2013-11 WGC-HSBC Champions Golf Tournament

Ray attended the final round of the WGC-HSBC Champions golf tournament at Sheshan golf course on the west side of Shanghai.  Forty of the top 50 ranked golfers in the world were playing, and this was the first year it is part of the PGA FedEx cup.







It was an overcast day, but with temperatures in the low 70's, it was comfortable.  It did get foggy and smoggy as the day rolled on, making it harder to see the ball on the long drives.







Ray was able to take a lot of photos, they are allowed in the practice and non-playing areas without restriction.  They are not allowed out on the course on the tee or green, or anywhere close to the players.  Being discreet with a long lens allows for some good closeup photos when the skies a clear and clean.  The caddies and marshals were constantly reminding people not to use their cameras (or camera phones) when the players were hitting though.

Ray watched some of the last groups of players, including Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Angel Jimenez),warming up on the driving range, at the chipping green and on the practice putting green.


Groups of 3 were starting on the front and back nine, so Ray started on 18 and walked back towards 9 in order to see all the groups.  The two lead groups were just making the turn when Ray made it to the 10th hole.  He then went back to 18 to walk back a few holes and wait for the lead group.  He went to 16 and watch a few groups then followed Bubba Watson for a couple holes and then took up residence on the par 3, 17th to wait for the final group.

From the 17th, he could also see the 16th green, but it was a ways away.  It was interesting that the caddies would leave the golf  bags about 100 yards from the green if their player was safely on the green.  It was surprising to see bags laying in the fairway as I walked up towards the green.

As the next to the last group walked up 17, he saw Dustin Johnson chip in on 16 for eagle, which just about sealed the tournament.   However, birdies were not rare for any of the golfers in this tourney, so even a 3 shot lead with 2 to play would not be insurmountable, considering Johnson double bogeyed 18 on Saturday.

After the last group was all safely on the 17th green, Ray went to get a spot on the 18th, in the landing zone for the second shot and good view of the green for the final putts.  Johnson put his approach within about 5 feet and 2 putted for par and a 3 shot victory.  About 10 minutes after the last putt, it started to rain lightly, but only lasted about 10 minutes.  Many people scattered and left when the rain started.  There was a nice awards ceremony with drums and fireworks.


The course is well set up for spectators with slopes around many of the greens making for good amphitheater viewing.  The back 9 wraps around some man made lakes and some very large mansions.  Most interesting was a large sailboat docked at one of the homes, because the lake was relatively small and did not appear to have any connections to any larger bodies of water.

The fairways were relatively wide and many are tree lined or edged with water hazards.  Under the trees, the ground was covered with pine needles, even though there were no pine trees.  I later did notice some pine trees on other holes, but they did not appear to be enough to cover the ground under the trees of the entire course, so they must bring them in from other places.

There are a lot of large sand traps, and the sand stands out because it is so white, almost as white as the golf balls themselves.  Can you see the golf ball in the sand trap?

Also new this time was an amusement park on the outer perimeter of the course.  I'm not sure if it is open yet, or just closed for the season or the weekend, but I didn't see any activity during the tournament.

2013-10 Albuquerque Part II

Continuing our visit to Albuquerque, on Friday morning we went again to Fiesta Park for the Dawn patrol and the special shape mass ascension There were only 6 balloons in the pre-dawn lift off this time, but many more balloons in the mass ascension.  The crowds were much larger on Friday than on Wednesday.  The winds were very calm on Friday morning, so the balloons did not separate very far after lift off, so the sky was filled with balloons.  At 7:00, two balloons lifted off with US flags trailing from the basket while the national anthem was played from the stage.  The rest of the balloons then followed.

The fiesta had almost 100 special shape balloons this year.  most got off the ground on Friday, but a few just inflated and then deflated.  Special shapes need very special wind conditions in order to operate properly.  Even seeing them inflated without leaving the field was very special.
Some of the balloons were trying to circle back to the field and hit special targets set up on the field to win cash prizes.  Not many of the balloons made it back on Friday due to the light winds and lack of Albuquerque box effect.

After all the balloons had take off we wondered the grounds and came upon a couple of members of the Albuquerque mounted police division.  One of the officers was playing a harmonica to which the horses were dancing in unison with the music.  The horses were very well trained for this.

We spotted a couple of interesting chase vehicles, one being a "John Deere Davidson" 3 wheeled chase vehicle.  When we saw it, he had the balloon, basket and pilot hooked up and returning to the trailer.  The other was an old restored fire truck.  The fire truck had a large chase crew riding in the back.

In the afternoon, we drove to Corralles to visit some wineries.  Only a few of the local wineries have their own vineyards, and most get the grapes from the far southern portion of the state near Deming.  A lot of the wines are mixtures of various grapes rather than single grape wines.  We visited 3 wineries and then stopped at Wagner's farm and watched them roast chilies by the bushel.  People would by a full bushel of the chilies in the store and then bring them out to the side of the building where 6 roasting stations were in place.  Once the burners were lit, the chilies were placed in the rotating drum for about 5 minutes.  Just in the short time we watched about 5 batches were bought and roasted.

Saturday we got up to see balloons floating by our hotel room window, even though were about 8 miles south of the balloon park, a few balloons came all the way down, while some rose up and headed north or west.  They end up landing all over the city, but the Indian reservation and air force base are off limits.

We drove up to Santa Fe, which is about 1 hour away.  We had planned to head to the Santa Fe plaza, but found lots of traffic and closed roads as we got close.  We were looking for parking and ended up in front of the state capital building, which is a 2 story round building, very different from most capital buildings.  As a matter of fact, there did not appear to be any buildings higher than 2 stories in the whole city.  Across from the capital building is a Bataan memorial dedicated to the New Mexico troops who were captured and endured the Bataan march through the Philippines.

We walked about 3 blocks to the plaza and discovered the reason for the closed roads and traffic.  The Porsche 356 car club was having its annual West Coast Holiday in Santa Fe.  There were over 250 of the Porsche 356 parked around the perimeter of the plaza.  There were a few other models sprinkled in, including a Porsche diesel tractor.

Santa Fe is a beautiful town with all the adobe buildings, a small river and walking path going through town and all the government buildings.  The church next to the plaza was having a wedding inside and a small craft fair outside.  While we were there, the bride pulled up in a beautiful red Chevy Deluxe.  This is the same car that LeAnn's parents bought back in the 50's and has been restored.  We still take it for rides when we go down to visit her mom.

Near the church is the Loretto Chapel, home of the miracle staircase.  It is a beautiful, double wrap staircase from the floor to the choir loft.  It originally did not even have handrails, but was so well crafted that it supported itself without so much as a center post.   The railings were added for safety and to make it easier to use.  Before the staircase, ladders were used to get up to the choir loft.  The craftsman who built just it just showed up one day looking for work, was put to work and then left when it was done.

We then drove up towards Las Alomos to Don Quixote winery and distillery.  Besides wines, they also distill bourbon, vodka, brandy, and even vanilla.  While we were there, they were conducting a wine appreciation class for about a dozen people.  They have classes a couple of times a month.  We stopped at Camel Rock, named for the shape of a large rock that has eroded away under the head and the hump behind the rock.  Looking at it from the north, LeAnn thought it also looked like ET.



On the way back to Albuquerque, we stopped back in Santa Fe to go up to Fort Marcy.  We parked at the bottom of the hill and took the switchback trail to the top.  There are now just mounds where the original walls were.  All the adobe walls have disintegrated, partially helped when coins were discovered at the fort and people went to look for more destroying most of the wall structure.  They have also erected a large cross on the top of the hill with a great view of the city of Santa Fe.  It commemorates the death of 21 Franciscan friars and numerous Spanish colonists during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.



Sunday we got up to go to the see the petroglyphs.  The actual monument and most of the petroglyphs are part of a national park, so were closed due to the federal government shutdown, but there is a smaller area which is owned by the city and was open.  The petroglyphs are made by chipping away the outer weathered portion of the volcanic rock and exposing the inner, lighter colored rocks.  They call the weathered outer layer a desert varnish.  There were many animals, plants, costumes and masks represented in the petroglyphs.  One seed pod petroglyph even looked like a hot air balloon.  Did the ancient Pueblos know something about the future?

We then headed out to the airport to catch our flight back to Minneapolis after a great time in the ballooning capital of the world.  Definitely worth a visit.

2013-10 Albuquerque Part I

Ray and LeAnn went to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend the 42nd International Balloon Fiesta.  We had wanted to go see the fiesta for quite a while, and this year it worked out.  We have attended some smaller festivals including the Hudson Hot Air Affair in Wisconsin in January, and a festival in the Philippines.  These festivals had a couple of dozen balloons, while the Fiesta has over 600 of various sizes and shapes.  It is held in it's own park, which has an 80 acre field (about 60 football fields) ringed by food and merchandise vendors.  It is also adjacent to the Hot Air Balloon Museum.  The Fiesta runs 9 days from Saturday through the following Sunday.  There are mass ascensions every morning and evening glows (lighting up the balloons but not taking off) every night except Tuesday-Thursday. 


When we arrived on Tuesday afternoon we first headed to Old Town to grab a bite to eat.  This is about a 4 square block are with shops and restaurants, a central plaza and church.  There were square dancers entertaining at the plaza.  We found a place to eat and had our first taste of New Mexico food, complete with the question you are asked with every meal--red or green.  This refers to whether you want red or green chilies with your meal.  From there, we decided to go up to the fiesta grounds to scope out the parking and best routes.  It was very quiet with nothing going on that evening.

We then went up to Sandia Peak to decide if we would do a tram ride while we were here.  We were also wondering if it would be open as it operates on Federal Forest Service lands.  We found out it was open so we decided we would go up the next day. It was a beautiful evening and we got to see a lovely sunset form the base of Sandia Peak.

Wednesday morning we got up early and headed to the park for the Dawn Patrol and Mass ascension.  We arrived about 5:30 and the vendors were doing a brisk business in breakfast food and hot drinks.  It was in the 40's, but relatively calm, so a good morning for ballooning.  The first balloons lift off around 6:30 AM into the darkness.

The mass ascension begins at 7:00 with balloons taking off constantly for the 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  These balloons include standard tear drop balloons, the newer football style racing balloons, and the custom shape balloons.  The sky is literally filled with balloons.  If the condition are right, a phenomenon called the Albuquerque box develops in which lower level winds move south through the valley and the upper level winds head northerly.  Because of this, it sometimes possible to take off and head south, then rise up and head north past the field, then drop down and head south back to the field and land back in the field.  What is so unique about this event is the that spectators are down on the field wondering between all the balloons while they are being inflated and prepared for lift-off.

Ray purchased a trading pin from the Albuquerque traffic control division to support their charity.  Many groups have pins made up to sell in limited quantities or at special times during the fiesta.   It is hit and miss as to where and when they pop up.  There are some people who have hundreds of pins that they wear on coats and vests, including one of the local new broadcasters, who does a 2 hour show live from the fiesta grounds every day during the fiesta.

Later in the morning after watching the balloons come and go and drift around, we headed to the balloon museum at the north end of the grounds.  There are displays about the history of ballooning, and its use in war, transporting goods, and as a hobby.  There are many baskets on display from various cross country and transoceanic crossings.

That afternoon we headed up to Sandia Peak to take the Tramway up to the top of the mountain.  The tramway is over 2.5 miles in length and rises over 4,000 feet.  It takes about 15 minutes to go up or down, and the tramcar itself holds 50 people.  There are two cars fixed on the double cable that always go in opposite directions as the cable is pulled by some very large motors.  The maintenance men ride up on the top of the car first thing in the morning and throughout the day to check the cables, towers and pulleys.  There is a ski resort on top of the mountain.  We ate dinner in the restaurant on top and then enjoyed the views of the valley below.  As a storm was coming in, it was getting windier as the day went on and they quit sending people up the mountain.  We were able to get down without any delay, but sometimes the tramway is shut down for extended periods if there is a large cross wind.

On Thursday we headed to the New Mexico Museum of Natural history.  They have a very extensive dinosaur collection, most of which are from the immediate area.  LeAnn wanted to see an exhibit of a diatryma that was made possible with help of one of her previous clients.  This was a large, 7' tall bird that once roamed New Mexico.  The museum also had a planetarium area and a nice exhibit on the history of personal computing, including the creation of Microsoft in Albuquerque before they moved on to the Seattle area.

We stopped at a winery near Old Town for some wine tasting and a snack before heading to the fiesta park to watch the evening glow.  However, due to high winds, the event was cancelled.  The park was open with no charge and there were a few vendors open along with a chain saw carving contest, which was fascinating to watch as they turned 2' diameter logs into works of art.  The finished products were going to be raffled off and auctioned off over the weekend to benefit a local firefighters charity.  Each chain saw artist had a least a half a dozen chain saws with different bars and attachments that they used for various roughing, detail work and finishing work.  It was amazing what they could create from a block of wood. 

Even though the fiesta park was nearly empty, there was one vendor booth that still had a couple of long lines in front despite the cancellation.  This was booth that sold trading pins.  Since Albuquerque is the setting for the TV show Breaking Bad, they had created a pin to commemorate the series finale.  They had sold out the Saturday before, and had brought in some more pins to sell Thursday.  They have been selling on eBay for over $30, but if you weren't in line, you could order them on line from the manufacturer for $5 anytime during the festival.  Since there was no evening glow, we went for a late dinner a Pappadeaux's seafood restaurant, a chain that we don't have up north.