Sunday August 14th 2016

It was a cloudy day with high temperature around 90 degrees. The humidity was about normal; thick and sticky. Around 6pm we got a flashy and loud thunderstorm that dropped a little water in the area.

I got off to a very slow start this morning. The Olympics are to blaim once again. The Women’s Marathon drew my attention for most of the morning. The race isn’t the real attraction. It is the area the women are running through. I like seeing the roads, buildings and the beach in Rio as the race goes through the various areas. Four years ago watching the running through London was a little more interesting, because I’d actually seen some of the areas in person. This was interesting because of the beach and the knowledge that they had “cleaned up” the areas the race was passing through. Even so, I have no desire or expectation of ever going to Brazil.

Once I broke away from the Olympic coverage on TV, I made an attempt to visit the World Golf Hall of Fame. It is just one exit up the interstate from my campsite so if I’m going to see it now’s the time. I couldn’t really build up a strong desire to see the hall of fame. I watch golf on TV a lot, but have played about two rounds in the last 40 years. From the web page it is clear that this hall of fame has a focus on the history of the sport and on exhibits for active golfers. With this ambivalence on my mind I headed for the Hall.

World Golf Hall of Fame at the World Golf Village outside St. Augustine Florida

The approach is through the heavily landscaped entrance to the World Golf Village planned community. You wind along tree lined roads past the real estate office and the entrances to several gated housing developments. You have to watch closely for the discrete little signs that direct you to the parking for the Hall of Fame. You finally arrive at a man made lake with buildings lining the shore. The World Golf Hall of Fame is here along with a building labeled PGA Entertainment, First Tee, several golf related shops and a hotel. In front of the Hall of Fame building is a golf tee area with a green on the opposite side of the lake. One of the opportunities a golfer gets with admission is a chance to drive a ball onto the green. I don’t know what they would win if they got a hole in one.

I didn’t get any further than a walk along the promenade around the lake. There were not many people around. Those that were present were all couples that looked like they had just come out of the country club after a round of golf and dinner. My ambivalence rapidly changed to frugality.   I don’t think it was very expensive, but I didn’t even find out. I watched one couple drive three balls into the lake trying to reach the green then returned to my RV home.

Ironically, I spent the next couple of hours watching the Olympic coverage of the Men’s Golf final. The top three or four finishers were actually players I’d heard of before. With so many of the top golfers backing out for fear of health and security at the Olympics that was a real surprise. Later in the afternoon I cooked a pork chop with potatoes and corn for dinner. The only other activity for the day was a walk around the campground shortly before the sky opened up.