Wednesday, 02/22/2006
Savannah day. We picked this day to travel to Savannah, GA and tour around the town. We picked a grand day: highs would be in the upper 70’s to near 80 with lots of sun. The plan was to leave around 11:30 AM. We didn’t stick with the plan. We were all moving a bit slower this morning and after the usual chores we got on the road about 1 PM. After stopping for gas and supplies we were on our way.
We decided to take the “blue highways” to Savannah by taking route US Route 287 from Hilton Head Island to SC Route 46. From SC Route 46 we turned onto US Route 17 and took that into Savannah. I believe that it turn into I-16 at the point you cross into Georgia. Trip took just about and hour.
Started off by finding MLK Jr. Blvd. and taking that to the Savannah Visitors Center. We skipped seeing the history show but did purchase a “2 day” parking pass for $8. Not a bad deal. Covers metered parking and designated city parking garages.
We opted for touring the river area first. We parked around Reynolds Square and walked west through Johnson Square. We walked North on Bull Street to City Hall and then East down Factor’s Walk. The squares are interesting places, each one full of it’s own history. Usually a monument, some benches and lots of green trees and gardens. A great place to just sit and watch the world go by.
We descended the stone steps to River Street and strolled along the shopping areas next to the Savannah Harbor. Some great views up and down this street! Hit of the walk was the Candy Factory with its pralines, hard candy and ice cream! We had to buy some pecans and pralines to much on.
We stopped for a late lunch at a New Orleans style restaurant called Hueys, in memory of our lost hamster Huey. Yvette has a fried seafood platter, Grant a NY Strip steak, Hannah some chicken fingers (which were HUGE) and I had a shrimp “poboy”. We all ate our fill between gulps of sweet tea. Hannah and Yvette topped the meal off with a stop at “Ben and Jerry’s”.
Back in the car we headed for Monterey Square, home site of the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil“. I had read the book several years ago and wanted to see the houses connected with the story. Monterey Square, on the periphery of the “Down Town” area is quiet and green. A few joggers out in the late afternoon enjoyed the square with us. Mercer House can’t be toured but I got some good pictures of it and the other houses surrounding the square. Hard to believe that this peaceful place was part of a murder scene.
With the Hollywood stop behind us, we were on our way back to Hilton Head by the same route. We arrived back at the villa around 7 PM. Yvette and Grant settled in to watch the Olympics and I headed down to the hot tub with my nightly scotch and soda. After my soaking I finished reading “Air Dance Iguana” and turned in.
Thursday, 02/23/2006
Golf Day!! This was the day I made reservations at Island Golf School for myself. Don’t know what the others were doing today but I was playing golf. I was ready for my 8:45 AM start, but had a little trouble finding the spot. Arrived 15 minutes late, but the instruction was just getting started. We got a few sprinkles but they passed.
We started by working on pitching from which I learned that my arms on my back-swing were too close to my body. I needed to “swing out” more and maintain a constant distance between my arms during the pitching motion. Good to know. From there we went onto sand play were we practiced open and square cub face sand shots.
The driving range was next were my swing was video taped for later analysis. My main problem seems to be in the right knee area. I’m not maintaining my “flex” during the swing. As a consequence my body is not making a full shoulder turn. I’m turning my body AND the shoulders instead of just the shoulders. From there it just goes down hill. I slide my hips forward instead of turning them on the downswing for weight transfer and my arms and hands end up getting caught behind the action. So… we worked on getting the knee/leg to stay flexed. I started to get some of it going at the driving range, but it’s a different feeling. Definitely something to work on.
Some drills he gave me: A shaft on my left side to turn into; swinging the club like a “hockey stick” (left hand on grip, right on shaft); hitting with feet together (that one I’d done before). On a brighter note, my grip and address posture were good as was my tempo (I worked on that last year by myself). On chipping/pitching I learned I need to keep my hands out in front and the ball back. My “chipping stick” will help here.
We had lunch and then played 9 holes with the instructor. The class was at Indigo Run on the Golden Bear course. Defiantly more challenging that Bretwood or Crown Point! Had some additional chipping/pitching instruction as we played the front 9. On the back 9 we were left to our own devices. The afternoon weather was great! Mid 60’s with some “hit and run” sun and a light breeze. I was fine in my short sleeves short and slacks.
In all a great time. I would do it again! Perhaps I can find a golf school in Hawaii. After all, we’re planning on being there 2 week so I should be able to get in more than 1 day of golf.
I was defiantly ready to eat when I got home. We were signed up for the “Pizza and Bingo” night at the resort. We didn’t win but we had a great time. We all ate until we were stuffed.
Had some running around to do this evening since Yvette was our of yarn and I was out of books. She picked up some knitting yarn at Walmart and I picked up two Lawrence Block novels from Barnes and Nobel. The rest of the evening was the usual - Olympics for Yvette and Grant and a scotch and soda with a hot tub chaser. I’m going to be sore tomorrow.
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