The view from our hotel window
The view of the hotel fountain. The arch is directly right and Busch Stadium directly left.
The view from our seats.
Another view from our seats
Left field seats
Friday, July 25, 2008
Cardinals v. Brew Crew
Yesterday was my first time attending a St. Louis Cardinals game at their new stadium. I was really excited to finally be there, and it was a really good time, until the top of the 9th inning. With a 3-2 lead and 2 outs away from the victory, the Cardinals closer fittingly gave up a go-ahead 2 run homerun to none other than Ryan Braun, my so-called cousin. As much as I hate to see the Cardinals get beat, it was pretty cool to see the first Braun in the MLB to win the game. I wish I had more pics of the stadium, but the camera died after I took the first few... so here's some pics of the trip.
Another view from our seats
Another view from our seats
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Pictures I Promised...
These were in someone's backyard so I wanted a picture under them. Much nicer than Cali Palm Trees :)
A cool picture I took of the dunes
Dad being gangster without even knowing it.
Some of the millions of hotels and condos lining Ocean Blvd.
Close up on Dad
Saturday afternoon Dad and I cruised along Ocean Blvd. and got out right here. Here's Dad on the Beach
My new home. It's the one I'm pointing to on the bottom.Saturday, July 12, 2008
Day 2 in Myrtle Beach
Today was a good day in Beach Town. Dad and I got to sleep in a little bit and then we headed off to an iMax movie in 3D located in a place called Broadway at the Beach. It was about a guy and his daughter boating through the grand canyon. It had some really cool shots of the canyon and some cool stuff popping out at us. Robert Redford was narrating, so obviously it was very political and full of propaganda about global warming. Once we tuned him out, the movie was much more enjoyable. After the movie we walked around Broadway at the Beach. Basically, it's a culmination of a bunch of shops and rides and things to do all surrounding this big lake with ducks and huge fish in it. It is like Six Flags but without all the roller coasters. After walking around for a couple hours we went to a barbecue place called Big D's. My new landlord reccommended it, but it wasn't very good.
From there, we drove to the beach, which was about a 5 minute drive from my apartment :) We drove along Ocean Dr. for about 30 mins until we found a nice spot to park and we got out to take a look around. It was cooler than any beach in Malibu or Santa Monica (sorry Tamara, but it's true). There's hotels lining the beach for miles and miles and miles. Planes flying overhead with big advertisements on the back, people everywhere, it was just really cool. So we walked around for a while and took a few pictures and decided to head out. When we went to the iMax movie earlier, the ticket girl said we could come back and see another different show for only 5 dollars if we still had the tickets from the first show we saw, so we decided to go see another show. This one was about the deep sea creatures. It was realllllly cool. Sea turtles and coral and sharks were all popping out close enough to touch. If you ever have a chance to see a 3D iMax, do not pass it up. It is soooo cool. Once the iMax ended we hit up a few more shops and decided to call it a day. I know I said I wouldn't post again until Tuesday, but I didn't think this could wait. I'll post all the pics from this weekends festivities when I get home, I forgot to bring the USB cable....
From there, we drove to the beach, which was about a 5 minute drive from my apartment :) We drove along Ocean Dr. for about 30 mins until we found a nice spot to park and we got out to take a look around. It was cooler than any beach in Malibu or Santa Monica (sorry Tamara, but it's true). There's hotels lining the beach for miles and miles and miles. Planes flying overhead with big advertisements on the back, people everywhere, it was just really cool. So we walked around for a while and took a few pictures and decided to head out. When we went to the iMax movie earlier, the ticket girl said we could come back and see another different show for only 5 dollars if we still had the tickets from the first show we saw, so we decided to go see another show. This one was about the deep sea creatures. It was realllllly cool. Sea turtles and coral and sharks were all popping out close enough to touch. If you ever have a chance to see a 3D iMax, do not pass it up. It is soooo cool. Once the iMax ended we hit up a few more shops and decided to call it a day. I know I said I wouldn't post again until Tuesday, but I didn't think this could wait. I'll post all the pics from this weekends festivities when I get home, I forgot to bring the USB cable....
Friday, July 11, 2008
The first trip to Myrtle Beach
Well folks, it's time for the baby bird to spread his wings and leave the nest. As you all know, I will be attending the San Diego Golf Academy in Myrtle Beach starting August 27. Dad and I drove 13 hours to find an apartment for me to live in and to tour the school. This morning we took a tour of the school. I think Dad said it best when Mom called him after we left the school. Mom asked how it went, Dad responded with "I'm quitting my job and I'm going to school here, too." Basically, it's all golf, all the time.
The school has 2 practice rooms, yes you read correctly, practice ROOMS, as in INDOORS with constant air conditioning, with big practice greens and state of the art swing analyzers. The first practice room we entered was 800 sq ft with a cool undulating practice green with tons of holes to putt to. On the other side of the room are 2 huge launch monitors. For the golf-impaired, a launch monitor uses lasers and cameras to tell the golfer how much sidespin, backspin, launch angle, face angle, distance the ball went, etc. I have never used a launch monitor before, and I wasn't expecting to when I came in for the visit, quite frankly. So one of the PGA professionals, also my future teacher, told me to step on up and take a few swings. I'm very shy and hesitant to look at myself on camera, not sure why, but I was pretty nervous when I stepped in. First shot was pretty close to a shank, and the teacher told me that with a big grin. So I was pretty shocked, and took another swing. Crushed it with a 6 iron. Dad claims the guy turned to him after I hit the ball and winked at him. One of the statistics on the launch monitor is called the "Smash Factor". That's a 1.50 scale that tells the golfer how solidly, or how much he smashed, the ball. The monitor read 1.49 after that shot. I felt pretty good about that one, but then he showed me my swing in slow motion. He found a few things right away that I need to fix. I noticed a few things that I didn't like, so I was relatively unhappy with the way I hit those shots. Even though I hit a good shot, I hit 5 really bad ones.
From that room, we went to the next practice room, which is 1,200 sq ft. This practice green was probably 3 times as big as the other one. And in the corner, my very own practice bunker! Indoors! My dream come true. Down the hallway from this room, was another, even cooler launch monitor. We walked in and found one of the PGA pros and another student having a contest. This monitor has a screen about 10 yds in front of the matt you hit off of. The screen can be programmed to bring up a bunch of different golf courses virtually. So you hit the ball into the screen and the computer program collects the information like how hard it hit the screen, where it hit the screen, etc to show you where the ball goes in real life on the virtual course. So this teacher and student were just playing the same par 3 over and over again and whoever was closest to the pin got a point. We walked in and I heard the score, 11-7. I couldn't believe it, this kid had a break in between classes, so he just found that teacher and started playing around. How cool is that? They were even talking trash. Last time I talked trash to a teacher I got detention...
The apartment I chose is located on a country club golf course called Arrowhead Country Club. I had to get a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom unit because they leased their last 1 bedroom right before we walked in. It was only 30 dollars more, so I went ahead and took it. But if something happens and a 1 bedroom opens up in the future, I'm guaranteed first on the waiting list. I guess having a 2 bedroom leaves the possibility open for getting a roommate if I ever meet someone I could trust enough to live with. That would definitely help save some money. I have a couple pictures outside my future apartment and I will post them once I get home and get them uploaded. Dad and I are going to Broadway at the Beach tomorrow, which has all sorts of cool stuff to do all surrounding a cool lake, so we'll have some pictures from there as well. August 27 will be the official start of my dream coming true: getting better at golf while training for my career IN golf. Expect the next post on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The school has 2 practice rooms, yes you read correctly, practice ROOMS, as in INDOORS with constant air conditioning, with big practice greens and state of the art swing analyzers. The first practice room we entered was 800 sq ft with a cool undulating practice green with tons of holes to putt to. On the other side of the room are 2 huge launch monitors. For the golf-impaired, a launch monitor uses lasers and cameras to tell the golfer how much sidespin, backspin, launch angle, face angle, distance the ball went, etc. I have never used a launch monitor before, and I wasn't expecting to when I came in for the visit, quite frankly. So one of the PGA professionals, also my future teacher, told me to step on up and take a few swings. I'm very shy and hesitant to look at myself on camera, not sure why, but I was pretty nervous when I stepped in. First shot was pretty close to a shank, and the teacher told me that with a big grin. So I was pretty shocked, and took another swing. Crushed it with a 6 iron. Dad claims the guy turned to him after I hit the ball and winked at him. One of the statistics on the launch monitor is called the "Smash Factor". That's a 1.50 scale that tells the golfer how solidly, or how much he smashed, the ball. The monitor read 1.49 after that shot. I felt pretty good about that one, but then he showed me my swing in slow motion. He found a few things right away that I need to fix. I noticed a few things that I didn't like, so I was relatively unhappy with the way I hit those shots. Even though I hit a good shot, I hit 5 really bad ones.
From that room, we went to the next practice room, which is 1,200 sq ft. This practice green was probably 3 times as big as the other one. And in the corner, my very own practice bunker! Indoors! My dream come true. Down the hallway from this room, was another, even cooler launch monitor. We walked in and found one of the PGA pros and another student having a contest. This monitor has a screen about 10 yds in front of the matt you hit off of. The screen can be programmed to bring up a bunch of different golf courses virtually. So you hit the ball into the screen and the computer program collects the information like how hard it hit the screen, where it hit the screen, etc to show you where the ball goes in real life on the virtual course. So this teacher and student were just playing the same par 3 over and over again and whoever was closest to the pin got a point. We walked in and I heard the score, 11-7. I couldn't believe it, this kid had a break in between classes, so he just found that teacher and started playing around. How cool is that? They were even talking trash. Last time I talked trash to a teacher I got detention...
The apartment I chose is located on a country club golf course called Arrowhead Country Club. I had to get a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom unit because they leased their last 1 bedroom right before we walked in. It was only 30 dollars more, so I went ahead and took it. But if something happens and a 1 bedroom opens up in the future, I'm guaranteed first on the waiting list. I guess having a 2 bedroom leaves the possibility open for getting a roommate if I ever meet someone I could trust enough to live with. That would definitely help save some money. I have a couple pictures outside my future apartment and I will post them once I get home and get them uploaded. Dad and I are going to Broadway at the Beach tomorrow, which has all sorts of cool stuff to do all surrounding a cool lake, so we'll have some pictures from there as well. August 27 will be the official start of my dream coming true: getting better at golf while training for my career IN golf. Expect the next post on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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