Week with Mom

Ok, well I can safely say that neither I nor my mom will be moving to New York City anytime in the near future. I believe I made the statement last time I was there ( a few weeks ago with Kelley) that I would not be driving into the city again. Well, I went back on that, as my mom and I drove in on Sunday night to have dinner with Sara and Michael. Someone told us that there wouldn't be any traffic coming into the city on a Sunday night...riiiiiight!! I think it took us about an hour if not a little longer, to go about 12 miles into the city. We stayed in New Jersey and went through the Holland tunnel to get to the city. My mom got her first taste of New Yorkers right on that drive over as people nearly run you off the road as they switch lanes, or to avoid letting you in their lane. I can't tell you how many times I got honked at. Although, that's not saying too much, as everyone honks at everyone for pretty much everything. I think I sneezed incorrectly and someone honked at me. There was a car that put on his blinker and I let him in and he waved at me through his window. I told my mom that I bet he wasn't from New York, and sure enough he was from Rhode Island. So, that was an interesting experience. The next day we rode the train over to New York from New Jersey and then rode the subway to get to different places we wanted to see. We kind of did the fast sight-seeing trip through the city. We saw Times Square, The Empire State building, Wall Street area, the Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, and the new construction of the World Trade Center area. We were both pooped by the time we were training it back to New Jersey.
That was our sight-seeing experience after the week of golf in Gettysburg, PA. It was extremely hot and humid and the course was anything but flat. My mom was a trooper, but I think we both lost a lot of salt in those few days. The first round resulted in 6 caddies that didn't make it. They either fainted, felt dizzy, or just couldn't do it. This should tell you how great my mom did!! I am not sure exactly what she thought of her first Futures Tour event, but she definitely got a taste of the life of a Futures Tour player for the week. We stayed in some very interesting hotels...we both had some fun reactions as we pulled up in front of them. I am very opposed to paying more than $70 for a stupid room with a stupid bed and a stupid shower!! As you can tell, I think hotel rates are ridiculous. Therefore, we stay cheap when Kailin's got anything to say about it.
After our trip into the city, we drove through White Plains, NY and we were able to visit a host family that I stayed with about 5 years ago at another tournament. It is so neat to me that I can call people up that many years later and get together. It was fun to see the kids all grown up, the oldest even going to college!!! WOW! We hung out in Albany for the afternoon, doing our laundry at the local laundromat and preparing for our 4:30 a.m. wake-up the next morning to fly out. My mom went on to visit a family member of hers and I flew to Albuquerque.
I spent the week off in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. I played a lot of golf, spent a lot of time in a Verizon store (long story...inside joke!!), and even got to go to the White Sands National Monument. That was a neat experience and if any of you are ever down in that area, I would recommend taking the time to see it.
I am here in Albany for our final event and then I will set out on the 4 day drive back to Albuquerque. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about as that happens and at the end of this event. Thank you again for your continued support and contact through emails and I will write again soon!!
~Kailin