tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1578986470545048382024-03-05T04:06:39.319-08:00Kailin DownsMy Road to the LPGA!!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-21204919343830793372008-08-26T10:52:00.001-07:002008-08-26T11:09:13.916-07:00Scotland TripWell now that I've been home for a little over a week, my sleep is mostly back to normal, and I feel refreshed enough to fill you in on all of our adventures in Scotland. The head coach, Rise', myself, Jackie Booth (my college coach and the NMSU assistant), and the BYU coach all went to Scotland to recruit at the British Junior Amateur Championship. We were there for 8 days and were able to spend some time playing a little golf as well!<br /><br />The trip over started very abruptly, as on the flight from JFK to Edinburgh, about an hour and a half after take-off, a passenger on the plane passed out in the aisle right in front of where I was standing. It was very dark on the plane as most people were sleeping and I really froze for a second and wasn't sure what to do. I ended up running to the back of the plane to get the flight attendant, and after about 30 minutes, with a doctor's help (he was on the flight), they determined that he was going to be ok and we didn't have to turn around. Wow, what a start to the trip! I didn't sleep the entire 6 1/2 hour flight as my adrenaline was really going!!! I was in charge of the driving...and yes, it's on the other side of the road, with the driver on the other side of the car!! Needless to say, the first few minutes in the car were eventful!!! I figured it out pretty quickly and actually had some fun with it. I only turned into the wrong lane once, and thankfully it was a quiet road. Our little car...and I stress the word LITTLE (you should have seen us trying to get 4 people and all of our luggage/golf clubs in this car!!), was a stick shift...so that made it even more eventful. There were a few times when I shifted into the wrong gear, once from 2nd to 1st instead of 3rd...very funny!!!<br /><br />I was lucky enough to have met a friend through a friend that was a member at Carnoustie and I got to play there on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately they have had an abundance of rain over there and there were a couple of holes closed due to flooding. It was still a cool experience to be on that course and know what has happened there in the past. Thursday we all played Kingsbarns...a course I would recommend to anyone going over there...and it was fabulous. It is right on the ocean and all of the holes have fabulous views. When we got back to our bed and breakfast Thursday night we got the good news that we had been lucky enough to get on the Old Course at St. Andrews. There were 54 people that didn't get in that day, so you can imagine how many people want to play that course each day. Wow, what a neat experience!!! You can't beat the history of that course and those holes. It felt surreal and I took a lot of pictures!!!<br /><br />We stayed in 2 different bed and breakfasts, one in Arbroath and the other in St. Andrews. The one in St. Andrews is a very well-known Bed & Breakfast and pub, located about 300 yards from the 1st tee at the old course. It's called the Dunvegan. We ran into Rosie Jones one night. She has started a new business, taking groups of women on golf trips. This was the first time to Scotland, but we happened to run into them. We continued to see them the next couple of days, and they came back to meet us for dinner and drinks on our last night. Small world!!!<br /><br />I got back really late last Saturday night into Portland and have been recovering from the time difference ever since. I really didn't have a problem going over, adjusting very well. Coming back was a different story. I would be exhausted about 5 or 6 pm and wake up in the morning about 4:00!!! YIKES!<br /><br />We watched some excellent golfers at the tournament and hopefully got some good names and information for the next couple of years. I really enjoyed watching some of the shots those kids have...no flop shots!!!<br /><br />I am playing in the Albuquerque Open September 15-16, so I have to get my game ready for that! I enjoyed playing in Scotland and have been able to practice a little since I've been back. I'm excited to be able to compete again. I'm also very excited for the girls to be coming back in a couple of weeks and for the season to start! Our fall schedule includes our home tournament, Washington's tournament, Stanford, and Hawaii...yeah!!!<br /><br />Hope to talk to you all soon, and if you'd like to see pictures from the trip, you can go to this website. <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:78%;color:#333333;"><a href="http://www.photoshow.com/watch/HE5rr4cs" target="_blank" onclick="onClickUnsafeLink(event);">http://www.photoshow.com/watch/HE5rr4cs</a><br /><br /></span>GO BEAVERS!!!<br />~Kailin<br /><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:78%;color:#333333;"><br /><br /></span>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-21876921059049537182008-07-22T18:17:00.000-07:002008-07-22T18:23:02.400-07:00Sponsor Remembered<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Unfortunately, this post is written in memory of one of my sponsors. Jay Audia, from Bend, passed away this weekend. I want to express my condolences to all of his family and friends and hope they know that they are in a lot of people's thoughts and prayers. Jay was a good friend of my Dad's as well, so it especially hits home. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">I am forever grateful to all of my sponsors for their support, both emotionally and financially. I would not have been able to have all of my great experiences last year and throughout this season without each and every one of them. I know that I expressed this gratitude to Jay in the past, but I only wish he knew exactly how much I appreciated his support! Please take a minute of your time to remember him and the great person he was!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">THANKS JAY!!!</span>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-36647071410746475782008-07-13T15:31:00.000-07:002008-07-13T15:42:09.546-07:00Texas Open<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so I know I have procrastinated writing this blog again...but at least I'm consistent, right?! I played in the Texas State Open in Garland, TX June 25-26. It was a fun trip, although it was very hot and humid there!!! I shot 76-71 and finished 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> in the professional standings. The tournament was well run and I enjoyed my trip.<br /><br />I got to stay with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Crawfords</span>, whom I stayed with last year on the Futures Tour when we were in Frisco. I got lectured a little bit that my last blog talked about how I was excited to see <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">JJ</span> (their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bichon</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Frise</span>) and not to see Jerry and Jan...so, I'm making it known right now that it was great to see ALL the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Crawfords</span>!!! :) They are great people and I appreciate them taking Trisha (a friend who played in the tournament) and myself in for the week. We had a great time.<br /><br />Two questions that I got throughout the whole tournament that I would not be disappointed to never hear again were....<br /><br /><br /> * OS...Oklahoma State right...<br /> I guess I should have known being in that area of the country that Oklahoma was closer than Oregon...but I got to the point where I would correct people before they even got the question out. (Oh and the people that think that we're the Ducks drive me nuts too!!!)<br /><br /> * What year are you at Oregon State?<br /> OH MY GOSH!!!! So, yeah, no, I'm not in school, I graduated over 2 years ago and am actually COACHING for the team. :) This made me laugh...but I can't tell you how many times I got these two questions throughout the week!<br /><br />I recruited for the first time a couple of weeks ago at the Oregon State Junior tournament which was held at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Bandon</span> Dunes. The last time I had been to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Bandon</span> Dunes was 6 years ago for the Oregon Women's Amateur. I was fortunate enough to play Pacific Dunes one morning...and actually played 14 holes in very thick fog. It was very interesting, and kind of fun to not be able to see where you were hitting the ball! It is a gorgeous place and for those of you who enjoy golf and haven't been...you should go!<br /><br />We leave town early tomorrow morning to go to San Diego and Hartford, Connecticut to recruit.<br /><br />I will write again...please feel free to email me and tell me what you all are up to!!!<br /><br />:) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kailin</span>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-11537143355027918062008-06-23T15:13:00.000-07:002008-06-23T15:30:50.331-07:00UpdateOk, so once again I have waited way too long to post another blog! Sorry about that.<br /><br />Last I wrote to you I was headed to Denver for the Colorado Women's Open. I had one decent round out of the 3 and finished tied for 18th, which actually paid more than finishing 20th on the Futures Tour...funny how that works! You would think that the Futures Tour would be a better investment, but not the case!<br /><br />I was able to be at home all last week to caddy for Rise (the head coach) in the Oregon Women's Amateur tournament being held at Bend Country Club. I had a good time, although it was really hard to not be able to play. I love that tournament and especially love match play. I wish there were some tournaments for professionals that were match play. It was fun to be at home and spend some time with my family. Now that Rise's getting to know the Downs', I'm thinking she's wondering what she got herself into!!!<br /><br />I am in the Denver airport right now headed to Dallas, Texas for the Texas State Women's Open. I have not played in this before, but I thought playing in some state opens would be fun! I am excited because I get to stay with the family I stayed with last year in McKinney, Texas. They have JJ, the little bichon...which is what Peaches was! I love those dogs and am excited to get my Bichon fix! There is a pro-am tomorrow, and the tournament is Wednesday and Thursday. I will be sure to post a response in a more timely manner this time. If you want to look online, I'm sure they will have results posted. The website is www.ntpga.com and you can follow the link on the left side of the page to get to the Women's Open.<br /><br />The next couple of months is going to be pretty busy with traveling for recruiting. I will be at Bandon Dunes next week. Then it's off to San Diego and Hartford, Connecticut. And, I am thrilled to say that I am fortunate enough to get to go to Scotland in August. Rise and I are traveling to Scotland for the British Junior Amateur tournament and I am beyond excited!!! Rough life, I know.<br /><br />I hope to talk to you all soon...and while I'm thinking about it, I will not have my personal cell phone (505-379-3586) after July 28th. You can reach me at (541) 230-0700 or at work (541) 737-3900.<br /><br />~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-86685018698422848752008-05-08T21:00:00.000-07:002008-05-08T21:09:44.431-07:00It's a Great Day to be a Beaver!!I must first apologize for the title. That is written for one person specifically...you know who you are!<br /><br />Even though I'm a few days late...I wanted to let everyone know how El Paso turned out. Overall, I was very pleased with my tournament and excited to be back out playing, and play well!! I shot 71 (1 under) the first round and found myself in 9th place. That day was highlighted with an eagle on the 2nd hole (my 11th) from 138 yards. I went right at the pin with a 9 iron and it took one hop, hit the pin and dropped. Unfortunately, I didn't see it and couldn't tell it had fallen in. I thought it bounced over, but the cart caddy told me otherwise. There was a few laughs of unbelief and a little celebration. It has been a while since I've done this and it was fun....who can complain about a 0 putt! In the 2nd round I shot 72 and was thankful to finish with that score after a very eventful last hole. I won't give you the whole story, because I don't want to put the whole image in your heads...but let's just say I got a friendly skip from the pond, and a good bounce from the rock on the other edge of the water. :) Good times!! I was in 21st going into the last round and shot another 72 to finish in a tie for 20th. It was my best finish thus far on the Future's Tour. 54 hole event...5 bogeys, an eagle, 4 birdies, and 44 pars!!! SO BORING...haha. I actually wouldn't complain about those scores, just would much rather have had a few more birdie putts drop! It was a fun week seeing some of my friends from the tour and being able to have Jackie caddy. (She is my college golf coach for those who haven't met her.) We had a great time together...and obviously worked well on the golf course too!<br /><br />I leave tomorrow to drive to Portland and fly out on Saturday morning to go to Phoenix. I am playing in a one-round qualifier for the US Women's Open. I am looking forward to getting to play again and have high expectations for the tournament!<br /><br />Thanks for your emails...keep 'em coming!<br /><br />~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-33877976657616858262008-04-29T13:40:00.000-07:002008-04-29T13:48:20.922-07:00What it's like to be a BEAVER!!Well, I know it has been a while since I have posted a blog, but to say the least, this last month has been CRAZY and HECTIC, but very exciting and rewarding! I posted last to tell you about my job news and at the end of March I started with Oregon State. I'll kind of skim through the last month to tell you what I've been doing. The team had a tournament in Eugene (which was officially my first day of work) and I was temporarily living in Corvallis. A week later we traveled to Phoenix for a tournament and my mom flew down and met me, at which point we left to drive my car (which had been in Phoenix) to Albuquerque to pack and move my stuff up to Oregon. We made our drive north and I actually left my mom in Boise...I flew out to meet and surprise the team at the Stanford event (which was one of my favorite college courses). My mom finished the drive (what a trooper) and met me that weekend in Corvallis. I have moved into an apartment...or kind of moved in, I am still very much living out of boxes and until today haven't even had a bed!<br /><br />I am loving my job, loving the team, loving the people I work with, and yes, I guess you could say I'm a little bit excited about all of it!!! I feel like it was a good decision and a good fit. It all feels very natural and meant to be! I am surrounded by black and orange on a daily basis (which I'm getting used to) but I've had no problem defending the Beavers to my Dad (who is a huge Duck fan). I am anticipating late this fall when he comes crying for tickets to the Civil War football game (which is in Corvallis this year)!!! :)<br /><br />I am in the airport, trying to finish this very quickly, leaving for El Paso, TX for a Futures Tour event. I am very excited to be getting out to play again and obviously will love the change in weather. The tournament is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and they will have the live scoring available at www.duramedfuturestour.com<br /><br />I promise to give more updates...more often. Thank you all for your emails, they've been very fun!<br /><br />Birdies, birdies, and more birdies...and GO BEAVERS!!!<br />~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-46535921688958759002008-03-20T07:27:00.000-07:002008-03-20T07:43:07.185-07:00BIG NEWS!!!I will start off with the most recent news first...I won my first professional event yesterday in Phoenix on the Cactus Tour. We were playing at Las Colinas, which is a golf course I knew I liked, I guess I just didn't know exactly how much I liked it. I shot 68 the first day and was in 2nd by 2. The 2nd round, I had 9 birdies and 9 pars to shoot a 62 (par 71) and broke the course record. I then had an 11 stroke lead going into the last round. I shot 69 yesterday to win the event by 9. I had 4 bogeys for the entire round...kinda fun!!!! I should say it was a good way to finish (temporarily).<br /><br /> Now, the other news...I have taken a job as the assistant women's golf coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. About a month ago I was informed of an opening and it caught my curiosity. I gave myself a few days to think it over and decided to go ahead and apply to see what happened, if nothing else, it was good experience to go through the process. About a week later I got a phone call saying that I had made it to the final 5 and would be doing a phone interview. After going through that process, the next week I got another phone call saying that they had decided to bring in some other people for on campus interviews and I wasn't one of those people at that time, but that didn't mean I wouldn't hear back from them if they didn't hire any of those people. It had been about 2 weeks and I was pretty sure that it wasn't meant to be and that they had hired someone. Then, on Monday of last week, I got a phone call saying that they wanted to bring me up for an interview. I finished my Cactus Tour event last week (tied for 4th) and flew up to Portland early Thursday morning. After a long day of interviews (very intense) and walking around in shoes that should be against the law....because they hurt your feet so badly!!!, I retired to my hotel room feeling pretty good about the whole day, but not entirely sure. By 8:00 Friday morning before I had left town, the head coach, Rise Lakowske, had called me and offered me the job!!! I took a day to figure things out and make sure that I wanted to do this, and Saturday night I accepted the job.<br /><br />I am very excited to be closer to home (2 - 2 1/2 hours) and to be back in the college golf atmosphere again. My golf this week after this decision only confirms to myself that I made a good decision and I am very, very happy and excited about it. I am in the airport right now getting ready to fly into Redmond (home) for a couple of days and then I will drive to Corvallis on Saturday morning to start my job! We have the University of Oregon tournament this Monday and Tuesday...I'll be sure and bring my rain gear! I will be at work for about a week and a half and then we travel down to Phoenix for the Arizona State tournament. At that point, my Mom is going to fly in and drive with me to Albuquerque (my car is still in Phoenix) and I will move all of my stuff up to Oregon.<br /><br />I still have plans to play in some tournaments. I will be playing in the Futures Tour tournament in El Paso in early May, US Women's Open qualifying in May, and the Washington State Open in early June. Other than that, the schedule has not been determined. Again, I can't express how excited I am about this!!! I will still posts blogs periodically, I guess they will just be a bit different!<br /><br />www.thecactustour.com (click on updates, results, and pictures)<br />www.osubeavers.com<br /><br />GO BEAVERS!! ~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-62193545777741704462008-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:002008-03-05T13:54:30.735-08:00Another lesson learned...I will get to the lesson I learned in a minute. First, an update on my last couple of Cactus Tour events. February 20-22 we played at Las Colinas and I shot 75-65-73 to finish tied for 5th. That tied my low career round (the 65 that is) although this course was a par 71 rather than a par 72. Still, 65's are fun any day anywhere!!!<br /><br />February 25-27 I played at Trilogy at Vistancia. I was staying with a friend of mine, who plays for the LPGA, AJ Eathorne, and another player Annie Young stayed with us as well. After the first round, we had plans to shoot 63 (AJ), 65 (me), and a 68 (for Annie) so that we could all be paired together the last round. Well, we didn't shoot those scores, instead 73, 73, 75 respectively, and still ended up being paired together. We had a good laugh about it and knew we would enjoy the round regardless. It was kind of fun because my college coach, Jackie, flew in Tuesday night before the last round to caddy for me on Wednesday and accompany me on the drive back to Albuquerque. AJ Eathorne was her player at New Mexico State a while back, so she enjoyed being able to caddy for me and watch AJ all at the same time. Like I said, the company was great, we had a great time, we just wished the golf had been better that day. I shot 75-73-78 to miss a check by 2 strokes. GRRRR!!!<br /><br />Ok, so for the lesson I learned. After seeing that I was quite a ways back on the alternate list for the first two Futures Tour events in Florida, I changed my plans around and withdrew my name from the list, so that I could cancel my plane tickets and make plans to play elsewhere. Well, seeing where everything is right now, about a week before the first Futures Tour tournament in Lakeland, it looks as though I would have either gotten in or been one of the first 2 on the alternate list. I say lesson learned because obviously I won't be making those decisions so quickly next time, however, in my defense, I didn't forsee myself getting in and wanted to make sure to have plans to play somewhere else. It looks as though I will get in to the McAllen event, and maybe even the week before in Lafayette. I'm pretty hopeful for the El Paso event too, but will have to wait longer to find out on that one.<br /><br />I have plans to go home for a couple of weeks for Easter and stuff...so I'm excited for that. It's always fun to go home and see the fam!!! (just for a little while though!)<br /><br />As always...birdies, birdies, birdies!!<br />~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-3935638589887542062008-02-17T21:19:00.000-08:002008-02-17T21:29:31.465-08:00Cactus Tour<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">A little update on what I've been doing. We had a great time in Mexico in January. I flew home to Bend with my family and headed out of town a few days later to start the season. After about a week in New Mexico practicing, I drove to Phoenix and have since played in 2 Cactus Tour events. The first, February 4-6 and the second last week, February 11-13. The first week we were wearing multiple layers and had hand-warmers in our pockets...I couldn't believe I was in Phoenix. The following week was perfect weather and much more like it. I was still chipping the rust off the first week and didn't play great. Last week was great and I ended up finishing in a tie for 2nd after a well needed 30-foot putt on the last hole for birdie. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">Week 1: 77-79-72</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">Week 2: 71-73-69</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">The website for information and results is www.thecactustour.com<br /><br />As far as the Futures Tour is concerned...unfortunately I am much further down the alternate list than I would like. I am 22nd for both of the first two tournaments, and that means that chances are not at all good that I will get in. So, as of right now, my plans are to play in more Cactus tour events until I get into any Futures Tour tournaments.<br /><br />No exciting or entertaining stories to be told from my road trips yet, but maybe some to come.<br />I will be adding blogs more regularly now that I'm playing pretty much every week, so be sure and stay tuned to hear the latest.<br /><br />Birdies, birdies, birdies!!!<br /><br /></span><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: courier new;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: webdings;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-7829926166693976652008-01-04T22:29:00.000-08:002008-01-04T22:46:11.227-08:00Merry Christmas, Happy New Year...I'm very behind!!!Does it seem to the rest of you that Thanksgiving and Christmas and the infamous "New Year's Eve" come faster and faster each year? (I say "New Year's Eve" like that because I dislike the evening very much as it is always such a build up and a huge let down!!!) Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite time of year is I always answer without hesitation...summer!!! If I were to really put some thought into it though, it would have to be winter. I love being home with my family. I love all of our traditions (even though some are done with much less enthusiasm than others...hunting with Dad, no offense Dad!!). Most of all, as much as I complain about the cold weather, I love waking up Christmas morning to a cold, snow and frost covered yard!!! I don't think Christmas would be Christmas for us without the wintry weather to go along with it. I don't think it matters so much what you do for your Christmas traditions, but rather that you have them and that you are around friends and family. It is definitely my favorite time of the year!<br /><br />So, as you can see, I have had a great time at home the last couple of weeks. I came home the week before Christmas and am waiting anxiously for our annual trip to Mazatlan, Mexico as we leave in about a week, on the 13th. We are all very ready for some warm weather, and knowing how gorgeous and relaxing it is there, it can't come fast enough!!!<br /><br />My year is not quite as planned out like it was last year. I have limited status, due to my struggle at the qualifying school in November. I have some status based on my finish on last year's money list. Based off of the last few year's information, I should be able to get into most events. And the even better news is, I can improve my status as the year goes on, if I am getting into events and playing well. So...there's the plan!! Right now, I am planning to head back south at the end of the month and spend a chunk of time in Phoenix, preparing for the season and playing in a couple of Cactus Tour events. Our schedule for the Futures Tour is kind of funky this year as we have one event in early March and then a large break until the second nearly a month later. So, as of right now, my plan is to be in that kickoff event and then come back to spend some more time in Phoenix. As I said, it's difficult to plan the year in much detail, not knowing how many events I will get into...but hey, who says a little adventure isn't good for you?!<br /><br />I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season with your families and that 2008 treats everyone very well. I plan to see lots of you this year...if my schedule allows it! So, keep checking your emails because you never know when I could be pulling through your area!<br /><br />Happy New Year...and we're off to a great 2008!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-90892095757628829172007-10-18T21:55:00.000-07:002007-10-18T22:19:12.459-07:00The End of a Season<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so if you read probably the last 5 or 6 blogs, they all start with me saying that I have taken too long to post a new blog. Again, I know that I have waited and put this off way too long. I have been done with my official Futures Tour season for over a month now....I know, I know, way too long to not have posted a blog. I guess I will say that in doing this now I have that much more to tell you about!!! (Sounds good anyway, right?!!)<br /><br />I played my last event in Albany, NY and finished the season much like the rest of the tournaments...less than stellar, and definitely below my standard of where I want to be. It was very weird to drive away knowing that our season wouldn't start again until March. It was also weird to say goodbye to my friends out there. It's weird because we get into such a groove and get so used to seeing each other out there, it's hard to believe that we all have lives outside of that "life."<br /><br />I had the pleasure of having a guest companion for my long and tedious drive back to Albuquerque from New York. My college golf coach, Jackie, whom many of you have been fortunate enough to meet, came up and made the nearly 2500 mile trip with me. We, as usual, had a great time and made quite the experience out of it. We planned a couple of stops for her to be able to see a couple of Aunts of hers, one of which is 101 years old. I won't go into details, but you can use your imagination, and it was quite comical watching her and her 98 year old sister communicate with each other and still act like sisters do!! I don't know Kristin, I just don't see us doing that. They would probably kick us out of the nursing home for arguing too much!! I also planned a stop in Nashville, Tennessee to see the very first host family that I stayed with about 10 years ago ( we figured out). Joy was pregnant when I stayed with them that summer and we were pleasantly surprised when we received the birth announcement later that year with the name <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Kailin</span> Bailey on it. Gary and Joy also have a son named Ryan, so it was so fun to get to meet the kids finally and see Gary and Joy after all this time. We also stopped back through McKinney, Texas where I was early in the season to see and stay with my hosts from that week, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Crawfords</span>. Just like before, we had a great time, and quite a few laughs to go along with it!! Probably due to the fact that I waited so long to write this, I really can't think of any super comical or embarrassing stories from our drive, which is very hard to believe. We did have quite a few choice words for my GPS unit, which I have named La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kisha</span>...or something like that. I really don't know how you would spell that name. Anyway, she is very picky and sometimes we didn't want to do what she told us...so we yelled at her!!!<br /><br />I have been home in Bend the last few weeks and leave next week for warmer temperatures!! It has been much, much, much colder than I ever remember it being this time of year. My mom tells me it's because I'm a wussy after being gone for so long. I am convinced that the weather this time of the year has just changed!!! I am also convinced that we need a warmer house!!! (Kristin will back me up on this!) I have a Cactus tour event in Phoenix followed by Futures Tour Qualifying School again in Florida and another Cactus tour event back in Phoenix...then home for Thanksgiving!! I can't believe it's already nearing the end of October...it feels like 2007 has just flown by. Although I have to remind myself that I spent nearly half of it out driving around and playing golf.<br /><br />I will probably post another blog after Qualifying sometime. I again want to thank all of you for your continued support and encouragement as I travel down this chosen road of mine. I so enjoy all of your comments on here and your emails from time to time. I had a great time this season and am looking forward to another great year next year...but even greater when I play some better golf...the way that I know how!!!<br /><br />Happy Holidays coming up to all of you and please be in touch!!<br /><br />~<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Kailin</span>~Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-44119250322516373132007-08-31T09:31:00.000-07:002007-09-05T19:48:28.103-07:00Week with MomOk, 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.<br /> 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.<br /> 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.<br /> 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.<br /> 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!!<br />~KailinKailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-24362144706832119612007-08-23T18:25:00.000-07:002007-08-23T18:42:22.629-07:00In Gettysburg...Ready to go!!Ok, so I played on Sunday again last weekend, great news...it would be even better though if I would post a low number and move up the leaderboard rather than down. It's coming...soon!! Like now! I went with a friend to the Baltimore Ravens (football) game last Sunday night. She has a friend that plays for the team and got us tickets. I felt like I was at a high school football game in October. I say that because for those of you in Oregon...you know how cold and wet it can be that time of the year. It was freezing!! Unfortunately, ever since Sunday, that is how the weather has been. It's been overcast and on and off raining for 5 days now. I think tomorrow, finally, it's going to break away and it's supposed to be 90.<br /> I have played on this course all week and feel very ready to go. I picked my mom up last night in Baltimore and she got to see the first of many glamorous days in the life of a Futures Tour player. It was a little crazy around the golf course the last couple of days with pro-ams and getting the carts ready and wow, I can't even explain.<br /> I will be playing this weekend for little Peaches. For those of you who don't know, Peaches (our little Bichon Frise) has been with us since I was in Kindergarten. Wow...she was 19 or 20!! That is a really long life for a dog. About 3 or 4 years ago the vet told us she had 3 months to live, and we were fortunate enough t<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx22gEjUOcPkyqMGxANG2jI_Y5V33eyCHMTFLqgIvzEoR951DPpA0iVJpBhs2X2p8fRwS9X0n8tNhI5AjDiYrcPst7MCAVK_lvomXQygp13NqAtxHJpOz9IFeV9HXxM-nN0_XizZ07t8/s1600-h/P1010802.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOx22gEjUOcPkyqMGxANG2jI_Y5V33eyCHMTFLqgIvzEoR951DPpA0iVJpBhs2X2p8fRwS9X0n8tNhI5AjDiYrcPst7MCAVK_lvomXQygp13NqAtxHJpOz9IFeV9HXxM-nN0_XizZ07t8/s320/P1010802.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102075941827753410" border="0" /></a>o have her this long. Even as I say that, I get teary eyed and can't believe she's gone. I guess it doesn't matter how long you have to prepare for losing someone or something you love, you can't prepare enough for when it actually happens. She has been a great member of our family, along with us for so many volleyball and golf tournaments and I can't even tell you how many times she has gotten into food of ours that we left somewhere on accident. Peaches never missed out on any kind of a meal!!!<br />This week's for you Peachy!!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-21087743542310910092007-08-16T21:26:00.000-07:002007-08-17T08:30:28.803-07:00A story worth sharing!!!Ok, so I know I just sent out my much needed and anticipated weekly blog, however, this was a story I just could not keep from sharing. This morning Kelley and I went to the course to practice, luckily before the storm hit and then had the afternoon to spend at the house. We proceeded to take the two sea-doos out on the Y River which is directly in the backyard. This was our second outing on the machines, so we felt pretty comfortable in knowing what we were doing. At some point during our ride (probably one of the furthest points away from the house we could be...5 miles) my machine decided that it was not going to work properly anymore. As it turns out, something is lodged in the pipe or some technical term that I do not know, and it should be fixed very easily. However, at the time, we were quite concerned as to what we did to the machine. It was running, but would not gain any speed and would just rev the engine. We considered jumping in the water to try to get whatever was lodged out, however, there are jelly fish in this water and neither of us wanted to get stung. So, we cleverly hooked the machine up to the other machine to tow it back to the house. I am quite impressed with myself that I could tie knots that would hold. That is such a guy thing to know how to do, and I wasn't sure that I could do it. Then began the humiliating, hilarious, and ridiculously slow ride in towards the house. I am sure people were having a good laugh at us, seeing as how we were maybe going 5 mph. It was a very long ride. We found ourselves quite delirious by the time we were getting to the house. We were making up songs, laughing at ourselves, and we even created names for our machines. Big Red and Yellow Sub!! Yep, we're pretty silly. So, after getting ahold of the Patten's son, he convinced us that this stuff happens often, and we should not be worried or concerned that we did something wrong. Good news is that we're ok and hopefully the machine will be too. Bad news is that our enjoyable afternoon on the machines was cut short.<br /><br />Also, as a side note, the story I told about falling in the hole on the dock...well, it turns out my injuries are a little more extensive than I had previously thought. When I went to hit balls yesterday, I realized that my left arm was very very sore and tight. I thought maybe it was from riding the sea-doos the day before. Kelley was not sore, and neither was my right arm. As it turns out, we discovered that when I fell, my entire left side hit the dock on the way down, hence the soreness in my arm. Again, great news that no serious injuries resulted. What a joke!!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-71244340304068309122007-08-16T06:02:00.000-07:002007-08-16T06:19:04.555-07:00Catch up time...I know, I know...I haven't written in a while. It seems that these weeks are all starting to blend together, and by the time I think about writing on the previous week, we are well into the current week and I have more to write about. I keep telling myself that I need to post a blog and it continues to slip my mind. I will just give you an outline of the last few weeks.<br /><br />I was in Albuquerque for our week off and had a great time being a "normal person" whatever that means!! I went back to Albany, NY to get my car and my friend Kelley and I drove to Concord, NH on what appeared to be back highways, at 10 pm...quite the adventure. We found the house and slipped in quietly around 11:30 that night. The next morning I woke up with bites all over my legs. Yep...it was nice! We still aren't sure what the exact cause was, initially we were thinking bed bugs, but I just don't know. After putting a cover on the mattress, I didn't have any more problems with the bugs. There were 6 of us sharing a bathroom that week and it was small living for the week...needless to say, it was nice to pull out of there on Sunday.<br /><br />Then on the way over to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Morgantown</span>, WV (11 hours) Kelley and I stopped to see my good friend Sara and her husband in New York City. We stayed one night with them in their apartment. I definitely confirmed the fact that I am not a big city girl. Way too many people, way too many cars, not enough space. I definitely missed the open land and mountain views of home while we were there for the night. I just couldn't do it!! Also a quick note to say that when my mom and I go to the city next week to sight see...we will be taking the public transportation into the city as I hate driving there! People just make their own rules and lanes and oh my goodness do they ever like their horns?!! Makes me nervous.<br /><br />I played last week in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Morgantown</span>, WV and we had some more than interesting weather. When we arrived, the course had already seen 12 straight days of rain...so the course was wet to say the least. For the days leading up to the tournament, we had huge storms every afternoon. And I mean huge!!! Thursday's practice rounds were all messed up because the course was nearly unplayable. The back 9 was even closed. I happened to have the first tee time Friday morning, and boy was it wet!! I played well for 2 days...well, for about 33 holes. I had a few oops' and they ended up costing me making the cut.<br /><br />Now on to the good stuff....I am in the most gorgeous, relaxing, fun, awesome place ever. Through friends of friends, I have housing this week in a huge home on the water in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Queenstown</span>, Maryland. They have 5 girls staying here this week, if that gives you an idea of the size. 2 boats, 2 sea-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">doos</span>, a pool...wow!!! Kelley and I went sailing with a friend of hers the other night ( a first for me...and I decided that it's just too much work when you can turn on an engine and drive a regular boat!!!) I know, I'm boring. Yesterday after our day on the golf course we came back and went on the Sea-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Doos</span>. Funny story on that real quick. They have a rubber/plastic type of ramp/dock that they store the sea-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">doos</span> on. Well, we were putting the covers back on them and I was walking behind the machine pulling the cover over the back. There is a rather large hole in the dock (one that's supposed to be there) and I backed right into it, fell into the water, hitting my whole left side on the plastic dock on the way down. Good news - no serious injuries...it could have been bad! Bad news - I'm going to have a bruise covering my entire left hip and leg. It hurts to roll over in bed!!! Good one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Kailin</span>!!! I am told that is a first, so i guess I will leave my mark on this house after all. Our plan today after practicing this morning, as the course is closed to us for the pro-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">ams</span>, is to come back and enjoy all of these fun toys and relax!! My bed might just eat me this week...meaning, I just melt into it! So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are living the life this week!!!<br /><br />I promise to write more often, this week when the week is over...I promise!! My mom is coming to caddy for next week's mandatory caddy event in Gettysburg, PA. She gets here on Wednesday and I'm very excited! Come to think of it, I don't think she's seen me play as a professional! Not that it's any different...still a golf ball and a golf course! But, I don't think she has. We should have a lot of fun and plan to see some fun stuff while we're over here also!<br /><br />Living rough in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Queenstown</span>!!! ~<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Kailin</span>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-46918192458119974242007-07-22T17:08:00.000-07:002007-07-22T17:37:54.176-07:00Playing on a Sunday!!<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so you know that saying that you don't know what you've got until you lose it? Well, I can't say the same is true for me and my game and my tournaments lately. I knew every Sunday morning when I had missed the cut what I should have been doing and where I should have been. Instead of practicing, or hiking, or caddying for a friend, or doing laundry and driving, I should have been playing the 3rd and final round of the tournament. Today I finally did that!!! It felt so good to make the cut yesterday and be able to tee it up on Sunday!! We had some weather that should have made me feel a little at home this week. We had 3 completely different weather situations which equals 3 completely different golf courses. Friday I got the short end of the stick with temperatures in the 60's, rain for about 9 holes, and wind. (The afternoon tee times got to enjoy their rounds in dry clothes!!) Saturday was warmer but very windy. And today, well, the conditions were perfect!<br />I know that a lot of you are wondering about last week and the infamous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DQ</span> that is next to a player's name. There are so many ways to get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">DQ</span>-ed (Disqualified for those non-golfers) anymore that it's always the question of the day. I had about 20 people ask me that day after the round, and another 30 or so the next day who came to give me a smile or pat on the shoulder after reading that I had run out of golf balls on my 16<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> hole. Yes, I ran out of golf balls. This course had many places to lose balls and I seemed to find most of them. I would have been done on the 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> if not for a playing partner who climbed down a huge embankment and to my surprise, found one of my balls! So, I walked the remaining 2 and a half holes with my group with my head high and a smile on my face knowing that it was just one of those days and this didn't define who I was as a person or a golfer. I had many comments from people in my group and of the staff that helped to ease the bruise a little. I was told that I handled the situation like a champ and that it took a lot of guts to stick it out and finish (well, 16 holes that is) and most people in that situation would have walked off the course long before that point. So, I took that for what it's worth...and here we are this week playing on a Sunday. :)<br /><br />A few side notes of humor...entertainment...or embarrassment in my situation!!<br /><br /><ul><li>Take note when you are driving in central New York. Highway 87 is not the same thing as Highway 90 (the thruway as it's known around here!). Yes, I found this out the hard way. Oh, we're not talking 20 or 30 miles, we're talking a good 130 miles in the wrong direction!!! Check it out on a map to get the full picture. I was headed to Syracuse from Hartford and going through Albany. I missed the turn-off to go West on 90 towards Syracuse and instead went North on 87 towards CANADA...Yikes!! In my defense, the directions told me that 87 would turn into 90 at some point, and I believe I was on the phone with my Dad when this happened, hence the reason I missed it. End of the story is I ended up right near Lake Placid...the Olympic training site. I did get to see some pretty places in New York that I would not have seen otherwise, but are you kidding <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kailin</span>?!! It was so far out of the way, and to make matters worse, there was no easy way to get over to Syracuse...I had to go back the same way and cut over, but it took me FOREVER! I was mad, tired, frustrated, and kind of amused all at the same time. You'll thank me if you ever get over here and have to drive on these roads yourselves..just you wait!</li><li>I have a friend traveling with me. She doesn't talk, she doesn't take up any space with her stuff in the car, we always have the same tee times, and she's content just hanging out waiting for me. No, I am not on drugs...but I have a little spider friend that hangs out on my trunk. I know what you're thinking right now, I've gone a little nuts with all this travel. But really, there is a spider who has been through all kinds of weather, weeks of sitting in random parking lots, and many, many, many miles with me. I ruined her web a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure why. Then when she rebuilt it and has been with me ever since, I decided that I have a little travel buddy. You might be thinking weird, but hello, doesn't anyone remember Charlotte's Web?!! (By the way, I don't actually know the sex...does anyone know how to tell with a spider?)</li><li>At the pro-am dinner this week, in the opening speech by some guy...I can't tell you who he was, he <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">referred</span> to us as "a traveling circus." This made me laugh because it's so true. He made reference to our cars with all the clothes hung in them and packed to the brim and license plates from all over...so true! This should give you a pretty good image of what we look like traveling all over each week!</li></ul>I am flying out tomorrow morning for Albuquerque for the week off. We play in Concord, NH next and I am assured to get there without any detours as I will have a travel companion. No, not the spider...my friend Kelley. Together, hopefully we can get there in the appropriate time estimated and in one piece!!<br /><br />Just a side note, there was an article written on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Duramed</span> Futures Tour page about me if you didn't see it. The URL is http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/News/WR071607.pdf or you can find it by going to the home website. Also, Lisa Mickey, the media person for the tour writes a side blog some weeks and she wrote one this week that has people buzzing and raving about it. It's the Mickey A La Cart side box on the left hand side of the web page and this is the URL http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/Blogs/MickeyalaCart.asp I would recommend reading it, she has a very good outlook on what it's like out here and she is one of my favorite people on the staff out here!!<br /><br />Until next week...Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-33335930194724975002007-07-13T19:21:00.000-07:002007-07-13T19:32:49.741-07:00Long time no blog...I apologize for the delay between blogs. When I left <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Kankakee</span>, Illinois 2 weeks ago...it was all craziness from there. I drove 2 days (15 hours) to Hartford, Connecticut to leave my car and fly home. Here's a new one for you...I hit a chair in the middle of the road on my drive. Yes, a chair. I never thought I would be saying this, but be careful when you're on the road, because you never know when furniture could be lying around in your lane. It was a very strange deal, and happened so quickly I couldn't even tell you details! However, it was scary and luckily my car doesn't seem to have any damage as a result. I am lucky that the car in front of me didn't hit it and send it flying into my windshield!<br /><br />I was home for a week, and we worked like dogs the whole time. I never imagined that a wedding could be so much work. There are so many details that you don't even think about having to think about! I hope my sister realizes how much work it all was, because there were a lot of friends and family who put in more than a few good hours to make it all come together. My parents did a fantastic job and everything turned out beautiful and perfect! It was an emotional day, but a happy one, and it was fun to see my sister so happy and looking beautiful!!<br /><br />I traveled all day Tuesday (July 10) back to Hartford, getting here at 1:00 a.m. Funny thing is, my clubs didn't arrive with me. At 1:00 in the morning, there aren't a whole lot of options to hope they come in on a later flight. I was pretty much out of luck for my 7:00 a.m. practice round the next morning. I got a set of clubs my host housing put together for me, used a putter from my car, and borrowed woods of a friend in my group and groggily played a practice round the next morning. As of 3:00 the next afternoon, I still hadn't heard a word from the airline. And as many of you know, of course the number they give you doesn't actually result in someone on the other line, it is merely an answering machine. Yeah, like anyone ever returns those calls. So, I made the 25 minute drive back to the airport to raise a little hell in person. Long story short, I spent 4 and 1/2 hours at the airport baggage claim that night and luckily received my clubs on a 9:00 pm flight from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Las</span> Vegas. I was preparing for the worst and coming up with a plan as to what clubs I could use if I didn't have my own come Friday!!<br /><br />This course is challenging, but very fun to play, as it requires certain shots and requires some course management instead of bombing away at your driver every hole. I had a great day, much better than a 76 describes. Playing that way and having a few things go my way could result in a much lower score...thus, the plan for tomorrow!!! We are in Syracuse, NY next week and then have another week off. I apologize again for my lack of communication...time just goes by so quickly when you're super busy and having fun!!<br />Talk to you all soon!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-52353676351442021542007-06-17T19:14:00.000-07:002007-06-17T19:27:05.283-07:00Happy Father's Day<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so in all honesty, I didn't feel that it would be fair to submit a Father's Day story to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Duramed</span> Futures Tour page this weekend after not having my Mother's Day story posted. So, Dad gets a little blog on here just like Mom!! First, Happy Father's Day to everyone that it applies. I had a fun day here in Decatur celebrating with another family, but would have preferred to have been at home celebrating with my family..(well, in all reality, it probably wouldn't have been celebrating...probably more like helping in the yard to get ready for the wedding!!!) Anyway, I have a couple of stories about Dad to share. This is really quite fun since most of you know him and can truly appreciate some of the "crap" that he dishes out!!<br /> I believe it was my sophomore year in high school, before I was to turn 16 and get my driver's license. Driving home from high school practice, with my younger sister in the car, we passed a bright yellow (popular at the time) truck. He informed me that if I could shoot under 70 the next day in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Prineville</span> at our tournament then he would by Kristin (my younger sister) that truck. Wow...wait just one minute. This is quite a deal for me, huh? So, you're telling me that if I go out and break 70 then you will by that truck for my sister? Where is the benefit in that for me? He seemed to think it was a good deal because she wouldn't be able to drive for 2 years so she would let me drive it. Yeah, right...knowing my sister, I'm sure she would just gladly hand over the keys!! End of the story is I missed a short birdie putt on the 18<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> to shoot 69, so I ended up with a 70 and we didn't have to worry about the details of the truck!!! He still tells that story with a huge smile on his face, I think because he realizes how lousy of a deal that was for me?!!!<br /> Another memory I have I am not as clear on the details. I believe it was something very similar though. If I were to break 70 during my summer tournaments he would shave his head. (I think this was actually meant as torture for my mom as she hated his hair that short) I shot 67 at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">OGA</span> Members course at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Tukwila</span> and happily called him and informed him that he lost the bet. He showed up the next day with a buzzed head. Everyone was giving him a hard time telling him that he hadn't followed through with his end of the bargain and that a buzz was different from a shaved head!! I have the picture and the fun memory of all of those birdies, knowing with each one that he was going to have to follow through with his end of the deal!!!<br /> (Maybe I need another "deal" Dad...perhaps that would help bring in the birdies??!!!) Just kidding!<br /> I feel very lucky to have such a supportive, involved, and caring Dad and know without a doubt that I will always have his love and support no matter what I do on or off the golf course. I know that he shares my passion for being out here and with that my disappointment when I do not perform to my expectations. It is great to have the support system that I do at home! I am hoping that he and my mom both will be able to be experiencing it a little more with me out here once the wedding is over! (hint)<br /> Happy Father's Day Dad...love you always!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-40307333067611148672007-06-12T16:40:00.001-07:002007-06-12T16:59:06.339-07:00Random Blog<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span>, so I'm going to apologize in advance for this being a short, random blog. I do not have wireless <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">internet</span> and don't want to take up the computer for very long. I'm going to just tell you about a few random things that happened over the last week or so.<br /><br />Today I competed in my 3rd "Yes One Grand Challenge" putting contest. Every few weeks they have one for people who are using the Yes putters. They hold 3 or 4 different shot-gun qualifiers and the low 3 scores and ties get into a sudden death playoff after that. The first week, I didn't post a score that went to the finals. A couple of weeks ago in Lake Geneva, I was 2 under and qualified for the playoff. The first hole of the playoff I 3-putted and was eliminated. This week, I qualified again and survived 4 holes until another girl drained a putt and the whole thing was over. So, the way I see it...it's a progression and next time guess who will be the winner?!!!<br /><br />At last week's event in Hammond, Indiana on the first tee of the second round we were given our pin sheets and scorecards. Then we were handed a memo from the head honchos of the tour. The memo read as follows:<br /><br /><em>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Duramed</span> FUTURES Tour Executive Committee has exercised its right to make the following amendment to the 2007 Player Rules and Regulations. This change goes into effect immediately.<br /><br /><strong>Repairing Ball Marks, Replacing Divots, and Raking Bunkers</strong><br />In any round of practice, pro-am, or tournament competition, any player who fails to replace a divot or repair a ball mark as a result of a shot she has played, or fails to rake a bunker after playing from the bunker will be fined fifty dollars ($50) for each offense. This violation may be reported by a fellow competitor, caddie, volunteer, spectator, etc. and the fine is not subject to appeal. Any repeat violations of this policy may result in additional fines and/or further action by the Tour.</em><br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ok</span>, first, I would just like to say that we are professionals. Is this a joke that we're having to be threatened with a fine in order to make people fix divots and ball-marks. I have always been a strong believer in karma with golf, and I fear that if I don't fix a divot in the fairway...guess where I'm going to end up the next day?!! Also, why is it difficult to fix 2 or 3 ball marks when you're walking to your ball on the green? I don't know about you, but I found this saddening.<br /><br />And lastly, I have to refer once again to our volunteer cart drivers, bless their hearts. I heard some stories from last week's event that made my situation seem like heaven. A friend of mine had a driver that literally drove on the green on the first hole. Drove on the green!!! Right across the first green. I think I would have needed a change of clothes if I were in that group because I probably would have wet myself. Anyway, my driver on the last day was pushing 85 or 90 and was the sweetest thing ever. He was very much trying to error on the cautious side and stayed pretty far away from us. The other girl that had her bag on the cart and I were constantly having to tell him to come on over, don't be shy, pull right up next to us. I say constantly, and I mean pretty much every shot!!! Also, for anyone that was following, during the last round I started very hot and had some struggles from there on in. I had 4 penalty strokes with all the hazards that surrounded that golf course. Anyway, Ben (that's our driver's name) kept informing me that my penalty strokes were just killing me and my score. He also would inform me after I took drops and was prepared to hit my next shot that I should be careful not to hit the ball into hazards that were up by the green as well, and told me where all of the trouble was. For anyone that knows golf...one of the major sins is bringing up the trouble, because that's what goes into the golfer's mind. The brain doesn't hear the word "don't" so all it hears is "hazard up there on the left" or whatnot. Anyway, at this point all I could do was laugh and I did a lot of it!!!<br /><br />We are in Decatur, Illinois this week for the tour's "MAJOR" of the season. It has the biggest purse ($105,000) and is a 4-day event, when they are normally 3. I hear that this tournament has the biggest fan base and support of the tournament, so I'm excited to see. It is a mandatory caddy event and I have been given my volunteer caddy for the week. I believe that I have the only female caddy of the whole group...so maybe <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">that</span> will be good luck!! Live scoring again this week at <a href="http://www.duramedfuturestour.com/">www.duramedfuturestour.com</a> I'll write more next week!!<br />~<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kailin</span> (PS...it turns out that wasn't a short blog <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">after all</span>...I had a lot to say apparently)Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-57171572626487608952007-06-04T06:59:00.000-07:002007-06-04T07:13:20.684-07:00Success.......?Success is defined in the dictionary as degree or measure of succeeding, or a favorable or desired outcome. My week in Lake Geneva would be described as success. I know some of you are thinking..."hmmm, 81-77 and missing the cut, how is that success?" But, that would be my description of choice. I say that because I am getting so close. Again, you're wondering how an 81 and a 77 is getting close to where I want to be. It was a matter of 2 or 3 different swings that cost me a number of strokes and a stretch of poor putting for about 4 or 5 holes. Other than that, I am hitting the ball very well, better than I have been, and gaining the confidence back, slowly. This was the best venue we have been to all season, and I would recommend a vacation to this area to anyone. It is absolutely gorgeous here.<br /><br />The weather was interesting all week, lots of rain, and many delays. I will leave this morning for Hammond, Indiana, which is only 2 hours away. You have no idea how exciting that sounds after the 10 and 12 hour drives we were doing in Texas. They are having a fun, free, money available to win Par 3 contest today in Hammond. A friend and I are going to play, mostly because we can enter for free and win money, but also because we thought it would be fun and good practice!!<br /><br />I had fun at home and was disappointed to leave, probably because after being gone for so long a week doesn't seem long enough. Also because I knew I was leaving for 5 weeks and the next time I go home it will be pure craziness with the wedding. It already is craziness there...a word of advice, do not go into the wedding business while planning your own daughter's wedding. There is a lot going on at the Downs' residence and I am not disappointed that I don't have to deal with all of that!!! Good luck with that Mom and Dad. Off to Hammond, until next week...birdies!!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-37124765248653402372007-05-21T20:44:00.000-07:002007-05-21T21:03:02.710-07:00Home Sweet Home!!There was positive and negative at the conclusion of Saturday's round in Kansas City. The negative was that I missed the cut this week (by one) after two tough days of battle with the strongest course we have played all year. The positive was that I get one more day at home. No offense to my family, but I would have rather played golf on Sunday...Sorry!!! Anyway, with the week off, and with my Dad already being in Kansas, I flew home with him and am getting to spend the week here. I will switch modes at the end of this week and be the host of my sister's wedding shower. It's a nice little break from golf, but you can definitely say that I won't be going into the wedding shower business. Not only do I get to throw the shower this weekend, but I am finally getting to see the progress that is being made on the wedding site (the house) and also am able to see the cutest little puppies ever (we have an English Setter and a Golden Retriever for those that don't know). Oh, yeah, I'm also getting to see my family!!<br /><br />For the second tournament in a row, my Dad made his appearance as caddy!! I never quite know how it's going to go, because when I was younger he always used to be overly intense and spoke when he wasn't always spoken to. (As most of you know, the three up's of caddying are show up, keep up, and shut-up) Anyway, this has not been an issue at all. I have enjoyed every minute of it, and enjoy having him out there. This is almost going as far as a compliment, and generally I only write these things when it's some special day for him (i.e. Father's Day, Christmas, or birthday)...but I'll make an exception this time. I can honestly say that he has a calming effect on me on the golf course. I feel at ease and seem to hit shots that I wouldn't normally hit, but that he makes me believe I have the ability to. It's fun to have a caddy, making it feel more like you have someone on your team, rather than you against the world!! Seeing as how the majority of our tournaments are nowhere near Oregon, and my sister is taking up all of their time planning this wedding, my parents aren't able to be out with me all that often right now. However, when they are it is fun and very appreciated.<br /><br />Well, next time I write I will be in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The tournament is June 1-3 and will again have live-scoring. I have submitted a blog to the Futures Tour for the weekly player's blog that they post on the website. I will let you know when it is scheduled to be put up as I'm sure that you will all be very anxious to read it!!! Off to have a great week at home!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-87116758662021137782007-05-13T15:00:00.000-07:002007-05-13T15:15:29.449-07:00Happy Mother's Day!!!I would first like to say Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there. If any of you have seen the special article they have on the Future's Tour web page, you will notice that I did not have a story posted there. As it turns out, I wrote one and got it in on time, but failed to send it to the correct email address. Figures huh? My mom said that she wouldn't even have noticed as she probably wouldn't have found it on the website. Anyway, I thought I would take this route of sending a special little message to mom.<br /> I don't have one specific special memory of my mom and I or even a golf story. I do, however, remember very well all of the time and energy my mom has put into my golf for a number of years. Traveling long distances, putting together snacks and sandwiches for the team, carrying all of my extra clothing and umbrella and other crap around the golf course, baring the not-so-kind weather that comes with being a golfer, being a constant in my support system through good and not so good rounds, even caddying sometimes....and the list could go on and on!!! What I'm getting at is how thankful I am for everything that you have done for me mom. You are very loved and very missed. Happy Mother's Day!!!<br /><br />I enjoyed my short week off last week in Albuquerque. It was so weird to not be playing practice rounds or getting up Friday for a tournament tee time. However, I would be lying if I said that it wasn't kind of nice for a little break!! I drove about 4 hours on Friday night and arrived in Dalhart, TX. For any of you who have never been here, you are not missing out on much. I literally had to drive with one hand covering my nose as I drove the 15 miles into town to refrain from throwing up. I have been through some smelly towns and smelly cow smells before, but this one was in it's own league. I am not sure how people live there, but it is an understatement to tell you that it was stinky!!! I got up on Saturday morning to finish the drive to Kansas City. I had to make a small detour as the highway was closed through Greensburg, KS. The highway that I took instead ran parallel to the highway through Greensburg, and while I'm not certain, I would be willing to be that the tornado swept up through the area I was driving through. There were power lines and poles down, trees completely uprooted and laying everywhere, and huge water system lines overturned and mangled. It was very humbling to think what these people had been through not to long ago. I arrived safely in Kansas City and am fortunate enough to be staying with a host family that I met a couple of years ago when I was here for the Women's Public Links tournament. I have a one day U.S. Women's Open local qualifier tomorrow and then will begin my week for the Future's Tour tournament, which will be held in this area as well, but at a different golf course.<br /><br />Happy Mother's Day again!!!!Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-8991203931176316162007-05-08T07:52:00.000-07:002007-05-08T08:19:12.120-07:00Unplayable ConditionsFor any golfers out there, we all know that there can be unplayable conditions in the game of golf. Lightning and thunder, torrential downpours, a course that's flooded, snow, and there are probably some others that I am missing. However, I didn't think I would ever be adding wind to that list. On Saturday, the Futures Tour made a decision to suspend play for the day due to severe winds. No really, severe winds!! They made reference to earlier this year when the PGA canceled a round due to high winds. Other than that, can any of us remember ever hearing of a professional golf tournament being canceled due to wind? No, I didn't think so.<br /> Saturday morning I got up and battled the winds for my 8:09 tee time. I don't know the exact numbers, but it was something around 24 m.p.h. with gusts higher than that. I played great, battled the conditions, and shot the low round of the morning. I knew going into the round that I needed to have a decent score in order to make the cut, but I also knew after a 71 in those conditions that I would be fine. In fact, I figured I probably would have moved significantly up the leader board. So, after my round, I'm on the range hitting balls and we hear the horns. (The horns signify the rules official's stopping play) We were all looking at each other with very confused looks on our faces as there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was about 80 degrees out.<br /> Long story short...they suspended play due to unplayable wind conditions. I have never seen some of these girls more up in arms and fired up as I did when they canceled the round. Those of us who played in the morning felt that it was highly unfair that we had all just played a round of golf in those conditions and the afternoon tee times were going to get off free. It was an experience I will never forget. If you haven't read the daily wrap-up for the 2nd round in El Paso on the Duramed Futures Tour page it's a must read. They make reference to a cart being thrown to a stop when the wind blew the key to the off position, nearly throwing the rules official through the windshield. Wow, are you kidding? Truly, you're not fooling any of us. We aren't falling for that!<br /> A little bird told me that I should focus on the fact that I played so well in those conditions and that I can't control what happens about the rest of the day. Well, I had to share my story though, because even though I couldn't control the situation, I felt that I had the right to be upset about their decision.<br /> So, I made the cut and had a less than stellar round on Sunday again. I know you're all thinking that you should inform me that it helps to shoot a low score on the last day. When you play well it moves you up the leader board rather than down. Well, it might seem like I am missing that piece of information, but I really do know that. I am playing better golf and gaining a world of confidence. It's all a matter of putting it together and making some putts and scoring better.<br /> I am off this week, in Albuquerque. I head to Kansas City this weekend as I have a Women's Open qualifier on Monday followed by the next Futures Tour event there later that week. I will be home in two weeks to throw a shower for my sister.<br /> I had a great time last week with my Dad on the bag (even with all of the complaining he was doing...the bag was too heavy, the strap was too thin, it was hurting his shoulder) and Jackie down to watch. I found it comical that when we got in the car Sunday night to make the drive up to Albuquerque that they were complaining about a 3 and a half hour drive. Ha...that's a piece of cake compared to 13 hour days in the car!!! Until next time...Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-43447852683287312262007-04-26T15:59:00.000-07:002007-04-30T21:46:41.496-07:00Good Times in McAllenI couldn't resist sharing some of my comical happenings while I was in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">McAllen</span>. I realize that some of these (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ok</span>, maybe all of them) will probably not be funny to any of you who were not present. That old "you probably had to be there" thing comes into play. Nonetheless, I thought I should still share my funnies with you!!<br /><br /><br /><ul><li>I volunteered for this week's junior clinic in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">McAllen</span>. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Duramed</span> Futures Tour holds one every week at each tournament site. It was approximately 96 degrees with the intense sun beating down on us. Mind you that this was after a 5 hour practice round and an hour of practice. I was given the task of teaching putting. My first group was about 10 kids around the ages of 6 or 7. No joke, after 2 minutes, they asked if they could sit down. Who am I to tell them that they can't sit? So, they sat. Now what? There are only so many things you can tell 6 year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">olds</span> about putting without them actually performing the act. Imagine what our tournament rounds would be like if we could just stop and sit down whenever we felt like it.....Now there's a thought!!! I also should note that it's a little on the challenging side when a large portion of the kids you are attempting to teach do not understand English.</li><li>On Thursday there were 2 pro-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ams</span> (which I am not allowed to play in yet as a rookie) which meant that the course was closed. After a morning of practice at the course, my friend Kelley and I decided to have an afternoon of "girl stuff." This is turning out to be a bit of a tradition when we can't play a practice round on Thursdays. I guess you could call it a preparation day for Friday's round. Anyway, we were given coupons to receive a complimentary service of choice at the local beauty school. They were given to us at registration, and we figured that Thursday would be the perfect time. The comical part of this story is when we walk in only to find 4 Asian golfers, a golf mother, and Julie Wells, another girl from Oregon. As I sat there getting my pedicure, I observed the beauty school students (who didn't speak English very well, but attempted) trying to communicate with the Asian golfers, who spoke even less English. I found myself trying to translate what the other was trying to say...wait a minute...I don't speak Spanish or any other language for that matter. Was I kidding? Luckily, my student understood and spoke English. We had a very nice conversation, although I think she is still confused about the whole golfing tour, traveling around, my being from Oregon thing. We then went to a movie and we were the only two people in the theater. The movie was just released not even a week ago. We practically started gagging the minute we walked into the theater as the whole room smelled very strongly of mildew or must or mold or something. We had a good laugh about it, although at the end of the movie when we could still smell it, it wasn't so funny!! When I told the employee of the movie theater about the awful, nearly unbearable smell, she literally laughed at me, followed by an assurance that she would let her manager know. Yeah...and I'm going to fly to the moon tomorrow!!!</li><li>Each week we have many volunteers to make these tournaments possible. They kindly give up their time during the 3 day tournament and it is greatly appreciated by the players. Each group has a volunteer cart driver. The players who do not have caddies are allowed to put their bags on the cart (a cart caddy) and their other task is to keep score and they report our 3-hole scores to the live-scoring. Anyway, this week during one of my rounds I had an elderly guy (I'm guessing around 80-85) and he did a fabulous job. However, at one point, I was putting my club back in my bag and he sat back down on the cart and actually farted!!! I had to keep myself from laughing out loud, but if nothing else it lightened the mood for that hole! </li><li>After Sunday's round, my friend Kelley and I ventured to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Progresso</span>, the Mexican border town that is 15 minutes from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">McAllen</span>. In my defense, we were going for a purpose. I was looking in the pharmacies for my special sunscreen (dermatologist recommended) and my Dad's gel for his shoulder. Much to the dismay of my parents and friends, we went and what an experience it was. First, did you know that they charge you to walk across the bridge? Yeah, it's a quarter to go into Mexico, and here's the real kicker...it costs 30 cents to come back into the United States. Wait, you mean to tell me that I have to pay money, (not to mention 5 cents more than Mexico charges), just to come back into my own country? Wow!!! Well, it was a partially unsuccessful trip as I found out that they don't believe in Sunscreen in the pharmacies in the border towns of Mexico. You can buy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Viagra</span> by the case loads and you can have a filling done for $25, but you can't buy sunscreen. Interesting!!! I found my Dad's stuff and off we went, very thankful when we stepped back on U.S. soil. I found it amusing as we walked past a guy offering to shine our shoes. When he realized that we both had flip-flops on and would not require a shoe shining, he quickly offered a pedicure!!! Really, you can just switch and perform something like a pedicure that easily? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">HMMMMM</span>!!!!!</li><li>And lastly, our trip ended with an adventure as we made the 12/13 hour drive today from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">McAllen</span> to El <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Paso</span>. As we entered San Antonio we were concerned we might be driving into a very large hurricane or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">tornado-ish</span> storm. I can't express how black and scary looking it was. I hope to figure out how to get pictures on here soon...stay tuned!! Anyway, we were going 15 mph on the freeway, with everyone driving with their emergency flashers on as you could not see 3 feet in front of you. This lasted about 45 minutes. Yeah, and we still had about an 8 or 9 hour drive. Fun times, let me tell you!!!</li></ul><p>I am in El <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Paso</span> and am very ready for another fun filled week of golf on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Duramed</span> Futures Tour. I am really enjoying myself and am especially excited this week as my Dad is coming in later in the week and will have the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">privilege</span> (yes, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">privilege</span>) of caddying for me. In addition, my college coach (and very best friend) is coming down to watch. I always enjoy having fans!!!<br /></p>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157898647054504838.post-5278277216741232252007-04-23T19:27:00.000-07:002007-04-23T20:06:05.953-07:00You know you're in Mexico...I mean McAllen when...As I made the 9 1/2 hour drive today from Lafayette to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">McAllen</span>, TX I thought to myself that I should post a blog about the good, the bad, and the ugly about spending a whole day a week in your car. First, let me just say that I made it to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">McAllen</span>, and although I've heard a lot about not expecting too much when we make our stop here, I knew I had to be getting close when I turned off the I-pod and switched to the radio. I am not exaggerating when I say that there were 4 stations that were in English!!! No really, this is not a joke! My host housing took me to a small Mexican restaurant tonight and again I am not exaggerating when I tell you that we were the only Americans in the place. So...that should give you an idea of where I am!<br /><br />Now, some small, simple things you learn to be thankful for when you are in your car all day:<br /><ul><li>My satellite radio that I got for Christmas (To be honest, I wasn't sure what my Dad was thinking with this purchase. However, it turns out that it's great when you're in your car all day)</li><li>Phone calls every so often from my Dad. He's just checking on me and they only last 45 seconds, but it's the thought that counts. (He's really just a big softy if you don't already know it!)</li><li>People that call to chat and keep you busy because they know how boring it can be by yourself.</li><li>How nice it is when people actually use their cruise control and get in the right lane when they're not passing someone.</li><li>The small joy you get from a favorite song coming on the radio or I-pod.</li><li>How good it feels when you have to get out to use the restroom or fill up the tank and your legs actually get to stretch out and have blood pumped back into them.</li><li>The reassuring feeling you get when you pass one of the Futures Tour trucks along the freeway. This is a reminder that we are not the only ones shifting in our seats for 10 hours and also a good sign that you are actually on the right road going in the correct direction.</li><li>The quick laugh you get when you pick a random exit and go into a Subway only to find a group of 4 other golfers who chose that very same exit and Subway. What are the odds?</li><li>And finally, the great feeling of being "home" for the week. I say that with quotes because that is technically what it is. However, how much can a place feel like home when you are in and out in 6 days?!!</li></ul>Kailin Downshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01204451947828327746noreply@blogger.com4