Vacation review! 2 thumbs UP!

OK...so Kim and I returned on Friday from our first golf vacation. Four rounds of golf. Lots of great food. Here are my recommendations/observations.

Hotel - We stayed at the Long Bay Resort on Ocean Blvd. www.longbayresort.com This was centrally located, easy to get to the main drag, and all of the courses/restaurants we visited. The room was spotless, bed was nice, shower was the tits, and had a balcony with a view of the ocean. Also there was a pool area, 2 pools, 3 hot tubs, a sauna, shuffle board, ping pong. Again, perfect. I give this a 5 Rocket rating.

Golf courses -
Myrtle Beach National South Creek - Kim and I played here the moment we arrived in MB, and could not have been happier. 54 hole layout (Arnold Palmer design). Several holes forced a carry over water to well bunkered greens. Greens were fast. A few holes you had to meander thru housing developments (600K houses!) which provided a feeling of luxury. Although I shot 89, I would say this was a course worth playing again, although I would do the King's North version first. Still, another 5 Rocket rating.
The Witch- Dan Maples is a great architect. Again, fast ass greens, think Burlington or the Links fast. Huge bunkers the size of Egypt, plush fairways, well groomed. The one downside was the distance b/w green to tee, however the course was the best we played all week. Also the waitresses and beer cart girls were decent too, 6 Yuenglings for 15 bucks. Can't go wrong there. All in all, for 100 bucks a round, I can see why its expensive. Several Canadians were behind us all day (can't they fucking stay home once in a while?)and hit into us on occasion. However if we make this trip again, the Witch will be on the regular rota. Again, 5 Rockets
Wicked Stick - John Daly's drunken attempt at creating a golf course is a let down in my eyes. No aesthetic value whatsoever here. The pluses were minimal. Nice pro shop, big fairways, big greens, GPS systems in cart. These however were offset by 40 mph winds all day, beer cart was scarce, and for the men 200 yard carry's on virtually every tee shot into the wind. Scoring was tough, but with a 40 mph wind, fair. I could have done this at Rocky Ridge. Was worth a one time shot, but then again, so is West Bolton. 2 Rockets
Possum Trot - An older course with a GREAT practice facility. Huge range, multiple putting and chipping areas, and a great staff. I would play this course again too, however it was a bit pricier then I imagined. A very easy layout, with slower greens. Although Kim and I ran out of steam and played shitty, this course has birdies waiting to be made. Definitely worth playing again. 4 Rockets.

Restaurants
Sunday - Kim and I went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Broadway at the Beach. Good food, shitty waiter. I say this about the HRC, you seen one, you seen em all. It was 8 pm, I had a sinus issue, we were tired, so we went with what we know. Band was good, but we would see them again. Worst night of the trip. 2 Rockets
Monday - We decided to go a bit with what we knew. So...we tried Hooters. Pitchers of beer were nice. Yuengling too. Our waitress was nice, as were a few others. We had the fried pickles of course. After that, we ventured over to Broadway at the Beach again. There we found ourselves at an arcade, Broadway Louie's where we drank more pitchers, played air hockey, Galaga, Golden Tee and had a blast. Then we stopped at Domino's for some pizza to keep us together! For the night, 5 + Rockets
Tuesday - After the Wicked Stick affair we decided to test out Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for drinks. I found Landshark Lager. Great beer, great vibe in there. Very theme like, as you can imagine. Since it was packed, we decided to try the Liberty Ale and Steakhouse. Great steak, great IPA and Irish Red. Very much like the VPB here. Then Kim and I walked over to Senor Frogs. This would have been more fun had we been with a group. One beer and gone. Back to Broadway Louie's again. More pitchers, more Galaga. You know the drill. 4 Rocket rating.
Wednesday - I noticed a Dick's Last Resorton the way to Possum Trot, and had to show Kim what it was all about. Again, theme oriented, great food and beer, and I laughed as hard as I have in a while. After dinner, to cap off a GREAT vacation, we went back to Margaritaville for some unwinding. All in all, a 5 Rocket vacation!

Vacation Status - Raleigh style

OK. Its Saturday night, Kim and I have had 50 Yuengling's each this weekend. So far, a perfect 10. Here are the highlights so far...

Wednesday night - After 5 or so hours of me badgering Kim, we finally decide to leave at 8 pm. I take a 5 hr energy drink...that is correct. Problem is, I believe that I am so hyper generally that the energy drink might have worked for an hour or so. Kim falls asleep at about Whitehall NY leaving me to drive thru the fog and rain until I start to wear down. At about 2 am I decide to unwind. Kim wants a room, so we stop in lovely Scranton , PA where we get a cheap room. Here is the best part. The front door of the hotel is locked, but a skinny little Indian kid, not Casino Indian, but a Slurpee Indian waited on us. We had to slide our card thru a window so he can do business. However the door to the hotel is unlocked. Real safe! Anyhow, we sleep 6 hrs and go.

Thursday - We leave the Taj Econo Lodge at 830 am, drive to Raleigh - arrive 5 pm. First order of business, we go to the Carolina Ale House. Think Pour House times 50. TV's everywhere. Duke fans......ugh...everywhere! Great food, and yes Yuengling. Only problem is smoking is still allowed here. Anyhow, after a few pops there, we mingled on over to my dads favorite spot O'Dwyers. There we had MORE beers then came home.. Where we commenced to have MORE beers.

Friday - I wake up with a screaming headache. So does Kim...but we say Fuck it, and realize we are on vacation, so we go golfing at Hedingham CC. Kim shoots well, I shoot 85, NO BIRDIES!!!! A decent front nine, shitty back nine (2 doubles). Hit the driver like shit. Kim's irons are in the air, all in all a great first round, weather in the high 50's..noone bugging us.

Then after golf - we head to the RBC Center - for the Canes/Islanders game. We tailgated for 2.5 hours. Beers, burgers, southern women yapping...perfect. Great seats, great game (Canes came back in the 3rd to win 5-4). Then again, to O'Dwyers for beers and jello shots. Since Kim and I met, this was my favorite day ever with her.

Saturday - Slept till 11 am. This was much needed....Then riding around Raleigh, Durham, RTP - IBM (HUGE PLANT). A visit to the local Golfsmith store (for you golfers out here, sensory overload.) Great store. Then to the Anus barn, I mean Angus barn. 35 dollar Prime Rib. Also, I FINALLY got to go to a Buffalo Wild Wings!!! UNC game was fairly exciting. I still hate Duke, but those prick's won too, so the bar was hopping. Now..its on to Myrtle Beach National. Kim and I tee off at 116 pm. I'll try to post more exciting stuff as we carry on. Later!

Vacation starts today!!

Ok, in an effort to truly capture what happened on this vacation, I will be blogging daily to keep whomever reads this rubbish up to date. I will include photos if possible. Here is the tentative itinerary.

Depart Colchester 7 pm Wednesday
Arrive Raleigh Thursday afternoon.

Hurricanes/Islanders - 7 pm Friday - section 102 row X
Golf - Hedingham CC - Raleigh - Saturday

Commute to Myrtle Beach - Sunday AM
Golf - Myrtle Beach National - South Creek course, 115 pm tee time http://www.mbn.com/courses/south-creek/
Drink

Golf Monday - The Witch - 1015 am tee time
http://www.witchgolf.com/
Drink...I suppose shop too.

Golf Tuesday - Wicked Stick - 930 am tee time
http://www.wickedstick.com/
Drink...dinner somewhere nice im sure

Golf Wednesday - Possum Trot - 1230 pm tee time
http://www.glensgolfgroup.com/courses/possum-trot/

Rest for ride home

Thursday - head home.. recover