DGNE: Day 1

This morning Sherry and I got up early and scooted out the door at 7:30. We made excellent time to Cleveland, and I ended up being checked-in and through security by 9:30. The x-ray operator seemed a bit perplexed by my disc golf bag, but he let me through with no trouble. Given that my flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 11:45, you could say that I was early.

I used the time to get updates from my family about my new neice and to read the manual to my new camera. It's pretty cool. Canon A95

The flight was ok. We were in one of those tiny commuter jets, so the ride was a bit bumpy. There was a kid behind me who was on his first flight. He kept telling his parents, "This isn't scary at all! It's just a bit too fast."

I realized this morning that this is the first trip I've ever taken that wasn't about getting to a destination. Sure, we're going to New England and purpose to visit all of the NE states, but the end of the trip is to play disc golf, not spend a week somewhere. The closest I've come to this kind of travel is when Ted and I went to Alaska in 2000. On that trip we set out with a purposeful destination, a specific hike, but we ended up nixing the trip and it became a journey rather than a trip. This trip is all about journey. I'll be interested to see what that means for me.

I found Ken very easily after disembarking, and my bag was waiting for me by the time we got to baggage claim. However, we did have a bit more difficulty finding the car. The Baltimore airport garage has an odd way of laying out its parking. We eventually did find the car though and went on our merry way. After a brief lunch, we headed off to our first course (well, my first course; Ken's already played a few on his way here.)

We drove through downtown Baltimore, past the Washington monument and many other interesting places until we came to the zoo. Just past the zoo is Druid Hill Park. Someday, someone will have to explain to me the American fascination with druids. In Atlanta there's a Druid Hill something or other as well. Anyhoo, the course is almost 20 years old. It's a very mature course that has had a lot of thought put into it. The first two holes skirt an ancient graveyard. The rest of the holes were very interesting as well.

I made a rather long putt on the second hole to get a birdie. It turned out to be my best hole. The very next hole saw me miss some easy putts and post a 5. After that I settled down into a steady diet of threes and fours. I finished the front 9 at +3. Then the humidity and the length of the holes started to get to me. By hole 16, I was totally gassed. After my drive hit a tree, I still had a long way to go to the hole. My lie had me going uphill a bit, so I bore down and focused on driving forward rather than up. Just as I released the disc, my foot slipped and I went down in a heap. Fortunately I had been able to get enough of a follow through that the disc flew true. After that, I was just trying to survive :-)

As we were leaving the course, a guy was hovering around hole 1. He saw my Toledo Mudhens hat and got all excited. He shook my hand and informed me he was a Baltimoron fan, pointing to the Orioles hat on his head. He then wished the Indians luck. Evidently Joe Walsh likes the Indians and this man was a big Joe Walsh fan.

We then made it without incident to our hotel in Christiana, Delaware.

1. 3
2. 2
3. 5
4. 3
5. 3
6. 4
7. 3
8. 4
9. 3
10. 3
11. 4
12. 4
13. 4
14. 3
15. 4
16. 4
17. 4
18. 3

Total: 63

Courses:1

States: Maryland