My road trip and the fun continues! Sunday was a perfect Fall day in Austin, Texas. I had the privilege of playing golf at Falconhead Golf Course with Women Who Golf member Karen Warren, along with her friends Kendra, and Beth Ann.

Sadly, I have to confess that we were having so much fun I forgot to take pictures of the course during the round. I was able to get one shot as I left Monday morning, though. So, my apologies for not getting more pictures of the course. It is an interesting course requiring some strategic decisions and I would love to play it again sometime.

Lara Enzor is the one who set this all in motion when she invited me to play and stay with her on the Austin leg of my trip. It turned out the timing wasn't quite right for her because she was scheduled for another event on the day I was going to be in town. She asked around in her circle of friends and Karen offered to step in and become the hostess with the mostess.

Lara was able to come meet us before she had to get to her tee time in another part of town. I was so glad to meet her in person.  

We had a great time and if I could have figured out the speed of the greens I would have shot a way better score.

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

This program is way more than about teaching kids golf.

It is about teaching kids life skills, developing better students, and creating future leaders. What could be more important than that?

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you Doghouse Motor Sports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski - Pittsburgh, PA
Cheryl Chandler - Charlottesville, VA
Lynn Friedman - Atlanta, GA
Dianne Dixon - St. Augustine, FL 
Cathy Mendoza
Jan Green - Phoenix, AZ
Karen & Dave Warren - Austin, TX
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

What a fun fun day playing with Women Who Golf member Linda Jeffery. I've never been a slouch when it comes to yardage but this gal knows how to nail it! It was like having my own private game with a pro. It was super fun to watch.

I was so pleased Linda introduced me to the Robert Trent Jones trail of courses. We played the Legislator course at Capitol Hill Prattville, AL, which is only one of 26 separate course in the RTJ trail system.

The RTJ trail consists of 26 diverse 18 hole courses at 11 different locations throughout Alabama. There are three courses at this location in Prattville. The pictures do not do this beautiful course justice.  Even the cart paths were beautiful.

If you ever get a chance, seek out these courses and play with a local who can give you advice on how to play the holes. And... might I suggest, stay out of the rough! The only way to describe it is EVIL. 

Thanks, Linda for a fun experience!

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

This program is way more than about teaching kids golf.

It is about teaching kids life skills, developing better students and creating future leaders. What could be more important than that?

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth! 

Thank you Doghouse Motor Sports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski - Pittsburgh, PA
Cheryl Chandler - Charlottesville, VA
Lynn Friedman - Atlanta, GA
Dianne Dixon - St. Augustine, FL 
Cathy Mendoza
Jan Green - Phoenix, AZ
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

I had a great time on the Atlanta leg of my epic road trip.

My friend Lynn in Atlanta who was my gracious host does not play golf. However, she does have a neighbor (Virginia) who does play golf. Lynn arranged for us to have a video call to Virginia and I could meet prior to my visit.  As it turned out the timing was perfect for me to play with Virginia in the women's Member/Guest event at the Piedmont Driving Club on October 4th.  

I was still having back issues but I was committed to this event so I pushed through the pain. I am happy to say I played decent in spite of the pain. The weather forecast for the day was dismal. It was raining when we got there. We had a 30-minute rain delay then they sent us out thinking it was the best "window of opportunity" for the least amount of rain during the round.

After the first 2 or 3 holes, we were all shedding our rain gear and it turned into quite a nice day. It is such a beautiful course, we had a fun time, AND Virginia and I tied for first in our division. Sadly, we lost in a scorecard playoff which is always a crapshoot. 

This was only the second time in my life that I've played with a forecaddie so that was a treat. It was awesome having Efron to spot our balls and give us yardages and advice on how to play the holes. Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things, though, right? It's that execution thing!

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

This program is way more than about teaching kids golf.

It is about teaching kids life skills, developing better students and creating future leaders. What could be more important than that?

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you Doghouse Motor Sports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski - Pittsburgh, PA
Cheryl Chandler - Charlottesville, VA
Lynn Friedman - Atlanta, GA
Dianne Dixon - St. Augustine, FL 
Cathy Mendoza
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

Birdwood was acquired by the University of Virginia in 1974 and was redesigned by Lindsay Ervin into the amazing golf course it is today.  

Cheryl also arranged to get me a nice discount for a stay at the Boars Head Resort. Maybe even more important, though, she also arranged for a much-needed massage on the day of my arrival.  My back had been screaming at me for a while and the massage was a most welcome pampering session.

Birdwood is a beautiful course and I think you can tell playing with Cheryl, Stosh, and Nancy was a lot of fun. If you ever get to the Charlottesville area I highly recommend staying at the Boarshead Resort and playing at the Birdwood Golf Course.

Thanks, Cheryl, for taking care of me, my aching back and arranging such a fun group and memorable experience in Charlottesville, Virginia!

I was pleased to see a youth development session going on when I first arrived at Birdwood.

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

This program is way more than about teaching kids golf.

It is about teaching kids life skills, developing better students, and creating future leaders. What could be more important than that?

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski - Pittsburgh, PA
Cheryl Chandler - Charlottesville, VA
Lynn Friedman - Atlanta, GA
Dianne Dixon - St. Augustine, FL
Cathy Mendoza
And a couple Anonymous donations  

Please support the kids by donating:

GoFundMe

On Wednesday September 29th, day 34 of my 66-day road trip, Women Who Golf member Jeanne Rowzee and I met up for breakfast before I headed off to Charlottesville, Virginia. We had plans to golf but some conflicts arose and those plans were squashed.

If there is one thing you need to count on during an adventure like this it is that things aren't going to work out exactly as planned and that's ok. I was just glad Jeanne and I had a chance to meet, chat and share a meal together.

The golf game will have to wait for another time, which is fine because my back appreciated the rest. 

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

This program is way more than about teaching kids golf. It is about teaching kids life skills, developing better students and creating future leaders. What could be more important than that?

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski - Pittsburgh, PA
Cheryl Chandler - Charlottesville, VA
Lynn Friedman - Atlanta, GA
Dianne Dixon - St. Augustine, FL
Cathy Mendoza
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

Still way behind on posting during my road trip but who wants to sit at a computer and post when you can be out having run, right?

When Al (left in pic above) found out Philadelphia was on my road trip route, he invited me to stay with him and his new lady friend. We had a great weekend together which started with the game of golf on Friday at the Bucks Club.  Thi,s was a very fun and challenging course. I would love to play it again.

On Monday, day 18, I drove 410 miles from Terre Haute, Indiana to Washington, Pennsylvania where I was greeted with a smile by my host Nancy Bielawski and her sweet dog Callie.

Nancy and her husband Roman were kind enough to invite this stranger into their home for two fun days of visiting, golfing, and sightseeing.

On Monday evening, we enjoyed a lovely dinner in their indoor/outdoor sun-room then moved outside to enjoy the evening in front of the fire pit on the deck.

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested 
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

Last Friday, September 10th, day 15 of my 60+ day road trip my new friend from Blue Springs, Missouri and I drove out to Warrensburg and enjoyed a lovely day playing golf at Mules National Golf Course.

Our tee time put us off behind a group of guys participating in a Bachelor Party but they were just having fun and two groups offered to let us play through. We zipped around the course in less than 3 1/2 hours and were in the clubhouse enjoying adult beverages and a hamburger before we knew it.

It was another amazing day on the course with my new friend, Charlene, from the amazing group of Women Who Golf.

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
Cheri Long - Denver, CO
Charlene Lawson, Blue Springs, MO
Nancy & Roman Bielawski
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested 
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

Time for a birdie shot!

Wednesday, day 13 of my epic 2-month road trip was golf at WinterStone Golf Course in Independence, Missouri.

I played with Charlene Lawson and two of her friends Bev Hembree and Gerri Pulaski, who are now my friends too.  

WinterStone is a beautiful course. We had a lot of fun and managed to earn one birdie shot. In the interest of full disclosure, we also imbibed in a "par shot". Sometimes you have to make adjustments. LOL

After golf, we went to 54th Street Bar & Grill for dinner and drinks. We shared a bunch of awesome appetizers from their Happy Hour menu. Every one of them was good but I think the Tequila wrappers were my absolute favorites.  I recommend them next time you get to a 54th Street Bart & Grill.

It was an awesome day with new friends from the amazing Women Who Golf Facebook Group.

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports! 

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested 
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe

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Day 9 of my epic road trip:
When I put out the original post announcing my intentions to golf my way around the U.S. Cheri Pope Long (who is a fellow member of the Women Who Golf Facebook group) was quick to invite me to be her guest at Blackstone Country Club in Aurora, Colorado.

She said I must experience "The Gauntlet".

Saturday (Sept 4th), was the day!

Oh My! What a fun (and challenging) course. Let me tell you, this is a course you NEED to have someone who knows the course well to give you pointers on where to place your ball on each shot. The execution of each shot is a whole 'nother story, of course, but we won't go into that now. LOL

Cheri and her friend Riz were so much fun to play with and it was a perfect weather day.  After golf, Cheri had her husband Mike come over and meet us in the clubhouse for a drink. Our tee time was 9:42. We were done by 2ish and we didn't leave the clubhouse until about 7:00. We had so much fun visiting. 

I have more photos but they don't seem to want to upload here. If you'd like to see them, I invite you to see them on my personal Facebook page. 

Small World:
It turns out Cheri and I have more than golf in common. I am a retired real estate broker and had made arrangements to meet up with some of my real estate connections on Friday for lunch.  Guess who came to the lunch? YES, Cheri! 

Thanks, Cheri for an amazing day!

As many of you know, this trip is also about raising awareness and funds for the First Tee youth development program.  

I want to thank my major sponsor Doghouse Motor Sports for their generous contribution to our youth!

Thank you, Doghouse Motorsports!

I'd also like to sincerely thank others who have donated funds to our campaign, including:

June Stanaway - Premier One Properties in Wenatchee
Steve Roller - Big Ideas Publishing (Connecticut)
Lisa Nelson - Wisconsin
Clair & Beverly Klock - Klock Farms & Nursery  Corbett, OR
Roy Altman - Redmond, OR
Nancy Steere - Wenatchee , WA
Ruth Collins - East Wenatchee, WA
MG Bailey - Spokane, WA
Lizette McPhie - Salt Lake City, UT
And a couple Anonymous donations  

If you are interested 
in helping out the kids by donating,
please go to our fundraiser page:

GoFundMe