Final Countdown

It's coming down to the wire. We're almost into the final month of my internship and I simply cannot believe it! But these last couple weeks have made me understand that I definitely want to do it again!

This week we were a little short staffed due to a loss in the family of one of my co-interns. But the week wasn't any more chaotic or exciting as any other. We made do, and we made some great memories. Sure cheesy, but true! I loved many of these courses. Monday we watched the British Open in Winchester CC clubhouse. Tuesday we beat the rain at Bowling Green and raced to Williamsburg for the tournament at Golden Horseshoe the next day. This had to be the best dinner I'd had with volunteer. Duffy is the man, no matter his bowel movements and obscure quotes. Golden Horseshoe was one of the longest days I'd had on a course but the players and parents made it worth it. I mean who doesn't love mint chocolate chip ice cream while facilitating a DCP?! Then we hustled on up to Nellysford to the Wintergreen Resort and scurried up the side of the mountain. Bob let me drive... mistake number one. We drove in the dark... mistake number two. We spent the night with Mike Aldrich... mistake number three. Just kidding, but after teaching two grown men and how to whip and duff I didn't expect to share my life story. The next day began at 7:30 for preparing for a 1 pm DCP. This day had to surmount to my favorite DCP yet! I loved being surrounded by the mountains and the friendliest staff and volunteers we'd encountered yet! Also if they ever plan on having a PAT there, I'll be there in a heartbeat. I played great! I don't know if it was Mike's philosophy of awareness on a golf course or just the men's clubs I was playing with? But I loved it.
Finally Friday, we made it to Sparrows Point in Baltimore. Clare and I ran our event solo, and boy did we manage. We took care of business and nothing more.

Only in Western VA could you encounter roads such as this.

This was just Tiramisu was just the closer for the best dinner I'd on the road yet!

God bless the Hilberts for bring me Baskins Robins.

My favorite DCP so far.

Would you believe me if I told you this was the easiest thing I had to deal with Friday?

That weekend I got to play at the course our Player Development director works part time. Mt. Vernon CC was good to me, therefore I hope to play there again. I also discovered old town Alexandria. A must see again for sure. Sunday was spent in the office, but that's just something you have to do when you've been out of the office all week.

 

Believe it or not I am ready for a week in the office because after three weeks on the road will allow me to decompress and get my ducks in a row before I head back to school.

 

Sincerely,

Michelle

Flashback

Here's the shotgun version of everything I've done since my parents have been here!

Got to spend a night in downtown Baltimore and view the Inner Harbor. I had never tried Phillips and was thoroughly impressed.

We then headed up to the Delmarva area (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) for our couple of days spent in Ocean City. Of course our one day we took to have some fun and golf it had to pour! But the next couple days full of adventure in Ocean City made up for it. And when the motto for this week was indeed: "What happens in Ocean City, stays in Ocean City." No felonies were committed but tomfoolery was indeed practiced.

This weekend I was able to spend the Saturday doing laundry and catching up on everything else in life! I've learned to love Saturdays and let them be my recuperation days. I even got to go see Ant-Man with my friend Grace. The bad weather kept us from hiking but it didn't keep up from seeing a fairly hilarious Marvel movie!

But the next day did have some extreme heat it did allow me to achieve some bucket list things.
First I was able to go to the Arlington Cemetery all by myself. I had some time to kill and it was en route to my next stop so I swung by for about an hour and walked to the Kennedy gravesites and of course the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. I highly recommend going here either by yourself or with someone that won't find any need to speak the entire time you're there. I enjoyed just walking and praying from tombstone to tombstone. Praying and being thankful and humble for the sacrifices made by the soldiers, leaders, and their families that bodies lay at rest there.

After my tearful and perspiring trip to Arlington I headed over to Georgetown to kayak on the Potomac. I also spent $17 on a salad and juice named "the Hulk"... welcome to Georgetown. However I got to see a friend of mine from Kentucky that had been there for the summer and we got to swap intern stories. It was great to have a DC insider for a couple hours. I had the best Americano I'd ever had and a pretty great red velvet cupcake at Baked & Wired. This bakery is not far from (however far surpasses) TLC's Georgetown Cupcakes.

This week definitely had to be recorded because of just how fantastic it was and it inspired me to continue having fun despite my crazy work schedule.

Sincerely,

Michelle

Catch Up!

So obviously it's been a while... so let's make this a speedy recovery. Obviously I would love to post about anything and everything I've learned over the summer but that's just not gonna happen! I have learned a lot so let's do a bullet list to summarize all of the fun stuff!

• Always choose the comfy shoes over the cute ones! (Just do it, and wear you Nikes ;)
• DC is notorious for it's awful traffic, always have a phone charger.
• You will give more rulings to parents than players.
• After a day of ushering slow golfers around the course, it takes everything in you to not jump out of your car and start ushering people through traffic in an effort to speed up pace of play.
• A couple of apps that will change your life: Waze (In Waze we trust), Parking Panda, and Well Spent, Charity Miles, and Google Search (just to settle arguments & confusion quickly).
• The DC Metro is easy if you give it time to.
• You never know who is on the other end of the phone, so always sound happy because you may or may not be speaking to the VP of a large company and won't find out until you hang up and your boss decides to tell you so afterwards just so you don't get nervous and tongue tied afterwards.
• The best coffee in DC is in Georgetown at Baked & Wired.
• Going to places by yourself may be the very best way to go.
• Connections and friends are everywhere, just look and don't be afraid to ask and try to add another contact to your phone. You may need a friend to go to a musical with in another state.

Having said all of this doesn't even cover half of the things both funny and serious I've learned. I've grown a lot this summer and do believe that I want to do this again next summer. Now all is left to decide which section will be my next victim?

Sincerely,

Goda

Parents are in town!

I have a lot of posting to do so I most likely won't be able to elaborate to the extent that I would prefer, but here are a few things that we got to do while my family was visiting!

But before my family got into town we had a week full of fun! Beginning at Chantilly National, then to Herndon Centennial and after that we headed up to Musket Ridge in Maryland. Musket Ridge was high in the mountains and was beautiful! I was glad we got to play it and enjoy the great view! We then got to head down to Warrenton, VA to host a very small tournament at Fauquier Springs. We had some crazy holes that kept us busy: like a declined dog-leg right where you had to ring a bell before you crossed over to the green for safety reasons. We also had a DCP that afternoon and because of our need to be everywhere at once I was the sole rules official on the course. Fortunately no earth shattering decisions occurred but I did stay busy. I've determined rules officiating is something I would be interested in pursuing for a future career or pastime. We then were off to Evergreen for our next DCP, another great course surrounded by mountains. Then we were off to the supposedly haunted Shenandoah Valley House that was not necessarily haunted  but was definitely outdated. We had a blast hanging out with one of my favorite volunteers, Albert Rockwell. the house was directly across from the clubhouse. I had some difficulty with patience with some players and their parents but I learned a lot. It was a good way to end the week because of how quickly the tournament ended, so I could get home to my family that were driving into Stafford!

From behind the clubhouse looking out onto the course and the mountains surrounding it.

Looking onto the clubhouse down the 18th hole.

Suspender Shenanigans



The SV House

When my family finally made it into town after being stuck in the 495 traffic, during rush hour, we were able to go to dinner at Mission BBQ. I don't know if I've already bragged about it, but it is delicious and raises support for the Wounded Warrior's Project. We did a little driving around and I showed them all of the sights of Stafford. The next day we were able to see all that Frededericksburg,VA  has to offer.
Saturday we began  the day with a tour of Chatam Manor, the home to founding father Fitzhugh and many important people during the Civil War. The building served as a hospital, meeting place for presidents and war leaders and a place signifying the many changes of the times. President Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln had walked those halls.

We then headed to Washington's childhood home. They had a virtual tour you could take with you via Ipad. It taught you the importance of what you were looking at even though there really wasn't anything there. Melinda and I learned a lot while we walked around, including the fact that the stone throw fable concerning young Washington must have occurred there.

We continued on into downtown the historic district of Fredericksburg and by recommendation ate at Foode, which the head chef has been featured on Top Chef. We ate outdoor and a very fulfilling and delicious meal. Foode fries are a good enough reason to return. We were then able to walk around and enjoy all of the boutiques, historic courthouse and pubs that lined the streets.

But before we headed back we had to stop at Carl's ice cream stand. It's one of the oldest venue's in the area and has three flavors to offer and only accepts cash. But the trip is well worth it! This little stand has been featured on Food Network.

We had a movie and pizza night in the hotel, we decided to watch Night at the Museum to prepare us for the next day we were hoping to spend in DC.

Sunday morning my family made the trip with me to my temp church Immanuel Bible Church. After a much appreciated message on giving we headed to the metro and were shuttled downtown to 13th street. We hoofed it down to the White House and played tourists. But the highlight of the day was eating at Old Ebbitt Grill. This is the oldest restaurant in DC, also the busiest restaurant in DC. Part of the President's Men was filmed there. Despite the potential of bushing elbows with DC's celebrities, we were more wowed by the food. The brunch there is to die for! We have determined we have to come back for the much tempting desserts that we were far too full to even attempt to stomach!

But we knew we were going to have ice cream before we left the city, so to walk it off and make room for sweets we headed over the Mall. Despite all of the construction going on... well everywhere, we were still able to enjoy all of the sights we could see that weren't too far out of our feet's comfort. But we enjoyed all of the American History Smithsonian Museum (it's my favorite). We soldiered on through some really neat exhibits, but when we had seen all we could see we headed outside searched relentlessly for ice cream and after much searching we did and happily enjoyed it in my new favorite spot in DC. It's one of the two fountains outside the Arts & Industries Museum. Let's just say, if I move to DC and I have a boyfriend that wants to propose... here's a subtle suggestion.
We metro'd back home. And before we knew it the weekend was over. It was hard to say goodbye, I wish they could've stayed for weeks but I enjoyed my time with them. We are already planning our next trip.

 

Until next time, Michelle