Back to Minnesota for the Ryder Cup

This cross country adventure was on our schedule even before we hit the road.  For those of you that don't know a bit of my (Dan) past, I used to work as a golf professional.  The course I worked at just so happened to be Hazeltine National Golf Club which was also the site of the 2016 Ryder Cup.  I left my job at that club in October of 2013 after working there for 10 years.

Hazeltine was a second home for me.  The members and staff were like family.  So when the biggest golf tournament in the world is being hosted by said club and members it was a no brainer to make the trip back.  

One of the fun things about making a trip half way across the country, we started in Maine, is you will likely come across some friends and family.  Our first stop was just south of Sryacuse, New York where we were blessed to spend some time with Dan and Christa Hamon and their 3 boys.  Once again we were able turn Instagram friends into real life friends!  They have such an amazing family and their boys played so well with Eli.  We can't wait for our paths to cross again. 

After New York we made it to the Cleveland area where I was able to meet up with a golf pro friend.  That was a super short stay, and we were off to Elkhart, Indiana where we returned to the dealership we purchased our RV.  We had some routine maintenance done there since we had logged almost 12,000 miles on our RV since purchasing it.  Crazy, we've done that much traveling in that short period of time.

We had an interesting adventure at our next stop in the Amana Colonies.  We are learning that a lot of RV parks are located on flood plains, I guess its cheap land.  This was our first experience where we nearly got flooded out!  It was a little scary to wake up to all of the water surrounding us.  

The closest to what it looked like before the rain. This was actually after the water receded.

The water at it's highest point. The creek it all came from was all the way behind the building you can see in the distance.

We were hoping to spend some time exploring the Amana area but instead decided to just move onto Laura's aunt's house.  We parked in front of their house for a few days so that we could spend some time with them and Laura's grandma.  It was great to see her and have Eli spend some time with her.  He really liked her magnifying glass and her stash of ice cream!  

After our time in Iowa, we made our way back to Minneapolis for the Ryder Cup!  Seven years after I first learned that Hazeltine would be hosting the biggest golf event in the world, we were there!  On top of the amazing golf event it was also a homecoming for me coming back to Hazeltine, a club I spent countless hours at for 10 years and met so many amazing people.  Oh and top of that it was a week where I got to spend some quality time with my family!  It was pretty special, let's juts say!    

The Ryder Cup itself was pretty epic!  Europe has pretty much dominated the Ryder Cup winning 5 of the last 6 matches going back to 2002.  There was excitement for the US team but also apprehension around whether they could get a win on their home turf.  

The venue itself was incredible!  The infrastructure that was built to host this event was amazing, over million square feet of platforms were erected to hold everything from merchandise tents, corporate hospitality and concessions.  The golf course was pristine!  The stage was all set for a great event and it didn't disappoint.  

The US team got off to a great start and never really looked back.  There was a moment in there Saturday midday, whether or not the lead that the Americans had built was going to disappear.  They rallied Saturday afternoon and dominated on Sunday to bring home the cup!  If you want all the details you can head over to the full scoring here.  

So while I was chasing around a golf course, Laura found some pretty amazing ways to keep Eli entertained!  Here are just a few pics from their time at a local apple orchard with his cousins.  They also made a trip to the zoo which I think he really missed!  

It was a pretty incredible week back in Minnesota!  We saw family and friends!  I also got to witness an epic golf event at a course I used to call home!   Until next time Minnesota!