Rain, Rain Go Away

Here’s another episode to an earlier blog that I wrote titled ‘Braving the Elements’. If you are going to play golf in the rain, be sure you have enough rain gear to be comfortable and to play a decent game. There isn’t a lot to say about rain pants, except that it has to be easy to put on and is waterproof. Be careful not to shop for one that is simply, water resistant. You need one that has a breathable mesh inside to protect your (dry) pants from the moisture that seeps through. Don’t just think of nylon or canvas to keep the rain out. A cotton lining will not help neither. Sun Ice Typhoon or Columbia rain pants do well.

Second, you will need at least three layers for the main trunk. If you know about the Ashworth 3-layer concept, follow that. If not, here are some tips. The first layer will consist of a golf shirt or a mock turtleneck. Stay within dress code limits of the golf course you are playing on. Next, bring along a warmer layer such as a pullover, sweater or fleece top. This layer will keep your body and arms warm. The outer layer needs to be waterproof. Again, a water resistant layer will not suffice. This layer needs to protect you from the rain, sleet and wind. Make sure you choose one that zips up and protects your neck.

Last, don’t forget your gloves. FootJoy has winter and rain gloves. Wilson Prostaff has a pair of rain gloves that begins to work when it gets wet. Get a pair of these and put it in your bag for an emergency downpour or if you choose to play in the rain. 

Most golf shoes are waterproof except sandals and CROCS. Other accessories may include rain covers for your bag, umbrella for your clubs and a rain shield for your power cart. And if all fails, go for a rain check.

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Back to travel, stay at the Paris Las Vegas on August 27 and 28 for only $79 per night which is more than 50% off.  Or closer to home, stay at the new Copperstone Resort Hotel in Canmore for only $94 ($99 Canadian) per night in a 1 bedroom suite with a 2-night minimum stay, a saving of 55% off regular rates.

Rain Policy on Golf Courses

I’ve recommended Shaw-Nee Slopes for cheap golf in an earlier blog and some of you have taken advantage of their Monday special, just $43 for green fees and cart. It’s not a mickey mouse course neither. But don’t go there on days when the forecast calls for rain. They have implemented a rule where they will not issue rainchecks if the forecast called for rain and it rains on your golf game. I guess that is fair if you think about it. I was out on Lakeside Greens in Chestermere last week and by the fourth hole, thunder was upon us. The marshall drove out to warn people that lightning was nearby and that we should cease our game. The pro shop was handing out 9-hole rainchecks regardless how many holes were already played. That was not fair.

Most other courses are not so generous. At Canals at Delacour, you have to be hit by lightning before they will issue you a raincheck. Last year, I played through 18 holes with thunder roaring over our heads. I was out in D’Arcy Ranch in Okotoks on the third hole when the cloud opened up and poured on us. We made a call to the clubhouse and they said to come in and wait 45 minutes. If the rain continues then they will issue a raincheck. We drove like madmen back to the clubhouse but as we reached hole # 1, the rain had  stopped. The starter made us tee off again from hole # 1.

I know we are at the mercy of the weatherman who is 50/50 on being correct. Before teeing off, check the rain policy and ask if the golf course carries liability insurance, just in case you have to sue them for not warning you about severe weather.

Rain, Rain go away

They say Vancouverites don’t tan because they rust. That’s because of all the rain that falls in Vancouver in the Spring. I hear it’s not any better in Calgary because they forecast rain all this week. Two weeks ago when we were cruising Eastern Canada and New England, we were lucky to escape the rain on several occasions. Rain greeted us when we arrived in Montreal but after sailing away, it was sunny in Quebec City, Halifax, Charlottetown, Bar Harbor and Boston. We got rained on just one day, when we were in Sydney.

If and when you travel to St. Lucia, bring your umbrella. To avoid the rain, you might choose to go there between January to May because June to December is considered to be their wet season. Because of the rainforest, it practically rains everyday at the same time. When we were there, we would tour the island in the morning, do alittle shopping in Castries then by 4pm, it would pour. Around 6:00pm, the sky would clear up and the air gets humid.

The main attractions in St. Lucia include the world’s only drive-in volcano, botanical gardens, twin pitons and the soft sandy beaches. Getting around is easy with most tourists taking a cab between the resort and Castries market or by water taxi if you want to get to the beach. I do not recommend renting a car and driving yourself, unless you are ok with hair pin turns and wild island driving. 

The must-do activity is to take a catamaran down the west coast of St. Lucia. For about $90 per person, you board a catamaran and sail to the Soufriere area where you take in the drive-in volcano, waterfall and botanical gardens. As you sail in, you will see the two Pitons as they rise up from the ocean. People actually hike up and climb the Pitons. On your return sail, the catamaran will stop at Anse Cochon where you can do some swimming and snorkelling before sailing into Marigot Bay. The captain will tell you that pirates used to frequent this bay to hide their treasures. Nowadays, you see luxurious yachts from all the world in Marigot Bay.

If you want to visit St. Lucia for a day, find a Caribbean cruise that stops there. Otherwise, if you want to spend a week relaxing on the sandy beaches, you might want to look into a Sandals Resort.

Back to Rain

I woke up to rain. Luckily my brother-in-law made a call yesterday to cancel our round on Mount Lorette in K-Country this morning. Otherwise, we would have been drenched.

Visiting Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottetown, Halifax, Sydney, Bar Harbor and Boston was nice. In the next few days, I’m hoping to blog about our experience and what we saw and missed. Overall, it was a nice cruise. We had our fair share of lobster and I managed to gain just 2 pounds from all that eating.

It’s good to be back.

Braving the Elements

When it comes to Kauai, don’t leave your umbrella at home because they don’t call it the Garden Isle for nothing. Considering the wettest spot on earth is in Kauai, you have to believe it when I tell you to bring all your waterproof gear if you plan to hike Mount Waialeal, take a catamaran tour to the Napali coast or to play golf at one of seven championship courses.

When I went to Kauai last month, I swapped out my windshirt for a good, heavy duty rain jacket with a hood. If I haven’t experienced a downpour in Kauai before, I would have just brought my normal golfing attire that consists of golf shirts, shorts and a light wind shirt. But experience served me well (when we were caught in a downpour last year) so to prevent history from repeating itself, I made sure I had all the waterproof gear stuffed in my golf bag.

On our first round, we played the municipal course in Kauai. It was a nice sunny day with a little breeze off the ocean. There were some clouds in the sky but they were offshore and far away. After we finished playing the first hole, Mike (a local resident) said to me that he thinks we’re going to get rained on. The clouds that were offshore, were now coming right for us. Mike said it will take a few minutes to hit us and he was right. In a couple of minutes, the clouds opened up and it poured on us. I scrambled to get my rain jacket out of my bag and luckily because it had a breathable lining, my upper body stayed dry. My shorts on the other hand, because it was exposed to the elements, was soaked right through. I didn’t bother to take out my storm pants and put it on. I was too concerned on getting my rain jacket on as soon as possible to keep from freezing in the rain. With the rain and wind coming off the ocean, it was actually quite cold. I had also wished I had a golf umbrella to keep my bag and clubs dry but stupid me, I didn’t want to lug a silly umbrella with me to Hawaii.

After five minutes, the rain stopped and we moved on to the next tee box. I took my rain jacket off and wrapped it around my golf bag to let it dry. My shorts were made out of micro fibre and were wet most of the day. The lessons I learned that day were:

1. Bring a good sized umbrella that is capable of taking wind gusts and can cover you and your golf bag.

2. Bring a waterproof storm pants that you can wear on top of your shorts.

3. Bring an extra pair of golf gloves, seal them in a zip lock bag to keep it dry.

4. Wear a golf shirt and shorts that are dri-fit or can easily dry if wet.

5. Don’t wear golf sandals in Kauai or if you do, don’t wear socks underneath.

I hope these tips will help you make your trip to Kauai more enjoyable. I know I will remember to follow them next year when we go again. I’m yet to get a dry round in one day at a place that gets over 460 inches of rain in a year.

A Ray of Light

It’s really funny here. When it snows and the roads get slick, people speed up. It’s the same in Los Angeles when it rains. People tend to drive faster and get more aggressive. There’s one day here every year around the start of winter, when you hear it on the radio, how many fender benders there were on the highway. It’s always alarming to hear it, and it’s usually in the upwards of a few hundred.

There’s a lot of accidents out there and speed is always a factor. I don’t want to sound like Mother Theresa but slow down around school and playground zones. Drive defensively and don’t practice nor encourage road rage.

Ok, enough about safe driving. I know it all goes out the window when you get a traffic ticket in the mail citing that you had speeded. It’s no use denying it because there’s a photo of your car attached to the ticket. Isn’t there a law about snapping your picture without consent? Oh I forgot, they are the law.

Anyways, I was off to Best Buy to shop for a radar detector. After paying $120 for my ticket, I figured it would be the last time that they were going to photograph me without my knowing. The salesguy tried to sell me the new Cobra XRS- R9G for $500. I liked the wireless remote display that you snap onto your dashboard. No wires like the old way, where you had your radar detector attached to the windshield and a cord to the 12V cigarette outlet. He explained the unit had 12 bands to detect all sorts of radar and the best thing was its ability to notify you of any red light cameras by GPS. Cool. Before I dropped my bills, I wanted to come back and check out the price on the net. When I was driving back, I was behind this dirty truck with muddy plates. A light bulb lit up or should I say, a ray of light hit me – why don’t I just muddy my plate so these cameras can’t identify me? It turns out that there’s a spray you can buy that obscures your license. It puts a glare in the middle of your plate so it’s hard to make out what your license is. For more information about this spray, come and visit our site but I’ll have to drop it in some secret place. Like radar detectors, I would guess that this may be illegal in some states.