A Day Off?

Today, we took it easy, a welcome break from biking, before we head south and east tomorrow to enter Michigan. To pass the time, we golfed 18 holes at the Eagle River Country Club, a lush and hilly 6,100 year track. If fate has smiled on us when we'vebeen cycling, the golfing deities were even more generous. We all hit shots that left all of us shaking our heads in wonder. For the first time in his life, Mike birdied two consecutive holes, the latter the result of holing a 40 yard wedge to a pin tightly protected by a kidney shaped sand trap. Not to be outdone, on the 9th hole, Tom carved an 8 iron around a cluster of white birches bordering a fairway. Not until we arrived at the green did we find his ball in the hole. The ball mark hit two feet behind the flag and Tom's shot had spun back into the hall for an eagle two. A golfer who was watching our shots from the next tee called it a "heck of a shot." Four holes later, Marc chose a driver to attack the par 5 585 yard dogleg left. His high draw flew the trees protecting the corner of the hole and Marc found himself facing an uphill shot of 180 yards to a two tiered green. His 6 iron approach flew straight at the hole and disappeared from sight. When we couldn't see Marc's ball on the green, we began walking towards the back trap and the trees and bushes five yards beyond the green. John saved us the trouble when he veered to the right and found Marc's ball--in the bottom of the cup. A two on a par five! The rare albatross or double eagle was Marc's. Our only regret was that we didn't see Marc's ball fly directly into the cup. On the 17th hole, the toughest hole on the course, John was the only one in our group to par the 455 yard par four monster. Three well struck three woods saw John facing a 45 foot sidehill downhill putt for his par. We watched in awe as John's ball toppled into the hole on the last revolution. To say, we were amazed by our series of shots is, well, an understatement.Tomorrow we depart early en route to Escanaba, Michigan. Our muscles are not as sore and a day of relaxation and continued excellent cuisine will serve us well for our long trek tomorrow.