Arg's Travel Log

[caniac6]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Walking tour of old St Augustine today. My feet are killing me. Much rather walk on turf. Taking a break at Ancient City Brewing. Enjoying a Pumquistador pumpkin ale. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9ksyylns35b0hni/AACTXKf6VdqC-tlnXbN82KHFa?dl=0

 

 

 

It’s been quite awhile since we were there, but we thought it was a pretty cool place, too.

[tw422]

You should buy an EKG machine for this trip. The food and beer looks absolutely ridiculous. Just looking at all this food and drink is taking a few years off my life. Awesome digital diary of the trip so far. Seems like the  Sea Island Seaside course has been the highlight? 

[Phireside]

6 hours ago, miamistomp said:

 Somebody puked on your fries....

  😱

As a Canadian, I feel comfortable saying this "poutine"  looks suspect.

[unskinnybop99]

I've been reading your blog.....now that you are posting a lot of great meals/drinks, what would you say is the average cost of your pint and meal?

 

Must be a lot of French Canadians in the area you bought that poutine.

Edited December 16, 2021 by unskinnybop99

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, tw422 said:

You should buy an EKG machine for this trip. The food and beer looks absolutely ridiculous. Just looking at all this food and drink is taking a few years off my life. Awesome digital diary of the trip so far. Seems like the  Sea Island Seaside course has been the highlight? 

 

I'd say Tobacco Road, The Ocean Course, Mid Pines, and Seaside have been the highlights.

 

Yeah, the food is a little on the rich side. All the more reason I like to walk my rounds. I've probably walked close to 200 miles so far.

 

[Argonne69]

8 hours ago, unskinnybop99 said:

I've been reading your blog.....now that you are posting a lot of great meals/drinks, what would you say is the average cost of your pint and meal?

 

Must be a lot of French Canadians in the area you bought that poutine.

 

Beer prices have been up and down. The high ABV imperials and quads tend to be close to $10 with tip. Many of the local brewpubs have pours in the $6 to $7 range. I also like to get a half pour when available. They're usually less than $5. I had a four-pour flight yesterday that cost $7.50.

 

The food has been pricey. BBQ, especially brisket, is never cheap. Southern Soul was $30 the other day, but I did have enough for leftovers the next day. Shrimp and grits and the pound cake was $30. The wonderful duck club in Charleston was $20.

 

What you're not seeing is the meals that I eat in the RV. I may have a can of chili, a small frozen dinner, pasta, or a sandwich. I have a light breakfast, usually a muffin or bagel, and skip lunch, so my waistline can afford a "proper" dinner a few days a week. I've managed to lose a couple of pounds so far.

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Argonne69

[KBong]

On 12/13/2021 at 3:03 PM, Argonne69 said:

1) I wound up grabbing a delicious three meat platter to go, and eating it inside Bessie in the inn's parking lot. That was some seriously good BBQ.

 

2) It was wonderful that the attendant went above and beyond to take care of a guest. 

 

1) Pictures or it didn't happen.🤣

 

2) I'm not surprised....valets work for tips.🤣

[KBong]

22 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I think I'm safe to say that poutine is not a regional dish of Florida, but the ribeye poutine at Grilled Cheese Gallery is amazing. Tough choice between this and a specialty grilled cheese sandwich. Bummer that they don't offer a combo. 

 

 

Were REAL cheese curds used?

We have poutine at out Costco food courts here in Igloo land.

 

Have you had sausage, biscuits and gravy for breakfast yet?...any pics....one of my favs from the SE USA....we don't have that here.

 

Any crawfish yet...another of my fav's that's uncommon here or will that wait until your in NW FLA or Louisiana?

[Argonne69]

18 minutes ago, KBong said:

1) Pictures or it didn't happen.🤣

 

2) I'm not surprised....valets work for tips.🤣

 

 

[Argonne69]

A somewhat disappointing day at World Golf Village's King & Bear course. Always love starting the day with a "resort fee" tacked on to the bill even though I'm not staying at a resort. Pfffttt. Then there's the having to ask permission to walk the course. I didn't realize that the course had been moved to the Rockies. 

 

The course was lackluster. I've played enough of Jack's and Arnie's designs to know what to look for, but other than a few hints it certainly wasn't their best effort. I didn't realize that the course routes through a housing complex, so you get to look at homes on the majority of the holes. Meh. There were a handful of challenging holes with forced carries over water, but the majority were so so. There was some trouble off the tee, but fairways were more than generous. A couple of the par 5s had tough layups with trouble lurking. Bunkering was decent. Greens were bland, except a couple of Jack's with his love for tiering. 

 

Conditions were the biggest disappointment. We had rain last night, and I knew the course would be a little wet, but it was outright sloppy. I've never played a Florida course that had such poor drainage. My playing partner's cart was kicking up rooster tails on some holes. Overseed was patchy. Bunkers were bad. Most of them had small lakes in them. Greens were bumpy and slow. 9 would be generous. Now, if this was a $50 round I'd live with it, but at $130 it was not acceptable. 

 

Much better day with the irons today. One birdie and five bogies. I had a lot of good looks at birdie, but I couldn't get the ball to the hole on the glacial greens. 

 

Big fan of Jack. Arnie not so much, but I have played a few of his courses that were decent. However, this just didn't stack up. Four cows. 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

World Golf Village King & Bear, St Augustine, FL 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4jkw16h1bc5t75y/AACl1SFy5FAzZhx0FbEkgNkEa?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, KBong said:

Were REAL cheese curds used?

We have poutine at out Costco food courts here in Igloo land.

 

Have you had sausage, biscuits and gravy for breakfast yet?...any pics....one of my favs from the SE USA....we don't have that here.

 

Any crawfish yet...another of my fav's that's uncommon here or will that wait until your in NW FLA or Louisiana?

 

Love biscuits and gravy, but with the less that light dinners I've been trying to avoid eating breakfast in restaurants. Don't need 1000+ calories to start the day. Lol. 

 

Not a fan of crawfish. Love peeled shrimp. Don't mind a little crab now and again, especially Maryland crab cake. 

 

[Apindara]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

A somewhat disappointing day at World Golf Village's King & Bear course. Always love starting the day with a "resort fee" tacked on to the bill even though I'm not staying at a resort. Pfffttt. Then there's the having to ask permission to walk the course. I didn't realize that the course had been moved to the Rockies. 

 

The course was lackluster. I've played enough of Jack's and Arnie's designs to know what to look for, but other than a few hints it certainly wasn't their best effort. I didn't realize that the course routes through a housing complex, so you get to look at homes on the majority of the holes. Meh. There were a handful of challenging holes with forced carries over water, but the majority were so so. There was some trouble off the tee, but fairways were more than generous. A couple of the par 5s had tough layups with trouble lurking. Bunkering was decent. Greens were bland, except a couple of Jack's with his love for tiering. 

 

Conditions were the biggest disappointment. We had rain last night, and I knew the course would be a little wet, but it was outright sloppy. I've never played a Florida course that had such poor drainage. My playing partner's cart was kicking up rooster tails on some holes. Overseed was patchy. Bunkers were bad. Most of them had small lakes in them. Greens were bumpy and slow. 9 would be generous. Now, if this was a $50 round I'd live with it, but at $130 it was not acceptable. 

 

Much better day with the irons today. One birdie and five bogies. I had a lot of good looks at birdie, but I couldn't get the ball to the hole on the glacial greens. 

 

Big fan of Jack. Arnie not so much, but I have played a few of his courses that were decent. However, this just didn't stack up. Four cows. 

 

If you thought this one was lackluster, wait until you see Slammer and Squire. Not much happening there. But they do have a Redan par 3 that is interesting.

[Dancin]

At least you got the discounted prices before winter vacationers really start heading down in January. I think it gets up to $250 in the high season which is a crime for those courses.

[caniac6]

Did you go to the HOF?

[Medson]

I always look forward to this thread daily. 

[Argonne69]

11 hours ago, caniac6 said:

Did you go to the HOF?

 

Not on this trip. I visited the HoF a few years ago. It was worth a visit, but not a 2nd one.

 

[BG5]

I really enjoy reading this so thanks for filling my golf addiction in the winter months as I live in Michigan.  I have always enjoyed reading your course reviews in the past so keep up the good work.

 

You got paypal or venmo?  Id like to buy ya a drink for the holiday season 🙂  If you ever come to Michigan again hit me up and lets go to Kingsley 🙂

 

Quick question....where do you usually park your RV for the night?  Parking lots, KOA campgrounds??

 

I am lucky enough taht I will be able to retire early and you made me think that I might want to do something similar for a year or two.

[Argonne69]

17 minutes ago, BG5 said:

I really enjoy reading this so thanks for filling my golf addiction in the winter months as I live in Michigan.  I have always enjoyed reading your course reviews in the past so keep up the good work.

 

You got paypal or venmo?  Id like to buy ya a drink for the holiday season 🙂  If you ever come to Michigan again hit me up and lets go to Kingsley 🙂

 

Quick question....where do you usually park your RV for the night?  Parking lots, KOA campgrounds??

 

I am lucky enough taht I will be able to retire early and you made me think that I might want to do something similar for a year or two.

 

I stay in RV parks. A handful have been KOA's, but the majority are privately run campgrounds. KOAs are generally a little pricier. The nice thing about KOA is that the parks utilize the KOA's booking engine, so finding and reserving a spot is fairly easy when there's a space available. The independents' websites tend to be pretty basic. You have to call, email, or text them and hope you get an answer. 'Not ideal if you're looking for a spot a few days away. It works better if you're planning farther out.

 

There are places like Walmart and some large gas stations, e.g. Loves, where I could possibly stay a night. However, there are no electric and water hookups, and you generally don't put out the slides, so it's rather Spartan. It might work for an unplanned layover, but it's not ideal for a multi-day stay in an area.

 

[Argonne69]

Change of plans for tomorrow. I have a short drive down to Titusville in the morning, and I was hoping to stop along the way to play a round of golf. I looked at a number of courses, but all of them have very small/tight parking lots, and parking Bessie would be a problem. Also, it's a Saturday morning, and the tee sheets are full, so the parking lots are most likely going to be full as well. I called a Walmart to see if I could park for a few hours, and they said it wasn't allowed. The RV park I'll be staying at won't have a spot open until early afternoon.

 

I was planning to spend Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center, so I'll move that visit to tomorrow, and play golf on Sunday at Baytree. The space center has plenty of parking for oversized vehicles.

 

[buckrogers71]

Such a great thread! 

[hammergolf]

4 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Change of plans for tomorrow. I have a short drive down to Titusville in the morning, and I was hoping to stop along the way to play a round of golf. I looked at a number of courses, but all of them have very small/tight parking lots, and parking Bessie would be a problem. Also, it's a Saturday morning, and the tee sheets are full, so the parking lots are most likely going to be full as well. I called a Walmart to see if I could park for a few hours, and they said it wasn't allowed. The RV park I'll be staying at won't have a spot open until early afternoon.

 

I was planning to spend Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center, so I'll move that visit to tomorrow, and play golf on Sunday at Baytree. The space center has plenty of parking for oversized vehicles.

 

Enjoy the Space Center, really interesting.

[KBong]

On 12/16/2021 at 11:14 AM, Argonne69 said:

 

 

LMAO

Why am I not surprised that you had a picture.

The ribs lack some fat....were they tasty and tender.

 

No pics of the sides?....which ones did you get.

[KBong]

5 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I was planning to spend Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center, so I'll move that visit to tomorrow, and play golf on Sunday at Baytree. The space center has plenty of parking for oversized vehicles.

 

Have fun at the Space Center...definitely a bucket list destination.

 

As a young kid in the 60's/early 70's....I was a huge NASA fanboy....I had many Mercury, Gemini and Apollo models....I loved building all kinds of models as a kid.

Models nowadays are SO EXPENSIVE.

[KBong]

22 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Love biscuits and gravy, but with the less that light dinners I've been trying to avoid eating breakfast in restaurants. Don't need 1000+ calories to start the day. Lol. 

 

Not a fan of crawfish. Love peeled shrimp. Don't mind a little crab now and again, especially Maryland crab cake. 

 

I even loved having the $1 biscuits & gravy from McDonald's for breakfast in the mid 90's on Myrtle Beach golf trips.

 

I LUV seafood....the best part of lobster (my all time fav food) for me are the guts....🤣...I'm Chinese so I don't mind the NASTY stuff.🤣

[5 O'Clock Charlie]

23 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

A somewhat disappointing day at World Golf Village's King & Bear course. 

 

Big fan of Jack. Arnie not so much, but I have played a few of his courses that were decent. However, this just didn't stack up. Four cows. 

 

 

4 cows is being generous. Played there in 2018 and I remember golf holes like the back of my hand, but I don't remember any of the holes you took pictures of, that's how "un-inspiring" that place is.

[Medson]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Change of plans for tomorrow. I have a short drive down to Titusville in the morning, and I was hoping to stop along the way to play a round of golf. I looked at a number of courses, but all of them have very small/tight parking lots, and parking Bessie would be a problem. Also, it's a Saturday morning, and the tee sheets are full, so the parking lots are most likely going to be full as well. I called a Walmart to see if I could park for a few hours, and they said it wasn't allowed. The RV park I'll be staying at won't have a spot open until early afternoon.

 

I was planning to spend Sunday at the Kennedy Space Center, so I'll move that visit to tomorrow, and play golf on Sunday at Baytree. The space center has plenty of parking for oversized vehicles.

 

Oh come on, golf and pubs. Now, you are going to the Kennedy Space Center! This is just not fair!

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, KBong said:

LMAO

Why am I not surprised that you had a picture.

The ribs lack some fat....were they tasty and tender.

 

No pics of the sides?....which ones did you get.

 

Yeah, the ribs needed a little more fat. They were tender, though. 

 

The sides are at the top (covered). Baked beans and Brunswick stew. The stew was excellent. First time trying it. Beans were OK, but I found out the next day that I should have got the mac and cheese. 

 

[Argonne69]

Beautiful day in St Augustine. Mostly sunny skies, temps in the low 80s, and a light breeze. Nearly perfect weather to walk a round. Had a nice round at Slammer & Squire. It's not going to win any awards, but it exceeded my expectations. I thought it was similar in many ways to King and Bear. Plenty of water off the tee. A handful of challenging holes. A number of boring holes. Generous fairways. Benign greens. Can't really say either is the better of the two. I liked the front nine because the holes are more isolated from each other. The back has most of the holes running beside each other, and a stretch of holes is very close to I-95, so you have the constant din of traffic. As usual I thought the course needed more bunkering. It does photograph well. 

 

Conditions were a little better today. Fairways were still wet, and there were plenty of mudballs, but it wasn't saturated. Bunkers were groomed, and other than a couple that needed another half inch of sand they were fine. Greens rolled smoother, but still too slow. Maybe 9.5.

 

My iron play is really letting me down. Drove the ball fine again, but missed a few too many greens that should have been hit. One birdie, four bogies, and a double. 

 

I'd also give this one four cows, and yeah, it's probably generous. I don't think either course is bad, they just don't generate a buzz. At $115 the value is low. 

 

[Argonne69]

World Golf Village Slammer & Squire, St Augustine, FL

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3mgbenbnxbkkd06/AABCM_dicKZK7W6QNT1lQXsOa?dl=0