Golf Tournaments & Getaways
The week started off with the Taylor Made College Golf Tournament being played in the pouring rain and cold. It has ended up with sunshine and warm breezes and the return of the purple martins which make it officially spring around here. We hosted dinner for the team after their first tournament day. All of the girls said they had never been so cold or wet playing but were still happy to be here. We were delighted when day two of the tournament turned out to be bright and sunny.
We loved participating in the golf tournament as hosts to the Ohio Wesleyan women’s team and having a student stay with us for the golf tournament. We were sad when they left on Wednesday morning. It is always exciting to watch them play and this year was no exception. There is lots of activity around with the young people and their coaches and in many cases, their families who have come along to support them. The golf hole we live on makes it a perfect spot to watch them tee off and putt without moving from our vantage point as it is a par 3 hole. Our azaleas are in full bloom so it looks a bit like the Masters with all of them blooming around the green.
Eating and Walking in a New Place
We took off for a few days in the mountains of North Carolina for a visit with our good friends, Sue and Fish, and with our mountain ladies who are getting married in a couple of weeks. We also made a stop in a place we had been curious about for a number of years, Camden, South Carolina. We were curious about it because our former neighbors in Canada had moved there a few years ago and we wanted to see what had brought them to that place. John found a lovely B&B there called the Bloomsbury Inn. It is a truly wonderful place to stay. John has a knack for finding just the right place for us to stay. We have had a few near misses but the majority of inns that we have been to have turned out to be places we would go back to. This is one of them. The small world is that our former neighbors had stayed there while figuring out their move to Camden.
Naturally I wanted to get out and walk while there so we walked to our dinner spot the night we got there. Turned out to be a 2 1/2 mile walk round trip which was a good way to burn off a yummy dinner. The next morning we were treated to a breakfast made by Katherine, our host, that was just plain over the top. Katherine and her husband, Bruce, run the B&B together. Both are retired Air Force Colonels and were absolutely fascinating to talk to. We had a social the night we arrived and the next morning Bruce amused us with stories while Katherine served up a breakfast fit for kings. The first course was hot apple soup, a recipe that she won third prize for in a cooking contest a few years ago. Honestly, I have never tasted anything so delicious. Think I could live off it for ever. She said, without actually giving me the recipe, that it was cooked apples, a little cinnamon and brown sugar, some half and half, and served with a dollop of the best vanilla yogurt and more cinnamon. I intend to try and duplicate it and will substitute maple syrup for the sugar and plain Greek Yogurt to make a lower sugar version but I bet it will be just as good. I’ll let you know. This was followed by a crab and egg soufflé served with tomato that we thoroughly enjoyed. After such a big breakfast, I had to get out and try and walk some of it off. Plus I love exploring a new place and the best way to do that is walking. It was a gorgeous day and I walked for a good hour around the area where we were staying. Just beautiful and I want to go back again some day. I was listening to some great music and singing and dancing along with it as I happily explored the neighborhood. I sometimes think I might get locked up because I am waving my arms and skipping along but so far all is good.
Asheville is a Great Place
We had the best time in Black Mountain and Asheville with our North Carolina family. Some how we really lucked out with the weather and had a gorgeous day on Saturday. It was supposed to rain according the weather channel and also have some thunder showers. You can see we did not. We had a wonderful walk in Veteran’s Park and part of the campus of Montreat College with Sue and Fish and then we met the girls and their friends for lunch at All Soul’s Pizza. The weather was so good we were able to eat outside, in the sunshine, and unlike South Carolina, no bugs just little furry things that kept falling out of the surrounding trees and landing in our beer. Margot and Hadley’s wedding is in five weeks so it was fun to catch up and hear about all the plans for the weekend. We are all really hoping for weather as gorgeous as this was. It’s an outdoor wedding – enough said! One of their great pals was sitting with us and mentioned a race that is to be held on the 28th of April in Asheville. It came about that she had the wedding marked in her calendar as the week before. She said “It’s on the 21st, I have it in my calendar” and then proceeded to go and get her phone to prove to Margot and Hadley and the rest of us that the wedding was on the 21st. It really was funny to have her try and convince the girls that the wedding was on the 21st. You would think they might know!!!
A Recipe to Try
I didn’t cook much this week as we were only home for one night and gone the rest of the week. However, there is always something wonderful to try and I can always find something on my favorite Blue Zones website.
Pineapple Mango-Strawberry Smoothie
