Early to Mid September 2018

Labor Day weekend was as early as it could possibly be this year, signaling the unofficial end of summer. As noted back in May, I had tickets to attend the traditional rivalry game between the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. I went to Peter's, we had a bite of early dinner, walked to the mall by his place to catch the free city bus to the game (6:30 start), 

A light shower before the game produced a rainbow over the steel factories.

A good sized crowd. Feeling patriotic!

We enjoyed the game (Tiger Cats won so the home crowd was happy), caught the bus back to his place and I drove back to Dunnville. 

Wednesday September 5th I had a casual game at Legends of Niagara with Mary Jane and two of her other friends. I had played there quite a few years ago and enjoyed the course. I took a drive by the falls on the way home, just to check that the water was still flowing, and sure enough it was. 

The following day I played a practice round for the Niagara District Tournament of Champions with Lynn, Ella and Enid. Afterwards we met up with one of my playing partners for the upcoming tournament in the washroom. The tournament was Saturday September 8th. The weather turned down and was cold and windy. The third player that was supposed to be in my group didn't show up, therefore I was only playing with the lady I met on Thursday. Her goal was to not come last, mine was to win the event, we couldn't have been further apart. It was her first out of club competition and her home course is an executive length one with no hazards to speak of. She was the type of chatty, nervous golfers tend to be. I was trying to stay focused on my game. I was driving the cart, with her as the passenger. In the shot-gun start we were assigned to the 8th hole a good starting hole in my opinion, a relatively short par 4. I hit the fairway and green, barely missed my first putt, so tapped in for par. She took a 7. The next hole, another par 4 has about a 50 yard carry over a pond. She didn't get over it in two tries and was wondering about a drop area. I had to deliver the bad news that in this tournament there was no drop area, so if she couldn't get over she would be disqualified, which was the route she ended up deciding to take after a couple more tries and before she hit all the balls she had with her into the pond. She mentioned that she had hoped we would start somewhere else, so she would be more warmed up before we got to this hole. I mentioned that the range, complete with free balls, was accessible to us for a couple of hours before we had teed off. Anyway, she stayed with me and played along in order to keep my score. 

I was playing very well until we got to the 18th hole, a par three with a large pond to carry, which isn't usually a big problem for me, but it can be for others. There was a big back up of groups waiting to play the hole. There was a group on the green, one on the tee and two more waiting further back on the path. I parked behind the pump house, trying to escape the wind and not really wanting to watch all the players ahead of us. We chatted about golf to pass the time. We didn't move until the group directly ahead of us was leaving the tee box, thinking that we would soon be able to proceed. Unfortunately, that did not end up being the case. One of the players balls had fallen a little short of getting completely over the pond. She was within the hazard taking what appeared to be practice swings. She then ended up coming back toward the teeing area. First she dropped her ball on another tee box to the right of the one we were to use. It would have been in line with where her ball was the the flag perhaps. She then picked it up, I guess deciding that wasn't the correct spot and teed up from in front of the tee blocks we were about to use. She proceeded to put 3 more balls into the pond before she eventually got one across the pond and to the left of the green. I was thinking that while she and her caddy were driving back to the green we could hit up, but that wan't possible because her playing partners who had been waiting for her to play walked back onto the green to finish putting out there balls. The player who had been in trouble then played her ball too far and into the bunker that was above where her first ball had been. She then got out of the bunker and three putted for a 13. The other two had finished and they moved on. After watching all that and cooling off considerably due to the long wait, I made certain I had enough club to get on the green. I hit my ball to the back with the flag towards the front. My partner put one ball in the middle of the pond and was ready to go to the other side. I ended up three putting that hole and taking a double bogey on the next hole. After that I was able to wright the ship and proceeded to play well to the end. It turned out I won by a shot! I defeated a local favorite, Sandy Billiard, who I had played the final round of the Provincial Senior with several weeks earlier. (I beat her that day too.) She mentioned that she three putted her last hole, I guess trying to suggest we may have needed to play-off. I didn't mention about watching a 13 and it possibly costing me one to four shots. 

Official Presentation of the Trophy

I couldn't help myself but to take a drink from "the cup."

The list of past champions is quite impressive. It includes several people I know quite well, Laurie Rybski my coach from my Ladies' Club days x4, Mary Kraus x2, Judith Allen, now Kyrinis (just inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame) and Stephanie Markovich x2. I'm pleased to be joining them in perpetuity. 

Later Sandy said she plans on "beating my pants off next year," because it will be at the course she is part owner of, but in order for that to happen we first each need to win our club championships, something I would never take for granted. 

This was the first tournament I have won, where gave I three full interviews afterwards, complete with photos. My friend Linda Burroughsford who has played more than I in this area over the years had suggested that I had a good chance of winning, I guess she should have placed a bet in Vegas on it. My winning came as a surprise to everyone as I guess no one googled me to learn anything about my past golf experience and figured no one who is any good plays at Freedom Oaks. It was the first time anyone from the relatively new club has excelled at the District event. 

All the champions were on the cover of the local golf scene magazine and there was a nice full page story about me:

This was another nice story but this link may or may not work:
https://www.bpsportsniagara.ca/burke-smurlick-and-brown-top-champions-event/
Not the best story:
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/sports-story/8889290-barb-brown-wins-champion-of-champions-title-as-replacement-for-club-champ/. 

The following day, with somewhat better weather, I played a charity scramble with Mary Jane and two of her friends at Rolling Meadows, another course I can add to those I've played. The had some nice golf stuff in the clubhouse. This glass topped table:

And a wonderful collection of balls under glass at the bar:

We played well enough to get a pick of the prize table. I chose a golf shirt for John and a gift certificate for a sports bar in Niagara Falls that has good reviews. 

Monday and Tuesday were Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). I attended services at Beth Jacob with my brother. Wednesday I played another new course, this time in the Hamilton area called Dragon's Fire with my friend John Sharp, (Alena Sharp the LPGA players father.) 

Typical hole at Dragon's Fire.

Mid to Late August

Friday August 17th I packed up and headed to Pittsburgh to pick up John, arriving from Tucson, on the way to Pinehurst Golf Resort in North Carolina for my 3rd appearance at their Senior Women's North South Invitational. This trip had taken a few months to organize. John was able to get a week off work and agreed to make the trip and caddy for me during the tournament. He was interested in going partly because it is somewhere that he had never been. This was a bit of a compromise seeing as he still does not have a passport and is therefore is not able to come to Canada to visit with me. 

I had called the airport in Pittsburgh in advance to make sure it would be possible for me to get in there with the trailer in order to pick him up. I was concerned about the height clearances near the terminal. They were prepared and helped me get situated. John was able to take a shuttle bus to near the parking lot I was waiting in. We drove a short distance that evening to The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, where they allow RV parking overnight but don't offer hook-ups. I had selected it because on Friday nights they have a seafood buffet that looked very appetizing for me and off track betting for John. We both signed up for their players card, which resulted in dinner being free and I won a little money with some free credits on their machines. 

The following day we made the relatively long drive to a bit south of Pinehurst where I had stayed last year on private property. The land owners were away, but their neighbors, who I had met last year were going to be home and able to help us get hooked up to water and power. 

The following day was for practice, followed by 3 rounds of tournament golf. 

John was a trooper, walking all the tournament holes in the heat and humidity as required by the rules, although I was allowed to ride. 


John was a tremendous help to me and I finished 5 places higher than the previous year. He is hoping to be able to play in the Men's division next year, but in order to do so, he will need to establish a handicap and make an application. Seeing as he doesn't really like administrative things, time will tell if he actually does it.  The event will be held a little earlier in August next year, and course No. 2 will not be played as they are hosting the US Open there. These factors may deter me from playing. 

Shelly and Ann near Pinehurst

On the way back to Pittsburgh on Thursday we stopped in Beckley, West Virginia at the Cracker Barrel about 4 hours south of Pittsburgh, as I was too tired to drive any further. John's flight was later on in the afternoon on Friday, so it wasn't an issue. 

After dropping John off at the airport, my priority was getting back across the border into Canada in order to conserve my days allowed in the USA. I was thinking of spending the night near the border as I don't like driving in the dark, but no place felt right, so I managed to make it back to Maitland Shores, though I didn't have the patience to properly park my trailer on my site. It was just good enough in order to sleep and I fixed it the following morning. 

Monday August 27th was the official practice round day for the Canadian Senior Women's Championship at Lookout Point. I had already played an unofficial practice round earlier in the summer, so the course was not completely foreign to me. I also adapted well to it, because it is somewhat similar to Dundas Valley Golf Club, which I have played previously. The main challenge is understanding how being on the side of the escarpment effects your shots, mostly putting on the greens. Once you understand that you can score well. There had been a weather delay in the morning, due to lightning so the tee times were delayed. I had originally arranged mine to be done just prior to the player meeting and dinner, but with the delay that was in jeopardy. I had arranged to play with a friend of my friend Enid Aaron and a Susan Postian from London. Neither was there as early as I was, so I spoke to the starter and he found me an earlier opening. I got in all 18 holes, showered and changed and made it just as they were starting the meal. They had mentioned in advance that it would be a Marche style buffet (different stations with different foods), but the room was too small to do it effectively and the result was one long buffet line moving very slowly due to the large number of players present wanting to eat. 

The following day was round one. I played really well, shooting 79, which placed me T-7th better than I would have dreamed. The two gals I was paired with didn't do as well. Sandra Mumford from Nova Scotia shot 96 and Meredith Stanford also from Ontario shot 100. It was hard to stay focused watching them. They were pretty sure at this point that they would not be making the cut, so on the second day tried to stay to not bother me. I struggled a bit, but managed an 82 placing me T-20th. Sandra shot 92 and Meredith shot 91. Just before  the final round Mary Jane Hall was bibbed up 

and ready to caddy for me. That was a big surprise. She only made it through 9 holes though. I had chosen to walk the entire tournament so that I could also compete in the Mid-Amateur competition. If I had wanted to do Senior only, I could have ridden. I think the heat and humidity from the previous week and this week caught up to me and my game deteriorated in the final round. I shot 89 and ended up placing 30th in Senior and 27th in Mid-Amateur. Still not bad considering this is a national tournament.

RCMP office tending the national flag on the 18th hole. I love the red coat!

Mid July to Mid August

The week of July 15th I played and practiced at Freedom Oaks for the upcoming Club Championship and attended my weekly card games. The 36 hole Club Championship was held on Saturday and Sunday, July 21st and 22nd. Given the small number of ladies, I decided to play in the Amateur division rather than the Senior. I was able to win, though I didn't play to the best of my ability. 

Nice etched glass Championship Trophy.

Something unique to the Niagara District of Golf Ontario is that they have their own Tournament of Champions, which the Club Champions of each age and gender division can be sent to by their respective clubs. The registration fee is part of your prize package. This year the tournament will be held at Rockway Vineyards on September 8th. Ron and I played "Rockway" quite a few years ago, as I recall it may have been the first item I bought on Groupon, when it first started. We drove over from Toronto and had a delightful round of golf followed by a wine tasting and nice dinner. The only negative on the day was it was early fall, the grapes were ripening on the vines and in order to scare the birds away from eating the grapes, they shot of guns quite frequently, which at first was startling and off putting, but for humans they were at a recognizable interval, so we got used to it.  

My birthday (54th) was going to be low key this year. I decided to take a break from golf and enjoy Dunnville on my own. I booked a massage for the morning, which turned out to be less therapeutic than I am used to although I though I gave the therapist a good idea of what I was looking for during my hour on her table (I won't be going back to this one.) I treated myself to a nice lunch, did some window shopping, then attended a seminar at the library about honey bees, followed by a bite of dinner. Throughout the day I received phone calls, emails and Facebook posts from my friends and relatives, so I was feeling the love.

The following morning I hosted a very small Ladies' Golf Club Reunion at Freedom Oaks as Mary Jane (former Head Pro) and Marion Chapman, a former member who happens to be living near Dunnville these days. Joan joined us, so that Marion could ride with her, while Mary Jane and I walked. I had tried to get Laurie Rybski to play, but she was not available. We had an enjoyable round. Both were pleasantly surprised with the course having never played it before. 

Immediately after our round, I left to head to London to stay with a Maria Reeves in advance of the new Four Ball tournament at Thames Valley. She is also an RVer and we had discussed the option of me parking my trailer in her driveway and staying in it or staying inside the house. I decided just driving over without the trailer for one night would be preferable. I arrived in time for dinner. She had a nice Greek (her heritage) meal of grilled pork, potatoes and salad prepared. Another girlfriend of hers was there as well. We enjoyed the back garden, it was a perfect evening for dining "al fresco." We had a few glasses of wine. It became an impromptu belated birthday party for me, as I was given this wine glass to use:

               

I was beginning to figure out Dawn's concern as Maria's language can get a bit vulgar (she works part time in her brothers auto mechanic shop) and they lit up a medicinal joint (to each their own) for "desert."

The following morning we got up, had a hearty breakfast and headed to the course well in advance of the 10:30 shotgun start. I was playing quite well, Maria not so much and as a result was cursing quite a bit. We were paired with ladies from the local league, so they were pretty much used to her verbiage. (I don't find it very becoming or a good trait to be so well known by.) We played well enough to find ourselves in a playoff for first overall. Due to bad weather in the area and a desire to move on with the meal, it was determined that the playoff would be on the up hill, basically blind tee shot to a short par 3 on the short course that we hadn't played. We lost out, but still won golf shoes! With Maria's help, I decided to go with a pair of all black shoes, something I have never had before, usually preferring lighter shades, usually with a contrasting "saddle." After the meal, we went back to Maria's place, I packed up my things and drove back to Dunnville. There was some rain and lightning in the area, but it was fine for driving. I'm not sure if I will choose to play with Maria again in the future. Perhaps I can support the tournament by introducing another golfer to it. 

The afternoon of Saturday July 28th was the Brantford G. & C.C. Mixed event. My friend Phil Perry and I have played it for a few years, with varying results. Brantford is close enough to Dunnville that I drove there and back the day of the tournament. Over the years they have moved the date around and changed the format. It used to be closer to the first of July and was a Modified Chapman (where you both drive, hit each others tee shot and then choose the best and alternate until it is holed.) It is now a combined stroke play event. The weather was perfect and the course was in great shape. We were paired with a nice couple, Angie and Craig Anderson, though they weren't all that great golfers. To our surprise, we played well enough to win the event, which is based on Net scores, which with our low handicaps can sometimes make it hard to compete successfully. Being a mixed tournament, they sort of expect the team mates to be living together, which obviously isn't the case with Phil and I, so the prizes are mostly on of household items. Over the years we have alternated our prize selection. A few years back Phil selected a knife set with a block to store them in. When we didn't do so well, I got two strings of outdoor lights for the RV. This year we would get first pick! Phil didn't see anything he really wanted and I had my eye on a Six Quart Instant Pot electric pressure cooker. I had read quite a bit about these in the RV Facebook groups I follow. I was thinking I wouldn't buy one until my crock pot stopped working, but winning on was a different matter. Phil was happy to let me take the gift. We also were awarded an embroidered tea towel. I let him take that. 

Tea Towel

Champions dressed for dinner.

Saturday August 4th I traveled to Ft. Erie to play a round a Cherry Hill with Linda Burroughsford. She had arranged a surprise for me, which was that one of the Golf Ontario Rules Officials I knew, Anne Dobbs-Hebron was going to join us. She is a new member at the club seeing as she is working on moving from Brampton to Ft. Erie. The cat was let out of the bag, so to speak, as Anne was running late. We had an enjoyable round and visit afterwards, followed by Sushi. 

Thursday August 9th Lynn, Cathy Chenette, Pat Bradt (organizer) and I went to play a Ladies' Invitational Ladies Scramble at Greystone, a Club Link course in Milton. I had played the course before and the event seemed like a good idea and a good deal. They had a nice lunch before hand with a salad bar and gourmet style protein to top it with. Dinner involved a an antipasto table, passed hors d'oeuvres and then a plated chicken dinner. We shot only 3 under par, because none of us new the course very well. The winners were from Greystone and their score must have been embarrassingly low, because they didn't announce it. 

Sunday August 12th my brother Peter came to Dunnville to visit for the day. We went for a nice walk around the campground and I took him to all the usual nearby spots including the pier. I made a home cooked meal for us, seeing as he frequently cooks for me. 

I got up very early on Monday August 13th to attend my Credit Union's annual golf tournament. It has been quite a few years since I was able to attend, as it usually conflicted with a more competitive tournament I needed to play. I didn't feel too bad about it because I was more often able to attend the Credit Union's annual meeting (fondly referred to as the Credit Union Annual Dinner, because they have abbreviated out most of the business of the annual meeting), in early April, which is attended by pretty much the same crowd. I couldn't have ask to play with a better group: 

Nick Dmytruszko, the supervisor who hired me at Toronto Hydro, Dave Bell one of the supervisors I worked closely with early in my career and John Dolby another supervisor with whom Ron and I and his wife socialized with outside of work. John also caddied for me in some tournaments years ago. 

We didn't play our best golf, but had a great time reminiscing and catching up. I did win Ladies Longest Drive ( a gift card for Golf Town) and was picked in the raffle early enough to get a nice electric string trimmer that I needed to trim the grass on my site at Maitland Shores RV Park. 

Mid June to Mid July

June 16th I traveled to Columbus, Ohio, in order to try and qualify for the Inaugural USGA Senior Women's Open. It was a relatively easy one day drive to Columbus from Dunnville. I stayed at the fairgrounds, which when I arrived was very full, due to a country music concert that night. It was like a pop-up city in full swing, but there were still some spaces available for RV's. Unfortunately for the concert goers, it was interrupted and then cut short due to thunderstorms in the area. Sunday I played my practice round and Monday the qualifier, both at Scioto Country Club, 

Grand Entrance Gate

A typical hole on the old style parkland course.

where Jack Nicklaus started playing the game. The clubhouse is like a Nicklaus museum. 

A young Nicklaus with is trophy collection.

I failed to qualify as did other gals who were there that I knew from Ontario. It was still a good experience as the entry fee was only $250, which covered both rounds. The normal price for a round, for the guest of a member (if you happen to know one), is $300. I had lined up a female caddie for the tournament through their caddie program. She was quite helpful, having worked there for three years, though she does not golf herself. Unfortunately, that evening she came down with appendicitis and wasn't there for me on Monday. A male caddie was substituted, sadly, he didn't seem to be as helpful. I stayed over Monday night and left Tuesday morning. By then the fairgrounds was nearly deserted. I've never experienced anything like that before.  

On the way back I stopped in Fort Erie to have another sushi dinner with my friend Linda Burroughsford. 

One plate of all you can eat.

June 22nd I headed to Burlington to drop the trailer off in order to get the front cap repainted. When I bought the trailer I paid extra for a coating to be applied all over it in order to protect the finish. The front cap began to fade prematurely, but the company that manufactured the coating stood by their warranty and agreed to pay for it to be restored. 

Cap faded above the word Crusader.

The work was going to take one week to complete, so I scheduled it well in advance to coincide with the Ontario Senior Women's Golf Championship being held in Etobicoke. 

I spent Friday and Saturday nights with my brother in Dundas. Sunday I met up with my friend Enid Aaron for a round of golf and dinner. After dinner I went to stay with my brother and his wife in Oakville, pretty close to Markland Wood Golf course, the site of the golf tournament. The practice round was on Monday and the tournament was Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

I played quite well at the Provincial. I was fairly confident going into it because I was quite familiar with the golf course having played other tournaments there over the years and I like it. I ended up placing 5th, which I was really pleased with. My goal had been top 10, because I was thinking that they were still using the "old" method of selecting the Ada Mackenzie team from the top 10 at the Provincial and I had fallen short of that last year. I was disappointed to learn that over the previous winter they had decided to change the method of selecting the team, and had not really properly informed all those golfers who would be interested. Now it is based on the Provincial Order of Merit, a season long calculation based on your finish at a number of high ranking tournaments held literally all over the world. I was not happy with this change because I felt it would favor the very wealthy and retired golfers, who could almost spend their way onto the team. I would have to wait for the winter to find out if I made the team. Had I know this in advance, I would not have stayed around for the awards presentation as only the top 3 are recognized, with medals, golf bags and being named to Team Ontario for the Canadians. In the past the top 10, who were going to be on the Ada Mackenzie team had their pictures taken as part of the awards ceremony. 

Friday morning I had a wonderful massage with my regular therapist in Scarborough, then went to pick up the trailer and head to Silver Dove Estates, where I stayed last summer.  The trailer looked like it did when it was new, so I was very happy with the work that was done. 

I was not at all happy with the camp site I was assigned to at Silver Dove. It was in the new section, which wasn't really ready for camping on yet. They had temporary power set up and the site was not leveled at all. I had to use all my boards to level the trailer from left to right and the full extension of my landing legs to level it from front to back. It was so high up I had to use the step stool I usually use to reach to disconnect the trailer from the hitch as the bottom step to get into the trailer. This was the worst set up I have had to do in over two years of camping. 

Precarious set up with newly painted cap.

Thankfully, I was going to be there for less than a week. I was there to enjoy Canada Day weekend, where the park has a garage sale, decorated golf cart parade, a live band and events for the kids, including an appearance by some super hero's and these cupcake/cookie/candy treats:

I met up with my friend and steady golf partner from last summer, Dawn Harvey at Thames Valley, a city public course in London on July 1st for an unofficial practice round in advance of their Four Ball tournament on July 26th. She was surprised that I was going to be playing it with Maria Reeves, who I met, but didn't play with the previous summer, while trying out for the London District team. Dawn had met Maria when she joined their Ladies League this summer after deciding Wardsville was too far to keep driving to. It was good to play the course. Time will tell how the pairing will work out on the 26th. 

While planning this trip, I came across a 4-Ball tournament for Breast Cancer at Sarnia Golf & Country Club, which is about 1 hour away. 

They painted the inside of the holes pink, instead of white
 (the first time I have seen that done) and had Pink flags.

I went through my list of female golfing friends from the area and was able to get Suzanne Schiemann to go play with me. I had played the course quite some time ago, but not in this particular tournament. We arranged to meet at a mutually convenient location and car pooled the rest of the way to the club. When we arrived, I saw quite a few people I knew from the area. It was Suzanne's first out of club tournament, as it was for the two ladies we were paired with who were members of the host club. We did get to start on the 1st hole, which is always nice in a shot gun tournament. I played quite well and Suzanne had a few really good holes. Because her handicap is higher than mine, we were in the B-flight. We ended up winning Low Net of the flight and only missed 1st overall by 1 stroke. My friends Kathy Pilkey and Debbie McDonald, who are members of the club won the A flight. I was very pleased with our result:

We each got one of these.
I spent mine on a light weight long sleeved white golf shirt.

Overall, the tournament was very well organized and the meal afterwards was nicely prepared and served.  The entree was smoked pork chops.

The final event of this trip was to play the Wardsville 27 hole Women's scramble, which my team and I won last year. Due to our success, it wasn't hard to convince the same players (Enid Aaron, Linda Burroughsford and Cathy Koszman) to try and repeat our feat. It was a great day, and although we didn't score as well as the previous year, we still won! We each got $100 for the win and some skins money. I'm thinking that the local ladies aren't too happy about we outsiders swooping in and taking first place, but the owners of the club, who I know quite well are fine with it.  

The following day I headed directly back to Dunnville because the Freedom Oaks Member Guest was on Friday and Saturday. I chose to play this event with my usual mixed partner Phil Perry. He came up on Friday afternoon in time to play a practice round and enjoy the fried Lake Erie Perch dinner, stay over and play the tournament Saturday. 

Phil in Action

Monday July 9th I played in the Seniors league. 

Tuesday I took the truck to the Ford dealer in Welland (highest rated in the area) for an oil change, which turned out to be a much longer appointment than I had expected. First the service guy tried to use the pick up line, haven't I seen you around here before....Then more than an hour after my scheduled appointment time the truck was still where I left it. Then all the mechanics had to take their 1 hour lunch break....I ended up getting the work done for free, but I felt like it was hush money, not to give them bad reviews online. I received follow-up survey calls from the dealership, the service manager, the dealership owner and Ford Canada. I supposedly have a credit for $50 (about half the cost of my oil changes) on my account there, but I don't think I will go back to collect it. This was the first bad experience I have had with Ford. I used to jokingly say I should be a secret shopper for them, with all the different places I've had service done. 

Wednesday I met my friend and former Head Golf Professional from Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto at her new place, Lookout Point, which is the club hosting the Canadian Senior Women's Championship in August for an unofficial practice round. It was a great opportunity to catch up and for me to get some inside knowledge about the course. It was a great day. My former coach and Associate Pro from Ladies' Laurie, who is also working there now popped over for a little chat part way through out round as well. 

Thursday and Saturday I played at Freedom Oaks.

Late May and Early June Activities

Wednesday May 30th I went into Hamilton to play a round of golf at Beverly Golf and Country Club, where I started my golf career as a 13 year old. That evening, with my brother Peter, I attended a fundraising dinner, lottery and auction at Beth Jacob Synagogue, the one I grew up at. I purchased one of the auction items, a pair of tickets to the Labor Day football game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts in the new stadium (built on the same site as the old one, but with the field turned 90 degrees) in Hamilton, which I had not been to yet. An event to look forward to throughout the summer, which my brother agreed to go with me to. (Many moons ago, when I was a football official in Hamilton, I worked some high school games at the old Ivor Wynn Stadium.) I stayed over for a few days. On Saturday morning we went to synagogue. In the afternoon we went to the Busker Fest in Dundas 

This performer was from Israel.

A good juggler and unicycle rider.

Street artwork piece in progress.
(One of my old nicknames was Wonder Woman, so this resonated with me.)

and on Sunday we went on a hike at the botanical gardens in Burlington. 

We encountered a lot of very friendly chipmunks. It turns out that they are that way because despite the signs saying not to feed the wildlife, many people bring nuts and seeds with them, for just that purpose. 

We visited the Iris gardens.
These large purple ones were among my favorites.

Nice quality time spent with my oldest brother.

Monday June 4th I played my first Mixed Seniors Golf league round. Registration was $10, which covers a season ending banquet. Each week is an additional $1, for prizes. They play closest to the hole on a par 4 and a putting game, where you have to predict how many putts you will have in the round and then match it with your actual performance. It didn't take me long to figure out it was better to predict a higher number, so that you had wiggle room towards the end of the round, as opposed to using them all up with several holes left to play. 

Wednesday June 6th I played my first night of Euchre at the Dunnville Legion. They have a good group of very serious players, much more serious than the Monday game at Lowbanks. They have a few different rules and give more points for lone hands than what I am used to, but the adjustments are easy to make.  

June 8th I headed to Kingston for the annual Cataraqui Golf Club Field Day (Invitational) and Eastern Provinces Match Play. The plans were the same as last year, when I also went with the trailer.

One of the prettier green complexes at Cataraqui.

View from my campsite, close to the river.

I played pretty well in the Field Day, shooting 81, and the fact that my early season play at Freedom Oaks in difficult scoring conditions helped to elevate my handicap a bit, allowed me to win Low Gross, worth $100 in the pro-shop and qualified 5th in the Match play. 

I was able to win my first round of match play rather easily. In the second round I lost a very close match. My opponent in that match went on to loose in the following round. They are planning on making this event into the Provincial Match play championship going forward. I'm not a big fan of that idea. Time will tell if I decide to continue playing in it.

The folks camping next to me were newbies and needed some help with setting up, packing up and dumping their tanks. I was able to help them a bit as the few moments I was around was when they seemed to be in the greatest need of help, so it wasn't like I had to go out of my way to be nice. 

Late May Plumbing Issues

On Monday May 28th, while I was cleaning up from dinner prior to heading to Lowbanks for Euchre for the first time the hot water tap of my kitchen faucet decided to break off! This sent a stream of hot water upwards reaching the ceiling. As the trailer plumbing system is not equipped with in line shut off valves, thinking quickly I realized that I had to run out the the water tap at the post to shut the water off. Until this problem was resolved I would not be able to use any water, because it would leak out of the opening. I didn't want to miss Euchre so I quickly cleaned up the mess, wiping off the ceiling, counter top, cabinets and floor and headed out. 

I arrived at Euchre a few minutes later than I had originally planned, but not so late as to not be able to play. Thankfully one of the ladies I played against mentioned that her husband was a plumber. She gave me his contact information.

When I got home from Euchre I filled a pail with water from the hose at the post to use to "flush" the toilet and used bottled water I had on hand for other needs. I would be able to make due, under the circumstances, until morning. 

First thing Tuesday morning I went to the local Home Hardware store and with the help of their plumbing expert purchased new faucets (l figured I should replace the bathroom sink faucet at the same time) and all the fittings (including shut off valves for hot and cold water lines on each), I thought I would need, half way thinking I could do the repair myself, but then thought better of it. I called the euchre players plumber husband and the local mobile RV repair shop. I decided to go with the plumber as his hourly rate was half that of the RV shop and was able to get there several hours sooner. 

Within 20 hours the job was completed at a total cost of about $350. Part of the repair likely would have been covered by my RV extended warranty which had a $100 deductible, but going that would have taken longer and been more inconvenient, so I'm fine with the way I handled it. 

I'm really glad the faucets have been replaced with better quality ones than the original and that the shut off valves that should have been installed originally are now in place.  Hopefully these changes/upgrades will allow me to have no or few further problems with these components of the trailer.