Idaho Conference Comments

An anonymous commenter recently stated that they liked my accounts of travel, and asked me to continue my efforts.  For that one, lone commenter, I hereby delve once again into a rambling account of my travels.

This week I have been in Couer d'Alene, Idaho attending a conference on forest products utilization in the PNW.  I attend this meeting twice a year, and it involves a collection of great people that buy forest product residuals to run their various operations.  They always seem to know what is happening, and what is going to be happening soon.  A good group to keep track of.

We started the conference with Activity Day, and I chose the golf outing.  We are staying at the Couer d'Alene Resort and Golf Club, and the course is one of those uber-managed and perfect courses.  There were 4 flights of 4 of us, each with a caddie.  I was matched with 3 guys I didn't know well, but we got along very well and had a fine time.  The day was perfect - sunny and warm.  I wore my light jacket to the course, but I had it in the basket at the back of the cart before we tee'd off.  After that it was all sunshine and rainbows.  Mountain views and lake anonymous

Speaking of the lake, getting from the hotel to the course occurs on a boat.  A fancy wood boat with twin 350 HP inboard engines that can hit 50 MPH easily.  They take your clubs separately so all you have to do is show up at the dock.  The boat captain has a list of golfers and he checks your name off the list.  They keep track of you every step of the way, and provide a great experience.  Included in the fees is a massage for your back when you arrive, lunch, soft drinks and water, the cart, and range balls to get your swing into shape before you start.  The range is into the lake, however, and they use floating balls so they can just be scooped up.  It is very cool.

I started slowly but finished fine.  I've learned that I need to take an Alieve before I start to keep my hip pain under control.  We did drink something like beer as we played (Coors Light) which may have helped my swing.  We played a best ball scramble format, where we all hit and then used the best ball to hit the next shot.  We played my chips and puts quite a lot, and my drives towards the end.  I was pleased.

The conference has been really fun.  Pretty low key, but a good chance to catch up with everyone.