Moving and Disc Golf

This past weekend was one of those rare weekends that Melissa and I get to ourselves. While Colin is often at his mother's for a weekend; Melissa has Chelsea all to herself and it is rare that she is gone for the entire weekend. Usually when we have a weekend to ourselves we like to plan it out to make the most of our alone time. This weekend we couldn't plan anything big as we're moving starting on Friday and the house is in need of packing. So, for most of the weekend Melissa and I were either packing or resting and getting over packing.

Packing is something that I am good at up to a certain point. You see, I have an allergy to dust which puts me into a sneezing fit that can last hours if I get any of the damn stuff up in my nose. It's fine when one if just living in a place because the amount of dust kicked up by general living isn't that bad. When one moves though, all the dust goes flying right up my nose and I end up sneezing like the dwarf in Snow White. The sneezing fits are accompanied by a general desire to get the hell out of dodge and then the need to convalesce in an area free of agitated dust.

Needless to say, packing things like bookshelves of books that have hardly been disturbed since they were unpacked last year is exactly the type of thing that is going to kick up dust. By Saturday afternoon the I was disparate to get away from the apartment just to stop sneezing, so we went to lunch. Lunch turned into a trip to the liquor store, ostensibly for boxes, but we got a small bottle of vodka to lift our packing spirits and then back home.

In hindsight, the bottle of vodka was a bad idea. After focusing our energies on packing and sneezing for the better part of the day Melissa and I were in no shape to be drinking anything. The effects of the alcohol quickly put both of us under for the evening. Melissa went to sleep and I ended up watching Casino Royale on the TV until a bit after nine when I went to bed too. When I woke in the morning I found that Melissa had done an additional four hours of packing during the middle of the night; she's crazy.

On Sunday we had our big weekend plans. Our friends Carl, Chris & Lisa all drove out to Jack Brooks Park in Hitchcock Texas for a round of disc golf on the park's excellent course. Melissa needed some encouragement as she was worried that we were way behind schedule with the packing. I was persistent though and a little after eleven we were off to meet the other three.

Disc Golf has quickly become Melissa and I's favorite weekend activity. Initially we started playing because both of us recognize that as we approach middle age (not there yet!) we need to be a bit more active. Disc golf provided us with the type of exercise that suits us (long walks) without costing us lots of money (discs are as little as $4.75 each). We are also lucky to be located near a number of truly excellent courses including 18 baskets at Jack Brooks park, nine baskets in Seabrook and two full eighteen hole courses at Tom Bass park.

The sport, if you've never played it, is just like regular golf except you have to get your disc into a basket. A player carries multiple discs and each disc meets a specific need; driver, mid-range and putter, so instead of using a bunch of clubs to hit one ball, you instead throw different types of discs to get into the basket. Baskets are usually between two and five hundred feet and often incorporate trees and other obstacles to make things more difficult.

Over the past five months Melissa and I have managed to play six different course in the Houston area and one in Port Aurthur, but mainly at Jack Brooks Park. Our skills have improved too. When we started playing our discs would fly off in all sorts of directions but now we're both pretty accurate and our distance is also getting better Neither of us are anywhere near competition quality, but that's fine; neither of us keep score either. We both look at it more as a fun past time than anything coming close to competition, and we have a long way to go before either of us gets anything close to the course par.

The best part of the game is the fun we've had taking family and friends along. Disc Golf isn't something that a lot of people have played, but we're quickly making converts. We've been joined on various occasions by fifteen different people and I think that most of them enjoyed it enough to want to play again.

On Sunday Chris and Lisa joined again for a game and Carl came along for his first attempt at the game in a long time (the promise of no water hazards was required). We had a glorious time on the course, which was pretty deserted when we arrived. The weather was perfect for the game; hardly a cloud in the sky and not too hot. Of course, after some of the long baskets without shade we were ready to rest, but overall no one had any complaints.

Chris's game is improving solidly. He's got a great throw in the works and when he has accuracy and a bit more power he is going to be a real threat. Most of all it is Chris's enthusiasm for the game that makes him so much fun to play with. Lisa had her second game with us and she had a number of really nice throws. I think she would improve with a disc more suited to her throwing style but until then she's neck and neck with Melissa. Carl didn't really get comfortable with throwing the disc until halfway through the game. Along the back nine he had a number of great throws that show a lot of potential.

I felt personally frustrated with my game on Sunday. I had a number of shots get away from me and felt that I picked the wrong type of throw too often. My driving is still my best shot with some really exceptional shots off the tee on nine and ten. My putting was terrible through out though and a good reason why I felt my game was off. Once we get unpacked and the disc golf basket is set up in the new yard I'm going to get my putting under control.

After our game ended we went to Clifton by the Sea and had a great meal on the side of the bay. The sangria was amazing and it was nice to hang out with our friends. When we left I didn't want to leavr. The next two weekends are going to be packed to the gills with moving, so Melissa and I really both needed to have one last day for socializing.