After Clearwater, I headed eastward towards Jacksonville. I had never visited Jacksonville before, but I wanted to see it because my mom and aunt grew up there and it is home to TPC Sawgrass.
I stayed at a Hampton Inn in Jacksonville Beach. I arrived very late at night, so I didn't realize that my room overlooked the ocean until I woke up the next morning. Wow, what a beautiful view I woke up to! I took a walk on the beach and even found a jellyfish.
I decided to spend the morning relaxing at the pool. The hotel had the nicest pool I have ever seen at a Hampton Inn. While at the pool, I met some friends from UCONN, who were there competing in the NCAA Track & Field Championships. Having been an athlete my whole life and actually a cross country athlete my freshman year at High Point, it was a strange feeling being in a place where everyone is competing and I wasn't for the first time in my life. It brought back a lot of wonderful memories.
I went over to TPC Sawgrass, Home of The Players, and had dinner at Nineteen & Traditions. Before dinner, I really enjoyed checking out the pro shop and looking around at the stories and history within the clubhouse. It was cool to see the Greg Norman merchandise in the pro shop, since my mom went on photoshoots and designed Greg's advertising for all of The Greg Norman Collection in the 90's. (A few of the ads and my mom on one of the many shoots below.)
Greg's win in the 1994 Players Championship was one for the books!
Dinner at Nineteen & Traditions was out of this world! I sat overlooking the 18th Hole on a beautiful sunny warm evening. It was magical. I got the kale and puffed quinoa salad and gluten-free lemon cheesecake for dessert! Not only was the food outstanding, but so was the service!
After dinner, I toured around more of the Clubhouse and took a look at the makings of the course by Pete Dye. I love stories about overcoming obstacles and the creation of TPC Sawgrass is one of those stories. Deane Beman had a vision to build a venue for The Players Championship. No one thought he could do it. In fact, there was a $100 bet that he couldn't accomplish his dream. That $100 bill is framed on the wall in the gorgeous clubhouse. Hole 17 is quite something and famous for its difficulty. Being an island-green and a Par 3 is mind-blowing! Hole 18 is just as challenging as it is guarded by water.
I will definitely be back! Next up, back to Charleston and then home.
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