Early this evening, my wife, youngest daughter and I FINALLY made it back to Southwestern Minnesota. Our cat (Murphy) was waiting for us, paws on the glass of our back door, to see if we were real or merely a mirage. 🙂 But we were real! And after 47 days of needing my mom to look in on her twice a day, she finally had three of her favorite humans to rub up against and purr. We missed Murphy too…very much! But we knew she was in excellent hands while we were traveling.
Before starting our final 400-mile drive home this morning, I was the first one awake in our hotel room. And while “the cat and kittens” were asleep? This mouse needed to play. My morning started out at Keller Park in Deerfield, Illinois. A quick nine holes on this 2,933-foot course, the hardest part of playing here was finding parking! When I did finally park, I still wasn’t 100% confident that where I parked was “legal.” But after looking for parking for a solid 8-10 minutes, I thought I would take my chances. So I played a little “extra” fast around the course. And only saw one police car driving slowly past our van (not stopping…whew). I finished with an even-par 27, for an estimated round rating of 920. Not the greatest, but hey! A +1 in my courses played collection, and no parking ticket, so we’ll consider it a win. 🙂
After quickly getting back on the road and away from where I was MAYBE legally parked, I headed back to the hotel, where my wife and two daughters announced that they wanted to check out a Goodwill store before getting our oldest daughter to a train station (to return to campus). So after locating an area Goodwill, I headed off to play one more course in Chicago: the twelve-hole North Salk Park DGC in Rolling Meadows.
The wind and rain made the course a little less than enjoyable. Not the course’s fault, of course! But by the 11th/12th hole, I was ready to be done. I played okay, to the tune of a -4 (32), and an estimated round rating of 968. But I was wet, and tired, and a little grumpy after the wind took two of my tee shots and sent them 60-70+ feet left of my intended landing zones. So I was happy to get over to Goodwill (and get out of Dodge).
North Salk Park was my 57th and final new course played on our trip. I played 61 total rounds of disc golf (two new courses were played twice, while two courses I played “don’t exist” (shh….). Not too shabby for 47 days on the road! Now we’ll see how many hours it is until I am fidgeting and restless, daydreaming about my next road trip.
Magic Number = 131 (1,869 Courses Played)
How it All Got Started: Tonn’s Travels >>
A main purpose of this blog will be to share information, helpful tips and tricks (everything from health and fitness to methods for saving money while you’re out “bagging courses” of your own), and ideas for better, safer course design. But I am also hoping to inspire others with my passion for the sport, via the stories I can share about all of the interesting experiences I have. All of the interesting people I meet. All of the amazing courses I am blessed to have the opportunity to play. If I can inspire even a handful of individuals to get off the couch, get “out of their bubble” or “security blanket” and explore more of this big, beautiful planet we all call home? Then I will consider this effort a success.
About Derek
Derek Tonn is a member of the DGA’s Ambassador Team. His company, Mapformation, LLC, has been DGA’s partner in the development of disc golf tee signage since 2012. The longer our two companies have worked together, and the more Derek has gotten to know all the great folks at DGA, the more he has wanted to formally sing the company’s praises. The more he has realized that “Steady” Ed’s (the father of disc golf and the modern-day Frisbee) vision for the sport and his company perfectly describes his own interests and priorities related to disc golf, and the more Derek has recently been encouraged to share his story.