The Belliveaus say Hello!

April 13-20, 2010

Paul and I had been promising John and Roz Belliveau that we would visit so on April 13th, we made the trip from Charlotte to Phoenix. If you were lucky enough to have known the Belliveaus while they were members at BMC, or if you are luckier still to have stayed in touch with them, you know how gracious these two are. They asked that we relay a hearty "Hello" to all of you.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Phoenix and visited with John and Roz several times before heading back to the cool air of Beech Mountain.

John, Tiger and Roz at their home

Their 'neighbors' include some of the four-legged variety, including rabbits and coyote



This is one of the views of their golf course. Their home has a much deeper and wider vista of the course and is in a wonderful subdivision.


We toured their country club facilities the first day. Here is Tiger and Roz at one of the many fountains scattered throughout the property.

From their lanai, you can see the clubhouse.

Apacheland: Paul and I decided to play 'tourists' a few days we were there and did the Apache Trail sights on Day 2, visiting Apacheland, Goldfield Mining Town, Canyon Lake, The Lost Dutchman's Mine State Park and Tortilla Flat. We also visited Sedona, took a helicopter ride to see Indian ruins and the red rock canyons and Paul played the TPC Scottsdale, Stadium Course.

The cactus we saw were varied and very interesting. Of course, Roz has her succulent plants and you could almost watch this one growing!

The Arizona goldpoppies grow in the desert as easily as the cactus.

While the guys golfed at the Belliveaus' club, Roz and I went to the Heard Museum and were thrilled to find pink Tennessee marble as a medium used by Allan Houser to create these stunning Indian sculptures. Mr. Houser was born to Chiricahua Apache parents, Sam and Blossom Haozous, but was later called Houser and works in various mediums.

We already miss John and Roz but are very happy to have made the trip and visited with them, if only for just a little while. We will, of course, stay in touch.

Arriving in Curacao, 3/30, we spent the day with John & Tasha Reule.

Would you recognize Ed without his beer?

The flowers were BEAUTIFUL and these Bougainvillea were thorn less!

Yes, Tasha is keeping Curacao clean, just like Beech...Some things never change!

Our Various Stages of Winter

Winter 2009-2010
These pictures are not in any particular order but show the various stages we have gone through this season. At this writing, Beech Mountain has received well over 120" of snowfall and the 'bean counters' say we have another four snowfalls left this season. For those unfamiliar with this local custom, for every fog in August you put a bean in a jar. The total number of those beans are supposed to be equal in number to the number of snowfalls for the next winter season. I've loved seeing the snow but I'm ready for spring so someone needs to just eat the rest of those beans! :)

View from the back deck of the Dining Room

3-2-10

Practice tee and Fairway Cafe

3-2-10

Standing on the practice tee, looking at Fairway Cafe and Cart Barn
3-2-10

13th fairway from St. Andrews Rd.

2-16-10

10th tee 3-2-10

13th fairway

11-13-09

Recreation building

2-11-10

Pool

2-11-10

Pool area

2-11-10

We want to get fit too!

On the way home, we came across these two deer that appeared to want in the fitness center. If so, I bet it was for the warmth, not the workout.

" Hey, Nancy, let us in...we want to get fit too!"

"Come on, Bucky, this must be an exclusive club...nobody is going to let us in."

"What are you looking at? Take a picture, it will last longer".

....so I did! :)

Yes, Virginia, It DOES snow big in North Carolina

Today the skies were gray, then blue, then gray. It is trying hard to bring us another couple of inches of snow on top of the accumulated snow we have received since the week before Christmas. The 10th tee, fairway and green are shown here with about 10" of snow sitting up nicely with only deer tracks in the foreground.

It may be cold but at least today was in the plus figures. It was 4 degrees when I took these at about 11am. Very little wind made it feel much warmer as I was very comfortable in just a fleece jacket...no gloves. Much better than the -10 and 45mph winds we have had this week.

You will be seeing the rhododendrons and hydrangeas in bloom again in June but that seems almost impossible to see the archway today where they normally bloom.


The Clubhouse in all of its winter splendor.

The golf pro shop never looked so good...where are those golfers with their orange golf balls?

Icicles abound on the Clubhouse building, as shown above and below.

BMLGA RINGER FLIGHT WINNERS

The BMLGA has a "Ringer, Birdie, and Chip In" season long program, headed by Doris Abraham. After each playday, the scorecards are turn in to Doris, who keeps track of everything. Here are the winners:

Flight A: 1st place: Becky Welsh (who had 13 birdies!)
2nd place: Doris Abraham & Jeanie Courtney
Flight B 1st place: Phillis Englander
2nd place: Louise Dale
3rd place: Marlene Reetz
Flight C 1st place: Judy Helsabeck
2nd place: Donna Halvosa
3rd place: Connie Easley
Flight D 1st place: Karen Levine
2nd place: Sarah Abbott
3rd place: Sally Peterson
Thanks to all the hard work by Doris, who also reported the most improved Ringer for 2009 was Becky Welsh. As I reported above, she had 13 birdies. One member had 7, two members had 6, one member 5, three had 4, four had 3, and all the rest had 2, 1, or none, out of 41 players involved. Congratulations to Becky, who also serves as President of the BMLGA.

BMLGA PLAYDAY- OCTOBER 6TH

Our game today was Match Play: Red vs Blue, Best Ball of Twosome. When all play was completed, the Red and Blue Scores were added, and the Red Team beat the Blue Team, 58 1/2 to 49 1/2. I have also included some leaf pictures. The 14th Fairway is almost outstanding, and the 18th Fairway is coming more beautiful every day. And there are some pictures of some of head covers our ladies are using.