Organ Transplant and 1300 miles/2 days

Location: New Rockdale RV Park; Mansfield, Louisiana

I need to clarify something from my last post. I mentioned that Brandon was number 2. Some people thought that was number 2 on the waiting list. Actually, a pancreas/kidney was available for transplant and Brandon was number two on receiving those organs. When organs become available, they call 2 or 3 people on the list whose blood/tissue type matches the donor. The number 1 person is told to go to the hospital for further testing and transplantation if all is good. The number 2 and 3 are told to be on standby and not to leave the immediate area. Brandon was number 2 for these organs. After about 9 hours of waiting, they called to let him know that the number 1 person received the organs. But, the good news is that it appears Brandon will be number one for the next organs that match his blood/tissues. That is extremely good news for only being on the waiting list for about a month and only been on dialysis for 7 months. So we wait,,,, but are comforted by knowing that the transplant can happen at any time. There are people around the country who have been on the active waiting list for years and years and never received a call for even standby. So we are feeling fortunate. A few readers have asked for Brandon's email address so they could drop him a line of encouragement or to ask him questions, etc. It is theregoesagoza@yahoo.com 
If you don't want to email, but want to let him know something you can always post a comment to the blog here.

I read an article in the newspaper many years ago about a local organ recipient. He had received a heart transplant which saved his life. He wanted to meet the family of the deceased donor to thank them for being part of saving his life. Through the transplant center, he was able to track them down and learned the family would to meet him as well. So, with his new heart pumping away, he scheduled a visit to meet at the family's house. During the visit, he learned many things about the donor which made him happy. As he was saying his goodbyes and preparing to leave, the deceased donors mother surprised him with a question. She asked him a simple question: "Can I listen to my baby's heart?" Of course he said yes and when she placed her ear to his chest, she cried. Wow. That is what organ donation is all about and not talked about nearly enough. 

I made it back yesterday afternoon after 1,335 miles in two days. That violated my usual 200 miles per travel day maximum but, I wanted to get back quickly. I left early and put 800 miles behind me before I started looking for a place to stop for the night. The 800 mile point was a Flying J truck stop in Charleston, Missouri. I figured I would park in one of their RV parking spots and catch a few hours of sleep and continue on. Wrong. This flying J has converted their RV parking spaces into "Reserved 18 wheeler" parking spaces. It's a very busy truck stop and I guess there is extra money to be made by reserving them for the truckers. I don't know how much they charge but I wasn't too happy. But luckily, the next exit had a campground that I've stayed at before. It is a small, no-frill, self serve campground for $12.00 cash per night. You get full hookups for the $12.00. It was after dark when I got there and no-frills include no street lights. I left Freedom/Liberty hitched up and only connected electricity for A/C use. I didn't even open the slides, just turned the A/C's on 70 degrees and crawled into bed. I woke up a little before dawn, got a shower and hit the road. 

Freedom and Liberty did great on the trip although Liberty gave me a little bit of a scare when one of the Temperature/Pressure Monitors indicated a low tire. I thought, "oh crap, must have picked up a nail". I pulled into the next exit and checked the tire. Luck was with me again when I discovered it was just the monitor that had worked itself loose and allowed air to escape. This twice that has happened. It was down to 59 psi, which is the pressure I set for an alarm. If I had to, I could safely travel on that low of pressure for a while. But, lucky again, the place I pulled into had a working air compressor. It wasn't one of the larger ones, but it was able to put 73 psi into the tire. I knew I had another fuel stop coming up at another Flying J, so I hit the road with plans to complete the airing up then. Wrong. Their air compressor was broken and there were 18 wheelers at every diesel pump so there wasn't any way of getting to the truck air compressors. So, I continued the last 150 miles with the 73 psi. Not ideal, but not a problem either. Flying J disappointed me twice twice on this trip.

I'm not sure how long I'll be here but at least through the birth of my grandson in September. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road. 

Deadheading Back to Louisiana (Updated)

Location: Alpena County Fair Campgrounds; Alpena, Michigan

Update: as of 6:00 am on 7/23/18 the available organs went to the other person. My plan is to still head back, but perhaps not as frantically. Ya'll take care of each other.

This will be a short post without pictures. Even though I have one more day paid up here at Alpena, I'll be pulling out tomorrow morning heading back to Louisiana. As you know, Brandon was put on the "active" list for a Pancreas/Kidney transplant about a month ago. We anticipated an 18 to 24 month waiting period. Surprise, surprise but the transplant coordinator called Brandon today and informed him he was Number 2 on a pancreas/kidney. They said they would call back if the number one person had problems. Well, it's been about 6 hours since the call and no further word has been given. We are new to this, but after being part of a couple transplant groups on facebook this lengthy waiting time is not unusual. In Brandon's case, it will have to be a deceased donor because of the pancreas. In many cases, the doctors will keep a patient alive in order to buy time for the testing and harvesting of donated organs. If that is the case, it could be a couple of days before a final decision is made as to who, if anyone, will receive the organs. 

So, it seems the extended waiting game may have just gotten much shorter. But on the other hand, he may not get these organs and have to wait the 18 to 24 months. But, to get a call to be Number 2 after only being active for 1 month is amazing. So we see that as a good sign. 

With organ donation it is really a matter of perspective. You can think of the donated organ as keeping Brandon alive or you can think of it as Brandon using all of his body to keep a piece of the donor alive. :)

I'm about 1,300 miles from Mansfield. My plan is to leave sometime in the morning and stop at a truck stop around 10 pm to catch some sleep before continuing the trip. Looking at the weather forecast, it should be dry and the night time temperatures at about the 10 pm stopping spot should be in the lower 70's to upper 60's. Good sleeping weather. I'll decide then to either nod out in the truck or crawl up in Liberty. 

No time to proof read, got to get ready for tomorrow. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Glass Bottom Boat and a Joke

Location: Alpena County Fair Campgrounds; Alpena, Michigan

Thru stop # 10

One of the main reasons for coming to Alpena was to take a boat tour on the glass bottom boats to look at the shipwrecks of Thunder Bay. Alpena sits on the shore of Thunder Bay with over 200 "known" shipwrecks in the bay, which is a lot considering the bay is only roughly 100 square miles. Notice the word "known". It is unknown how many shipwrecks are actually in the bay since ships disappear or never show up at their destinations and are considered lost but the location of the sinking is unknown. One of the known shipwrecks in the bay was thought to have been lost in a storm on Lake Michigan but apparently survived it only to sink in Thunder Bay. It was a surprise to everyone when it was found in the bay by divers and identified. Some wrecks iced over during the winter and sank due to the excessive weight. When ships sank from ice weight, they sank perfectly intact and are resting on the bottom sitting as if they were still floating. One of those is sitting on the bottom and their lifeboat is right next to it. Apparently, the crew left the ship before it sank only to have the lifeboat ice over and sink as well. I don't remember if the crew survived.

A birch bark canoe in the NOAA museum as part of the boat tour. These were sometimes as long as 30 feet. The contraption on the front is a fire platform. Once they got into a good fishing spot, they would set that of fire to attract fish to be speared. The thing below the boat is a fish trap and is not part of the boat.

This boat preceded the birchbark canoe. It is a dugout canoe. Made by taking a log, and in a series of setting it on fire and digging it out, arrive at this canoe. It is a step above riding on a log, but miles away in design, stability and cargo carrying capacity of the birchbark canoe. 

It water was calm going out but got a little rougher on the way back in to port. The Captain explained that no one, not even experienced Captains and fisherman can accurately predict the condition of the waters in/around Thunder Bay.

Some of the Islands out in the bay.

What's left from a very large Fish Camp village on Thunder Bay Island.

Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse and Life Saving Station. There were hundreds of lives saved by both. 

One of the interesting wrecks is a barge without a name and was simply called Barge Number 1. At the time of its sinking, it was loaded with timber and chickens. It was one of a few barges being towed at the same time so when Number 1 started taking on water, the crew just cut it loose so it wouldn't jeopardize the other barges. However, a couple of the crew, feeling sorry for the chickens, managed to cut the ropes tying the chicken cages to the barge. They also freed hundreds from their cages before the barge sank. Who knew chickens could swim, but swim they did. Some were strong enough swimmers that they swam with the cages still around them. They needed a compass though because instead of swimming to the nearest land, they swam all the way to Thunder Bay Island which was nearly 8 miles away. The lighthouse and life saving crew as well as many in the Fish Camp enjoyed chicken instead of fish for a long time once the thousand or so chickens started arriving on the island.

A picture of the deckhand and the viewing bays. Once over a wreck, everyone scrabbles to look. I learned quickly, that simply looking over the side you could see just as much because the water was so clear and shallow.

Looking over the side at one of the wrecks. One others you could see their propellers, boilers, etc. 

A mooring buoy over one of the wrecks. The rope you see floating away from it is used to tie you boat too so you don't damage the wreck with your anchor. If you look a little bit into the distance, you can see another one.

Navigation aide leading to the Thunder Bay River. Nice large flag flying in the background.

It was a good day for a boat tour.

Alpena is a nice town. They have a very active downtown and a few public parks on the shore of the bay.

Looking out to the bay from one of the parks. I caught another gull in this picture. Pure luck.

A fishing/walking pier from one of the smaller parks. 

Looking back from the end.

A man and his dog. The guy would splash water and the dog would run into the water to the guy but then turn around and go back to land. I wasn't sure if the dog was trying to save him or playing with him. They were at it for 30 minutes or more before coming out. 

Looking down at the public beach area from the pier. Several people were swimming in very cool water

During the shipwreck tour I was reminded of two things. One very serious and the other a joke. The serious one was remembering "abandon ship" drills when I was in the Navy. One of the several cruises I was on during the 1970's was to the North Atlantic from Little Creek, Virginia. We were to sail with several other ships but one of the ships had engine trouble so my ship was designated to "stand-by to render assistance" while the ship attempted repairs. After a few days, it was determined that she was not going to able to repair herself so she limped back to port. We on the other hand headed to the North Atlantic to catch up with the fleet. We knew we would not catch them before arriving near Norway. That meant we would be crossing the Atlantic alone. Never a good thing. We weren't a large ship, only 522 feet long and a crew of 200. Big ocean, small ship. The Captain decided to hold an abandon ship drill. During the drill, the word is passed on the ship's PA system telling the crew to prepare to abandon ship. Part of that message is the distance to the nearest land and nearby ships. Since we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the message was similar to "All hand prepare to abandon ship. Nearest land is 1,200 miles to the northeast, nearest ship, unknown". Now, after all of these years, I don't remember the exact mileage that was mentioned but do remember it being greater than 1,000. Coincidentally, I looked at the fathometer (depth of water beneath the keel) just as the message was being passed. It was reading 1,000. That is in fathoms. One fathom is 6 feet so the depth was 6,000 feet, a little over a mile. We wondered how long it would take us to hit bottom if we really sank. The thoughts of 10 foot tall and bullet-proof teenage sailors. The nearest ship information came from where I worked in the Combat Information Center. To have "nearest ship, unknown" meant no surface contacts on the radar. Our radar at that time had an effective range of about 25 miles. That drill drove home just how alone we really were during that cruise. During the shipwreck tour, I wondered how many abandon ship drills had been run and how serious they were taken by the crews of the shipwrecks. 

The second thing I was reminded of was a joke about divers and is told by Thibodeaux and Boudreaux. I guess I first have to explain to my non-Louisiana friends about Thibodeaux and Boudreaux. To pronounce the names, think of "eaux" as "oh". So the names are pronounced, Tib-a-doe and Boo-droe. They are two fictitious Cajuns who are the butt of jokes similar to Aggie jokes, Polish jokes, etc. I have never heard any cajun say they were offended by the jokes and most are told by full blooded cajuns. I use the word cajun but if you're familiar with the area, substitute "coon-ass" and it will be OK. I was reminded of the joke when the tour guide mentioned divers diving on the shipwrecks. It goes like this:

Thibodeaux: "Hey Boudreaux, I wonder why dem divers always fall backward when dey leave da boat to get in da water."
Boudreaux: "I know da answer Thibodeaux, it is cause if they fall foreward they would still be in the da boat". 

Finishing the evening at the picnic table next to Liberty. The weather is nice. Highs in the upper 70's to low 80's with a cool breeze. Lows at night in the 50's. Rain is predicted for this weekend. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.     

Moving Day (Brimley, MI to Alpena, MI) (mostly pictures)

Location: Alpena County Fair Campgrounds; Alpena, Michigan 

Route thru stop #10

I got an early start with a short tow ahead of me. That isn't always a good thing but the weather was a nippy 59 degrees with a cool breeze blowing in from the lake. A few degrees cooler and I would have been wearing long pants; it felt great. The weather front that passed through yesterday cleaned the air and left behind the nice breeze. That breeze got stronger during the day but nothing that Freedom and Liberty couldn't handle.

Good morning Campground on moving day. It's been a great campground but time to move on.

Pretty good view from the dump station uh? The view gave me the feeling of hitting the Freedom road into the unknown. 

I crossed the Mackinac Bridge, aka "Mighty Mac". I crossed it back in the fall of 2014. Use the archive on the right and the dates should be 8/15/14 thru 8/18/14. They include a trip to Mackinac Island. 

This was taken from a "Bridge Viewing Site". 

I started not to post this one, but the bird in the upper right corner made me.

Approaching the bridge in the distance. Very little traffic going south but there is a long line of northbounders waiting to pay their toll. 

If you're a little hesitant about crossing bridges, then you better not cross the Mighty Mac unless you're knocked out. The Bridge Authority recognizes the problems some people have with the bridge and provide a "drivers assistance program" which provides drivers to drive your vehicle across the bridge for you. I didn't see any statistics on how many people use this service, but it is nice, free service. 

I've taken pictures through my windshield in all kinds of conditions, terrains and traffic but each time I've crossed the Mighty Mac I always feel funny doing it. I also don't like the open grate bridge deck. I don't like it on any bridges. I know it is used to reduce the weight of the bridge, yeah, yeah, but I still don't like them. And wouldn't you know it, they were welding on the grates as I was crossing. The bridge is a sight to see. By the way, the toll for Freedom and Liberty was $8.00 ($2.00 per axle). Not a bad price at all. 

Approaching the main span. That's Lake Michigan on the right and Lake Huron on the left.

The suspension part of the bridge. It worked out nice the the two center towers aligned. I could have said I planned it that way, but didn't, darn.

Open grate bridge deck with lane closure coming up. I put the cell phone camera down after this shot because I was tried of taking picture. Putting it down had nothing to do with the open grate deck, nope, nothing.

The rest of the tow was along the Lake Huron coast road. Lake Huron is my favorite of the five Great Lakes. It always seem bluer than I expect. There were a few turn-outs with views of the lake but not as many as I anticipated. I was happy and surprised that only about 10 miles of the 100 mile coast road was rough and needed work. 

Blue Lake Huron from one of the turn-outs. That freighter is headed south. 

I'm guessing that weather front created the brown color, but that's OK. 

This campground is on the Alpena County Fairgrounds. I've stayed in places like this before and they are always a good bargain and usually located right where I want to be. In this case, it is on the edge of town which is opposite of the place I've been staying during the last week. It is electric only at the campsite so you have to fill up with fresh water before setting up camp. That's not a problem with me and I actually prefer campsites like these because it discourages people from camping for extended periods of time. Alpena is not only a Walmart sized town, it is also a Taco Bell sized town. That is called a double bingo. One of the things I've come here to do is to take a tour on a glass bottomed boat to look at some shipwrecks. Other than that, I need to visit the visitor's information office for other suggestions. I also heard there is a pretty good bakery here so I may look that up. I'll be here for a week so there is plenty of time. 

I got the only 50 amp campsite on this side. It's not going to be hot enough this week for two A/C units, but 50 is always better than 30 if available at no extra charge. 

There are two other campers on the end of this row and the caretakers says it will be close to being full this weekend. 

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.

Waterfall and Electricity

Location: Bay Mills Casino Campground; Brimley, Michigan
Click pictures to enlarge

Thru stop #9

Today is number seven at this campground. It has been a really good campground and would stay here again if I'm in the area. I've stayed longer at the last couple of campgrounds than I normally stay. Sometimes it feels as if it is too long and I should be moving or doing something. To take a lazy day and do nothing seems like I'm wasting time. Oh well, I'll either get used to it or start moving more often. Today was supposed to be moving day but when the weather forecast showed a low front with storms passing through this area, I extended my stay until tomorrow. It was important to not be traveling in stormy weather today since crossing the Mackinaw Bridge is on my route. The bridge crosses the connection of Lakes Michigan and Huron and is subject to strong crosswinds. Freedom and Liberty has handled strong crosswinds before and I have confidence in them to do it again, but why risk it when I can just stay another day.

Some of the road to the falls has trees on all sides.

Other parts run along the shore of Lake Superior.

I drove up to Tahquamenon Falls the other day. I had considered taking a railroad/riverboat to the falls but decided against it. Too many of the reviews said the trip was boring with the exception of the falls and an occasional wildlife sighting. So, not wanting to be trapped on a 6 hour tour, I decided to just make the 100 mile round trip drive to the falls. The falls are in a Michigan State Park so I had to either pay a $9.00 day use fee or buy a $32.00 annual permit. The term "annual", related to this pass, is really incorrect and deceitful. The state should change it to "calendar year" pass since it is only good for the calendar year in which you buy it. If you buy it on January 1st, it's good for 365 days. If you buy it on December 30th, it's good for only 1 day. Obviously, no one would buy one on the last day of the year and I'm just mentioning it to make a point. I bought one in late July of 2017 so I thought it would be good until the end of this month. Nope, it expired December 31, 2017. This is completely opposite of the way Texas does their permit. Theirs is good for one year from the date of purchase. Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Looking ahead on my travels, I don't think I'll be staying at or visiting any Michigan state parks, so I just went with the "day use" fee. 

To get to the falls, you have to walk about 1/2 mile from the parking lot then go down a staircase of 94 steps to a observation platform near the falls. It is worth the hike and cost. The falls are pretty good. Not the best I've seen in my travels, but the best I've seen lately. 

A sneak peak at the fall from the trail

A look at the falls from the viewing platform

The falls and the river downstream

My other reason for coming to this area was to see a hydroelectric plant in Sault St Marie. I saw it the last time I visited this area but at that time it was on a boat tour of the Soo Locks. I won't make a link to those posts, but if you use the archives on the right hand side, look for the date range of 8/15/14 to 8/18/14 or thereabouts. 

The power plant as been operating for 116 years. It provides 1/5 of the power needs of the eastern Upper Peninsula. This is truly renewable energy. It is the largest low head hydro plant in the U.S. Low head means the water doesn't fall very far (think of the height of Hoover Dam). The water height for this plant is only around 22 feet which is the height difference between Lake Superior and its outfall. With a few upgrades over the years, the power plant is expected to continue producing power for decades to come.

One of the freighters on the St. Mary's River as it approaches the Soo Locks from the south

That is the powerhouse on the left. It houses 74 turbines used to produce electricity.

A lot of the stone blocks came from the canal that was excavated to channel the water to the power plant. Those are fishing boats in front of the water outlets. Apparently it is a good fishing location.

Tomorrow is moving day and I think I'll be going about 150 miles south to a county campground at Alpena, Michigan. The town is on the shores of Lake Huron. I'm curious to see if the lake is as blue in color as I remember. I haven't made reservations yet and I don't even know if they take reservations so my plans may change. I'm sort of anxious to head on south, but really don't want to get into the real hot weather yet.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.    

Iroquois Lighthouse, Lake Superior and Golf

Location: Bay Mills Casino Campground; Brimley, Michigan (el. 615 ft)

click pictures to enlarge 

Route thru stop #9

As I said in the last post, I moved farther north. I'm camped in another Indian Casino Campground. I was pleasantly surprised to find out they give a 25% discount to veterans. I was not aware of that until the clerk was completing the check-in process and he asked if I was a veteran. I sure am glad I got the veteran tag on my Louisiana Drivers License since it is official proof and makes proving it extra easy. 

Water/Electric site with Lake Superior in the background.

After getting Liberty set up, I went in search of the Reuben Sandwich I had heard about at the Sacy's Restaurant attached to the casino. It was very good and came with onion rings fried very crisp. Since I've tried Reubens from many places around the country, I consider myself a semi-expert. This one is made with the conventional Russian dressing instead of the all too often used, Thousand Island dressing. Overall, it is an 8 out of 10 ranking. All for $10.00. As my father would have said, "Good deal, Lucille". 

The casino also gives you $5.00 on their players card. I used it on their quarter slots. I lost, lost, lost until the very last quarter and then bingo, I won $2.50. Uhmmm,,,, I wonder if that was rigged? I cashed out and took that $2.50 to another machine. In total, I guess I played about 45 minutes on the casino's $5.00 before losing. Since I never touched my own money, it was free entertainment. Of course, people watching, is always a good time too. 

The travel day towing was about 170 miles and the campground is on the shore of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior right at the entry to the Saint Mary's River. The river leads to the Soo Locks at Sault (pronounced Sue) St. Marie, Michigan. Those are the locks used to pass boat traffic from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. We will get up close and personal with those locks during our next stop.

Travel day picture. That is Lake Michigan on the right and I think that is wild rice growing.

The woods changed a little bit and seemed to be more pines. The 18 wheeler had Ontario plates

This field looks a little like the mustard seed fields I've seen out west, but I'm not sure. 

There was something special about this tree but there wasn't any sign or people to ask, so it will stay a mystery.

After eating, I drove north a little bit to the Point Iroquois Light Station. The name raised my curiosity because I had been taught the Iroquois people were located over in the Northeastern part of the U.S. around Lake Ontario and the state of New York. Why would a place in the U.P. of Michigan be named after the Iroquois tribe since the current Indian tribe of the U.P. is the Ojibwa (Chippewa). The history and reason for that is interesting. Apparently, the Iroquois attempted an invasion of the Ojibwa in 1662. The Ojibwa won the battle and the Iroquois retreated back to their home territory. The place of the battle, called "Place of Iroquois Bones", is the location of the lighthouse today. It is often forgotten or overlooked that most of the Indian tribes invaded, fought, killed and/or captured other tribes. The best example I can think of are the Comanche. They are usually thought of as being in the west Texas, New Mexico area. However, that is just where they were when the "whites" showed up. They originated in the Wyoming/Idaho area as part of the Shoshone Tribe. A group broke off and migrated south pushing the other tribes ahead of them until they ended up in their current location. Some tribes were wiped out entirely or absorbed by the more powerful Comanche. This is what the Iroquois was attempting to do to the Ojibwa. But it should also be noted that the Ojibwa came into this area from the east centuries before the attempted Iroquois invasion. It is unknown which tribes if any were pushed out or absorbed by the Ojibwa. 

The need of the lighthouse came about after cooper and iron ore was discovered in the U.P., Wisconsin and Minnesota back in the mid 1840's. That discovery rapidly increased boat traffic on Lake Superior. The lighthouse was first lit in 1857 and protected the area for 107 years until it was replaced with an automatic light located near the shipping channel. 

Point Iroquois Light Station with Lake Superior in the background.

Looking at the lake from the back of the light station. That freighter is headed towards the Soo Locks.

A bench along the trail leading from the lighthouse to the beach.

Lake Superior

Lake Superior with one of many freighters.

A better bench to watch the lake since this one is in the shade.

NOAA has a weather station on the grounds.

Yesterday was a decision day. I could either take a railroad train and riverboat to see some waterfalls or I could play golf. Things to consider in the decision were the next available train/boat trip would not be until Saturday, rain was predicted for today (which it is), and I could drive to the waterfalls on my own later, after the rain. I chose golf and I'm glad I did. The golf course is part of the casino and is a great course spread out over a very large area. There were places where it must have been 1/4 mile between the green and the next tee box. That trip takes you through heavily wooded areas of the course. There aren't any "flat-bellys" walking this course, carts only. And lucky me, I had the entire course to myself. There were holes where I would hit two balls because no one was behind me or in front of me. The temperature was in the mid 70's with low humidity and a cool breeze blowing in off the lake. It was a great way to spend a few hours. I didn't record my score for several of the holes so I would have to just estimate what I shot over the 18 holes. Rough estimate would be somewhere between 50 and 120. That is plus/minus of course.

Nice cart with GPS in the cart. You can see part of the lake in the distance.

Typical looking hole. I think I may have gotten an eagle on this hole or maybe a double bogey. But does it really matter? 

Another green

When I walked up to this green and saw the lake in the distance, I just dropped my clubs and took a picture. That is what is great about my cell phone camera, it is always in my pocket for things just like this.

Looking down on their driving range. The sand traps are in the shape of the suits of cards (clubs, spades, etc)

A great finishing hole. That is the lake and club house in the background. I took my time on this tee box just letting it all soak in. It was a good day.

Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.