So, my original plan was to go back and create a blog entry for all of our misadventures. That is still the plan, however, I figured I would start with the most recent adventure, both since it was fresher in my mind, which is critical at my age, and also so I would at least get back to updating the blog.
This trip (October 25-28, 2013) was our second trip to Kiawah Island, with a plan of getting in a little golfing, fishing, and relaxation. We have been to Kiawah (to try and tame the Ocean Course) one previous time (future blog entry coming), so the plan was to seek revenge on the Ocean Course. Actually the first time we played the Ocean Course, the wind was way down, so we actually played it ok (for us), but we still sought revenge - that's what guys do.
Messing with Traditions
The trip didn't start out as originally plan. First, Ben decided to ask for the wrong weekend off from work. His beloved Red Sox were in the world series, and he had a chance to go to Game 6, if needed. During pre-trip email exchanges, he mentioned something along the lines of maybe making a quick trip to Beantown, but making it back just in time for the trip. Well, since I knew when our trip was scheduled - the weekend before Game 6 - I knew something didn't add up. A quick email exchange with Ben confirmed my thoughts - he had the wrong weekend scheduled for our trip. After a few 'tense' emails, he finally worked it out and was able to go. He will never live that one down!
The other issue with this particular trip is that many traditions were broken. We pride ourselves in keeping with tradition, however, on this trip, many traditions were broken. Most of this was my fault, so I'll take full blame for the breaking of tradition. Because of some travel schedule, I actually was already going to be down at Kiawah, thus didn't make the trip with the rest of the boys. A couple of the traditions broken included:
- Everybody traveling together, in the Suburban, with the constant risk of 'the burb' blowing up and dying at any moment. With 233K on the odometer - that is a real risk
- Eating at the Original Stax before the trip. Between getting in a good meal, and watching the 'sign man' molest the 'wait to be seated' sign, this is one of the oldest traditions
The golfing that almost wasn't
Starting with our original trip to Kiawah, the plan for the weekend is always 2 rounds of golf - one round at the Ocean Course, and one round at one of the 4 other public courses belonging to the Kiawah Resort. The first trip we played the Ocean Course, as well as Cougar Point. Because my house is situated on the 14th hole of Osprey Point (aka - Ostrich point), we decided, for this trip, we would seek revenge on the Ocean Course, as well as play Ostrich and see who had the worst shot and could slice a nice drive right into my house. Believe me - many of the Kiawah golfers are very good at hitting my house. The good news is, I should never need to buy another golf ball again!
Anyway, when I started making calls to schedule our tee times, it was apparent that I underestimated the popularity of the Ocean Course in late October. The College of Charleston golf teams were holding a tournament that whole weekend, including at the Ocean Course, and so the course was closed to any other golfers. I then started calling some of the other courses, and found out that our overall options were limited. A group of Dermatologists were also in town to play a little golf and had several courses tied up for at least half the day. After some quick email exchanges, it was determined that we would not let this setback change our trip, and I was able to secure a Friday afternoon tee time for Ostrich Point, as well as a Sunday afternoon tee time with Cougar Point again.
Ostrich Point turned out to be one of my favorite courses, and I think the other guys felt the same. While I lost 6 balls on the first 3 holes (none of them mine, of course - see above), it was still a very pretty course, with some challenging holes but not too challenging. When we got to the 14th hole, the gauntlet was dropped, to see who could actually hit the house. Lucky for me, nobody did, including myself. I was even able to salvage a par on that hole! Cougar Point was not as friendly. Every time I've played that course, it has eaten me alive. Sunday afternoon was no different. As a matter of fact, I shot the worse score of my Kiawah career. I won't go into the gory details here, but it was bad! Overall, though, it was still better than being at work!
Chasing the Big One
Back in the Summer, I had a lot of luck catching shrimp in the local waters. Since October is shrimping season, I thought for sure I would have similar luck. Before the boys arrived, I made an attempt at catching some shrimp, with only 12 or so of those things coming home with me. I ate those before the boys arrived, but was not able to catch another one the entire weekend!
In between our golfing rounds, we decided to take a boat out for a little fishing and boating adventure. There were 2 reasons for concern. First, the first time we went out on a boat for fishing, Joe decided to chum up the water at multiple stops along the way. Granted, it was out in the deep water, and we had no plans on doing that, there was still some concern! The second concern was my limited experience with the boat out on the river. I had been out on the river a few times before, but am still a novice with all that.
One thing we all agreed upon was that, on this trip, we would just eat out most meals, so nobody had to worry about cooking. We tried several local establishments, including several on the island. On the island, we tried out Cherrywood BBQ, at the Ostrich Point clubhouse, even after the local pro shop guy told us we would never finish in time to start our round - can you say 'A Challenge'. We finished with plenty of time - even enough time to hit some range balls. Food was excellent. We even got to watch about 20 gators sun around the pond as we ate. In addition, we tried the Southern Kitchen restaurant, near the Straw Market, which was very tasty as well.
Off the island we tried several establishments. Red's Ice House is always good for a burger. We ate there before heading out on the boat, since it is right there at the Marina. We also tried some pizza from Luciano's as well as trying out the King Street Grill. We did make one trip off the islands to try out Gilligan's Seafood. It was pretty much a hole in the wall place, but not bad. Not really what I expected, but food was pretty good. At least we got some seafood while we were here.
The ultimate goal was for everybody to get a little relaxation before having to head back to work. Joe, with his third-shift schedule, is always messed up on sleep, and this trip was no exception. One night he got up at 3:00 AM and decided to head over to the 'Other wing' of the house and eat some snacks and shoot some pool. I had no idea he was over there when I woke up at 4:00 AM, or I would have joined him!
Most mornings started out with the 4 of us sitting out on the back deck, drinking our coffee, and heckling some of the golfers. Nothing like having a group of four guys sitting on the deck staring at you while you try to take your second shot! Especially after you just had to walk into the yard to find your ball.
Since it was football season, we did sit around and watch a little football as well. Most nights, us old men went to bed early, with the exception of Ron, who is the night owl in the group. We even decided to go on a relaxing bike ride around the island. This almost turned tragic as Joe about got ran over while making a left-handed turn at one of the intersections.
Next Adventure
Overall, I believe we had a very successful trip. We had excellent weather, which was a shock to us all, and overall had a relaxing time. Our next Adventure is scheduled for the end of April, so I'm sure Ben will ask for the first weekend in May off, but we'll worry about that as we get closer to the dates. It hasn't been decided what adventure we will take this next time, but rest assured, it will be a misadventure!
