Choudrant's won my heart

I am getting the royal treatment this week.  Seriously, you're not going to believe this.

Choudrant is turning out to be one of the coolest place ever, even though it's not even big enough to represent a quarter of land that makes up a zip code.  It appears that the most exciting thing to do is smash pennies on the railroad tracks, or head to the hip-happening Log Cabin, but who am I to judge?  I have found out that you can't judge a book by its cover, especially here in Choudrant.

When we rolled into town, it didn't look like much.  The course is beautiful, of course, but the town is very, VERY small.  It definitely has that old town feeling, where there are only enough people to fill a classroom, and everyone knows everybody.  But this place is awesome.

After visiting the course and setting up headquarters, we left to get settled in this week's humble abode.  Holy cow, I did not expect this.

This is what I first saw (minus the groceries) when
I walked into the "lodge"

Annie, our tournament director, prefaces our arrival by telling us that this "lodge" was once the lodging provided for George Bush and George W. Bush.  Now, all political feelings aside (for or against), this is pretty cool.  I get to stay where former presidents have kicked back.  My celebrity status is rising.

The "lodge" is about seven minutes from the course, so not the hour-long commute that we faced last week.  Upon arrival, I was a little taken aback.  After hearing Annie's description, my snooty celebrity self expected the Ritz.  From the outside, the "lodge" looks like a summer camp cabin.  I was a little nervous.

Of course, there was absolutely no need for my anxiety.  We walk in and are met with cool air and straight class.  Tile floors, three kitchen tables, leather couches, big screen T.V., three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a grill, a smoker (wish we had time to use this for some salmon), and a fireplace.  Keep in mind, this is only the first floor!  We head up the world's most narrow/most winding staircase, and are met by another living room with big screen T.V., another full kitchen, master bedroom complete with patio, and two more bedrooms and bathrooms.  Oh, and don't forget the wrap-around porch looking over the driving range, putting green and bunker.  Off in the distance you can see a lovely little pond, which I'm sure is stocked for our fishing pleasure.

You can't see all of them, but there are THREE kitchen
tables.  See the fireplace and T.V.? Royal treatment

So, now that you have my living quarters in mind, I was now given the opportunity to go shopping for groceries, without a very strict budget.  You know what I went for first?  Fresh veggies and fruit.  I stocked up!  Tangelos, bananas, grapes, strawberries, blueberries...you name it, I grabbed it.  Ally and I were given the task of gathering groceries for seven days for breakfast and lunch.  We went nuts.  Then, Annie was unsure about how much food we had - she thought we needed a bit more, and so we ran all around the store pretty much grabbing whatever looked good for snacks.  Dried fruit, granola bars, yogurt covered pretzels, yogurt...Mmmmm, I'm having chills thinking about all the healthy food.

Now, I'm not quite sure how happy the boys are that us girls went grocery shopping.  Chick food!!! Max walked into the kitchen and said, "It smells like a garden in here."  Disgruntled, he, Teddy, Aaron and Ben ordered pizza and chowed down in the living room while Ally and I made sandwiches, ate cucumber and hummus, and popped grapes into our mouths.  Don't worry, they were all very happy when we made a big breakfast for them this morning, complete with biscuits, bacon, sausage and eggs.  Chick food isn't so bad!

Note the daunting staircase on the left.

Days like today remind me of weekends in college, or summer days at the lake.  I didn't even feel like I was here for work.  It seemed like I was on a mini-vacation.  Ally and I were finally able to go to The Hunger Games, which we have been trying to do since our first day off on March 25th, sleep in, and not have any reason to be anywhere at all.  We are in the midst of great company, amazing views, and incredible golf courses.  Right now, I am extremely content, and I look forward to the remaining two weeks of my internship.

Another view of the staircase.  I successfully dragged my
50+ pound suitcase up this monster.

Work starts tomorrow for this tournament.  It's another Under Armour tournament, and so we get to wear our sweet new Under Armour shirts (love them!).  I can't wait to take some photos of the Squire Creek course.  You all will be blown away.  They sure know how to do it down here in the south.

The second kitchen and living room.  No big deal.

My own bedroom!

My own bathroom!  Complete with Aveda goodies : )