Mother's Day Treats

A summer day like this is a treat any day, but on Mother's Day it feels like maybe Mother Nature was catering to us moms who love sunshine and warmth! 

Of course, Mother's Day is always special because hubby makes me homemade Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

A delightful meal at Cafe el James with country fresh egg a la Trevor (our neighbor). Perfect!

Since we didn't have any offspring visiting, Jim also treated me to golf at Northern Bay. It's located in Adams County and going to be the next big thing until Sand Valley stole the spotlight. We've played there a few times but it's been a few years.

Their claim to fame is several "replica" holes closely mimicking famous golf courses. 

Some were a bit of a stretch, if you ask me.

But the Sawgrass island green was definitely one I recognized.

And just like the pros do (sometimes), both our drives took a swim! Still, it was fun.

Only downside was lots of mosquitoes, high winds, and like the top weather picture mentions – poor air quality. My eyes were so full of sand and pollen that they were itchy and bloodshot by the time our round was done. The price we pay for fun, I guess. 

All that fresh air – and my first 18-hole round of the season – and I'm sure to sleep good tonight. Thank goodness it's cloudy so I won't be tempted to view the remains of the Northern Lights.

Hope all you mothers had a wonderful day and were spoiled like you deserve!

Tee It Up

Hubby and I got to tee it up together for only the second time this summer. But it was worth the wait.

We met our friends Scott & Sandy from Green Bay at a course just south of Wisconsin Rapids called Northern Bay. The selling point of this beautiful course is that it has several "replica" holes on it that mirror those on the professional golf tour.

Here, for example, is the TPC Sawgrass 17th hole. On TV, you see the pros shank it into the water in their attempts to hit the green -- so that makes you feel much better when you do it, too. Well 3 out of the 4 of us hit it in the water. I was not the one who didn't. And neither was Jim! Still, a fun hole.

There were a lot of interesting holes and some challenging greens, but we were having a good time -- and 3 out of the 4 of us were in on a secret. Scott was surprising Sandy with an overnight stay so that we could all golf together in the Dells tomorrow. So we had our hotel reservations made in nearby Adams and despite ALMOST spilling the beans on numerous occasions today, we were at least able to keep Sandy's surprise a secret until we were through with golf. Then it was just too hard to explain why we were going to the little town of Adams to eat.

We checked into the hotel, showered up and headed south 15-20 miles to Wisconsin Dells for dinner.

We had our double-date night in the Dells at the Survivors Sports Bar & Grill at the Wilderness Resort. Managed to eat, drink, talk and laugh plenty for a few hours then headed back to the hotel. I was designated driver so I had the fun of trying to maneuver through the Dells on a summer night. What an insanely busy, traffic-jammed town!

It was nice to get back to the hotel and relax with a few games of cribbage.

And get to bed by midnight so we'll be fresh to tee it up for round two tomorrow. Fore!

TGIF ... Thank Golf it's Friday

Playing hooky is underrated -- especially when you do it on a day where it's sunny and nearly 80 degrees... and you have a golf club in your hand!

I am so, so glad we decided to take the day off and experience Northern Bay, a golf course just to the south of Wisconsin Rapids next to Lake Petenwell. In the advertisements for this relatively new course, they say this isn't a course you want to play; it's a course you need to play! Amen to that!

What's so great about it? They have created a course inspired by some of the most celebrated holes in golf. And we got to play them. The course has at least 6 "replica" holes -- ones any fan of golf has likely seen on television a time or two. Some were quite challenging (just like on TV) and all were just gorgeous.

The 10th hole was the one we were a bit nervous about. Seriously. You feel like you are standing on the tee of the famous island green at the TPC at Sawgrass. Sure it's only a Par 3 hole -- but there is nothing but water between you and the green. And guess what? Hubby and I both made it to the island! It was so cool to be putting and then glance in the water and see all those balls that didn't make. Ha! We are awesome!

The greens were fast, like putting on your basement floor and some were designed like those crazy ones you find on mini-golf courses -- you know the ones with multi-tiers or steep slopes. On the one hole, I was putting up a steep incline and when I fell short of the hole, the ball would roll back down. And roll back down. And roll back down. I ended up with a 9 on that hole with 5 putts! Hubby had the same thing happen and didn't fare much better. I didn't curse, though. I was just laughing and wondering where the hidden cameras where.

The play of the day belongs to Jim. We were on a Par 4 hole and he was hitting his second shot from 111 yards (we know this because there was a GPS system in the cart. Way cool.) The shot heads straight for the green and rolls towards the hole. I said, "C'mon Eagle!" and it went in! Unbelievable. Later Jim maintained it was not a legal Eagle because he had used a Mulligan after hitting his first drive out of bounds. I had forgotten about that. But at least he's honest and recorded it as a par. "I still want you to have that Eagle!" I said. Unfortunately, that's how the game goes. It was still an awesome shot. Maybe you'll see it ESPN tonight!

My only regret today, besides a few bad shots, is that I forgot the stinkin' camera! If you want to learn more about the course, you can visit their Web site at www.northernbayresort.com. Then we'll play it the next time you're in town!