Palm Springs - the last stop

The Shilo Motel was quite old, but it was clean and had most of what we wanted; a walk out patio with grass and a view of the pool. There was lots of greenery and flowers to add to the ambience. Even Keisha liked having the grass around.

There were actually 2 pools and a hot tub (spa to Americans).

Our first round of golf was at Tahquitz Creek. We made the mistake of getting a twilight time at 1 PM and did not get the round in (only 14 holes) because of darkness. The sun disappears behind the western mountains early and it gets cold immediately. This was a great course, but the service was awful. They would not honor a certificate that we had given to us and they would not let us out on the course early, despite no one being on the 1st tee for 45 minutes before us.

How could they not bow to the wishes of such a debonair couple? We were joined by a fellow from Vancouver ( Head of some facualty at BCIT). Nice for him to get time off in the middle of the week. He was a great guy though and reminded us a lot of Lynne's brother in law, Albie.

This is the 186 yard par 3 with a carry completely over water and with a water fall just in front of the green with a front pin.

What form! We didn't know if the ball made it all the way, but it did and he made par on the hole.

This pub had its grand opening that night and it was just down the street from us. We had a great time. There was a trio playing mostly Irish tunes, but did other stuff as well. They were fantastic. The fiddler was amazing and there was a guitar player and a big heavy guy with just a hand drum. Everyone had a great time. Lynne got into it and danced up a "gogo" storm. She ended up winning 2 t-shirts and 2 meal entrees for the next night. The food was also great. Sorry, the pictures from this night were censored. (Too bad we forgot our camera).We went back the next night and met up with another couple who were playing darts. His name turned out to be "Rock" and I can't remember hers, but she definitely had a couple of memorable points about her. She also had the ability to hit the "bulls eye" almost every turn. Rock only beat her when he cheated.

"Rock" turned out to be part of a "dueling piano" show just down the way and so we took in his show along with the offer of a free drink.

This turned out to be a lot of fun as well. It was a participatory show, so you had to sing along and join in where you could.

The last day of golf for Terry was at Desert Springs Resort and Spa Golf Course. This was a super course and the service was outstanding. He played with 2 fellows, one of which reminded him of his friend Andy, both in stature and demeanor. He was sturdily built, had a raspy personality and a great sense of humor. His swing was just like Andy's and the ball was right down the middle every time. The other fellow had a tough day losing 6 balls in the water at various times.

You can see it was kind of a gloomy morning. It cleared up somewhat later in the day.

These were Flamingos, but the pink color did not show up too well.

A very lush course with lots of greenery. On the whole, Palm Springs was much greener than the Phoenix area. Palm Springs was much more commercial, though.

That's about it for the trip, except for the trip home, which had it's own excitement, but that's another story altogether, what with Keisha thinking she owned control of the vehicle space, rain, lousy motels, rain, more lousy hotels, more rain (at least it wasn't snow storms) and a speeding ticket. We arrived home safely, very tired, but having enjoyed our trip immensely. Terry is ready for another trip right now, but Lynne says she needs a little rest. Thanks for joining us!

Week 5 Con't.

This is the pro shop and restaurant enterance at Las Sendas Golf Club. Note the Canadian flag. Four Calgarians just bought the course last year have have made great changes. Fantastic service here.

Red Mountain in the background.

This was truly one of the most spectacular courses I have ever played. The desert areas were all manicured and cleaned up so that you felt as if it was their living room not a desert golf course.

This was a hole that tempted players to cut the corner. Unfortunately for many, they slammed their ball into the cacti. There were literally dozens of balls implanted in this group of cacti. That's Len in the picture just so you can get the perspective on how large they were.

The homes in the upper levels of this course were all million dollar plus custom jobs.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch at Lone Tree on Thanksgiving Day in the USA.

This bird did not get cooked on Thanksgiving Day in Phoenix. It is one of the cranes  in the massive water feature at Lone Tree near the practice putting green. Lynne and Terry golfed Lone Tree on the American Thanksgiving Day. 

It got cool late in the afternoon. 

Terry hooks one off the 18th tee. Look at that low finish, tsk,tsk.

This Roadrunner nearly got away.

Pete, Tracy, and Terry at Longbow Golf Course on the Saturday of the Thanksgiving weekend.

A late lunch on the deck at Longbow. We were treated to lunch by Pete who had somehow built up a huge winnings credit. from men's nights. Thanks guys!

Week 5 - The Hrycans and Bermans

Len gets some TLC at the pool while he relaxes.

Len and Terry golfed 4 times. This was their second round at arizona Golf Resort. This is the signature pare 3 hole. Yup - that's full carry over the water. We both got par.

So did they!

Terry with his niece Tracy. She is a registered LPGA teaching instructor. We are related because in every picture we have a drink in our hand.

Tracy and her hubby, Pete, had us all up to their house and we had a ball. They have a keg fridge on the patio with Bud Light on tap. Go figure, how could we not have a good tiime? This was our only day of rain in Phoenix. Later, we all went up to an open house at the Las Sendas Golf Course (they live in the sub-division)

 then back to their house for great chilli and salad and of course, more beer.

Check out these photos of their home. Pics of the golf course will follow next week.

Yup, that's a putting green!

Yup, that's a pool!

Yup, that's a built in barbeque (grilling area to those in the USofA).

The great room.

Their master bedroom and bathroom was a big as our whole house. We had a great time and Tracy and Pete were super hosts. and a lot of fun.

Phoenix week 4

A cycling we will go.

Yeah, she even got me riding. 

Of course there was some golf!

And then there is shopping for golf. This is at the PGA Superstore after the round of golf.

And then there is more golf.

This is a great old course.  Very traditional - like Kamloops GCC. It is lined with amazing older style homes. Loads of money here. One of our favourites. Postage stamp greens. The cousre is very well manicured.

We wanted to get this picture so, of course, we both put our ball in the water off the tee.

More of this house which was built at the turn of the 19th Century.

This one wasn't.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but you can see right through the house below to the back yard. Same full size windows on the back.

Bottoms up!

Meanwhile, Keisha waits patiently for her next walk.

NFL Football Seahawks vs. Cardinals

This is a huge 63,000 + stadium. The field is all natural grass that they grow outside the stadium and is on a slide that goes right into the stadium from the opposite end on game days. It apparently takes only about an hour to move the entire field inside.

As we entered.

National anthem.

From our seats onthe 40 yard line. We were about 16 rows from the top.

Seahawks won! Terry had a great time in the stands cheering for the Seahawks and wearing a Cardinal T-shirt.

It took us over 1 1/2 hours to get home on the freeway. Food was expensive and the hockey game was probably a neater experience although this was a huge event!

Terry didn't have enough of the freeway driving the dy before and so he went all the way back out there (almost) to play this course. This is Vistal Golf Course. They had a State Championship there the previous 3 days and so the greens were wicked fast. Terry locked his keys in the trunk as he was going to leave. What a hassle. The people with whom he played took him all the way back home to get the other keys from Lynne. Then the neighbor took him all the way back to Vistal. What a day of freeway driving!

Obviously a desert course with great views of downtown Phoenix on the horizon.