We returned to Tallahassee to pick up the RV two weeks to the day after we left it for repairs. And they did a good job! Before and after…and I learned a lesson the hard way.
A lot of fiberglass damage and fortunately no structural damage, and we were off to Jacksonville to visit some old friends from Park City who now live Ponte Vedra Beach on the grounds of the TPC Sawgrass.
Bill and Marilyn lived in Park City back in the 90’s – Bill working with me as Director of Sales for our Axis division, and Marilyn working for the Wasatch Brew Pub as comptroller and chief numbers crusher.
We had a lot of fun those years, boating, golfing, camping, cooking, playing cards and I think we even got Bill on skis once…and not for long. We went our separate ways in 2000 and although we met up a few times when we both lived in Southern California we really didn’t see each other for some 15 years. Jeez, time flies no matter what’s going on. So, it was great to get together again and we fell into the same routines as if we hadn’t missed a beat.
Bill and Marilyn live on the grounds of the TPC in a great home just the right size for the two of them and their dog Riley. Marilyn had just hooked up with the PGA Tour in the accounting office which gave her a lot of really cool perks to enjoy around the TPC, including a lunch we had just prior to the Player’s Championship. Great clubhouse.
While Bill and I played the Valley course, sister to the famed Player’s and a tough tract in its own right, Jan and Marilyn tooled around the TPC in a golf cart checking out the famous holes.
Marilyn had to work the next day so Bill, Jan and I went to the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, an impeccable tribute to the history of the game, the legacy of players, past and present, and a pathway to the future. 
A whole section was devoted to Bob Hope, called, among other things, the ambassador of golf back in the day.
There were great backdrops to the famed courses on The Open rota…
and the famed Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews that traverses the Swilcan Burn between the 1st and 18th holes at the Old Course and where many a famed golfer has stopped to have a picture taken during their final round.
Each member of the Hall of Fame has a locker filled with memorabilia that he or she has gathered over the years…some especially poignant as in the cases of Payne Stewart and Arnold Palmer.
And a section dedicated to that rarified club of men and woman (Anika) who have broken 60 for 18 holes, led by Al Geiberger who shot the first 59 in tournament history at the Danny Thomas/Memphis Classic in 1977, forever immortalizing himself as Mr. 59.
I, myself, came quite close to achieving that feat at the Open Championship one year, recording nine birdies vs no bogeys and edging Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player by a single stroke.
In the lobby there is a good representation of Cutter and Buck, a classic golf line that we owned the license for Big and Tall back in Park City, and for whom son Jake is currently the Global Director of Worldwide Golf sales. Anika Sorenstam, World Golf Hall of Fame member, is the ambassador for the line .
And finally, as we left, we each had a shot at a replica of the famed island hole 17th at TPC Sawgrass. I went first and plunked it into the water 6 yards from the TEE… Bill went next and plunked it in the water 6 yards from the TEE…
and Jan went last and plunked it into the water 6 yards from the TEE.
I have always had visions of sharing recipes in some form or another not thinking way back in the beginning of posting them on blogs. As I have remarked often, these recipes are not just fancy gourmet dishes, but a tribute to the all the cuisines that I have been exposed to over the years. Bill, when I first met him, was a comfort food kind of guy. When we would go to Lake Powell to boat in Southern Utah I would bring a crown rack of lamb, Bill would bring biscuits and gravy. No slight intended because to be honest we both liked both kinds of food. This recipe is an homage to Bill, a creamy macaroni and cheese recipe, that ultimate comfort food, but with a slight twist to the unique with a small dose of gorgonzola added to the list of cheeses. The beauty of mac’n’cheese is that you can add any kind of cheese to it and pretty much get away with it. Do it like this or make your own creation. Enjoy!
the wooden spoon - a travel/photo blog 