Presidents Cup begins

My biggest responsibility for the week was the first tee photos. I photographed the players, officials and observers for each match with the Cup as well as miscellaneous photos of dignitaries and players and wives. Commissioner Finchem showed his photographic prowess as he grabbed my camera to get a shot of me with President Bush (41).

Sam workin' the mojo with the International wives

There were many heated ping-pong (or is it table tennis?) games throughout the week. Whether it was in the team cabin or back at the hotel, there was always someone at the table.
Zach and Woody go at it late into the night.

Lucas shows off his ancient Chinese serve.

I haven't seen Tiger this jubilant on the golf course!

"Guesstures" and other board games were popular during the week as well. The long bus ride back to the hotel was a great time for a quick game of "Scattergories"

After all was said and done, the U.S. team prevailed with a score of 19.5 to 14.5 over the Internationals. After this shot, there was much celebration in the cabin and all the way back to the hotel.

They Keys to relaxation.

We decided to keep our vacation simple this year and took a drive to Key Largo. We could bring Shelby and the kayak, and it was air-travel free! The last time we went, a little storm, named Katrina wiped out the fun. This time we had much better weather and a Nice, relaxing week. Of course, Shelby was pretty bored with the 6-hour drive!

We rented the second floor of this house. Great view from the roof deck!

Shelby got her own bed and was quite comfy!

Nice neighborhood!The Atlantic awaits!The fishing was awesome!The waterdog was in heaven!The Keys version of a chauffeur.

The Lorelei, one of our favorite restaurants.

One of the pimped out rides in the parking lot.A day trip to Key West ends with a signature sunset.

A minesweeper in... Omaha?

My father was a military man. He served in the Navy during WWII. He a Lieutenant Commander and the pinnacle of his career was as the captain of a ship known as a "minesweeper". He served/commanded on at least 3 different U.S. minesweepers; the USS Lance, the USS Scrimmage and the USS Admirable.
He didn't talk much about his experiences, but he was very proud of his service to his country.
I have always wanted to see the ships he commanded, but the minesweeper became obsolete after WWII and many of them were traded to China. The most famous British minesweeper became one of the most well-known research vessels in the world. Anyone remember the "Calypso"?
Anyway, I found that there is only one Admirable class minesweeper left in the U.S. It is the USS Hazard, and it is planted in the ground in Omaha, NE! I saw it a few years ago and was really looking forward to a return visit while I was in Omaha for a Nationwide Tour event. I arrived at the park only too see it closed up and the sign below:
The locked up entrance

So Close!But there was hope! I saw a man mowing the grass at the property next door and he told me that the owner of the park had passed away and his family had no interest in the park so it had been closed for about 2 years. He also told me that a tree had recently fallen on the fence near the back of the property...I'm in! I didn't spend too much time as I didn't really want to have to explain anything to the local constable. I did get a few pics and walked around a bit. The ship was locked up, and hadn't had much attention, but she still looked proud!Another lonely war veteranThe birds were making good use of the jet.Prop gardenCan I recycle this?

Tree surgery

After about 4 weeks of waiting for the city to pick up the branches that Rusty cut down, we realized that we were going to have to get another tree service to finish the job. Rusty recommended and old partner of his who had all the equipment to do the job right. They showed up last friday and went to town!

They finished cutting down the trees, chipped up all the branches, loaded the trunks into a big truck and then ground the stumps into mulch. In less than six hours the job was done.
It was certainly bittersweet as we loved the shade of those trees, but the cost of the root damage wasn't worth the price. The house looks so different now!

Clubhouse Grand Opening

Last night was the official "Grand Opening" of the clubhouse which included a gala event for former champions and VIP's. Part of the event was the unveiling of several large murals of "significant moments" in PLAYERS histoty. The paintings were done by renowned

artist Bart Forbes.

One of the murals depicts Tiger Woods "Better than most" putt on #17. The painting was based on a photo I took that afternoon. The original photo is also displayed in several
areas of the clubhouse. Original Photo is below:
Me with Bart and the painting.
Mary took advantage of the light during the reception to take my "Presidential portrait"

PLAYERS crazinesss!

I saw the strangest thing at the new clubhouse today...
Thanks to Mike Smith for the pic!

Tree huggers look away!

After much discussion and debate, we have decided to remove 2 trees from our front yard. We are both tree lovers and are pretty sad about the whole thing. Unfortunately, the roots of the big maple are beginning to damage everything around it. The sidewalk has been lifted up, the yard has been taken over and we are in danger of the actual house slab being affected. We really have no choice... Rusty and his helper Angel got started on the first tree yesterday.

2 views Branches coming down
Big branches come down one small piece at a time.
Angel cleans up.

Rusty loves his job.

Spiderman with a chainsaw.

There is so much debris, we have to cut the tree in stages so we don't overload the yard waste collection guys!

PLAYERS Prep

The preparations for the 2007 PLAYERS are in high gear. I went to the course today with John Snow and Caryn, along with Peter Lorber and his wife. Peter is a panoramic photography specialist and will be photographing during the tournament with his collection of exotic cameras. He let me play with his Hasselblad digital and I grabbed a few scenics and did a quick sepia conversion. The files are huge and the photos are so sharp! I can't wait to see what he gets during the tournament.

The theatre that is #17

A view from the new bleachers at #17

Looking down the 18th hole

Peter sets up his camera while John watches from his perch on a TV booth tower.

Caryn never misses a chance for her own blog photos!Caryn gets a view through the 5", long-roll panoramic camera
We couldn't get him to come down!One big tripod!

Are all photogs a little absent-minded? Looks like it!

Do we really have to go back to the office?