Our Final Day in North Carolina

On our final day in North Carolina, it was time for our grandson to go back to daycare, so we had a day on our own.  We decided to explore Reservoir Park, and just enjoy each other for the day.

The reservoir is beautiful and has a trail all the way around it.

Reservoir park is really well kept, and even has a bike service station for anyone that might have trouble on the trails.

We really enjoyed all of the beautiful green!

After our day of exploring, we went with our daughter to pick up our grandson at his daycare.  What a charming place!  It is a farm where the kids get to help grow the crops and help with the animals.

It also has separate playgrounds for the different age groups.

It was so sad when we had to say our goodbyes!  We are going to miss them all so much!  This little man has stolen our hearts beyond comprehension.

  Thanks to all of you for your amazing hospitality and hugs and kisses!  Well miss you all!

A Little Time With Our Kids

We didn’t get to spend nearly as much time with our kids as we had hope for, but after their super tough month, we were so glad to see them get caught up on life a little bit.  We cherished every minute that we did get with them.

Rain or shine, they go outside at daycare, so our grandson modeled his rain slicker and boots for us.

Even when we were all together, we spent most of our time outside.  Just the way we like it!

They fed us well while we were there!

Just being in the same house, and interacting when we could was so refreshing!

Family Time, North Carolina

I haven’t provided any COVID-19 updates lately, because I thought we were through the worst of it. But unfortunately, I was wrong. I assumed that with the availability of vaccines, that we would see a huge decrease in the number of cases, and that was true for awhile.  But unfortunately, we are now seeing new variants of the virus emerging, the current concern being the Delta variant.  The vaccine is not yet available for people under 12, so keeping kids safe is my greatest concern.  

When we planned our trip to North Carolina to see our son (in-law), daughter and grandson, COVID cases were down, so we booked flights and got excited about our trip, but between then and now, things have changed. Cases are up again, and especially among young people, so we’re really not looking forward to flying.

As our kids were in the middle of their move from South Carolina to North Carolina, they had a case of COVID in their daycare, so their daycare had to close down for two weeks, while they tried to move and work full time.  It was tough, but they made it through.

As they were getting settled in North Carolina, their son was in daycare for 3 days, and their new daycare had a case of COVID and it had to shut down for two weeks, while our kids tried to get settled into their new home, and work full time.  It has been a tough month for them!

They handled the first week of new daycare shut-down on their own, but luckily, we have tickets to fly out and can be their daycare while we are there!  What great timing!  

Our grandson loves being outside, so we have done our best to keep him happy.

When we would get too hot outside, we would sit inside and look outside 😃.  We would watch the big trucks working in the cul-de-sac across the street.  He loves big trucks!

He kicked his animal friends out of their swimming pool.

Helping grandpa with move-in projects.

      

Troon North, Day 10 - Summer of Golf

The weather continues to be beautiful for August in Arizona, so we decided to play Troon North today.  We are playing this course for the first time, so we used our 2 for 1 at this course, for a grand total of $55 for both of us!  We love these crazy summer rates!! 

Everyone at this course was very nice and helpful, and they had a beautiful restaurant overlooking the course. The course is long and spread out, and weaves in and out of beautiful million $ plus houses, which made the views all that much more impressive. This is definitely one of the top courses we have played this summer. It was difficult, but not too difficult. We only sacrificed a few balls.  It is an all desert course, which we loved!

We also loved the Boulder fields that the course winds through.    

Sorry for the finger in the next picture, but I had to prove I was here 😃. We absolutely loved this course, and hope we get to play it again someday!

Next stop this summer…North Carolina! But not for golf.  Stay tuned. 

Kierland Westin, Day 9 - Summer of Golf

We played the beautiful Westin Kierland golf course today in Scottsdale. We’re loving our weekday golfing, it’s not crowded, so the game moves right along.  We can typically play 18 holes in 3 to 3 1/2 hours, which is perfect!  We used our Troon 2 for 1 on this course, so it cost us $20.50 a piece, including tax.  Such a bargain!

This was a beautiful course, and it was in great shape for summer!  It wound around through a few condos, and it looks like even more are being built as we speak.  There was no GPS on their carts, but there were ice chests, and that is the most important thing for summer golf.  We followed another twosome the whole day, but the pace was perfect for us.  

They have three 9 hole courses at Kierland, and you don’t get to pick which ones you will play.  Ironwood was closed today, so we played our first nine on Mesquite and our second nine on Acacia.  We really liked both courses.  The beverage cart was a bit expensive…a can of pop was $4.  Usually you at least get a 20 oz bottle for that price, but no big deal, it was refreshing at about hole 14.  Also, there is a lot of sand on this course.  I used to hate sand, but I’m actually starting to figure it out 😃.  Neither of us had a stellar day, score wise, but mental health wise it was everything we could ask for… relaxing, green, lots of fresh air and just all around beautiful!

Apparently I decided it was a nice beach day.  I spent a lot of time in the sand.

Which way to go… that’s a lot of sand!

It was a hot day for golf, but certainly not unbearable now that the monsoon humidity is finally starting to go away. It’s so nice to be able to play again, and today’s course made it all the better!

McDowell Mountain Golf Club, Day 8 - Summer of Golf

We have another gorgeous weather day, so we’ve chosen McDowell Mountain Golf Club as our course of choice.  It is north of Scottsdale, so a bit of a drive from our house, but not bad.  As we pulled into the course, we noticed bronze, life size deer statues, which gave the course a very nice feel.  We used our Troon 2 for 1 for this course, so we played for $21 each. High season rates at this course are from $150 to $180.  We have found that at all of these courses, if we check in early, they just send us out instead of making us wait for our tee time, because the courses aren’t crowded.  Another perk of playing summer golf in Arizona. The carts all had a cooler, which is great for keeping our waters cold, but no GPS, so we relied on Steve’s golf watch for distance.  It was a fun course to play, and we didn’t lose too many balls, so that was nice.

If you look hard, you can see a tiny frog in this picture.  He gave me a start when I went to hit my ball.

We were so glad we got to try this course today, but it isn’t a course we would ever play at full price. There wasn’t a ‘wow’ factor that would bring us back, with the course or with the staff.

Whirlwind at Wild Horse Pass, Day 7 - Summer of Golf

The rains have finally subsided, and it’s time to play golf again!  Whirlwind Golf Club has two courses, Cattail was closed, so we played Devils Claw.  It wasn’t a hard course, but it wasn’t an easy course either.  It was somewhat spread out, and in great shape!  I think the monsoons have been great for all of the golf courses.  We used our Troon 2 for 1, and it was $50 total, tax included, which was a great deal, but we both think that $50 per person is a lot for this course during the summer.  When we started playing at 11:00, it was overcast and super comfortable, but by the time we finished, the clouds were gone, and it was getting toasty.  Most of the holes had tee boxes that you had to hit over the desert to get to the fairway, but once you were on the fairway, they were pretty forgiving with only a few bunkers per hole.  The mosquitos were ferocious today, thanks to the monsoons, so I think we need to carry mosquito spray from now on.

Steve played the best golf of his life, playing better than bogie golf!  I’m so proud of him!  Golf isn’t an easy game, but it sure is fun, and if I keep practicing hopefully I can do as well as he did some day!

The Gila River Indian Reservation is in the process of building, or adding onto a hotel for the casino. It is coming along nicely!

We enjoyed playing this course today, but aren’t sure it was worth the full $50 per person rate that they are asking.