It’s hard to believe, but I’ve never attended a professional golf tournament until a few days ago.  On Friday I attended the Boeing Classic golf tournament at Snoqualmie Ridge, a golf course located east of Seattle.  It was a Professional Golf Association (PGA) Senior Tour event for professional golfers age 50 and older.  These are golfers my age, players I’ve watched on television for many years.  I was a little star-struck on the course, finally seeing Bob Tway, Colin Montgomerie, Mark Calcavecchia, Larry Mize, Hal Sutton, and Bernhard Langer in person. 

Also playing was Bob Gilder (pictured above).  Bob is from my hometown of Corvallis and I used to play golf with him at the Corvallis Country Club when I was growing up.  Bob became a professional golfer in 1976 and went on to win 6 PGA tournaments and 10 Senior PGA tournaments.  I briefly spoke with Bob on the 11th fairway as he was walking to the green.  Yes, it had been a few years since we last chatted.  I also spoke with his wife Peggy who was walking the course watching Bob play.  It was fun talking with them both, something I would not have been able to do on a Saturday or Sunday.  The earlier rounds are attended by fewer people and the best days for talking to the pros, getting autographs and photos, and getting close to the professionals while they are on the course.

A neighbor up the street, Bill, was invited by Emirates Airline (a tournament sponsor) to play in the Pro-Am event at the tournament held earlier in the week.  Bill gave Jim (another neighbor) and me his tickets for Friday and we were able to attend the tournament for free, including having lunch in the Emirates Skybox Suite located above the 18th green.  This is how the other half live. 

Attending a Major golf tournament in person is a step up from watching a live tournament on TV.  Simply, it is significantly more exciting.  The first thing I noticed was the extra buzz in the air.  I sensed it in the crowds, and felt it when watching the players practice and warm up.  Everywhere from the parking lot to the grandstands there was distinct feeling that shouted “this is something special.”

Seeing a tournament in person also gave me a much better feel for the course and how the players approach their shots on each hole.  The biggest disadvantage to seeing a Major in person is sometimes feeling “out of the loop.”  Whereas TV broadcasts can jump around to different pairings and show someone charging up a leaderboard, you really miss out on this when seeing it live.  In fact, when you hear a roar of the crowd somewhere across the course, you feel disappointed that you didn't see it in person.

The 10 acre parcel, with the tear down house, Lisa and I were looking at purchasing in Freeland (on Whidbey Island) did not work out.  There were simply too many problems with the property.  On Saturday we looked at a home in a beach community in Clinton, located near the ferry terminal to Mukilteo (see above photos).  The home is also a tear down, but has more possibilities.  We will let you know what transpires with this property.
 

One of the dictionary definitions for “vacation” is: A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation, especially one with pay granted to an employee, a period in which a break is taken from work or studies. Lisa and I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago, but it didn’t include a break from work for Lisa.  Each time we were in the truck driving, Lisa was on the computer working.  So much for rest and relaxation for my bride.  Since Lisa was maxed out on vacation time she has not been accruing vacation, so it was time for her to take some time off (time off?).  Our vacation took us through some of the most beautiful parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. 

People say that Glacier National Park’s “Road-to-the-Sun Road” is the most beautiful 50 mile drive in the United States.  Having now ridden the length of the road, Lisa and I would agree.  The vistas are spectacular, the scenery unparalleled as seen in the picture above and pictures below.  The road is extremely narrow in many locations and only portions of the road remain open all year.  Logan Pass, the highest point on the road (which also sits on the Continental Divide), closes the third week in October, or sooner depending on the weather.

Because of limited parking at the most popular sites along the road, shuttle busses are provided for visitors who choose to use them.  Lisa and I decided to ride on the shuttle buses not knowing that the busses didn’t stop at all locations along the road.  As such, we were not able to get pictures of some of the most dramatic vistas.  Next time we go we will drive our own vehicle through the park.

There are hundreds of miles of hiking trails in the park, but because of my knee, Lisa and I only took two short hikes.  The first hike originated at the Logan Pass visitor’s center and the trail took us to Hidden Lake overlook.  Mountain goats, bighorn sheep and marmots were seen on our hike.

Our second hike was to St. Mary’s Falls and then continued on to Virginia Falls.  There was a fire in the park last year and our trail wound through one of the burned out areas.  Apparently a careless camper started the fire.

Following our couple of days in Glacier we drove to Rexburg, Idaho (Lisa toured me around all the sites and places she used to live when she was there in college) and then onto Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming for a family reunion on Lisa’s side of the family (Lisa’s sister Christine and her kids/families).  Lisa and I stayed with Lisa’s nephew Jacob’s in-laws, John and Cathy.  

The reunion group took a day and drove to Teton National Park and Jackson Hole.  

The last time Lisa was in Jackson Hole was in the 1970’s.  The last time I was there was with the family in 1994. 

 Ian, Sasha, and Demri from 1994

One of the games played in the evening was using dental mouth openers.  The group was divided into two teams and the object of the game was to get your team to figure out what the person wearing the mouth guard was saying.  So, you put on the mouth guard (everyone had their own) pick a word phrase from the list and then try and say it clear enough for your teammates to understand.  Word phrases that are already difficult to say are best used.  Phrases like: Brown Banana Muffins, Previous People, or Puppy Boogers work well.  We laughed until our sides hurt.

Below are a few more pictures from the reunion:

On our way home we stopped and spent the night with Chelsi, Eric, and family.