Argonne69

Always a treat when you find good mole pablano in an unexpected place. Casa Herrera in Thorndale. Can't say it's breaks the Top 10, but it didn't disappoint. Very thick and tasty. Could have used a tad more heat. I prefer a whole chicken breast, but the drumstick and thigh were huge. Salsa was OK. Margarita wasn't bad. Worth a visit.

Pennsylvania is quaint and charming. Rolling farmland and small towns built on the sides of hills. My first visit to the state was back in the early 80s when I was at Lakehurst NAS in New Jersey. My roommate in A School had family in Locust Gap, PA. His aunt picked us up, and we spent a day in Philadelphia before driving to Locust Gap. The town looked like it was a movie set with endless rowhouses lining each street. Not much to do in the small town except sit on the front porch. I believe we did head over to the big attraction in town, the local roller rink. 40+ years later I can still picture the town. In 2008 I took the Amtrak Capitol Limited from Chicago to Pittsburgh, and then transferred to the Pennsylvanian for the trip to Philadelphia. I remember looking out the window and seeing farmers plowing their fields with horse drawn plows. The young man sitting next to me was a Mennonite traveling home from Pittsburgh. We were chatting at one point about his life in the area when I heard a cell phone ring. He excused himself while he took the phone call. I learned at that point that Mennonites and Amish don't share the same beliefs about modern technology.

I do like short drives. Headed south to Animated Brewing Company in Coatesville. Another small brewery with a limited selection of 10 brews, but the Pound of Cure Belgian Strong Ale really hit the spot.

Short drive down the road to The Golf Zone Family Fun Center. The driving range and mini golf course hosts the VK Brewing Fairway Taphouse. Only eight taps, but the Honey Belgian golden ale caught my eye. Quite tasty.

Honeybrook GC, Honey Brook, PA (10th Tee Start) I guess clouds aren't all bad. Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ni0713c25gsrew6xqssq0/AK080Ksok2_mvE5kVj0BTyU?rlkey=t82c0q1xhoe9wwyjj04v62j0i&st=hqrwgjt1&dl=0

Fairly enjoyable morning. The AccuWeather forecast didn't mention rain, so of course it rained on us for two holes. Lol. Oy. Today's drive wasn't as crazy with only a few miles of back roads. Saw a few peeks of blue sky, but it was cloudy most of the round. The dew point was high, so the clouds were welcome. Got very lucky with the pace on a Saturday morning. Arrived to find the parking lot fairly full, but I got sent out with another single trailing a threesome and twosome. Weird. Ran into the ranger after a few holes and he told us that there was a speed golf tournament this morning, and that they playing at a 2:15 pace. Nice. We finished in a leisurely 3:15. Honeybrook GC today. Similar to Wyncote, it appears to be built on an old farm. Nice views of the surrounding area. No homes in sight, just a handful of farm buildings. Most of the layout is prairie/marshland style, but there are a handful of tree lined holes. Gentle rolling hills, but the vast majority of holes are relatively flat. Fairway bunkering was light. The courses in the area need to pay a midnight visit to Atlantic City to steal some sand. Greenside bunkering wasn't a lot better. Water in play on 8 holes with several more having thick native areas that could use some red lining. Only two holes with left/right movement including one dogleg, the par 5 4th. The 4th was closed due to litigation. I've played over 1500 courses now, and run across a number of closed holes, but never because the course was being sued by the adjacent property owners. Apparently the farmer doesn't like golf balls in their field. Very weird. Pretty easy off the tee with only a couple of short forced carries and light bunkering. Minor misses would catch the generous rough. Big misses might find an adjacent fairway on a couple of holes, but they'd generally be goners. A miss right on the 4th may bring legal action. Lol. Approaches were fairly straightforward. Short was generally a very safe miss. Greens had very gentle contouring, and moderate slope. The slope was deceiving with more than a couple of putts breaking a few feet when the old eyes were saying 6 inches. Up and downs were once again mixed. Most short misses left easy chips or Texas wedges. Pin high out of the rough might bring a bunker into play. The five par 3s were snoozers. Not a lot of trouble. The 8th at least had a marsh to carry. Variety of length was very poor playing 6i to FW. Does a layout really need four par 3s playing 185, 187, 192, and 185? The two open par 5s were long, but benign. 561 yds and 545 yds. The dogleg 4th at 552 yds looked tough with a lawsuit awaiting a right miss. Lol. The two short 4s were actually quite good. The 16th was driveable with good bunkering if you came up short. Conditions were OK. A handful of fairways had some iffy patches, but were generally playable. Rough was thick but cut at a good height. Bunkers had sufficient sand, but yesterday's late rains had them packed down. Greens were still recovering from aeration. Putts weren't rolling quite true, and the speed was no more than 9. Played the Blue/White combo at 6159 yds on the par 70 layout (68.9/122). Actually paid attention to the fact that it was a par 70 course today. Lol. Driver was a little spotty, but the right misses didn't cause any damage. Blocked one right into the trees on the short par 4, and found the ball in the middle of the fairway. My lucky day. Irons were decent. Short game was solid. Putter couldn't get the ball to the hole. Two birdies and five bogies. Shot of the day was probably the tee shot on the short par 5 14th. I was too busy yacking with my playing partner to realize that it was a driveable par 4, or I'd probably have fanned it into the junk. Wound up a few yards short of the green with an easy chip to tap in distance. Highlight of the day was my young playing partner. The local started playing two years ago, and I was mightily impressed. Ballstriking was solid, and his short game gave the impression that he'd been playing for years. He told me that he spends quite a bit of time chipping. It showed. Unfortunately he suffered from the same fate as me on the greens, leaving a half dozen putts a few revolutions short of the hole. Being stingy today and going with 5 cows. Nice looking, and playable, but rather boring. It's certainly not Wyncote. Greens need character. Fairways need bunkers. Par 3s need variety. No walking or senior rate. The $85 weekend rate wasn't bad, but I'd stick to the $65 weekday rate if I was a local. I enjoyed the round, but I'd easily head over to Wyncote or Inniscrone.

The JWST images the Cartwheel Galaxy (ESO 350-40 or PGC 2248) in near infrared. It is located ~500 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. The shape is a result of a collision between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

Yeah, it's shaping up to be a great weekend. It's been quite a while since we've seen Sei Young near the top of a leaderboard. Has it really been over 4 years since her last win? Wow.

Back on the road for a 15 mile back road odyssey to Victory Brewing in Parkesburg. Can't recall the last time I drove on gravel roads. Lol. Corn is having a good season Is that a mirage? No, I've made it!

First stop after the round was Penn Brew Station. More of a diner and liquor store, I thought I had read that they have craft beer available to drink in house. Well, they do if you like Miller High Life and Modelo. What they did have was an excellent cheesesteak. Skipped the beer and enjoyed a cheesesteak with Cheese Whiz and mushrooms. Wouldn't be a stop in Philly without one. Stopped at Stubborn Goat Brewing down the road, but the new brewery had a very limited tap list. Passed again.

Inniscrone Golf Club, Avondale, PA Gulp. Less than driver on the downhill par 4 10th with the fairway ending 250 yds out Double gulp Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ui4isfxvfqhyvlidedm04/AKaWXWB6jTt5-Ie3cI4MxnQ?rlkey=8flj14e9ammn17xx7mu1l2fnz&st=klc1uwr0&dl=0

Another crazy, but fun day. It started once again with a 45 minute drive through the hinterlands. Seems that the area has no major north/south roads, so you're taking back roads that I wouldn't consider two lane. The weather turned hot and muggy again. The course was quite hilly, so I got a real workout. I teed off as a single, and caught a threesome a few holes in. I could see several groups ahead of them, so it looked like it wasn't going to be a lightning round. Still managed 3:15, which wasn't bad. The heat had me moving a little slower than usual, so the pace was just about right. Inniscrone GC today. The prairie/parkland hybrid was designed by Gil Hanse. Very surprised that it doesn't appear on GolfWeek's best in state list. I believe it was on the list at one point. I'd say it's at least as interesting as Wyncote. Nice piece of rolling terrain with homes visible on a handful of holes. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was much better. Water in play on six holes, but once again there were plenty of holes lined with thick junk that should be red staked. Nine holes with left/right movement including three doglegs. Overall I found the collection of holes to have more variety than Wyncote. This one was moderately difficult off the tee with a few short forced carries, a handful of chutes severely pinched by trees, and a few sloped fairways that fed balls into the rough. Definitely needs some tree trimming. Minor misses would catch the thick rough. Big misses were goners. Might have been four adjacent holes on the entire course. Approaches were tough. Solid greenside bunkering and plenty of greens above and below the fairways. Greens had moderate contouring, but plenty of slope. Putting wasn't difficult, but it required attention. Up and downs were generally tricky coming out of the rough. Several greens had steep drop offs on the sides that could result in a severe uphill lie. There were a few good places to miss that would leave a straightforward chip. Par 3s were OK, but rather forgettable. The long 8th was the best of the bunch with a carry over a marsh, and a wide green that sloped severely right to left. Variety of length was good playing LW (downhill) to FW. The pair of par 5s were snoozers. Neither was reachable and very little trouble. The two short 4s were decent. The downhill 3rd might be driveable by a long hitter, but the green was well protected. Conditions were a little scruffy, but not as bad as I was expecting. Fairways had a few iffy patches, but were generally good. Rough was thick but cut to a decent height. Bunkers were hit or miss. Several were fine with sufficient groomed sand, but most were hardpan. Greens had too many unrepaired or poorly repaired ball marks. Can we put a stop to this? Sad. Otherwise they were rolling nicely at 10. Played a Black/Gold combo at 6410 yds on the par 70 layout (71.0/131). Dummy me didn't pay attention to the fact that it was a par 70. Lol. Just not up to playing 427, 448 and 457 yard par 4s. Driver was decent, but left plenty of very long approaches. The ol 9 wood came in handy. Irons were solid. Wedges were very good. Putter was golden. One birdie, seven bogies, and a double. Shot of the day was a sweet 30' par saving putt on the 457 yd par 4 12th. The 75' downhill lag putt to 2' on the long par 3 8th was sweet. My teeshot hung up on the right half of the green, and it was a slick downhill putt to the left side of the green. Highlight of the round was surviving the walk. It wasn't as bad as the heat and humidity in Frederick, but it wasn't a walk in the park. Thankfully there was some shade. Going with 7 cows. Thought the course had a better mix of holes than Wyncote, but still needs the Arg special treatment. A few more bunkers, a little more contouring on the greens, and some risk on the par 5s. No walking rate, but the $49 senior weekend rate was a bargain. Like Wyncote I don't think it's a destination course, but certainly worth a visit. It's 11 miles from Wyncote, and the two would make for a fun 36 hole (riding) day.

Probably. I guess the Golf Channel can't hire an intern to watch the broadcast, and click on the 'Commercial Break' button when the feature group has hit their tee shots and has started walking down the fairway.

Lol. Live? I'm on a golf course somewhere. It's rare for me to watch anything live these days.

The coverage was a real head scratcher. If the Golf Channel is going to use the LET feed, couldn't they at least use the same commercial breaks? Crazy to miss shots from the "feature group" when they cut away just as the player is about to hit. Soft turf and calm conditions early certainly helped with the scoring. Lottie setting herself up for a "hold my beer" moment. Lol.

Booked Broad Run GC for Monday. Big shout out to the course for making it easy to book online. Select an open spot, enter your name and credit card details, and you're done. No having to create an online account with email validation just to find out that singles aren't allowed to book. Don't care for the $2.50 service charge, but that's becoming the norm it seems. Booked Architects GC for next Wednesday. Really don't care for prepaid tee times, especially when the price includes an unwanted cart with no option to remove it.

Wouldn't be a visit to the Philadelphia area without a stop at Victory Brewing. Thankfully they have three taprooms west of the city, so it was a short drive on US-1 to their Kennett Square location rather than an hour plus into downtown. Lol. They have 30 taps, but most don't interest me. However, their Golden Monkey Belgian Tripel is definitely one of my favorites. The Pretzel Bier Strong Ale was tasty. I wasn't planning to eat out today, but I really couldn't pass up a Thursday (Caprese) burger special for $8. Lol.

Wyncote Golf Club, Oxford, PA Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rkj35verd1t4hq3wcdz9a/AH41s0EAx5Bef7zHcEcOzgw?rlkey=a0cysyttr5tl6n9v7pmb15nef&st=p5toqotm&dl=0

Wonderful morning. Interesting drive to the course. It's only 50 miles west of Philadelphia, but it's farm country. One of the unique things about this odyssey is the amount of miles I drive on rural roads. This one was no different. Didn't get stuck behind any buggies, but I did get snagged by a couple of farm vehicles. Weather was perfect. Temps in the 60s with a nice breeze. Tomorrow is going to be very steamy. I was supposed to join a threesome, but they showed up with four. Luckily the starter was kind enough to send me out as a single to catch the threesome ahead. When I caught them on the third hole, I noticed four players. No idea what the starter was looking at, but they kindly let me play through, and I had an open course. Pretty sweet. Wyncote GC today. First round in Pennsylvania since October 2022. The meadow style layout was designed by Ault, Clark, and Associates. Based on the surrounding corn fields, I'd say it spent many years as a farm. The course ranks #T8 on GolfWeek's best in state list. Might be a tad high. Gentle rolling hills with a handful of elevated areas, but the overall course is fairly flat. The mounding off the fairways can produce uneven lies. I wouldn't consider it a housing development course, but homes line a few holes. While good looking, I found too many holes fairly benign. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was good. Water in play on 7 holes, but the thick native areas were brutal and should be red staked. Curious if there's a shortage of red paint, as many of the courses I've played recently have opted out of marking penal areas as PAs. Eight holes with left/right movement, but only one dogleg. Looks like they recently altered the routing. The 1st and 10th are the same, but they flipped 2-9 with 11-18. 'like the new routing. Fairly easy off the tee with generous fairways and light bunkering. There were a couple of teeshots where one couldn't really see the shape of the hole, but little trouble out there. Minor misses were no problem with the generous rough, but it was fairly juicy. Big misses were a no-no with the thick native areas. Approaches were a little tougher with good greenside bunkering and moderate sized greens. Greens had modest contouring and slope. Putting didn't raise the blood pressure, but the reads were real head scratchers. I saw left, and the ball went right. Lol. Up and downs were mixed. Find one of the closely mown areas and they were straightforward. Pitching out of the rough was dicey. Par 3s were decent, but forgettable. The long 11th was the best of the bunch with a carry over the junk. Variety of length was poor playing 6i to 5i. Bah. Par 5s were also meh. The short 9th was reachable, but little risk. The 1st and 10th both had water in play near their double green, but neither were really gettable. The pair of short 4s were mixed. The uphill 6th was a snoozer, but the 3rd was decent with the green tucked behind a creek. Conditions were very good. Saw a handful of iffy patches, but overall the fairways were very nice. Rough was thick, but cut to a reasonable height. Bunkers were groomed, but could have used a tad more sand. Greens were slow, and had way too many poorly repaired ballmarks. Speed was probably 9. Played a Blue/White combo at 6410 yds (71.7/129). 'Classic case where a proper combo is needed. Blues play at 6655 yds, but the whites are a measly 6132 yds. Solid day off the tee, but I'm still fanning a few too many irons right. Setting up for the' ol big draw, and hitting a dreaded straight ball. Lol. Wedges were very good. Putter went where I aimed it, but the reads were off. One birdie and five bogies. Shot of the day was the teeshot on the long par 3 11th. Playing into the wind with a back pin location, I hit a nice low draw with my 9w that settled in the middle of the green. The 21' birdie putt than fell on its final rotation was a bonus. Highlight of the day was simply being put on a beautiful course with nobody in front of me except a handful of mowers. Going with a solid 6 cows unfortunately. Sweet looking course with nice views of the surrounding farmland, but the design needs work. More fairway bunkering, a few more contours on the greens, a couple of shorter 3s, and a bit 'o risk on the 5s. No walking rate, but the $60 senior weekday rate was golden. Not a destination course, but worth a visit if you're west of Philly. If I was a local I'd be out there regularly.

Hmm, might put this on my gravestone. Life is just a party, and parties weren't meant to last - Prince, 1999

Lottie off to a fast start.

Webb's deep field. JWST's debut image was the deepest and most detailed image of the universe ever taken. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

The Dish satellite is for TV only. Gotta get my Golf Channel fix w/ DVR given that I'm out during the day when most tournaments air. I use a T-Mobile 5G Home Internet base station for my internet/streaming. I have a Verizon hotspot as a backup. RV park wifi is the third option, but it's usually poor. I looked at Starlink, but it's very pricey at $165 a month (roaming) compared to T-Mobile ($55 per month). It also suffers from the same problem as Dish, trees. The small Starlink antenna has to have a clear view of the northern sky. Lol. Yeah, the minute I crossed from Maryland to Pennsylvania I noticed a drastic change in road quality.

Oy. Stressful day. It started with the nearly 4 hour drive to Downingtown. Rather than take the congested I-95 to Philly, I took I-83 north from Baltimore to York, and then US-30 east. The interstates weren't bad. A short construction delay bypassing Baltimore, but otherwise fairly decent. Nice scenery along the route until York. US-30 was awful. Road quality was horrid with poorly patched expansion joints jolting Bessie every 20 feet. Surprised that she didn't blow a tire on some of the roughest ones. There were stretches that had interchanges, but also miles of traffic lights. Took over 90 minutes to travel the final 60 miles. You really don't appreciate a smooth highway until you get drive endless miles on a piece of junk. Arrived at the RV park to find a narrow gap between the power box on the driver's side and a tree on the passenger's side. It took over 15 minutes of maneuvering before I angled Bessie in so that my two slides could extend. I knew I had the last spot in the park, and that trees would block the satellite, so I also had to dig out the portable dish. The site is uneven, so Bessie's front wheels are a few inches off the ground I had plans to run into Downingtown for a drink, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow. Going to kick back and cool off in the AC. Early morning round at Wyncote. Looks like a 45 drive.

You can't always get what you want But if you try sometime, you'll find You get what you need - The Rolling Stones