Palm Beach (and finally some golf!)

NOTE: For all you "non-golf fans", you can skip to the third paragraph.

Well, we waited until we got to one of the swankiest, most exclusive areas in Florida to finally pull the clubs out of the trunk and try to play some golf. On our first day, when we told the bartender at our hotel that we planned to play some golf he commented that since the Palm Beach area has more golf courses than almost any place else in Florida, we were in the right location. He also mentioned, however, that most of the courses were private. We did find a couple that were both accessible and reasonably priced.

One worth mentioning was the North Palm Beach Country Club. This is a municipal course owned by the city, but renovated and redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 2006 as a gift to his adopted home town. After playing this very links-style course, we tend to think old Jack had some kind of grudge against the town and was trying to give some payback. The bunkers were pot-style with sand so soft that you thought it might be quick-sand; a few were so deep they actually had steps so you could get in and out! The greens, however, were his crowning "gotcha." While large and very well maintained, most had so many undulations that it was difficult to find any flat spot larger than a card table. In all fairness, it was a stern test of golf and we really enjoyed the experience -- despite the numerous three-putts.

OK, we'll put away the golf clubs for a while so all those who don't enjoy the frustration, er, uh, pleasure of golf can re-join us.

Within walking distance of our hotel was a very casual, open-air bar/restaurant called Johnny Longboat's. It was a fun place for a drink, quick bite or full meal, and we ate there a couple of times. They served a lot of fresh fish and local specialties. It had a fun, festive atmosphere with live music (usually Caribbean / steel drum) in the afternoons. The decor is hard to describe -- a little bit beach bum, a little bit nautical and with just enough tropical island "kitchy-ness" to pull it all together. It had only reopened recently, having been destroyed by a hurricane a few years ago.

We visited the Henry Morrison Flagler museum in Palm Beach, FL. If you remember from our St. Augustine posting, Flagler was the railroad magnet who built the Ponce de Leon hotel which was later transformed into Flagler college. However, Flagler's initial financial success was in teaming with John D. Rockefeller in the founding of Standard Oil. With money from that venture, he was able to build an empire of railroads and hotels for the then, non-existent Florida tourism industry. He built a 60,000 square foot, 55-room, winter retreat house in Palm Beach as a wedding gift for his third wife. This was the beginning of Palm Beach as a seasonal destination for the wealthy. The mansion has been restored to nearly the state when it was occupied by Flagler. Docent tours are given on the ground floor and the upper floors are self-guided. Also on the property is a pavilion which houses Flagler's private railcar. More information can be found at the website: http://flaglermuseum.us/

On our way to Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, we drove along Florida SR A1A. It follows within sight of the Atlantic for most of the way. The most impressive part, however, was through some of Palm Beach's most exclusive neighborhoods. Beyond the lavishly landscaped entrances were massive security gates guarding enormous opulent mansions. It was as if they took Beverly Hills, multiplied it by 100 and stretched it out along the Florida coast. Every curve in the road revealed more extravagance; we were in awe as we drove through the area with our jaws in our laps.

St. Augustine and Kennedy Space Center

We arrived in St. Augustine, Florida on Saturday. As the oldest, continuously occupied European settlement in the U.S., we looked forward to a walking tour of the Old City section. We were a little disappointed, however, to find many of the historic buildings converted to souvenir shops, candy stores, bars and other tacky tourist draws.

When we ventured off the main drag, though, we did find a few gems such as Flagler College. It occupies the old Ponce de Leon hotel, a luxury resort built by railroad tycoon Henry Flagler in 1888. The hotel was constructed in the Moorish style with a red-tiled roof, tall spires and turrets. A beautiful courtyard is open to the public. It leads to an ornate foyer which is decorated with Tiffany stained glass, carved oak and imported marble.

Another highlight was the Castillo de San Marcos, a fortress which was begun by the Spanish in 1672 to protect the city of St. Augustine. Although the fort changed hands several time over the centuries due to various treaties, it never succumbed to a siege during battle. By the 1820s, the fort was in American hands when Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

On the day of our visit, the volunteer docents were dressed in 1835 period uniforms of the U.S. army. Part of their history lesson was the demonstration of a canon firing drill over the bastion wall toward the bay.

Also in St. Augustine is the World Golf Hall of Fame. Its mission is to honor the world's greatest players and contributors to the game of golf. There are currently 130 members representing 16 countries. It is part museum with historic artifacts and personal memorabilia, but it also has hands-on exhibits to tell the member's stories along with the history of the game.

The highlight for us was the special exhibit: Bob Hope: Shanks for the Memory.The exhibit covered over 3,000 square feet and traced Hope's life from his birth in England to his immigration to the U.S and rise to the top of the entertainment industry. The exhibit also looked at Hope's relationship with 11 presidents, his devotion to the United States troops and the various ways he championed the game of golf. Along with the over 400 items, 300 vintage images and two hours of video, there are multiple quotes and jokes from Bob Hope. Here are a few of our favorites:

On never winning an Oscar
"Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it's called at my home, 'Passover'."

On Presidents
"I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only six."

"I've always enjoyed playing golf with a President. The only problem is that there are so many Secret Service men around there's not much chance to cheat."

"Clinton had the best score, Ford the most errors, and Bush the most hits. Me, I cheated better than ever."

On golf
"Golf is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green fees."

On Sunday we toured the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex. The tour of the massive facility is part museum, part working demonstration and part amusement park. While we were there, Space Shuttle Atlantis was already on the launching pad, being prepared for its last scheduled mission on May 14.

While the tour gets you no closer than three miles to the launch site, it is still impressive to see the orbiter and its massive orange external fuel tank sitting on the horizon against the Atlantic ocean. The "amusement park" portion was a motion simulator ride which simulates the experience the astronauts go through during the launch of the Space Shuttle. Obviously though we've never experienced the real thing, the simulator was pretty convincing. The "working" portion of the tour is the building where the International Space Station modules and experiments are readied for transport. Although there was a lot of inventory in the room being prepared for the next Shuttle mission, it was fairly quiet on a Sunday afternoon. The "museum" portion of the tour was probably the most interesting. The Apollo / Saturn V center chronicled the steps that led to the moon landings. The most impressive display was an actual Saturn V rocket -- at 363 feet, the largest rocket ever made. Also on display was the re-created control room from Apollo 8, including the actual consoles used by the technicians to monitor the mission. It was interesting to see how 1960s technology compared to today's hi-tech.

The massive Vehicle Assembly Building and the Saturn V rocket

Tabasco, Tom and Teresa

*** NOTE: All the original photographs posted in this blog are 9 mega pixels in size. If you wish to see a larger / higher resolution version of any photo, simply click on it to get the higher resolution version. ***

On Wednesday, we made our way into the Bayou State. Our first stop was Avery Island, Louisiana and the Tabasco pepper sauce factory. Our tourguide was a local resident who had worked there for three years. She had just recently been diagnosed with -- and we're not kidding, here -- an allergy to the peppers! She was taking it all in stride, however, as she coughed and wheezed her way through the presentation.

It was interesting to learn the history of the spicy condiment and to see some of the details in how it is made. For instance, after the peppers are hand-picked, they are crushed and mixed with salt that is harvested on Avery Island. The mash is then placed into barrels to ferment and age for three years -- and not just any barrels will do. Only used aging barrels from the Jack Daniel's distillery are utilized. See, you knew there was more kick to Tabasco than from just the peppers! The aged mash is then mixed with vinegar and stirred for a month before being strained and bottled.

In Baton Rouge, we visited with Cindy's sister Teresa, her husband, Tom and their three children (now young adults), James, Marie and Thomas. It was good to get to visit with them at a quieter time before we return for the graduation in May. On our last night we all went out to dinner along with James' and Thomas' girl friends.

From left: Tabitha, Thomas, Mike, Cindy, Teresa, Tom, Elsa, James and Marie

Texas Hill Country, Wildflowers and Ice Cream

When we lived in Dallas in the 1980s, one of our annual pilgrimages was to the Texas Hill Country in April for the wildflowers. Since the timing of this trip put us pretty close to the area at its peak, we just had to budget a few extra days to re-visit.

The Hill Country is an area west of Austin noted for its rugged terrain of granite hills, crisscrossed by spring-fed streams and two-lane blacktops. Mostly rural, it is dotted with cattle farms, charming small towns and, yes, even wineries. And every spring, it erupts into an artist's palette of colors along the roadways and streams, over the hills and throughout the meadows.

We spent two days viewing the stands of bluebonnets (the Texas state flower), paintbrush, primrose, and more flowers than we could even identify. The sight is truly one of Nature's wonders. While these photographs don't really do justice to the sight, if you're interested, you can check out some additional photos and information at: http://www.highlandlakes.com/wildflowers/

If you were to ask most people to name a shrine in Texas, they would say the Alamo in San Antonio. If you were to ask Cindy Kelly to name a Texas shrine, she would say, The Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham. For those who are not familiar with Blue Bell ice cream, it is a Texas tradition. Originally available only in the state of Texas, it has recently expanded somewhat, but is still limited to only 19 states -- mostly in the southeast and southwest. We're not sure if there is such a thing as an ice cream-aholic, but if there is, Cindy might just qualify. They offer a factory tour which is both interesting and informative, but Cindy might tell you that the best part is the free scoop of your choice at the end.

Packing Up -- Heading Out

We haven't taken a real driving vacation since, er, uh, well -- we really don't remember when. Because we are now retired and have more time than money, and since our automobiles only get the miles from trips to the golf course and back, and since the airlines have all become such a royal Pain In The Tail Section (that's right, the airlines are the PITTS), we decided to pack up the car and head to Key West, Florida.

The trip was actually precipitated by Cindy's youngest nephew's high school graduation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The mid-spring timing was perfect and since we would be half-way to the Florida Keys anyway, we decided to add a few extra days and see what the "other" US coast had to offer.

We've packed the golf clubs (no sense wasting all that "extra" trunk space) and plan to make a few additional stops along the way. Only a portion of the trip is pre-planned, so we're going to mix in a few long days on the road with some quiet relaxing time either on a golf course or a beach. In between the fun and the sun (and the inevitable lost golf balls) we will attempt to post every few days.