Orient Express

Golf, Shop, Hang with Neighbors

I was worried that the four beers I drank the night prior might keep me from my goal, but it didn’t. I was up at 5:45am just as I had planned. I was eager to get through my exercises, walk, and run so that I could head to the golf course in time for our 8:30am tee time.

I finished everything with a little time to spare. I showered, dressed, and made myself a ham and egg sandwich on rye and pumpernickel bread. I was out the door by 7:45am in route to Split Rock, a little known, but beautiful golf course in Orient just east of the prison. I was meeting the Bob’s, Bob Imber and Bob Boyer. Lucky for me I printed off the directions from mapquest. I had been there before but had taken a different route. Even though mapquest said to take I-71S I decided to head out Norton Rd to Rt 62 – a scenic drive through the countryside.

I missed my turn onto RT. 762 by cutting through Harrisburg. It wasn’t until I passed my mom’s old access road (Ballah Rd) that I realized I had passed it. That delayed me a bout three or four minutes. I quickly righted my wrong and headed back to 762 where I passed the Orient Correctional Facility for the first time ever. It was very beautiful out there along Darby Creek. As I approached the golf course on Thrailkill rd I couldn’t believe my eyes. There in the yard of an old country home stood an old White Castle restaurant completely in tact.

I arrived a few minutes early and just ahead of Bob Imber. Bob Boyer was already there. It was a lovely morning for golf. It was about 65 degrees with clear blue skies. The high was expected to hover just below 80 degrees. In brief, my golf was good, especially tee to green. I had good command of my driver and perhaps even better command of my second shots. However, once again, holding back my scoring was putting. I left a number of birdies on the green only to walk away with bogeys. But in the end, that didn’t bother me so much because I know that I can putt fairly well most days.

We finished up before 1pm and went our separate ways. I took the scenic route home and stopped at the Rt 62 Ameri-Stop for an ICEE. It was goooood! I was home by 1:15pm. Mindy was on the deck reading her brand new Harry Potter book. It wasn’t long before we were out the door to the grocery to get camping supplies and our usual home groceries. We had to be swift as the kids were expected home from Deer Creek around 3pm. We made quick work of Wal-Mart and even made it back home just after 3pm. Jimaken was already there. Mindy asked that he pull out of the drive so that we could back in the with the groceries. We unloaded are haul. We had plans to dine with Pat & Lisa, our friends and neighbors at 6pm. We spent the hours leading up to that doing a little camp trip preparation. While all the prepping was going on, I was also watering the lawn, wanting to ensure that it got a good soaking before our Monday morning departure. I still hadn’t contacted Dad to arrange for Ykraps and the flowers, but I was almost certain that he’d do it.

We made a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake to take with us to the Shultz’s. We walked to their house at 6:15pm. We hung out with Pat, Lisa, Jamie and Alenna all evening. Pat grilled pork tenderloin and grilled onions. As always, everything was delicious. He’s quite the grill master. We hung on the deck drinking, eating, talking and laughing until about 11pm. The kids were tired when we got home, so Mindy put them right in bed. We were tired too and weren’t far behind. We had a lot to do the following day as well.