The Alamo

Had a chance to go see the Alamo this morning. I've heard of it before but never really knew what it was about, so it was good that I had a chance to check it out this morning. It basically started out as a missionary in 1724 where the Spaniards and their Native Indian converts would live. Then in the 1800s, the Alamo became a major site of the Texas Revolution. Davy Crockett was one of the frontiersman/soldier involved in the siege against the Mexican army.

There's also this HUGE live oak tree at the Alamo. I believe it's about 120+ years old!
I then checked out the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. It's pretty neat. There's a river that runs through town and you can walk along the river. There are tons of restaurants and you can also get on one of the tour boats. I wonder how many people have fallen into the water, since there isn't much fencing along the walkway!

Historic Brownsville Open

What a week! I shot 73 (2-over) the first day and on the second day, I shot 2-under and was tied for second place! I ended up playing in the final group on Sunday!!! I think I had a perma-smile when I was going to bed because I was so happy and excited!
On Sunday, I started out 3 shots back from the leader. By the 9th hole, I was only 1 shot away! But then, after a poor chip on hole #10, I was back to 2 shots away and then, by the #11th hole... I was 4 shots away! Yup, I made a double-bogey on the 11th. Not the best time to three putt! The wind was blowing really hard all day long and it was really difficult to putt! I NEED to figure this out eventually! Perhaps we'll have to rent one of these giant fans back in Tulsa!
Well, none of us in the group played well on Sunday. The leader shot 76 (5-over). I shot 78 and the other girl shot 80. Luckily the leader started out the day with a 3-shot cushion so she still won the event by one shot. I, on the other hand, dropped from 2nd to tied for 12th. All in all, it was still a good week. I had 2 bunkers shots to play on #17 and #18. I'm glad that I didn't send the ball flying over the green into the gallery as they were rather long bunker shots. So, I'm happy with the little successes :-) And oh, my picture ended up in the local papers today - on the front page... and in color! The winner had her picture on the second page, in black and white!
On a side note, my cucumber is doing well! I did have both of the seedlings sprout, but one of them went limp earlier in the week, so I pinched off the leaves. Don't think I was suppose to do that, but obviously it's too late now. The other one is still doing great, thankfully. One more week before I can put it in a bigger pot at home! And speaking of pot, I was really tempted to buy another planter today! Looked like they had some nice mexican ones along the Highway 77 today. But I already have a pot in the backseat of my car. Yeah... I just couldn't help it. I bought a heavy square one when I was in Lafayette. I think it did the trick though of holding my car down during the windy drive today! ;-)

Rancho Viejo, TX!

So the past few days here in Rancho Viejo has been nice and sunny, compared to all that rain last week! It's been rather breezy and based on the forecast, the wind is going to gust up to 40mph this weekend!
There are two golf courses here and we are playing on the El Diablo course, as you can tell from the hole markers :-)
My housing this week was really excited when they found out that I'm from Malaysia. They asked me exactly where I'm from and I told them - from the Borneo island. Mr. Lindeman was really excited and told me that he was in the Navy during WWII on the USS Cofer. They traveled to Borneo - participating in minesweeping as well as rescuing survivors. The USS Cofer received 8 battle stars for WWII services. How awesome is that!

Off to Brownsville, TX!

Well, looks like we're off to Brownsville next week... with less money in the pocket, despite the hole-in-one! That is just not right!! And no new car either! :-p
Anyhow, it will be a new golf course for everyone in Brownsville, so perhaps that might be a good thing. We'll have to build up some good memories from now on :-)
On my way out here last week, I did drive by Paris. No... not Paris, France but Paris, Texas! Who knows where else I'll be driving by later tomorrow.
And yup, my cucumber plant is coming with me! :-)

Hole-in-one!

YES! First hole-in-one during tournament play. It was on my second last hole - the 8th. 190 yards... I hit a 5-wood, wind blowing from left to right and the pin was tucked on the back right corner of the green. I hit a little stinger and it hit the fringe on the right, took a bounce or two and trickled into the hole!!! :-)
Not sure if it will help me make the cut this week. We'll have to wait and see since there was a 2-hour rain delay today. The afternoon wave of golfers will have to finish their rounds tomorrow. There is suppose to be a severe thunderstorm later this afternoon.
Yay!! Yay me! ;-)

Lafayette, Lousiana!

Arrived this past Tuesday afternoon and I've been sleeping in a lot. It's like I'm catching up on my sleep when I'm on the road. Haha! Thankfully, I have a really late tee-time on Friday - 2:30pm... the last one out. I was complaining about it at first and then a friend of mine said,... "well, just imagine you're leading the tournament!" So, that's the mindset I'm going to have on Friday. Last one out, leading the tournament :-) Weather forecast doesn't look very good, so hopefully we'll get to finish all 3 rounds by Sunday.

Bad Dream...

I can't remember too much of it, but from what I recall, it was pretty bad...
So, I'm at a golf tournament and my tee-time is at 10:40am. (Yes, can you tell where this is going???) I figured I better check my starting time, just in case. When I get to the lady with the tee-sheet, she tells me that my tee-time is at 9:40am. And of course, what is the time now? It's 9:45am! The lady asked me where I have been and that they have been calling my name through the intercom. Of course, it is as soft as it can be. So I rush to the tee box with my golf bag and I'm asking around to see if I can still go. They say yes. I put my bag down and whaddaya know... there are only about half a dozen clubs in my bag, most of them wedges! Obviously, I am quite frazzled by now. I declared to the officials that I can't play since I don't have all my clubs. I pick up my bag and go back to my room. On the way back to my room, I'm frantically trying to think what to do now - should I drive back to Tulsa? But that's a really long drive home. Should I just stay here the rest of the week? Or should I call my housing in Brownsville and tell them I'm arriving early? ARGHHH! And of course, in any dream, it's a maze to get back to my room. My clothes and other stuff that I have with me on my trip are all over the place, in different rooms. YIKES! And finally... I wake up, and thankfully it's just a dream? Or is it...?
Currently, I have about 7 wedges in my golf bag. I have one travel bag upstairs in the bathroom while I have my luggage downstairs on the kitchen floor. The new drapes for the bedroom are laying on the floor. The yard is overgrown with yellow flowers, i.e. weeds. I'm frantically thinking about what task to do next in the house. And I have house-guests coming over for dinner tonight. YIKES!!!
The only things I haven't done so far is miss my tee-time. Well, at least not on the Futures Tour. I did miss my tee-time once when I was playing in a mini-tour in Phoenix. Long story. And yes, that's an automatic 2-stroke penalty! (assuming you do have all your clubs and you are ready to play) :-s

Home sweet home!

It's good to be home again! Except it will only be for a short while. Yesterday's 10-hour drive was brutal - constantly fighting the wind. My arms were really tired by the end of the day!
During the drive home, there was a huge smoke cloud! At first I thought it was a bad storm cloud. I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from and there wasn't quite a smokey smell either. Kinda weird...
My car reached a huge milestone yesterday - 200,000 miles! And of course, not too long after that, the on/off light for my cruise control went out. I suppose it could have been worse. At least the cruise control still functions.
Last week, I stayed with a new housing host in Daytona Beach. They didn't have the conventional dog or cat as a pet. Instead, they had a bird, some snakes, geckos, turtles and fish. I got a chance to watch feeding-time!
As for my tomato plant, it is growing really well! It is doing a lot better than the ones that sprouted at home. It's amazing how the amount of sunshine and warmth can affect the growth of the tomato plants. And oh, to my surprise, the second seed in the pot sprouted too! I figured the seed would have been lost since I did spill the pot more than once.

Daytona Beach

I don't get it. Everything was going so well during my practice rounds... and then, come tournament day, I end up with a "snowman" or an "8" on a hole and being in places that I've never been before. Grrr...! Sometimes I think I tire myself too much after all that practice earlier in the week. But Bobby always thinks that I don't practice enough!
Well, driving back to Tulsa tomorrow. Can't wait to see the house again on Monday night (yes, and to see my honey too :-) . I'll also have to re-remember all the different/confusing light switches again.