Road Trip 11.09

It's been so long since I have last jotted anything down on these pages that I feel almost foreign sitting here in front of the screen. I had an interesting trip out of town last week and I'd like to share some of my experiences and observations.

The trip began with a quick 6 hour jaunt to Charlotte, NC. to visit my cousin, once again. He had invited me for three days of golf and I was not going to pass it up. He has recently been promoted to Head Superintendent at Myer's Park Golf Club. I'm proud of him. He's worked hard, put in the hours, and obviously learned the deft art of the handjob. Nice job, cousin. Incidentally, the golf course is in great condition. The greens are full, firm, and fast, and the rest of the course is tip-top as well.

We also played a course named Tobacco Road. All I can say is "wow". This golf course is the ultimate in target golf. Precision is a must, and the greens are nightmarish. Optically it is one of the most challenging I have experienced as there are numerous blind shots and hidden dangers. It saves itself from becoming too difficult by requiring only short irons in your approach to most greens. It has a rating in the top 50 according to Golf Digest. I hate to be negative, but it's my blog, so here it comes. The entire course seems overly contrived. Which is to say it is not natural. It appears they had to move a lot of dirt in order to bring it all together. This is but a minor hiccup in an otherwise great course, and it is only a personal issue.

We played a third course, of which the name escapes me. It was also immaculate. It was also free as the man in charge of remodeling the course was our host. The greens were extremely slick, easily the fastest I have ever played. Needless to say I did not adjust well and played poorly. It was still a great time as our foursome partook in some mind altering liquids while our leader, Mick, told us all he was going to kick all of our asses the rest of the round. We were on the 13th hole, and Mick was completely plowed. I can't be exact, but I think he did not get out of the golf cart, following his tee shot, on the 14th, 15th, and 16th holes. He was, in effect, the perfect host. He provided great golf, reckless gambling, entertaining golf shots, and the whole while had us in stitches with his many stories from his colorful past. A more entertaining day I could not have had.

At night, at my cousins place, we ventured out to Club 133. It's a pretty trendy nightspot outside Charlotte in a little town called Mooresville. Davidson College is in Morresville. I didn't see many college kids at Club 133 as the clientele was made up mostly of middle aged men and women. The club itself is right out of the Twilight Zone. The entire place is made to look like a garage. In fact, the nickname for the place is "The Garage". The walls are covered with rakes and shovels. There are rolls of toilet paper and plenty of dried goods on shelves. There are even two bikes hanging from the ceiling of this place. The music was ok, they played predominantly hip-hop and top 40 stuff, but it was pretty cool. I mean, it felt like a garage! Right down to the frigid weather and people hanging out with blankets wrapped around them. It was a lot of fun and I'd certainly do it again.

After Charlotte I got back on the road and began my journey North, on I-81. I needed to get to New York state where I would meet a high school friend of mine and venture Foxwoods Casino to play some poker. There was also a football game on the docket, as well as a promised night out. Hopefully I will have the time to continue writing of this tomorrow or the next day. Right now I need to check Facebook and get a passport. Yes, a planned out of country experience is on the horizon.

Out.