Part 1 Part 2
We awoke in Tampa and went to one of our favorite breakfast spots, Daily Eats. After breakfast, we crossed the bay and went to one of our favorite disc golf courses, Taylor Park. As we arrived at the park, we realized that we had left our ice packs at the hotel. We called the hotel and they found them when they checked the room. They agreed to hold them at the front desk until we could pick them up. Luckily, we would be driving right by the hotel on our way to Ocala.
Taylor Park is a gorgeous course next to a lake, with palm trees, beautiful flowers, and an incredible variety of birds. There are two tees for most of the holes and several possible basket positions on each hole. The lake comes into play on five holes. As we arrived at the seventh hole we were suddenly surrounded by birds. A small flock of parrots swooped in and landed in the branches of the tree next to us. They flitted around and squawked at each other for a few seconds before flying out as quickly as they had flown in. There was no one else around to witness the spectacle. It felt very much like a scene from a Disney movie.
Enjoying the game, and thrilled by the parrot invasion, we worked our way to the ninth hole. The tee for the ninth hole is right on the edge of the lake. One of my greatest joys in playing Taylor Park is that it is the only place I have spotted alligators. I saw my first alligator the first time we played there. I was instantly fascinated and have become slightly obsessed over the creatures. After seeing another alligator the second year, I started looking forward to seeing one every time, but then we went two years in a row without one. I was nicely surprised when Chris pointed one out just off the edge of the lake. I have managed to take some pictures of the creatures throughout the years but they were usually so far away, the incredible zoom distance created a grainy picture. I was absolutely thrilled that this one was so close. Just as I pulled the camera out, he started to swim away and I thought I was going to miss the opportunity to get a good shot. Suddenly, he turned around, stopped as if to pose for me, and then returned to the edge of the lake. He was close enough that we could clearly see that he was about eight feet long.
The basket for the fifteenth hole was on a pedestal close to the edge of the water. I chose to throw a floater (a disc that floats on the water), anticipating the possibility that I might end up in the water. Of course, I managed to throw it right in the water. We went to the edge to retrieve it, but could not find it. We saw a spot in the foliage that looked like it could have been the entry point. No amount of poking around produced the disc. We figured it must have gone straight down into the water and became trapped in the thick vegetation. A month after we returned from our trip I received a call from someone who had found the disc. He was kind enough to send it back to me.
After we finished the game (my best on this course) we headed to Ocala, with a brief stop to pick up our ice packs, and ate dinner at Hardwood Smokehouse. As we had a long drive in the morning, we decided to call it an early night. In the morning, we had breakfast at Aunt Fannie’s and started our drive. We intended to have lunch in Macon, GA but when we got close to the area where the restaurant is, there was some type of festival going on. They had closed the roads and there were people swarming to the closed area from blocks away. The restaurant was right in the middle of the commotion. We were on a schedule, so stopped at a Burger King for a quick bite instead.
We finally arrived at Wyomia Park in Griffin, GA to play another course new to us. The course winds its way through a beautiful park. There are both open holes and holes in the woods. There are two sets of tees for most of the holes, but when we played a lot of the red tees were not there. I would imagine the course is a work in progress and that some of the tees have just not been put in yet. It was a fun course to play.
As we drove towards Atlanta, we got caught up in traffic. As we wound our way through it, we realized that we were right next to the Atlanta Raceway, where Imagine Festival is held. Who knew there was a disc golf course so close to the festival? We had a reservation for dinner at The Melting Pot for my birthday and the traffic worried me, but we made it to the hotel with time to clean up and get dressed for dinner. We walked to the restaurant casually and arrived right on time. We had asked for a private table, so we didn’t mind the short wait to get one. The spot would have been perfect except for the loud, obnoxious people at the table next to us. We couldn’t see them (except both times that they stood right next to our table), but we could definitely hear them. We love fondue. It is fun to eat, delicious, and very romantic. I was nicely surprised when an extra plate arrived with my dessert. They had written Happy Birthday in chocolate and accompanied it with a rose.
After breakfast at the lovely Duluth Diner, we drove through the Georgia mountains to North Georgia Canopy Tours, definitely one of our top three favorite courses to play. The property has a zip line course as well as an amazing disc golf course. The course works its way up and down the hills on the property. A stream winds its way through, creating several water hazards. Two holes are next to a windmill, and one hole is inside an old chicken house. Throwing through the building does not leave much room for error. Throw too wide to either side and you hit the wall, throw too high you bounce off the ceiling, and even if you throw straight at the right height there are plastic streamers throughout to change your shot.
As we played, we saw a pair of kestrels fly by. As we continued to play we heard them several more times. On the eighteenth hole, we saw a heron on the edge of the water. He let me take several pictures, getting closer to him with each one before he flew to the other side of the pond. As he took flight, we noticed that, sadly, he had an injured leg. We alerted the staff and hopefully, they helped him.
The trip home was uneventful. We enjoyed our lunch at Poke Brothers in Greenville, SC. After the rich meal we had the night before, the light, fresh lunch was perfect. In Raleigh, we stopped for dinner at The Mac House before making the last leg of our fantastic journey.
Leave A Comment