The first weekend in August finds many of the KA alums and others from Valdosta State on St. Simons Island, Georgia for the annual golf tournament to benefit the MS Society in Georgia. The event is done in honor of my youngest son who was diagnosed with MS in 2007. The event raises money, but it also brings together a group of young men who care a great deal about each other. We were honored to be a part of it this year.
After a drive across Georgia on the Sawgrass Parkway, we swung north, crossing the graceful bridge in Brunswick and catching our first glimpse of the marshes. The plentiful rains of this summer have the marsh grass brilliantly green. I always love the first smell of the marshlands. It smells coastal and clean. We maneuvered our way onto the island and around road detours until we found Sea Palms Golf and Tennis resort where we checked in and found our room on the second floor of the Blue Heron building. The screen porch looking out over the pond was a sweet surprise. We also had good view of the fairway on the eighteenth hole of the golf course.
Friday night was the dress up event. We all gathered in the conference center at 6:30. We were easily recognized by most of the other attendees since we obviously were the oldest people in the group. We reconnected with many of the young men whom we had gotten to know during Kevin's years at Valdosta State. The year that he was pledge master, he had sent the pledges down to the house on several occasions. I also had baked for them when they had events going on. So, it was good to reconnect, find out where they were now, and to hear story after story of their children.
We had a delicious meal followed by a talk given by Amanda Moran from the MS Society of Georgia. Chad Jordan and Tommy Johnston each spoke for a few minutes about the purpose of the tournament. Kevin finished with a thank you to the organizers and to all the people who came for the weekend.
During and after dinner we were entertained by Don Drury who played his guitar and sang. His repertoire was broad and we thoroughly enjoyed the music. He played a little blues, a little folk, a little rock. He asked me what some of my favorites were and played those for me including "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." As we were slipping away a little before eleven, he surprised me with one of his cds.
Back at our room, we were serenaded by a huge chorus of frogs who were truly tuned up for the occasion.
Saturday began bright and early with a shotgun start for the tournament. During the golf, I enjoyed sitting on my porch watching the mullet jump in the water and the water birds swooping down trying to catch them. Traci spent most of the morning with me and we also saw several turtles of varying sizes in the water. We watched the fairway until we saw the foursome with our men in it play by. By then the sun had invaded our porch and we went in search of rocking chairs on a shady veranda.
By two o'clock everyone was off the course and eating a barbecue lunch outdoors. Prizes were awarded, a playoff took place, and all of us scattered for afternoon activities. Several guys headed out for another round of golf; many went to the pool. We headed to our room for naps and reading.
For dinner we selected Crab Daddies which is owned by Josh Williams, another of the organizers of the event. Rob and Traci joined us. By six o'clock there was already a wait, but we were soon seated and enjoyed a delicious meal. The biggest treat of the meal was the shrimp and grits dish. Of course, the salad was really good, too, and the dessert was special. We had a complimentary creme brulee and Traci ordered the bread pudding which is one of their specialties. It actually was just about the best bread pudding any of us had ever tasted.
Saturday night was an early night to bed for most of us. The sun had taken its toll and we were all sleepy. Sunday morning it was up and out for us and headed back to reality. One of our friends who was flying back to Alabama had a five o'clock flight. We were grateful that we were just on a wake up and go schedule! We finished off the weekend at breakfast with Rob and Traci. Kevin and Jake were already on the road to South Carolina when we left.
I had been ambivalent about attending the event, but I am glad that I went. There was a whole lot of love shown between these people. It was good to be a part of it. We drove home being entertained once again by the music of Don Drury as he sang about the Golden Isles of Georgia.
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