Michigan 2012 Day 1
Day 1 of Michigan coming to a close (I’ll have to post this when I can get WiFi). And, oh, what an adventure it’s been. Typing this up while it’s fresh.
445 am: Tony and I collect Tom and head to DFW. Bob and Pete are meeting us there since they both live in Wylie (or is it Sacshe?).
530 am: Check in. Thank you, Tony, for dropping us off. Thank you, curbside check in American Airlines (www.aa.com) guy (A22ish if that helps). Tom, Bob and I have all been upgraded to first class so Bob’s able to check Pete’s bag in for free (and Tom had Pete moved from the “back of the bus” to at least an exit row. Head to Admirals Club, hoping they’d let it slide that I had three guests. No go. And too early to try and sweet talk him into letting someone sit in the corner. So, Tom says he’ll meet us at the gate.
615 am: Boarding time. Tom’s already switched seats so that he’s sitting next to me (so he can work -- all it looked like to me was playing solitaire). Couple of crossword puzzles, soduku, and start the latest Clive Cussler on my Kindle.
Before 900 am: Land. Early. Bags show up. Early. Pete’s mom shows u to pick us up at the airport. The stuff all fits in her Pacifica (barely -- Tom and I were definitely skeptics).
Off we head to Skokie for the off airport Avis Bob has arranged. Pete’s mom has running commentary the entire way. You can see her in Pete. I’ve also met Pete’s dad so I can see him in Pete as well. Much German food discussion. Get to Avis.
Now, the adventures begin. No mini van. “It’s on its way…” I know that Bob’s trying his best to be politely “evil” to let them know how he could erupt at any time -- but also knowing erupting doesn’t always get you anywhere. Someone comes out and shows us a Subaru (no way will everything fit) and points to a Jeep (no way).
Meanwhile, Pete and his mom start talking about his brother’s van. Calls made. This will work. Just need to pick it up. We look at each other and say, why not. It’s clearly that Avis wasn’t going to help us figure out this mess any time soon (maybe over an hour). Bob talks to corporate, gets his credit card reimbursed and a few free days of car rental (I don’t think Avis has heard the end of this yet). Off we god. On the way, we start hearing rules about the van that make us a bit nervous: must use premium gas. Don’t open both doors in the back. The back seat is OK to sit on, but not bolted down. Hope it starts. We know it’s going to be an adventure. I so wish I had pictures to take off all of this, because it was definitely “scenic” and photo op worthy. Hopefully on the back side of the trip.
Well, it started, we loaded up (the van even has “disco lights,” some tools, no shag carpeting, but almost) and off we went, changing our tee time from 200 pm to 324 pm. Off to Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores, stopping at Big Boy on the way (all of us had breakfast for lunch).
315 pm: Show up at Harbor Shores (www.harborshores.com). Unfortunately, trunk slamming. In our haste, we didn’t do the best of jobs loading up the van so stuff is all over the place. Get checked in without incident. Pretty so far. Bob’s back is backing up, so he’s loaded up already. Let the games begin. The starter fills us up with information before heading out (yes, there’s a cart girl, yes, there are bathrooms at 7, and then when you head back to 9).
This Jack Nicklaus design, well is Jack. They have this great class artwork on each hole, with the hole’s name -- each dedicated to one of Jack’s wins. If we weren’t a little rushed, I would probably have taken a picture of each, since they were all different. It’ll be interesting to read up again and hear what the seniors thought about this course during the PGA Championship in 2012 (Roger Chapman won).
Some Info from www.Foxnews.com on the PGA Championship so you can share our experience (not so stellar) with the pros:
Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in. The marshal tells us there’s a front coming in. It gets darker. The cart girl tells us it’s 15 minutes away according to the weatherman. It gets darker. Little rumbles of thunder. We’re not going to be stupid if the weather gets scary. And then, on 14, the marshal says to bring it in. There’s a tornado warning. We roll back to the clubhouse, where Bob talks them into free hats for each of us since we didn’t get to finish our round. Sweet!
Off to Cadillac we go, passing Glenn on the way. Raining all the way, but the brakes and windshield wipers work.
Check in at the Cadillac Sands (www.cadillacsands.com). I knew from their website that it was family friendly, a bit on the old side. But, they were super friendly. They thought there were four couples so they gave us Jacuzzi rooms. Each of us has our own Jacuzzi. We pull around back and we also know that this is a “party place” with lots of people drinking and milling about outside. Bit worried about noise since it’s right under all of our windows. We’ll be hearing what everyone thought in the morning. But, hey, this night and round is free. I know I booted up my computer to charge it and then jumped right in.
OK, leaving at 600 am for our 720 am tee time “down the road” with a McDonalds stop for breakfast (we doubt that the resort will have breakfast being served early).
Today was around 90 degrees. Tomorrow for our afternoon round near Petoskey -- high of 70. We’ll play El Dorado in Cadillac before heading up that way.
Day 1 done. Time for bed.
445 am: Tony and I collect Tom and head to DFW. Bob and Pete are meeting us there since they both live in Wylie (or is it Sacshe?).
530 am: Check in. Thank you, Tony, for dropping us off. Thank you, curbside check in American Airlines (www.aa.com) guy (A22ish if that helps). Tom, Bob and I have all been upgraded to first class so Bob’s able to check Pete’s bag in for free (and Tom had Pete moved from the “back of the bus” to at least an exit row. Head to Admirals Club, hoping they’d let it slide that I had three guests. No go. And too early to try and sweet talk him into letting someone sit in the corner. So, Tom says he’ll meet us at the gate.
615 am: Boarding time. Tom’s already switched seats so that he’s sitting next to me (so he can work -- all it looked like to me was playing solitaire). Couple of crossword puzzles, soduku, and start the latest Clive Cussler on my Kindle.
Before 900 am: Land. Early. Bags show up. Early. Pete’s mom shows u to pick us up at the airport. The stuff all fits in her Pacifica (barely -- Tom and I were definitely skeptics).
Off we head to Skokie for the off airport Avis Bob has arranged. Pete’s mom has running commentary the entire way. You can see her in Pete. I’ve also met Pete’s dad so I can see him in Pete as well. Much German food discussion. Get to Avis.
Now, the adventures begin. No mini van. “It’s on its way…” I know that Bob’s trying his best to be politely “evil” to let them know how he could erupt at any time -- but also knowing erupting doesn’t always get you anywhere. Someone comes out and shows us a Subaru (no way will everything fit) and points to a Jeep (no way).
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| on the way to get the van with pete's mom |
Meanwhile, Pete and his mom start talking about his brother’s van. Calls made. This will work. Just need to pick it up. We look at each other and say, why not. It’s clearly that Avis wasn’t going to help us figure out this mess any time soon (maybe over an hour). Bob talks to corporate, gets his credit card reimbursed and a few free days of car rental (I don’t think Avis has heard the end of this yet). Off we god. On the way, we start hearing rules about the van that make us a bit nervous: must use premium gas. Don’t open both doors in the back. The back seat is OK to sit on, but not bolted down. Hope it starts. We know it’s going to be an adventure. I so wish I had pictures to take off all of this, because it was definitely “scenic” and photo op worthy. Hopefully on the back side of the trip.
Well, it started, we loaded up (the van even has “disco lights,” some tools, no shag carpeting, but almost) and off we went, changing our tee time from 200 pm to 324 pm. Off to Benton Harbor and Harbor Shores, stopping at Big Boy on the way (all of us had breakfast for lunch).
315 pm: Show up at Harbor Shores (www.harborshores.com). Unfortunately, trunk slamming. In our haste, we didn’t do the best of jobs loading up the van so stuff is all over the place. Get checked in without incident. Pretty so far. Bob’s back is backing up, so he’s loaded up already. Let the games begin. The starter fills us up with information before heading out (yes, there’s a cart girl, yes, there are bathrooms at 7, and then when you head back to 9).
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| getting ready to tee off at hole number 1 at harbor shores |
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| artwork on hole number 1 at harbor shores (they have different ones at each hole, with different Jack Nicklaus wins) |
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| pete in the gourse (maybe hole number 7?) |
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| see lake michigan on hole number 7 |
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| me in the dunes (actually made a pole-y, sand-y from there) |
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| Tom "I'm Mr. Say So." |
Some Info from www.Foxnews.com on the PGA Championship so you can share our experience (not so stellar) with the pros:
- Roger Chapman won his second major championship of the season on Sunday when he came from behind
- Third-round leader Bernhard Langer carded a 2-over 72 and tied for second with 2009 winner Fred Funk (67), Tradition champion Tom Lehman (68) and 1995 U.S. Open titlist Corey Pavin (68).
- John Cook fired a 4-under 66 and shared sixth place with John Huston, who managed an even-par 70.
- Langer began the final round with a 4-shot lead and found trouble very early in his round. An errant drive in the right rough at No. 2 led to a failed punch shot that landed in a bunker and after he added it all up, it was a double bogey.
Unfortunately, the clouds rolled in. The marshal tells us there’s a front coming in. It gets darker. The cart girl tells us it’s 15 minutes away according to the weatherman. It gets darker. Little rumbles of thunder. We’re not going to be stupid if the weather gets scary. And then, on 14, the marshal says to bring it in. There’s a tornado warning. We roll back to the clubhouse, where Bob talks them into free hats for each of us since we didn’t get to finish our round. Sweet!
Off to Cadillac we go, passing Glenn on the way. Raining all the way, but the brakes and windshield wipers work.
Check in at the Cadillac Sands (www.cadillacsands.com). I knew from their website that it was family friendly, a bit on the old side. But, they were super friendly. They thought there were four couples so they gave us Jacuzzi rooms. Each of us has our own Jacuzzi. We pull around back and we also know that this is a “party place” with lots of people drinking and milling about outside. Bit worried about noise since it’s right under all of our windows. We’ll be hearing what everyone thought in the morning. But, hey, this night and round is free. I know I booted up my computer to charge it and then jumped right in.
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| www.cadillacsands.com (you can do a stay and play if you go through el dorado). |
OK, leaving at 600 am for our 720 am tee time “down the road” with a McDonalds stop for breakfast (we doubt that the resort will have breakfast being served early).
Today was around 90 degrees. Tomorrow for our afternoon round near Petoskey -- high of 70. We’ll play El Dorado in Cadillac before heading up that way.
Day 1 done. Time for bed.
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