What I Did On My Summer Vacation
When going on vacation, you should always try to see and do different things, so I certainly made sure I did that on this rare time away from work. First off, seeing different things was pretty easy, considering I was in Georgia, where EVERYTHING is different. The other night, I was outside with my brother-in-law, and he was getting bitten alive by the mosquitoes, but I wasn't getting touched. "Must be cuz these are 'Southern mosquitoes'," he explained. "They get near Yankee skin and they run screaming." Well, that would go with the territory, as my natural surroundings sure were different; hell, even the GRASS looked different down there ("Southern grass?")
Also, down South, you have different restaurant chains, different grocery stores, different gas stations, etc. Sure, they have Eckerd, McDonald's, and Applebees, same as everyone else, but you can also find Publix, Chevron, Chili's, Waffle House, and especially, KRISPY KREME DONUTS!!! We have Krispy Kreme Donuts displays at the Giant here in Chambersburg; up in Syracuse, they're going to be ten deep around the Krispy Kreme booth at the State Fair, because that's all they have. Down in Augusta, you drive down the street and there it is, a Krispy Kreme store, with the best damn donuts in the world. You have to have one to decide for yourself, but as for me, I can't ever have another kind of donut again, the Krispy Kremes are too good.
They also have something down in Augusta called Romano's Macaroni Grill. Now, when deciding where to eat dinner one night, my brother-in-law gave me the lay of the land and asked me to pick. I went with Romano's; I figured "Macaroni Grill" would mean a nice affordable family hot dog and macaroni place. I was wrong. It was an upscale Italian restaurant, complete with a wine rack directly behind our table. Suddenly, I seemed pretty underdressed for the occasion in my cheap radio station T-shirt. However, one thing was the same at this fancy place as at the Roanoke Cracker Barrel, the waitress had a smooth (almost Britney-like) Southern accent. Hey, I may not like the way Ms. Spears sings, but if you've ever heard her talk, you know why I like it. Maybe that's what I need, a nice sweet-talking Southern girl... nah, like just about everything, I would probably get annoyed by the accent after a while.
Now as for the doing different things, well, on this vacation, I swore I would try to take up golf again. My previous golfing experience is pretty much limited to a community college P.E. class I took. The final exam was to go play a round of 18, and my group and I were so bad and took so long to complete each hole that we got embarrassed and ducked out after the front 9. I hadn't swung a golf club in over four years, but I figured hey, since I was bad then, it's not like inactivity would make me any worse...
At this time, I should explain that my brother-in-law is in the Army, and so we went to play the course on base, a nice expansive 18 with trees, water, the whole nine yards, or should I say 6,000-plus yards. It was me, my brother-in-law, his father, and also his boss. I was, of course, the inexperienced one of the lot, the other three had played for years, and my brother-in-law and his boss were both regulars on this particular course. And so it was that the four of us set off on our 18-hole excursion in 97 degree weather with the heat index well over 100, thus proving we're all certifiable. Now a radio guy being a little crazy is not only helpful for his job, but a job requirement. As for the Army guys, well, I don't wanna go there, but I'll just say two words: Hawkeye Pierce.
So how did I do? I shot a 66... on the front nine. I did the same on the back nine, which if anything proves I'm consistent. In all, I shot a 132; you can figure in first-timer handicap if you want, it still will wind up pretty high. Now, I should note that this 132 came with an asterisk. The 13th hole was a par 3, and the group behind us and the group in front of us were squeezing us a bit, and in the interest of saving time, I was unable to finish the hole, which is unfortunate, as it was the beginning of my best stretch on the day. I hit a pretty nice tee shot, and while my approach landed in the sand, it was definitely in a position where I think I could have blasted out and gotten it close to the hole. Being generous and factoring in a two-putt, I would have gotten a 5 on that hole, I believe. All this does is prove that you can shoot a 132 and STILL be over-confident about your abilities. My goal on this first-ever full round of golf was to not hit my weight, and me being a skinny little guy, that's not as impossible as it may seem. I'm happy to say that I barely made it, unless of course, I lost several pounds sweating my way around the course. As for the over-confident part, I quickly learned the lesson all golfers learn about staying humble. After my "5" on 13, I got another 5 (a real one, this time) on 14, and hit another good tee shot on 15. I went up to hit my second shot, feeling almost on the edge of cocky about my new found luck... and proceeded to hit the ball about 3 feet. One shot later, thinking that wouldn't happen again, IT DID. End of my "best stretch of the day".
The golfing experience, of course, is not about suffering in sweltering heat or getting upset over how poorly you played, it's about having a good time with the guys, which I did. I also got close to nature quite often, as I managed to find just about every woodland area on the course, not to mention knocking a couple in the water, and one that wound up hanging in a bush (uh yeah, I'll take a drop on that one...) Finding guys up here in the 'Burg to play a round with might be a little tough, but I'm up for it. The way I see it, when you shoot a 132, there's no place to go but up, and now at least I have something to shoot for.
So that was my vacation... I'm back in Chambersburg now, where it's "only" 90 as opposed to 97. Having had the new experience of taking a week off from work, I now face another new experience... that of going back to work after taking a week off.
Also, down South, you have different restaurant chains, different grocery stores, different gas stations, etc. Sure, they have Eckerd, McDonald's, and Applebees, same as everyone else, but you can also find Publix, Chevron, Chili's, Waffle House, and especially, KRISPY KREME DONUTS!!! We have Krispy Kreme Donuts displays at the Giant here in Chambersburg; up in Syracuse, they're going to be ten deep around the Krispy Kreme booth at the State Fair, because that's all they have. Down in Augusta, you drive down the street and there it is, a Krispy Kreme store, with the best damn donuts in the world. You have to have one to decide for yourself, but as for me, I can't ever have another kind of donut again, the Krispy Kremes are too good.
They also have something down in Augusta called Romano's Macaroni Grill. Now, when deciding where to eat dinner one night, my brother-in-law gave me the lay of the land and asked me to pick. I went with Romano's; I figured "Macaroni Grill" would mean a nice affordable family hot dog and macaroni place. I was wrong. It was an upscale Italian restaurant, complete with a wine rack directly behind our table. Suddenly, I seemed pretty underdressed for the occasion in my cheap radio station T-shirt. However, one thing was the same at this fancy place as at the Roanoke Cracker Barrel, the waitress had a smooth (almost Britney-like) Southern accent. Hey, I may not like the way Ms. Spears sings, but if you've ever heard her talk, you know why I like it. Maybe that's what I need, a nice sweet-talking Southern girl... nah, like just about everything, I would probably get annoyed by the accent after a while.
Now as for the doing different things, well, on this vacation, I swore I would try to take up golf again. My previous golfing experience is pretty much limited to a community college P.E. class I took. The final exam was to go play a round of 18, and my group and I were so bad and took so long to complete each hole that we got embarrassed and ducked out after the front 9. I hadn't swung a golf club in over four years, but I figured hey, since I was bad then, it's not like inactivity would make me any worse...
At this time, I should explain that my brother-in-law is in the Army, and so we went to play the course on base, a nice expansive 18 with trees, water, the whole nine yards, or should I say 6,000-plus yards. It was me, my brother-in-law, his father, and also his boss. I was, of course, the inexperienced one of the lot, the other three had played for years, and my brother-in-law and his boss were both regulars on this particular course. And so it was that the four of us set off on our 18-hole excursion in 97 degree weather with the heat index well over 100, thus proving we're all certifiable. Now a radio guy being a little crazy is not only helpful for his job, but a job requirement. As for the Army guys, well, I don't wanna go there, but I'll just say two words: Hawkeye Pierce.
So how did I do? I shot a 66... on the front nine. I did the same on the back nine, which if anything proves I'm consistent. In all, I shot a 132; you can figure in first-timer handicap if you want, it still will wind up pretty high. Now, I should note that this 132 came with an asterisk. The 13th hole was a par 3, and the group behind us and the group in front of us were squeezing us a bit, and in the interest of saving time, I was unable to finish the hole, which is unfortunate, as it was the beginning of my best stretch on the day. I hit a pretty nice tee shot, and while my approach landed in the sand, it was definitely in a position where I think I could have blasted out and gotten it close to the hole. Being generous and factoring in a two-putt, I would have gotten a 5 on that hole, I believe. All this does is prove that you can shoot a 132 and STILL be over-confident about your abilities. My goal on this first-ever full round of golf was to not hit my weight, and me being a skinny little guy, that's not as impossible as it may seem. I'm happy to say that I barely made it, unless of course, I lost several pounds sweating my way around the course. As for the over-confident part, I quickly learned the lesson all golfers learn about staying humble. After my "5" on 13, I got another 5 (a real one, this time) on 14, and hit another good tee shot on 15. I went up to hit my second shot, feeling almost on the edge of cocky about my new found luck... and proceeded to hit the ball about 3 feet. One shot later, thinking that wouldn't happen again, IT DID. End of my "best stretch of the day".
The golfing experience, of course, is not about suffering in sweltering heat or getting upset over how poorly you played, it's about having a good time with the guys, which I did. I also got close to nature quite often, as I managed to find just about every woodland area on the course, not to mention knocking a couple in the water, and one that wound up hanging in a bush (uh yeah, I'll take a drop on that one...) Finding guys up here in the 'Burg to play a round with might be a little tough, but I'm up for it. The way I see it, when you shoot a 132, there's no place to go but up, and now at least I have something to shoot for.
So that was my vacation... I'm back in Chambersburg now, where it's "only" 90 as opposed to 97. Having had the new experience of taking a week off from work, I now face another new experience... that of going back to work after taking a week off.
posted by Dave | 11:52 PM
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