The Not So Glamorous Side of Traveling

We didn’t get to bed until 12am last night. We spend several hours packing, distributing weight in our bags and boarding up the house. 530 came early this morning, but we made it to the airport without a hitch. Once we arrived in Fort Lauderdale we collected our heavy bags, attempted to go up the escalator and was told we could not (waited a few minutes for the airport lady to disappear and proceeded to do so), divided more weight in the bags (50lbs for 3 bags and an extra heavy carry-on, random golf shoes tucked into odd places), had an argument with the lady at check-in that a golf bag WAS NOT “oversized.” We were fortunate because David presents a good argument; the lady checking in 10 lanes down… not so much. But we all heard her case!
The food in this airport is not the best of selection; basically pizza or donuts. Clearing security was easy except for having to essentially undress and redress, pulling out computers, taking apart our luggage to show it’s just a bag filled with shoes. Did I mention my shoulder hurts on my left side?! Now we are waiting… chatted with a friend, boarded the plane and waiting, waiting… I fell asleep. When I woke up David announced, “We’re here!” I’m thinking, “Wow! That was a fast flight! I slept the entire time. Great! Bring on Cancun!” Then he tells me, just kidding. There’s a problem with the brakes (GREAT!) and they are having them checked out. Now we are waiting…. again. Finished my magazine, deplane. Charge up my phone, cleaned out my inbox, had a small snack, waiting still. We are into hour 10 of our travel and in counting. Eventually we will make it to Cancun. Unfortunately, this is a fairly normal routine for us. Thus, the not so glamorous side of traveling!

Palm Springs, Scottsdale and Las Vegas

Week 2: Palm Springs, CA
Bob Hope Chrystler Classic

We flew a red-eyed flight from Honolulu to LA. We departed from our family in LA, rented a car and drove to Palm Springs. That day was nothing but exhaustion. We did manage to get ourselves checked into our hotel for the week. Tuesday, David got up early to go to the course. I met up with a Kelly (to-be Bettencourt) to attend a luncheon fashion show at the La Quinta Resort (something the tournament organized). The next 5 days were tournament days and long ones at that. This particular event was a pro-am, which pretty much added an extra hour to play. I did meet Russell Crow (one of the ams in the field) and saw Arnold Palmer. The scores were ultra low; winning score was 33 under par. David's scores were 66, 66, 69,65, 72. He finished tied for 34.

Week 3: Scottsdale, AZ and Las Vegas, NV
FBR Open

As soon as the round was over David, Mikee and I loaded up the car to drive to Scottsdale, Arizona for the FBR. David wasn't in the field so the plan was to play the Monday Qualifier. Unfortunately, David's score was not one of the top four to get in the FBR field. He was already committed for a pro-am on Wednesday so we decided to stay a couple extra days. While in Scottsdale, I met up with a few gal pals from the Nationwide Tour: Emily Summerhays, Kelley Guetz, along with their babies- Jack and Henry and Rachel (to-be Todd). We had a great lunch at a little French restaurant and caught up on life. I can't believe how big Jack and Henry are! Too cute. I'm really going to miss my friends on the Nationwide Tour. My hope is to find just as quality of friendships on the PGA Tour. I now have high standards.

As soon as he finished we drove 5 hours to Las Vegas. It was so bizarre driving through canyons and seeing cacti all along the roadside. We drove over the Hoover Dam, which was an incredible site! When we left Scottsdale it was 60 degrees, half way through the road trip we were in Flagstaff where there was snow on the ground and it was 27 degrees. Eventually we ended in Vegas at 52 degrees. We stayed at the Wynn. Most of our time was spent playing black jack at both Wynn and Encore (we're up!). We saw "O" at the Bellagio and I took advantage of the Spa. Not all our time was play in Vegas. David spent several hours each day at the TPC working on his game.

Sony Open in Hawaii

Welcome to the PGA Tour! First up, Hawaii!

David promised his mom when he got his PGA Tour card he would take her to Hawaii. Needless to say, Janet started packing and planning last summer when it was fairly certain David would finish top 25 on the Nationwide Tour. Mom and Dad hadn't been to Hawaii since they once lived there in the late 60's. Zach, David's brother also joined us. The six of us and all our luggage literally required a shuttle bus to take us to the airport. Too bad I didn't take a picture of that!!

We rented a house less than a mile from the Waialae Country Club. By the way, I highly recommend you tour foks traveling with family to rent a house vs hoteling it! Everyone had there own space. David and I took over the master suite with the super-duper steam shower (I really got spoiled). The house also had a pool and a little pool house Mikee, David's caddie stayed in. Yes, that's 7 people!

While David worked, the rest of us did what tourist do best. Everyday was a day of activities. Sunday we all loaded up in the mini and drove north of Honolulu to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Monday, Mom, Zach and I hiked 700 feet to the top of Diamond Head. The trail was crowded and when we got to the top of the mountain we witnessed a couple getting engaged. So sweet! Tuesday we went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial (Thanks Tammy for suggesting the $5 audio tour), which was very moving. We also went to Punch Bowl Cemetary and Pali's lookout.

OK- interjecting a neat story here... My parents were high school sweethearts. When dad graduated he joined the army and was stationed in Hawaii. Shortly after, he and mom married and mom flew out to join him. They rented a little studio apartment in Honolulu. We punched their former address in the GPS and found it! Mom and Dad knocked on the Landlord's door, and sure enough the apartment was vacant and she invited Mom and Dad to go look inside. How cool! I went in with them. Nothing appeared to change... same wood paneling, old wash sink and yellow stove. The big difference was the price of rent went from $75 a month to $900!

Wednesday- upon my request we went to Waikiki Beach!

Thursday- was the start of the Sony Open (the REAL reason we all went to Hawaii).

David got off to a great start with 2 under par in spite of the huge bands of rain during his round. Friday was an early tee time and again David shot 2 under par; 4 under for the tournament. He was in a great spot for the weekend... making his first cut of the season!

We celebrated Thursday and Friday's rounds by going to a Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. Unfortunately, it absolutely poured buckets of rain so we were freezing... in Hawaii. None the less, dinner and the show were awesome!

Saturday and Sunday were not the best of David's rounds, but it's the start of the season. He finished tied for 59 and we're happy to go into the next week aiming for a progression!!

Welcome

I toyed with the idea of blogging my tour and travel experiences for a while now. Many of you asked me what life is like on the road and I want to keep you as much in the loop as possible. Bless your heart for trying to keep up with us and our crazy schedule! Hopefully this will help :-)

Our Story and God Moments:

David and I met at church on Superbowl Sunday 2003. After about 3 or 4 months our friendship transpired into something more. September 30 2006 we got married.

Sharing a sweet embrace on our wedding day

I continued to work in Chapel Hill while David played the Nationwide Tour. July 2007 we took a total leap of faith; I left my job to travel full time with David. I had total peace about that decision, however God challenged our faith when David missed 5 cuts in a row. We were in Pennsylvania when he missed the 5th cut. I remember us being in tears as we prayed for God to create opportunities for us to continue traveling together. The very next week was the Nationwide tournament in Rochester, NY and guess who was on the bag... ME!

David reads a putt at Xerox Classic in Rochester, NY

David was so worried because I was lagging some 50 yards behind him in Tuesday's practice round. Do you realize how boring practice rounds are?!? By tournament time I was in high gear. I didn't step on a single ball mark and his clubs were always clean (I'm a clean freak! I knew I had that one covered :-) David was playing great! When he walked off the 18 green each day he kissed me and the whole crowd would awe at us. Sunday morning came and David was going into the day tied for 2nd. How awesome is God?!? He finished the tournament tied for 7th, which was his best finish up to that point. The rest of the season was a steady progression. He finished tied for 2nd that year in Miami and went on to play the Tour Championship in San Diego.
David went into 2008 with full status on the Nationwide Tour. We traveled to New Zealand and Australia together.

At Gunnamata Surf in Australia

In May 2008 David won the BMW Charity Pro-Am. What an exciting time for us!?! I remember how sleepless I was the night before his final round. I was so anxious. I tried praying myself back to sleep, but realized God was preparing my heart for what was to come. That morning when David and I got up I pounced on him saying "winner winner chicken dinner!" ... glad he didn't quote me to the press :-)

David wins the BMW Charity Pro-AM May 2008

A happy moment shared between us.

David finished the season # 14 on the moneylist. Top 25 received their Tour Card. PGA Tour here we come!!!