I can’t believe it’s been an entire week since we got back from our St. Augustine vacation! Why St. Augustine, Florida? First of all…

IT’S WINTER IN MINNESOTA!

With all of these double-digit-below-zero temps, it was the perfect time to get away. We had never been to St. Augustine, but our friends Steve and Terri invited us to join them. We were ready for a little sun, a little golfing and good times.

Our first couple of days was not sunny nor warm! But we made do. It was still 60 degrees warmer than Minnesota. We ended up with two days of golfing. Steve introduced me to a website and app called GolfNow, where you can search for courses, set up tee times and often find discounted rates!

Because of that app, we golfed on a “cold” and cloudy day in Florida at Magnolia Point for only $25. That included greens fees for 18 holes, a cart and lunch.

Yes, you read that correctly.

For $25 per person we golfed 18 holes and had lunch.

We arrived early and had a drink at a bar. Talking with a retiree, he said that the course we’d be playing is as good as any he’s golfed in Northeast Florida. What? We weren’t expecting that for $25!

The course was beautiful. It would be even more beautiful in the spring or summer! We knew we were in Florida when when the residents’ trees adorned oranges!

They also had a sense of humor…

I’m not a good golfer by any means. Rob’s friend Lisa gave me one golf lesson at her golf course the first time I met her. {Thank you, Lisa!} And, I don’t think I’ve ever told them this, but I’m very grateful that I have friends that don’t care that I’m not a very good golfer and take my playing in stride. They also retrieve my stray balls more than I have ever retrieved theirs! It’s a wonder they ever ask me to golf again.

But you wouldn’t believe what an active sport it is! Every time Rob and I golfed in his company’s Couples Golf League and I’d carry my clubs, I’d burn 900+ calories {per my heart rate monitor}. And on this trip, when we golfed, even with a cart, my Jawbone UP registered more than 13,000 steps per day. That’s with my broken toe and my fellow golfers helping me retrieve each ball of mine during our scrambles!

But let’s get back to golfing in St. Augustine.

We were staying in the World Golf Village, so it was only natural to golf at one of the beautiful courses on site. We chose to golf King & Bear because Steve found a deal on GolfNow for $104/per person. That may sound like a lot if you’ve never golfed before… and even if you have. It’s more than I’ve ever spent, being a not-so-good golfer and all. But we were on vacation and knew expected it. Here’s why:

• We were in golf country! We expected we’d play a spendy course or two.
• We just played an excellent course for just $25 with lunch. The cost of the two courses together, averaged out nicely. 😉
• King & Bear normally goes for $169/per person. $104 is a deal for such an experience.

It’s funny, because it was a cold, windy and cloudy day when we played Magnolia Point. When we played King and Bear, it was sunny and beautiful. But we seemed to enjoy Magnolia Point better.

Sure, K&B was a bit tougher.
There was more water.
I lost a lot of balls.
But it also felt a little stuffier.
Like the course was more about status.

One of our carts broke down at K&B. The guys walked about 3 holes while we waited for another cart to replace it. It took at least a good 20 minutes. Yeah. After the turn, they sort of scolded us that we were a few minutes behind. Really? Are you kidding me?

I will say that those greens at K&B were tough. We came close to making so many putts that we really should have had! But we had fun. And that’s all that matters. Status or not.

~

Tips for Golfing When Traveling:

• Use GolfNow.com – You can find some courses you may have never known about and get some great deals. This is worth it, especially if you aren’t a great golfer and it doesn’t make sense to spend a ton of money to golf.
• Pack your clubs together –  We put my clubs in Rob’s golf bag so we only had to check one set of clubs. I only use a few clubs anyway. I checked it as regular luggage. Since we only needed one suitcase for the two of us for a long weekend, I checked one bag for each of us online when I checked us in for our flight. I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to pay more or book our clubs separately for oversized baggage, but Delta didn’t say anything. So with my Delta Amex card, we checked both bags for free. At each course we golfed, we just asked if they had an extra bag (neither had one) so that they knew that we had our own clubs and were all playing. (When we were in Hawaii, we could “rent” a bag for $1.)

~

And now for this week!

Food

Dinners:

• Pork Chops with Garlic Butter Sauce & Garlic Green Beans
• Zoodles with Meat Sauce – I’m going to test zucchini noodles out for the first time!
• English Muffin Pizzas
• Leftovers

Lunches:

• Leftovers
• I’m going to try to put together a few Quick & Easy Bowls like I made for dinner on Thursday. I’m thinking Mexican this time – spinach, black beans, rice, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, cheddar, and a Salsa-Ranch Dressing that Biz always recommends!
• I have blueberries, strawberries and pineapple, as well as nuts as snacks. And of course, my daily dose of dark chocolate.

Breakfasts:

• I have a couple of options available and will make them depending on what I am in the mood/have time for each day:
  • PB Toast
  • Granola with milk

Fitness

• Post-back surgery PT exercises until I get strong enough to move into more yoga.
• Recumbent bike – With a broken toe, I need to stay off the treadmill for a few more weeks. Although I did do a lot of walking on the golf course. The toe isn’t well enough to fit into a real shoe yet. {I’m still wearing the boot.} But it is feeling better every day!

If you golf, what are your tips while traveling?

What are your tips to making sure you get exercise or activity while traveling?

Cheers~
Carrie