It's all over one day and that is today...

I could have gone on for a while... There are more courses to play, more places to visit, more people to know, more fun to be had. For now this is it, I have packed my bags a final time on this trip.

Taking extra time at breakfast, strolling through the parks, walking up Newbury and back down on Boylston, I tried to extend my last day by taking everything in very consciously today. Cannot believe this is over now. What an amazing adventure. I am truly blessed.

- THE END -  ... for now, there will be an epilogue and if I am lucky a sequel.

Anna's birthday

A bit of a sleep in today, then I picked up the birthday girl at University Park at MIT. Birthday-lunch we had at Sam's in the south bay harbor. An area that was not developed when I lived here in 1998. In fact, South Boston then was a place not to go to. There were still gangs and shootings at times and pre-big-dig, there was nothing here of any interest. Now there is a convention center, a Westin, shopping, restaurants a museum and some nice views of the skyline.

After lunch we walked to market place for more browsing and shopping and later sat in the sun in the Boston Common. Anna then left for her surprise dinner and I took the T to Harvard Square. Walked around campus, shopped at the Coop and had dinner at my favorite Vietnamese place in The Garage. It used to be a Pho Pasteur, but it now is called Le's. "Same, same" though as the Thai would say. Ahh, such a trip down memory lane is something.

Also, thank God I have made this a golfing trip around the world. Imagine, I would have skipped that and only gone from one restaurant to the next. It would be a food blog only and I would have gained a lot of weight (I think I am about back to square one after losing some in Thailand in the heat and gaining some in Melbourne with the local gourmets and a diet of a lot of red fish and red meat since I am in the US).

Boston Back Bay and Chateaubriand

Anna my Swiss friend and running partner is in Boston for three weeks and came shopping with me all day today. We did not break our bank ;-), had lots to talk about after not seeing each other in almost three months and finished the day in style with a chateaubriand at Copley Plaza. They say it is the best in town (note, it is the only one in town apparently). We agree, you cannot cook meat any better. Absolutely fabulous. I've only ever had comparable meat in Texas and very few other places. Wow. If only the picture could do justice.

Btw, I love my Canon. Sometime, pictures really turn
out quite cool (this one is taken on Boylston
 out of the taxi on our way home, when it just started raining)

Off to Boston

So many air miles flown, but another first today: the plane from Myrtle Beach to Charlotte was so small, that all carry on items other than handbags had to be checked in at the gate. So for the first time my well travelled carry on had to go... And another first on US Airways also. Hassle free baggage arrival, all my luggage made it to Boston with me.

So glad, I decided to spoil myself and stay at the Ritz Carlton on Boston Common for the last three days. The hotel is in a great location and super nice. Not too big and with a nice bar and very spacious and bright rooms.

I have not been here in 10 years now, but walking the streets in Back Bay, it is all coming back to me. Nostalgia! So, on my way back from a stroll around the parks, Newbury Street etc. I am heading straight to Penang, where they still had my favorite curry dish of all times. A bread with a curry dip. The bread now is Indian roti and no longer Indonesian, but it all still has the same great taste.

Caledonia Fish and Golf Club: final round on this trip...

Caledonia... saving the best for last?!

I was told by many that this is their favorite course here. And, I can see why. The course has a beautiful layout and landscaping and is in superb condition. The only complaint from my side would be that I was eaten alive by the mosquitos today. No Anti-brumm, no Off, not even the grasshoppers, really nothing would keep them off and I was very uneasy on the tee boxes all along the way: focusing more on where to scratch next or avoid the scratching than putting on a good visualization of my drives. The heat and mosquitos added up to a 97 from the back tees. So, here I was with a tear in the eye for the score and the imminent end of this golfing trip and a laughing eye for thinking of all the fun I had. I will have to come back!

My playing partners today were Ray and his sons Jack and Mike. They invited me to a "catch of the day" in the clubhouse before I went to the beach for a last time here in South Carolina.

Last round finish on the club terrace
with Jack, Mike and Ray

Sticky Fingers (BBQ place where I went for dinner)
 is also popular with the local "Yellow Mustang Club"

Willbrook Plantation: video interview and history lesson

Today I was interviewed on the putting green and then filmed on the first two holes (footage to appear on www.mbn.com eventually). Once I got over my first tee anxiety, I had a nice drive that right down to the center of the fairway that left me just 65 yards short of the green. Or so I thought. Catching my sand wedge a bit fat, I landed short of the green in the bunker, recovered and one-putted for a Sandy-par.

Willbrook Plantation has a lot of history and mighty trees everywhere, some of them several hundred years old. And the good thing about them is that there is enough shade on the course to take cover on such a hot day out.

My 89 today is not as good as I had hoped after being in the zone yesterday, but I am grateful that it turned out to be a good round, better than my average, and that I did not choke today.

For dinner, I met up with Sandy and her friends at Greg Norman's and had an excellent prime rib - ah so juicy and so tender. I will miss the beef...

Long Bay: Shot an 81 - my best score ever

A real pleasure to post today. I am still a bit hyped... and also a bit bummed as I think I could have done even better and could have shot my first score in the 70s. But it was not meant to be.

Starting by myself, I quickly caught up with a foursome of members. And there was a big wait out there today. They invited me to play along with them as one had decided to drop out after playing one hole as a fivesome: Andy, Bob, Hal, Norm and myself. With a good drive and a green in regulation on the rather small green of this par 4 hole 3, I impressed them already ;-). Such a nice crowd and "audience" to play with, I went on to shoot more pars and even two back to back birdies on the front nine for a 37 (my best nine holes ever) where I drove the green of the par 4 hole 9.

After the front nine, we took a break at the clubhouse as it started to rain quite a bit by then and we could hear thunder close by. Andy was so nice to come out with me again to play my back nine. With a dad and their kids out on hole 10, we skipped forward to hole 11. Not such a smooth start on the wet course, but I still managed to  shoot a couple pars. On hole 10 however, which I played last, I was alone again and waived through by a foursome. A nice tee shot, then overshot the green to the right side ending up in a very steep hill outside the bunker with only one angle to hit to the green that would leave me with a very long par putt... bogey putt of 6 feet also missed and rolled past on the other side to a 3 footer, which lipped out... arghh, 4 putts and a triple bogey. Added up a 44, which resulted in a 81 (9 pars, 2 birdies with 35 putts). My best round ever! Very happy, but a bit bummed that I rushed and triple bogeyed the last hole... GOLF: the game of could have and would have... if...


This will be one of the most memorable rounds. Great company, sunshine and rain, and even my first sighting of an eagle on hole 18 (a bit blurry in the picture, as I had to zoom in quite a bit).

oh look...

... a real American eagle!

The Dunes: big fairways paired with greens that are fiercely guarded, often elevated

A traditional treat and real Country Club here in the south "The Dunes". It has its members only areas and separate guest facilities, tennis courts, a pool and beach access and a driving range with new Callaway balls.

Today's round was special: all girls. Sandy and Jane were just as excited to get the opportunity to play this beautiful course. There are signs that say beware of alligators and I was hoping to get a picture of one. A good day again, I saw an interesting looking duck, my alligator and even a raccoons on may way to an average score. Started of well, but is was very muggy out today (heat index 110) and by the end of the round none of us three had the energy really to pull it together. Result: 44 and 52 (incl. 32 putts... yes today, some of them actually went in).

hole 10 (elevated green, guarded by bunkers,
like most holes here

a pretty duck sharing the fairway with us

raccoons on the green

alligator at a safe distance

haha ... I was in the bunker on the right side, caught it thin
and thus overshot into another one in the back of the green

TPC Myrtle Beach and Garden City Beach

Hot day out and new grips on my clubs. With my extra soft Winn grips on my clubs and also a changed grip to baseball 10 fingers, I think the strain may be easier on my fingers. That takes some adjusting though. The grips feel bigger and I have started to hit a lot of shot fat instead of my usual thin.

Off to a good start, I hit a 43 (including a miserable 4-putt...), and then I tripled and quadrupled on 10 and 11 and just landed in the bunker, water and trees too often to shoot a good score on the back nine. With a 48, I still ended up scoring a 91 thanks to a couple pars and two birdies. Any day out when there are birdies is a good day. Now, even when I am not hitting it too well, I still shoot close to my handicap. Must have improved my game a bit after all?!

A nice Tom Fazio course with impressive tree lines along the fairways. A course I really enjoyed and as I got through in just under 3 hours, I went out to the driving range after the round to get a better feel for my new grip and grips. Not for too long though. It was hot and humid again.

Today's pick of beach was Garden City Beach. And there it was, another first on my trip: they drive a lot of golf carts in this community here and there is reserved parking at the beach. How could anyone around here not be thinking about golf all day?

Sunset is inland, but still can be quite impressive

Beach day ends with spending too much time at Target :)

Waisting away in Margaritaville... Jimmy Buffet on my mind... I have been listening to the country station for the last couple days. Don't know where this day went. Time is so relative and towards the end of my trip the days somehow all feel shorter. Much shorter. All day at the beach at 38th St did not really seem like a long day at all.

After sunset, I drove to the Target I had spotted down the road from my apartment. I spent close to two hours in there - can you tell this is a place that I like... so much of a US feeling to it for me, amazing what bargains they have. That also did not seem very long.

In the parking lot, I realized that on this "short day", I did not even stop to take one picture... So, I took a last minute one of my shopping cart to post here.

Oyster Bay Golf links and Sunset Beach

Oyster Bay Golf Links has it all: water, bunkers, marshland, interesting holes and beautiful scenery and wildlife. I did not see a gator today, but nice birds and a world trip first: Wayne who was teamed up with me drove his cart into a bunker and got stuck there...


I was in the bunker a lot too - 7 times, lost 3 balls (water and marsh) and had to chip back to the fairway from the woods and behind trees 3 times too. Talking my game today, the only highlight in this round were my 34 putts, which however did not save me from scoring a triple digit 102 again.

One of the many birds I saw on the course today

Being at the southern tip of North Carolina, I was ready to go to Sunset Beach, which has been recommended to me by a couple of people here. Indeed, this is a nice stretch of beach with lots of friendly seagulls that were posing for my pictures (with the help of my camera zoom and some chips...). Another good day out that was not too hot on the course nor on the beach with the nice breeze from the ocean.

Arrowhead Golf Club: Tournament with the Grand Strand Golf Directors

Canon ball start at 8:30 with Frank, Nate and Craig on my team for the 20th Annual GSGDA Charity Challenge. I was in for a treat, as I could see by passing the first couple holes driving out to our starting hole 6 on the Lakes 9.

Sandy and I (still with the glare from the mist
of the beach on my camera lens...)

The crowd listening to the instructions

Frank, myself, Nate and Craig
before we tee off on our first hole to birdie 

Ahh, over too soon, already on hour last hole to play today 

NC birdie posing for me...

Leaderboard: Winning team shot a 53 (we scored a 63)

And, because it was soo nice today, we go out again
and play another 9 holes... well 10 actually,
as we drew and needed an extra hole to win the cash!

A long day, with a perfect finish: winning some cash and then joining Sandy for dinner at her local bar.

A day at Myrtle BEACH that ended with moonrise watching

A lot of wind here on the Atlantic, every half hour or so, you need to rid your beach towel of the sand. Reading a magazine at the beach is a bit difficult, so I just watched the waves and surfer Justin catch some later in the afternoon, when the high tide came in.

Instead of sunset watching (over land on the east cost), this is the place for moonrise watching over the sea. Glad I stayed out on the beach late to see this.