Dinner with an Old Friend

I found out through Facebook that Bruce was gonna be in JAX for business. We were trying to figure out how long it's been since we've seen each other. It's probably been 10 years, but it seemed like just yesterday. It was great catching up! Before dinner I took him on a quick tour of the clubhouse & the 17th green.

Woohoo!!!

Today is World Banana Day

Since today is World Banana Day, I thought I'd start off the day eating a banana. Then I visited the website & found out the real meaning of this holiday ...

Solving World Hunger Through the Cunning Use of Banana Suits!

Little did I know, but I was supposed to play tennis & ride my bike wearing a banana suit!

Waffles between V-day & P-day

Rob can't believe Anna is stuffing her edible canvas in her mouth. Anna will do just about anything to be the lead photo on my blog.

She was more creative than usual ... this was her first waffle ever photographed ... despite being a frequent waffler!

Ilona & Matt were waffle virgins ... but you'd never know it looking at their designs.

Matt's first waffle was inspired by the "Children of the Appalachian Mountains" special on 20/20 ... creepy!

His creative juices were flowing! Matt made this Don King mini dessert waffle.

Ilona thought she used every single topping on her waffle, but it seems to be missing cantaloupe, honeydew, red grapes, trail mix & mini peanut butter cups. I don't think anything else could have fit.

Rob made an Obama logo waffle in honor of Presidents Day.

Afterwards, Anna & Hank took me on an 11,000+ step walk.

Do1Thing is tomorrow

Valentines Day 2008 is your chance to Do1Thing.

WHAT IS Do1Thing?
Do1Thing is a group of award-winning photographers, journalists, editors, designers, and writers who have come to together for one mission: To use the power of storytelling to shine an “ongoing” light into the many dark places that affect our most vulnerable children and teens. We believe that by focusing on highlighting one cause, while asking people to do one thing for that cause—great change can occur.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF Do1Thing?
The Do1Thing mission is to unite donors with non-profit organizations through the power of photojournalism.

WHY IS Do1Thing SHINING ITS "FIRST" LIGHT ON HOMELESS TEENS?
Do1Thing is starting with the cause for homeless teens because there are more homeless people today than at any previous time in U.S. history. Right now, more than 1.3 million of them are YOUTH.

HOW CAN I HELP Do1Thing?
At Do1Thing, we feel that if one person would do 1 thing for 1 cause, and if thousands of people would do the same, change will come about. By reducing a huge problem to bite sized pieces, it can be more easily digested and conquered. Our goal is to ask everyone to do 1 thing, for 1 cause.

A Bunch of Comedians

My day started with Ric showing my FBR aerial double-page Golf World spread to everybody in the integration meeting.

Mike made a GREAT birthday card for Laury.

It was a complete coincidence that all the girls wore red & black today. The birthday boy donned a red feather boa!

This afternoon I went to take some snaps of Comedian Lewis Black playing on the Stadium course. Lewis & the Commish yuk it up on the 16th fairway.

Lewis & Sophie pose on the 17th tee.

Last Day in the Desert

We shot some stuff around the resort this morning. The Nikon D3 is so unbelievably sharp, you can almost cut yourself on these cactus photos.


After shooting, we met Marcy for Starbucks, then hung out in the Cloud Club.

We had two empty flights home ... both 757s. The first leg only had 26 people & the second didn't have many more.

Swanky!

We stayed in the Executive Suite in the swanky JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. It was awesome ... 1000 sq ft suite with two 46" high-def TVs & wrap-around views of the golf course & pool.

Me shooting the curtain below.

The bedroom curtain at sunrise.

Mary stalked all kinds of things, from rocks ...

... to bunnies.

This poor bunny must’ve had a run-in with Mike Tyson.

Awesome sticker on our golf cart at Desert Ridge.

Desert Ridge is home to Wildfire Golf Club, which has both Palmer & Faldo designed courses. I shot this self-portrait on the Palmer practice green.

Nice pool! If you click on the link, I shot the middle photo of the pool for the resort during the first month they were open.

Palm tree trunk detail.

We’ve shot these fountains at sunset all three times we’ve stayed here.

Bellman cart shadows.

I think this is the only hotel I've stayed in that offers rubber duckies as an amenity (click to make bigger).

The Crazy 16th Hole at FBR

The atmosphere on #16 is unlike any other hole on the PGA TOUR. There is a student section close to the tee & they are really funny.

When Charley Hoffman walked from tee to green, they were chanting "Supercuts! Supercuts! Supercuts!" When the Standard Bearer walked by, they yelled, "Sign Boy! Sign Boy! Sign Boy!" When the kid twirled his sign, everybody cheered.


They had something different to say no matter what was going on ...
If somebody hit a good shot, they'd yell, "Tip your hat! Tip your hat! Tip your hat!"

When spectators entered, they'd yell something about what they were wearing:
"Sweater! Sweater! Sweater!"
"Jean shirt! Jean shirt! Jean shirt!"
"No sleeves! No sleeves! No sleeves!"

The traffic into the stadium was one way. When anybody tried to exit towards the entrance, they'd yell, "Wrong way! Wrong way! Wrong way!" When security wouldn't let them exit, everybody cheered. It was deafening!

The Rules Officials tried to maintain the peace.

When Australian James Nitties teed up his ball, someone held up a sign that said "Show us your Nitties!"

Bubba encouraged the fans on #16 to be as noisy as possible when he hit his tee shot, then high-fived & tossed Ping hats to everyone on his way to the green. It was really great!