After attending the 7 pm Christmas service at Willow Creek, we left around 8:30. Excellent service as always, I'm glad I got to see one this year after missing out in 2011.
I remember before the service, Mom mentioned she was dying for some pizza. I guess Weight Watchers is already taking a toll. Well, ok the way home, that wasn't even a topic of conversation. Because we knew we would have to be awake in five hours to head to the airport. So we arrived home at 9:15 and I made a Greek salad for dinner.
The plan was to take a nonstop flight to Jacksonville at 8:30 and arrive around noon. Well, that flight filled up so we came up with a Plan B. We planned to board the 5:30 flight to Miami and them connect to Jacksonville. Unfortunately, we were 15 and 16 on the standby list on a flight that was booked to capacity. Not good odds.
So around 5, Mom texted me to walk two gates down and we worked at a spare computer, figuring out our plan. She checked the Miami flight and to our absolute amazement, we had already been assigned seats! Separated, of course. She wound up sitting next to a woman I had noticed in the terminal. Pretty hard not to notice her, as a matter of fact. This gal was packing a good 220 pounds. And she was wearing a pair of tan torn shorts that only missed her knees by 10 or 12 inches and a t-shirt with Mr Rogers face on it and it said "It's good in the hood." Right before we took off, Mom texted me. "I feel so little."
We landed in Miami and grabbed a couple of hot dogs at Nathans to hold us over. This was my first time in the Miami airport in maybe 15 years. All I remembered was a lot of Burger Kings, dark lighting, and a lot of announcements in Spanish. Well now, it's brighter with a lot more shopping and dining options than i remember. I definitely would say there are more international flights then domestic.
So we made the 11:50 flight and got on the American Eagle plane. We landed with no issues, but had to wait a half hour to go to the gate. Apparently, we had to wait for the next plane to leave our gate, even though there were three empty gates right next to it.
Our car is a black Nissan, but I'm calling it the tin can. Every time this car is in park, the engine sounds like a bunch of loose change being shaken around the bottom of a tin can. And I was especially disappointed it only has one charger port. So I spent half the ride charging my bell phone and the other half charging my GPS.
We drove to 95, then down 295, and took 10 east to Atlantic beach so we could drive south on the coastline road instead of on 95, which isn't exactly a scenic route. We turned off in Ponte Vedre Beach and drove by TPC at Sawgrass, where the PGA holds The Players Championship every May. But first, we stopped at the Palm Beach Fish House; we were starving.
This place is a seaside shack really, it's just one small dining room and a long bar. It took at least five minutes to get any service but our waitress was very sweet and knowledgeable. And kind of cute too. We started with an order of fried clam bellies which came with some tarter sauce. They came out crispy and tender, just a really good seafood appetizer. Mom ordered seared tuna with an Asian salad, which she easily polished off. I opted for a pan fried cod sandwich with Old Bay fries and steamed veggies. I'm not a big cod fan, but it was good. The French bread was toasted nicely, the cod tasted very fresh, and it was topped with iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, and tarter sauce. I thought the fries were fine, though I'm not a big fan of steak fries. They actually tasted better when I dunked them in the tarter sauce. But I was very impressed with the veggies. Zucchini, mushrooms, onions, green beans, and bell peppers came out tasting vibrant with a lemon pepper flavor. Very good side dish.
From there, we drove back to TPC and the guard granted us access to the club. We drove past the private residences and traveled around a winding hill, passing flags of the winners of the tournament until we reached the clubhouse.
The clubhouse at Sawgrass reminded us of a Mediterranean villa with its rustic maroon and gold shades. And there was plenty of oak and mahogany wood as well. Really a classy picturesque place, but at least it didn't feel elitist or snobbish.
The woman working at the desk showed us amazing memorabilia. Old clubs, trophies, photos and paintings of famous scenes at TPC, photos of the course construction. Then she offered to give us a tour of holes 16 17 & 18. So we headed out with two other folks in a golf cart. The guy, who is black, knew zero about golf. We had to explain to him what a green was and what terms like par meant. I had no issue within not knowing them, I was just surprised he wad visiting this course and knew nothing about the sport.
The view behind the 18th teebox to the fairway, to the green, and then the clubhouse was just magnificent. But getting to see the famous 17th hole, the island green, was so amazing for me. I never imagined getting to walk there and when I did, well, it wasn't on my bucket list, but that course means a whole lot more to me now than 18 holes I can play on a video game.
Them we headed south on A1A into downtown St. Augustine for a quick drive by. With its Spanish architecture, tight alleys, and unique shops and restaurants, it reminded me of a combination between New Orleans and a seaside town in New England. I'm excited to explore the town more tomorrow.
We ended the night with a chicken parmesan pizza at Borillo's, a tiny NY style pizzeria that has a ton of Pittsburgh Steelers gear on its walls. The pizza tasted awesome and after being awake for maybe 16 hours, we headed to the Fairfield Inn near the outlet malls. We got there around 6:30 and I must say right now, it feels very good to be out of slacks and boots and instead to be in bed, wearing mesh shorts and barefoot.
I remember before the service, Mom mentioned she was dying for some pizza. I guess Weight Watchers is already taking a toll. Well, ok the way home, that wasn't even a topic of conversation. Because we knew we would have to be awake in five hours to head to the airport. So we arrived home at 9:15 and I made a Greek salad for dinner.
The plan was to take a nonstop flight to Jacksonville at 8:30 and arrive around noon. Well, that flight filled up so we came up with a Plan B. We planned to board the 5:30 flight to Miami and them connect to Jacksonville. Unfortunately, we were 15 and 16 on the standby list on a flight that was booked to capacity. Not good odds.
So around 5, Mom texted me to walk two gates down and we worked at a spare computer, figuring out our plan. She checked the Miami flight and to our absolute amazement, we had already been assigned seats! Separated, of course. She wound up sitting next to a woman I had noticed in the terminal. Pretty hard not to notice her, as a matter of fact. This gal was packing a good 220 pounds. And she was wearing a pair of tan torn shorts that only missed her knees by 10 or 12 inches and a t-shirt with Mr Rogers face on it and it said "It's good in the hood." Right before we took off, Mom texted me. "I feel so little."
We landed in Miami and grabbed a couple of hot dogs at Nathans to hold us over. This was my first time in the Miami airport in maybe 15 years. All I remembered was a lot of Burger Kings, dark lighting, and a lot of announcements in Spanish. Well now, it's brighter with a lot more shopping and dining options than i remember. I definitely would say there are more international flights then domestic.
So we made the 11:50 flight and got on the American Eagle plane. We landed with no issues, but had to wait a half hour to go to the gate. Apparently, we had to wait for the next plane to leave our gate, even though there were three empty gates right next to it.
Our car is a black Nissan, but I'm calling it the tin can. Every time this car is in park, the engine sounds like a bunch of loose change being shaken around the bottom of a tin can. And I was especially disappointed it only has one charger port. So I spent half the ride charging my bell phone and the other half charging my GPS.
We drove to 95, then down 295, and took 10 east to Atlantic beach so we could drive south on the coastline road instead of on 95, which isn't exactly a scenic route. We turned off in Ponte Vedre Beach and drove by TPC at Sawgrass, where the PGA holds The Players Championship every May. But first, we stopped at the Palm Beach Fish House; we were starving.
This place is a seaside shack really, it's just one small dining room and a long bar. It took at least five minutes to get any service but our waitress was very sweet and knowledgeable. And kind of cute too. We started with an order of fried clam bellies which came with some tarter sauce. They came out crispy and tender, just a really good seafood appetizer. Mom ordered seared tuna with an Asian salad, which she easily polished off. I opted for a pan fried cod sandwich with Old Bay fries and steamed veggies. I'm not a big cod fan, but it was good. The French bread was toasted nicely, the cod tasted very fresh, and it was topped with iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, and tarter sauce. I thought the fries were fine, though I'm not a big fan of steak fries. They actually tasted better when I dunked them in the tarter sauce. But I was very impressed with the veggies. Zucchini, mushrooms, onions, green beans, and bell peppers came out tasting vibrant with a lemon pepper flavor. Very good side dish.
From there, we drove back to TPC and the guard granted us access to the club. We drove past the private residences and traveled around a winding hill, passing flags of the winners of the tournament until we reached the clubhouse.
The clubhouse at Sawgrass reminded us of a Mediterranean villa with its rustic maroon and gold shades. And there was plenty of oak and mahogany wood as well. Really a classy picturesque place, but at least it didn't feel elitist or snobbish.
The woman working at the desk showed us amazing memorabilia. Old clubs, trophies, photos and paintings of famous scenes at TPC, photos of the course construction. Then she offered to give us a tour of holes 16 17 & 18. So we headed out with two other folks in a golf cart. The guy, who is black, knew zero about golf. We had to explain to him what a green was and what terms like par meant. I had no issue within not knowing them, I was just surprised he wad visiting this course and knew nothing about the sport.
The view behind the 18th teebox to the fairway, to the green, and then the clubhouse was just magnificent. But getting to see the famous 17th hole, the island green, was so amazing for me. I never imagined getting to walk there and when I did, well, it wasn't on my bucket list, but that course means a whole lot more to me now than 18 holes I can play on a video game.
Them we headed south on A1A into downtown St. Augustine for a quick drive by. With its Spanish architecture, tight alleys, and unique shops and restaurants, it reminded me of a combination between New Orleans and a seaside town in New England. I'm excited to explore the town more tomorrow.
We ended the night with a chicken parmesan pizza at Borillo's, a tiny NY style pizzeria that has a ton of Pittsburgh Steelers gear on its walls. The pizza tasted awesome and after being awake for maybe 16 hours, we headed to the Fairfield Inn near the outlet malls. We got there around 6:30 and I must say right now, it feels very good to be out of slacks and boots and instead to be in bed, wearing mesh shorts and barefoot.
No comments:
Post a Comment