are the Slammer and Squire (designed by Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen) and the King and Bear (the only course in the world designed by both Nicklaus and Palmer)

The high speed internet is a bit of a challenge here, with it being a resort it is not free, so we opted for the wireless, which is only available in the Links Lounge on the main level. I find with resorts they tend to nickel and dime you…like the $4 bottle of water in our room…best to make a trip to the grocery store and stock up on bottles of water for our fridge…

When we were checking in, Eugene gave us each a drink of Arnold Palmer’s favorite drink, it is a combination of lemonade and iced tea….they have a cooler setup in the lobby with cups and they offer this between 3 and 6 every day…likely for the golfers finishing their rounds for the day can stop on their way to their rooms and pick up a drink to refresh themselves…it was ice cold too…would be a nice treat after a long hot day of golf…they think of everything here…

March 8, 2006 - St. Augustine, Florida

We visited the World Golf Village today and what a place. It is amazing...certainly a golfers paradise. We liked it so much, we have checked in at the .Renaissance Hotel Resort at the WGV for a week...we check in tomorrow by 4 and have a tee time at the Slammer and Squire for 1:15 on Friday.
The World Golf Hall of Fame was a real pleasure...here is a painting of Marlene Streit taken the year she was inducted...she is the only Canadian inducted to this Hall of Fame and is among 109 inductees...quite an honour.

March 6 & 7, 2006 - St. Augustine, Florida

We can't go to The Villages, seems you have to be 55 or older...so will have to wait a few years for that one. We arrived in St. Augustine, Florida today and are here till Thursday. We toured an allegator farm this afternoon. Was a beautiful place, took about an hour and a half to see the entire park. Tons of wildlife to observe. It was a nice day, sunny but windy.Had supper at the Cracker Barrell and are settled in the hotel for the night. So nice to have the internet back. We are actually staying on Anastasia Island, at the Anastasia Inn, very beautiful here. Tons of bikers in town, seems it is Biker Week and 150,000 bikers are going to Daytona Beach this week...so we have decided to head for the other coast. Although we enjoy the roar of a Harley as much as the next person, it does get a little tiring, one after another going down the street.We plan to see a couple of Forts, the Ripley Believe It or Not museum and visit the World Golf Hall of Fame...can't wait to see that...Marlene Streit was inducted a few years ago...I will be sure to take some pictures if I am allowd.

Who won the Tournament of Hearts???????

March 4 & 5, 2006 - Savannah, Georgia

Happy Birthday Rick! March 4th already, I can't believe how fast the winter is passing. We had a quiet day at the hotel yesterday. We met a nice couple from Niagara on the Lake at Breakfast, Kathi and Gary Rees. We talked to them for about an hour down in the breakfast lounge. They were on their way home from Florida.

Jamal and Lauren called in the afternoon and we arranged for them to meet us for supper. We went to Ruby Tuesdays. We had a nice evening of chatting and getting to know more about life in Georgia.

We are having so much trouble with our internet connection we decided to go for a drive this morning and find a Starbucks and have a coffee and hope to find a wireless connection somewhere, no luck. We then stopped at the Savannah Mall and had lunch at the food court, still no luck on an internet connection.

Gary had given Darlene a brochure about a gated golf community in Florida called The Villages. Him and Kathi were investigating it while they were in Florida. It is a community with access to 5 golf courses. We are going to call tonight and see about arranging a 6 day stay there to check it out and play some golf. If we are able to get a reservation there, then we are heading down to Florida as early as tomorrow. If not, we may go with the plan of going to Talahassee and then along the gulf coast of Frorida and onto Alabama and Louisianna and come home from there.

I have included a few photos from our downtown tour earlier in the week. Savannah sure is a beautiful city.