Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Stumbled across the Red Caboose Motel adjacent to the museum. Looks like they have several dozen old cabooses that have been converted to motel rooms. Cool concept. Would have loved this as a kid. 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/d8u8kmkbdw9l2wmzxb50d/AK6K-vhlDOi1lInoWD4yFW0?rlkey=9en605pnuaov6u7tj1mig1clw&st=k3iqe817&dl=0

 

[Nels55]

 

[Double Mocha Man]

21 minutes ago, Nels55 said:

 

 

One of my favorite all-time TV shows... the whole series, not just the train episodes.

[Argonne69]

Definitely a train day. Lol. Sitting in the 1st class lounge car on the Strasburg Rail Road waiting to depart on a 45 minute ride through the countryside. I'll stop at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania across the street after the train ride. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27 by Argonne69

[Nels55]

4 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

 

One of my favorite all-time TV shows... the whole series, not just the train episodes.

Yep.  I pretty much knew the characters as I worked with them...

[Double Mocha Man]

3 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Definitely a train day. Lol. Sitting in the 1st class lounge car on the Strasburg Rail Road waiting to depart on a 45 minute ride through the countryside. I'll stop at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania across the street after the train ride. 

 

 

 

 

Bezinga!

[Double Mocha Man]

3 minutes ago, Nels55 said:

Yep.  I pretty much knew the characters as I worked with them...

 

Tell us more...

[Argonne69]

Final stop on Train Day was at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Very nice indoor collection of steam engines, diesel locomotives, passenger cars, rolling stock, MOW vehicles, and model trains. Unfortunately the outdoor train yard was closed as it's being prepped for renovation. Bummer. From the highway it looked like it had a number of interesting pieces. Most of the collection is from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). 

 

Highlight was probably the rare electric streamlined GG1 that used to pull freight and passengers on the elecrified northeast corridor and Harrisburg branch.

 

 

The EMD E9 was pretty sweet. It probably led the Broadway Limited from New York's Penn Station to Chicago's Union Station for decades.

 

 

The EMD GP30 in Conrail colors looked to be in great condition. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uth01pya7mpro9nnj8b9s/AGn3DdcDGCdOuy3pn-EoKvE?rlkey=685fwu65dqp19m8uw06itjlc0&st=a9rw5n7d&dl=0

 

[ZephyrS4]

Hey Arg…..came across a couple videos from Enzo’s Pizza near Chicago…..looked good. Ever had it? Stuffed pizza….

[Argonne69]

3 minutes ago, ZephyrS4 said:

Hey Arg…..came across a couple videos from Enzo’s Pizza near Chicago…..looked good. Ever had it? Stuffed pizza….

 

Yes, I believe so. 

 

[Argonne69]

Finished watching the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open while enjoying a nice Thundertaker. I think I'm becoming a bit of a fatalist. After several days driving these crazy narrow roads with blind curves and corners, I'm not going to meet my maker with a half case of good imperial stouts in the fridge. Lol. 

 

Booked an RV park near Cumberland for mid-August. The only RV park in the immediate area has no showers, so it looks like I'll be hauling the beer and cleaning supplies out of Bessie's shower. 

 

Book a round at Golden Oaks near Allentown for Friday. 

 

Gotta run out and close the cracked sunroof on the Honda. Looks like another storm on its way. 

 

[Tyrus Webb]

On 7/24/2025 at 5:48 AM, Argonne69 said:

 

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.

 

 

Have you looked into DirecTV Stream?  You can run it through an Amazon Firestick, all internet driven.  Includes DVR and local sports.

 

Possible bonus for you is that if you set it up from a home base in Chicago you can get all of the local news and sports wherever you are.

[Argonne69]

Bah. I had an impressive stretch of 29 straight walking rounds broken today. Would have been a tough walk, but it was certainly walkable. Warm and humid, but teed off early before it got too miserable. Joined another single, and after playing through a foursome on our second hole, had clear sailing for the most part. Nice three hour round. Did the usual walking in from the fairway gig thanks to a great playing partner. 

 

Broad Run Golfer's Club today. Don't recall ever playing a "Golfer's Club" before. Lol. The very hilly parkland layout was designed by Rees Jones. Could have fooled me. 'Didn't realize it until I looked at the scorecard just now. Very little of his characteristic design elements, especially the greens. Fairway bunkering was light. Greenside was OK. Water in play one seven holes. Only two holes with gentle left/right movement. Homes lined a couple of holes, but overall it was nicely isolated out there. 

 

Fairly easy off the tee with the light bunkering and only a couple of short forced carries. A couple of holes would steal distance if you didn't clear the upslope. Minor misses would catch the rather penal rough. Big misses were big trouble. Zero room left/right. 

 

Approaches were fairly tough. Most holes seemed to be playing uphill or downhill, often from uneven lies. Greens had gentle contouring for a Rees Jones design. It sure wasn't Dubs. Up and downs were a mixed bag. Plenty of holes had little trouble short, and left a straightforward chip or Texas wedge. Missing pin high was a different matter. Uneven lies out of the thick rough. 

 

Par 3s were pretty good with just enough trouble to require one to think. The 17th with its elevated teebox was probably the best of the bunch. Variety of length was meh playing 9i to 5i. Other than the 1st, the par 5s were benign. Just not a lot of trouble. The short 1st was a gem, though. Reachable with a good drive, the elevated green was well protected with numerous front bunkers. Laying up was no picnic with a forced carry over a crossing creek to a shallow diagonal fairway. Nice. The pair of short 4s needed fangs. 

 

Conditions were decent. Rain yesterday left the fairways quite soft with several holes playing cart path only. Turf was in good shape for the most part. Sadly there were way too many unfilled divot holes. C'mon, if you hit a shot that launches a beaver pelt sized divot five yards from your one inch deep divot hole, please do everyone the favor of walking your lazy behind to pick up the beaver pelt and replace it, or at least grab the sand bottle off your cart and fill in the crater. I picked up a half dozen pelts today and found their holes. Sheesh. Rough was thick, but cut to a good height. Bunkers were mostly washed out, but still had enough sand to slip a sand wedge under. Greens weren't bad, but were sluggish in the early morning dew. Might have reached 10 late in the round. 

 

Played the Blue tees at 6380 yds (71.6/136). Better than average day ballstriking. Driver was solid. Irons were very good. The hybrid won a gold medal. Lol. Putter's speed control was spot on, but was cool on the ones you'd like to make. Two birdies, two bogies, and a double. Shot of the day was a hybrid on the par 4 6th that settled 4' from the cup. The same (choked down) hybrid also stuffed one close on the downhill par 3 17th. Highlight of the round was my local playing partner. We had a blast trading stories as we sailed around. Solid game for an old timer. Lol. 

 

Being stingy and going with 6 cows again. This Rees design looked great, but left me wanting from a design standpoint. Needs more bunkering, more contouring on the greens, and a short and long par 3. No drinking water on the course was annoying given that there was no beverage cart. The $70 senior weekday rate wasn't bad. Not a must play, but nits aside, it's worth a visit. 

 

[Argonne69]

Broad Run Golfer's Club, West Chester, PA (#11 Start. ?) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go or no-go on the par 5 1st 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/at1cdnh8nfr19xi7vhfaw/AOC01QQ13FLIvUqSlxq3Ufc?rlkey=exk4ydh8y533hfy3vts9i6gls&st=vlq55u3g&dl=0

 

Edited July 28 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Lol. I'm a sucker for a good tripel. Didn't plan to stop for a brew today, but Victory Brewing's in Downingtown was on the way back to the RV park, so... the Golden Monkey never disappoints. The Downingtown facility is original Victory Brewing location. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 28 by Argonne69

[ZephyrS4]

Very pretty course…..can’t get over the lushness lately. Think I’ve played Arizona golf for too long…..lol

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, ZephyrS4 said:

Very pretty course…..can’t get over the lushness lately. Think I’ve played Arizona golf for too long…..lol

 

I'd kill for a little dry desert heat right now. Lol. 

 

[tw422]

Great reviews - all of the SE PA courses you played were in my rotation for 20 yrs before I moved to LA area. I thought your reviews were spot on.  Miss the Victory brewery too.  They have been making great beer for 25+ yrs.  Inniscrone is a tough but great track. There's a private Gil Hanse designed course in Elverson called French Creek Golf club that is fantastic.  I don't miss much about PA except for the golf (and lower taxes)!  LA public golf is brutal. 

[Argonne69]

Uneventful two hour drive to Allentown today, minus the usual crummy Pennsylvania roads. I swear they can't seem to repair an expansion joint. It was actually 90 minutes of driving, but the check in time wasn't until 1 pm, so after filling Bessie's gas tank near the RV park I parked her in the station's parking lot for a half hour with the generator running to get some AC. Both ACs have been running for the past hour since arriving, and it's still 85 in here. 

 

Small but nice RV park 20 miles west of town. Usual uneven gravel site, but at least I have a clear view for the satellite. 

 

 

The current forecast for Friday looks crummy, so I might wind up taking the day off and playing Saturday and Sunday. 

 

No plans today. It's so hot that I'm just going to hang out inside. Plenty of time to hit the brewpubs over the next five days. 

 

I was considering a change to my route in late August that would have skipped Pittsburgh, Akron, and Columbus in favor of West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, but there just don't seem to be many decent golf courses on the new route. I'll drive an hour south to play Stonewall Resort in West Virginia when I'm in Morgantown. 

 

Still trying to time my arrival in Cincinnati so that I can attend the LPGA tournament there in mid-September. 

 

[BROD3]

Westchester Golf Course in Columbus is one of my favorite in the city. Must hit if you don't have courses lined up already.

[Argonne69]

Wow. Stepped outside to grab something from inside the Honda, and it's 95 degrees out there with a heat index of 105. Brutal 

 

Booked Reading Country Club for Saturday morning. Had to book through GolfNow as there were no early tee times on the course's booking engine. Hate to prepay, but the weather should be fine. 

 

Edited July 29 by Argonne69

[ZephyrS4]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Wow. Stepped outside to grab something from inside the Honda, and it's 95 degrees out there with a heat index of 105. Brutal 

 

Booked Reading Country Club for Saturday morning. Had to book through GolfNow as there were no early tee times on the course's booking engine. Hate to prepay, but the weather should be fine. 

 

Geez….that’s gotta be brutal 🥵

Edited July 29 by ZephyrS4

[vallygolf]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Wow. Stepped outside to grab something from inside the Honda, and it's 95 degrees out there with a heat index of 105. Brutal 

 

Booked Reading Country Club for Saturday morning. Had to book through GolfNow as there were no early tee times on the course's booking engine. Hate to prepay, but the weather should be fine. 

 

Yeah, but at least its a humid heat.

[mmoran]

17 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 so after filling Bessie's gas tank near the RV park I parked her in the station's parking lot for a half hour with the generator running to get some AC. Both ACs have been running for the past hour since arriving, and it's still 85 in here. 

 

 

 

 

You can lead a horse to water...

[vernon]

19 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Wow. Stepped outside to grab something from inside the Honda, and it's 95 degrees out there with a heat index of 105. Brutal 

 

Booked Reading Country Club for Saturday morning. Had to book through GolfNow as there were no early tee times on the course's booking engine. Hate to prepay, but the weather should be fine. 

 

Actual temperature in the Kansas City area yesterday hit 98 and according to the Weather Underground the heat index when men's league started at 5:30 was 127!  Not trying to one up you but if you're looking for sympathy you're gonna have to change the subject!

 

Thankfully a cold front is coming through tonight and the next few days are supposed to be in the 70's.  

 

It's just been awful here the last few weeks.

 

Hopefully the same front will reach you in the east.

[Argonne69]

Enjoyable morning, but oh that heat index. It was 94 degrees in the parking lot at the end of the round at 10:30 am. The heat index had to be mid-100s. Went out early as a single, caught a twosome on the 5th, and followed them around for the rest of the round. They appeared to pick up the pace, and I knew that the heat was going to slow me down, so no rush to play through. Finished in a leisurely three hours. 

 

The Architects Golf Club today. First round in New Jersey in over three years. The course ranks T7 on GolfWeek's best in state list. As the name suggests, the prairie style layout consists of eighteen holes modeled after 18 well known architects. I don't think they're replica holes, but I could be wrong. Almost all of the names are familiar to me, but I've obviously not played all of their courses. Lol. Beautiful piece of property with views of the hills to the east, and some nice rolling terrain. A handful of homes visible off property, but otherwise it was a nice walk. Fairway bunkering was mixed. Very good bunkering on the holes where the architect is known for his bunkers, but otherwise it was light. Greenside was generally quite good with a couple of real gems. Water in play on just two holes. Four holes with gentle left/right movement, and one dogleg. Overall it was a little too much back and forth, but the classic architects weren't known for significant left/right movement. 

 

Thought it was fairly easy off the tee with no forced carries and light bunkering on most holes. The rough was quite generous, so minor misses were no problem. A handful of holes needed mowing, so the rough was quite penal. Big misses were a coin flip. Plenty of adjacent fairways to find, but the native areas were pretty thick. 

 

Approaches were moderately difficult. Plenty of holes where one could run a ball up, but there were also plenty that had big bunkers staring you in the face. Greens were sadly disappointing. Gentle contouring and slope. A couple had two tiers, but most were rather benign. Quite surprised that neither of the two Ross greens were turtle back. Boo. Lol. Putting should have been a challenge, but it was quite benign. Up and downs were moderately difficult. Between the rough, uneven lies, and several raised greens, they were a bit of work. 

 

The five par 3s were tough, but visually meh. The Stanley Thompson 17th was a beaut with massive bunkering. Variety of length was meh. No surprise given that the classic designers generally went long. There was one short one (#6) playing at PW length, but otherwise it was 6i to 4i. Par 5s were snoozers. Nothing reachable, and little risk. The sole short par 4 was benign. 

 

Conditions were very good. Fairways had a handful of iffy spots but were generally very good. Rough was thick. Bunkers were nicely groomed, but could have used a little more sand. Greens were decent, but c'mon, what do we have to do to get idiots to fix their pitch marks? I averaged five fixes per green, and could have easily doubled that. It's really pathetic. Speed was at least 10. 

 

Played a Gold/Blue combo at 6370 yds on the par 71 layout (70.7/128). Another course that really needs a proper combo. Oh, so close. It's been ages since I broke par. Started on #10, and made the turn at even par with two birdies and two bogies. Stood on the 9th tee needing par, but a closing bogie left me at even. Had a 12 footer for par on the 9th, but burned the edge. Grrr. Lol. One of my better days driving recently. Irons were solid. Wedges won a gold star. Stuffed three to kick in range on the par 5s to set up easy birdies. Shots of the day had to be the wedges on the par 5s. Sweet when you stick em close. Highlight of the day was walking a beautiful course on a (mostly) nice day. That said, I couldn't wait to get indoors. 

 

Going with a solid 6 cows. The greens were a real disappointment. Pretty sure these 18 architects knew how to design tough greens, but apparently the design team focused on the tee to green look. The $68 pre-paid weekday rate (w/ cart) was excellent, but curious if they offer a walking rate. I've unfortunately run into this multiple times. The online booking engine only offers a riding rate. Can't say it's a must play, but it's certainly worth a visit of you're in the Allentown/Bethlehem area. 

 

Edited July 30 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Architects Golf Club, Phillipsburg, NJ (#10 Start) 

 

 

 

 

Lol. Got quite enamored with the clouds today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/xd5de32ad8iw0guut4k6m/ANwb-_XdM1dMfzbsK_j3HHw?rlkey=y7vmy2ng6opt4aov2pwct0yvj&st=1n8qtygv&dl=0

 

Edited July 30 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

32 minutes ago, vernon said:

Actual temperature in the Kansas City area yesterday hit 98 and according to the Weather Underground the heat index when men's league started at 5:30 was 127!  Not trying to one up you but if you're looking for sympathy you're gonna have to change the subject!

 

Thankfully a cold front is coming through tonight and the next few days are supposed to be in the 70's.  

 

It's just been awful here the last few weeks.

 

Hopefully the same front will reach you in the east.

 

No, I hear you. The entire section of the country from Kansas to South Carolina is being brutalized with a massive heat dome. Stay safe. 

 

[Argonne69]

Lol. Nothing is more summer-like than a barrel aged imperial stout when the heat index is over 100F.

 

Stopped by Fegley's Bethlehem Brew Works. Fifteen taps with a meh selection, but they did have a couple of brews in cans that caught my eye. I don't generally take a chance on a pricey can of beer that I haven't sampled, but I took a chance on their Bourbon Barrel Imperial Coffee Stout. Glad I did. The coffee stout has a 17% ABV, and provided a real kick in the side of the head. Lol. Very boozy, no surprise, but very drinkable. 

 

 

Edited July 30 by Argonne69

[ZephyrS4]

Great looking course!