Alena Sharp

Catch up with Canada’s own Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. in her online diary as she challenges the world’s best players on the LPGA Tour


April 7, 2008

The First Major of the Year

Well, the first major of the year has come and gone. Since the end of last year I was pretty happy that I had qualified for the Kraft Nabisco Championship. To be eligible, one has to finish Top 70 on the money list from the previous year, be a winner in one of the last five years, or in the top 30 on the money list of the current year. The Kraft Nabisco is held at Mission Hills Country Club. This is a course I have seen success on when starting my professional career. Mission Hills is not only a golf course for the Kraft Nabisco, it also hosts the first stage of qualifying school every year in the fall.

My week started on Monday when I packed the car and drove over to Palm Springs. It is about a four-hour drive from Phoenix. The only bad thing that happened was two hours outside of Phoenix, I asked my caddy if they had packed my golf shoes. I surely did not remember to pack them. She said no, so I had to phone her dad to go into my house and get shoes to ship to Palm Springs. Thank goodness for Tim. He has saved me a few times this year sending stuff to me. I received my golf shoes after nine holes of the Pro-Am on Tuesday.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was a little star stuck as there were celebrities everywhere. Dennis Haysbert, Greg Itzen, Ben Roethlisberger, Kimberlin Brown, Patrick Duffy, Carlton Fisk, Mary Hart, Craig T. Nelson, and Kevin Sorbo to name a few. It was cool to see them and be hitting right next to Big Ben.

Tuesday I was in the Pro-Am with a great group of people. We were not very good as a team, but we had some fun. Something neat did happen to me on Tuesday though. I was walking out of the hospitality tent for breakfast and these two fans stopped me and said Alena, we know you are a big Red Sox fan, so we have something for you. They gave me a World Series t-Shirt, hat, and key chain. I was in such shock and amazement that someone would do this for me and they sort-of ran away. I saw them a few minutes later before I teed off on Thursday to thank them again. However, I am still flabbergasted and amazed about the whole situation.

On Wednesday, I was an alternate for the Pro-Am. I had to be at the course by 6:50 and needed to stay on property till at least 9:24. I decided this would be a great opportunity to see the front nine one more time. So off I went to play. It was very peaceful and I got a lot of work done on the greens. I was done with my practicing for the day by 11 and I decided to venture to the great outlets. I did not find anything I could not live without so I decided I needed a little exercise and headed to the gym.

I felt I was ready to go on Thursday. I had some nerves going, especially out of the gate, but once I made one birdie, two more followed and I was back to even par. I did not finish the round well, but I kept trying to tell myself, this is a major, scores are going to be high. I played well on Friday and was happy to make the cut. Saturday was not great. My attitude was bad and I never got on a roll. No rhythm, no momentum, nada. I promised myself on Saturday night that my attitude was going to be better on Sunday. It had to be, I finally had a good pairing and I was playing with my birdie bet partner, Juli Inkster. We were teeing off the wrong tee for a Sunday, but both hoping to make the best of it. Neither one of us were scaring the flag or making a move up the leaderboard, so on hole number 5 (our 14th hole of the day) Juli said, you wanna up the anti and play for something coming in... I said sure why not, so she said, $5 for a Fairway, $5 for closest one on the green, $5 for a birdie, and $10 for total score the last 5 holes.

That put a little fire under me and I finishes even with two birdies and took her for $40 dollars. I told my friends who were following about the bet and they said I will give you $100 if you birdie this hole and I did, so I made some money coming in.

As I was driving back to Phoenix to sleep in my bed one more time before a three week road swing, I was talking to my caddy about the weekend when we were witnesses to a single car rollover accident. We stopped our car, got out and Tara called 911. Lots of people stopped to help, but Tara ended up knowing the guy. I was upset because a LPGA media guide had flown out of the car so I thought it was a fan. It was actually the guy who did the scoreboards for the last two tournaments. We stayed till the cops no longer need our info. Coach, that's what Tara calls him, seemed ok. He fell asleep at the wheel and over-corrected when things went bad. As we drove away, we no longer talked about golf and I came to the realization it was just a bad day and it could have been much worse.

On a high note, I had some friends in from Toronto this week. They were hoots of fun and helped me relax and laugh constantly. Also, a friend from Phoenix drove in to see me play one more time this year and then people from the Pro-Am in Edmonton were down and watched me play as well. Inkster told me she could not believe I had so many friends, but it is always nice to have a fan base. Of course, we Canadians flock to one another, so Go Canada!

Alena

March 31, 2008

Home Sweet Home,

Well last week was my last week off for awhile. I did enjoy my downtime. When I take a week off, I do not pick up my clubs until Thursday. So Thursday I started practising and made sure I had my long list of to-do's marked off. It was nice to have a week off, but at the same time, I wanted to keep playing.

I have now entered a stretch of five tournaments. The Safeway International was located 35 minutes from my house, so it was nice to stay at home. My parents came into town. I do not know if my dad came to watch me play or to get out of the cold and play golf as he played golf everyday. He claims it is because he is hitting the ball so well. That is ‘cause he sent me a video of his golf swing and I analyzed it and gave him some tips ;-)

My week started on Sunday when I played Grayhawk with Pat Hurst, Juli Inkster and my caddy Tara. Somehow I was the only one who lost money, but like a good caddy does, Tara paid my debts for me.

I knew the week was going to be fun and rambunctious as many of my hockey friends said they were going to come and watch and a handful of other friends wanted tickets to watch as well.

Wednesday during the pro-am, three of the four amateurs’ caddies were my friends. Carrie, Collin and Kelli were the three amigos who helped out in the pro-am. They kept me laughing and we had a great time with our pro-am partners who were from Smucker's and Safeway.

I was looking forward to starting the tournament and was happy to see I had a good pairing. I liked both of my playing partners and knew I could get some momentum going from them. Coming down the stretch on Friday, I had some nerves appear and my swing went from being loose and oily to quick and left. I hung tough and made the cut.

I did almost have to have my dad escorted from the tournament after the third hole in a row I short sided myself. I hit an incredible chip that came close to going in. My gallery said “great chip!” and applauded while my dad, with beer in hand, yelled "You should have hit it close, you've had enough practice at that shot." It was a little funny as everyone in the group did laugh, but come on Dad. One of my playing partners even said, "Wow, with friends like that you don't need enemies." I had to clarify that my friends did not say it.

The weekend was great as I was paired with Juli Inkster on Saturday and Meg Mallon on Sunday. I had a lot of laughs with Juli. We have an on going birdie bet, $5 a birdie and she kicked my butt this week. I didn’t finish well this week but I struck the ball well and will take that momentum to California for the first major of the year.

One of my friends, Rusty kept me laughing whenever he showed up to watch. The first day he made a t-shirt that said Rex loves Alena on the front and Sharp beats it like Mike on the back. Found out later the Mike he meant was Michael Jackson and his song “Beat It”. Saturday he showed up with homemade muffins, Gatorade and Snickers energy bars. My caddy really appreciated carrying around the extra weight. On Sunday his shirt was the best, it said Got Alena? on the front. On the back it said, Even Chuck Norris fears Alena on Sundays. Thanks Rusty for all your support.

This week I started handing out my own golf cards. It was an idea that was suggested to me and we got the ball rolling and this week they were ready to be handed out. I even handed one to Inkster, she promptly handed it back to me with a mustache drawn on my face. I will now keep that card in my bag for the rest of the year as motivation to take money off her...

As you can tell, I had a great week. It was nice to have my parents in town, I was able to stay at my house, sleep in my own bed, have some home cooked meals, and the laughs kept coming. All these things allowed me to relax a little more on the golf course. I was thrilled with my ball striking, especially on the weekend. I was glad to see some putts fall and get a little more confident on the greens.

I am really looking forward to playing next week in the Kraft Nabisco. The Dinah Shore course has to be one of my favorite courses. The last time I played it was for Q-school and I had success on it. It is the first major of the year and I am honoured to have qualified to participate.

Thanks for everyone’s support, especially all the Canadians who were in Phoenix last week and came up and introduced themselves or cheered me on. Plus there were a lot of volunteers who were Canadian. Without these great volunteers, the tournament would not be such a success. So again, Thanks!

Alena

March 17, 2008

Hola,

Last week I was in Mexico City and the week before was a much needed week off. I got back from Singapore on Monday and was really tired. Jet-lag seems to set in more when you have nothing to do. It was hard to get sleep as I had errands to run all week, and of course I wanted to practice and get ready for Mexico City.

When I got back from Singapore, Callaway had sent me some new clubs to try out. The plan was not to put them in the bag right away. However, they felt so good and I had good practice sessions with them, so I felt as though it would not be a bad decision to take them to Mexico City. One day I was hitting the new Callaway Forged X Irons and felt something was off. I was at the back of the range at The Legacy and Lynn (Vision 54) told me to have them checked at Cool Clubs. I called and Cool Clubs was not busy so I was able to drive to Scottsdale and get in right away.

The guys at Cool Clubs were great. They tested both of my sets of irons (Ping and Callaway). They made all the clubs consistent with the lofts and lies. Rusty took my wedges and did some personalization on them. My 60 degree wedge now has Canada Girl stamped on it, my 56 degree wedge is a Maple Leaf wedge, and my 52 degree wedge Fights for a Cure!!! Make sure you check back to the website on Thursday to find out what cure it is for.......

I arrived in Mexico City on Monday afternoon. I stayed at the airport for an hour and waited for my caddy to arrive. This week Amy Fox caddied for me. I will have my regular caddy back in Phoenix, but this week was great for Amy as the golf course was very hilly and we used golf carts to get around. It was weird, but nice to play in carts. I like playing at Bosque Real because you get to play all sorts of different shots. Uphill, downhill, sidehill, and the holes move both to the right and to the left so you get a variety of different angles to pins. The last thing you have to deal with at Bosque Real was the elevation. The ball flies 10% farther then normal, so my regular caddy gave me all my carry yardages and I added 10% to them and that became my carry yardage in Mexico.

Being in Mexico I learned Mexicans love to enjoy their food, like the other night at dinner, we were out for 2 hours. There is no rush, and they like to eat late with everything lunch and dinner. The more I travel, I am learning that maybe only Canada and the US are the only countries that like to eat fast and run.

I also took an adventurous taxi ride to the Hard Rock Cafe, we thought it was only about 15 minutes away but it took much longer than that and our cab driver took us through the back streets - it was a bit scary.

I did not get sick this week, which is always a good thing. I believe it is the first trip to Mexico where my stomach did not bother me. I was happy with how I played. I hit a lot of greens and for the first time this year, I had the feeling that I could win the tournament and those strong vibes came on Saturday morning. I know I stumbled a little on Saturday, but was happy to make the cut as this was one of two tournaments where I had not made the cut in two years. The other course, I am not playing this year as I do not feel the course fits my eye.

I am happy I have two weeks at home. Next week is another week off, followed by a tournament in Phoenix. My parents are coming in a week to watch me play again. Looking forward to some down time, working on my putting and wedges, my own bed, home cooked meals, my parents visiting, and the strength of schedule that is approaching.

The final thing I would like to say is I am happy to see that all four Canadians that were in the field made the cut! Way to represent and Go Canada!!

Adios Amigos!

March 3, 2008

Hello there,

Well, I was fortunate enough that my fine play of last year not only landed me a spot in the first major of the year, Kraft Nabisco, but it also landed me a spot in the HSBC Women's Champions Tournament. This tournament was held in Singapore. I was really looking forward to playing in Singapore as I have never been there. Who can resist the trip also when the tournament fronts the cost of travel and my hotel room. This is one of the rare tournaments where the only expense I have is paying my caddy. I was flown from Hawaii to Singapore in Business class and put up at the Ritz Carlton for the week. It was really tough on me. Even my meals were paid for. So basically I had nothing to worry about but finishing well in the tournament. It was a great feeling.

Flying from Hawaii to Singapore was long as when I finally landed in Singapore it was Tuesday - very early Tuesday morning. I needed to play a practice round on Tuesday as I was not in the Pro-Am on Wednesday. I had one shot to see the golf course. No time for jet-lag.

I was taken aback at the course and how long it was playing. The greens were undulated and large and I was hitting longer irons into the greens. I knew this would be an advantage to me.

I started out slow. You know how when you read those golf magazines it says what’s hot and what’s not. Well the weather in Singapore was hot and my putter was not.

I switched between two putters for the week. When I put "old faithful" back in the bag, she was happy to be back in there and made a handful of putts, which resulted in a round under par. I tied with Lorena for the low round of the day. That was the closest I came to actually competing against her as she ran away with the tournament.

A Top 25 finish is not bad and I am happy with it. Once I started out slow, I decided my goal for the week was to finish inside the Top 30. I was happy I reached my goal.

I had heard Singapore was known for its shopping. Well that is an understatement. There are malls on ever corner. Imagine if Tim Horton's was a mall, you could get a feeling of Singapore. Every mall has the same shops. It’s amazing they stay in business. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Sony, Bata, Burburry, Puma, Adidas, Nike and the list goes on and on.

Singapore was different from any other Asian city I had been too. English is one of their major languages. So communication was not hard at all. The food had some Chinese influence, but I found an Outback for back-up.

I am happy for the week to be over and to head back to North America for a much needed week off. The season is early and I am happy with my start, but ready to take a few days off, reflect and get ready for the next tournament.

On a side note, I received the Golden Horseshoe Athlete of the Year award. I am honoured to have received this award as it was the third time I was nominated. This award is given out to a resident of the Hamilton, Burlington area. My Dad was there to accept my award and give my speech. Talking is something my Dad is good at, so I am sure he did me proud up on stage.

Thanks for your support. Ill be back to give you more insight in a few weeks. Mexico City is the next tournament. Till then, hit them straight and not too often.

Alena

February 24, 2008

Fields Open a.k.a Hawaii part 2
Aloha,

Well, it is amazing to me that the first two tournaments are in the record books. No records recorded on my end, but they are in the books. It was a good start to the year. Playing on the weekend is never a bad thing.

This week I focused on getting back into my routine now that my parents are back in the land of the Bulldogs (would say Leafs, but the Leafs are about to turn me into a Coyotes fan).

My schedule would include practicing and going to the gym. It was nice to run and lift some weights. I also started my Titleist TPI again. I was not in the Pro-Am on Wednesday, so I was able to spend some time on the range and get my rhythm. I also spent time on the putting green to get the speed of the greens and went to the pitching area to hit little shots around the green.

I was feeling good going into the week. My first nine holes, I apparently lost the rhythm that I had found the day before. It was ugly, but a chip in for eagle helped me make the turn at one under. I finished at even par.

Day two - I again lost all rhythm, I hit the ball better, but the putter was not hot at all. I was giving myself chances for birdies, but tap in pars seemed to be the result. Another day at even par was good enough to make the cut and allow me to play on Saturday.

Day three - I was ready to make a move up the leaderboard. Had a good warm up and was giving myself opportunities for birdie, but pars seemed to roll in the cup more than birdies. It was disappointing as I really cannot wait to see the ball roll in the cup from outside 5 feet.

My finish was not where I would have wanted, but I am ready for next week. I was glad I got to play and make some money.

Off the course, I had housing this week with Zeke and Carol and their five kitties, Harley (the lone male), Bailey, Fanny, Binki, and Murphy. Bailey is the friendliest of all, she is a Maine Coon. They are social eaters and she has proven that. Whenever I eat breakfast, she gets up off her chair, gets up on the kitchen table, and stares at me. Good thing Carol cooked up some extra chicken. Everyday I made Bailey a breakfast plate of chicken.

News was also announced this week that I made the New Mexico State University Athletic Hall of Fame. I announced that on my own website a month or so ago, because the week I found out about NMSU Hall of Fame I was also inducted into my high school, St. Thomas Moore, Hall of Fame. I am very honoured to be inducted into both of the Halls of Fame. Looking forward to winning a tournament to put a picture holding a trophy in each Hall of Fame.

Alena

February 17, 2008

Aloha,

Well, the first of the season is here. It is marked with remembering how to pack. Making sure I have enough golf outfits, t-shirts, pants, dressy outfits, shoes, workout clothes, etc. for three straight weeks on the road. The start of the season also involves lots of hugs on the practice tee for the first few days, as you have not seen people in a few months. It is down to business though once Thursday arrives.

I flew to Oahu, Hawaii on Saturday to meet up with my parents. It was great to spend some time with them as I had not seen them since Christmas.

For the first few days, I made sure I practised in the morning so I had the afternoon to play in the water and on the beach. One afternoon we even ventured from the North Shore to Pearl Harbour. I had never been to the memorial and if you get a chance, there is a large amount of information given on the free tour. It was really mind-blowing to see that oil is still coming up from the USS Arizona and a little overwhelming that there are still bodies in the ship.

I really enjoy coming to Hawaii, but who doesn't. The sun and the beach beat the snow and the cold any day. The waves are so relaxing to watch, I try to boogie board, but do not venture out too far. The "locals" are amazing to watch boogie board, their skill level is way above mine. I also like coming to Hawaii because I have two wonderful people who house me during the second week. I am looking forward to spending some time with them, do laundry, have some home-cooked meals, and play with their five cats. You will hear more about them in my next blog.

When it came down to business, which is the whole reason I am here in Hawaii, I played an 18-hole practice round on Monday. I was up early as I wanted to be one of the first ones to play. When I got to the tee there was already a line up, but I was early enough that I was the second group out. My playing partners were Christina Kim (for 9 holes) and Sophie Gustafson. We made it round in 4 1/2 hours. Not bad for an LPGA practice round.

The next day I played nine holes. When I went to hit balls, Pat Hurst asked me if I was going to play and so we decided to play together. Meaghan Francella was on the tee waiting for an opening to play and we were just two, so the three of us played and had a birdie bet. I walked away the big winner for the day with three birdies.

I was not in the Pro-Am on Wednesday so I had a great practice session.
Thursday was here before I knew it. I felt anxious before the round and since I was playing in the afternoon I went out for a run and got my nervous tension out. I played steady but shot +2. It felt like the worst I could have done as my trusty little putter did not feel good in my hands. Friday I putted a little better, but had a few hiccups on my second nine and finished at even. Saturday started out pretty rocky, I could not find my rhythm, but settled in for the long haul. There was not much wind and knew I could take advantage of the scoreable conditions. My caddy asked me with 12 holes left, what was the goal for the last 4 3-hole games. I said I wanted to be one under on each. I was four under for the last 12, so technically I reached my goal.

Sunday will be my day of rest and will be the last day my family is in town. We will do some sightseeing and I am sure we will hit the beach. Need to make sure they enjoy the sun as the weather does not look too nice for Hamilton the next week or so.

Until next time,
Mahalo,
Alena

February 6, 2008

I know it has been a few weeks since I last wrote but in that time I traveled to Vegas twice. Neither time did I gamble, however I did think about going to the sports book to see what my odds were for a win this year! I went once to play in a hockey tournament. Yes, you read correctly - a hockey tournament. I am Canadian, the land of hockey in the winter and golf in the summer. I was also sharpening my hockey skills in case the Leafs got so desperate they called for open tryouts for new players!

I am sure a chunk of you are thinking it is stupid that I play hockey, but it is my outlet. Annika has cooking and her golf academy, I play hockey.

I went to Vegas for the third time in a month and played in a Pro-Am. I played with three very nice gentlemen and we even placed second in the event.

Prior to the Superbowl, played in the Phoenix area, I went to a Maroon 5 concert with Tara and two other close friends. They performed along with Mary J. Blige for the Pepsi Superbowl smash. The concert was on Thursday but aired on VH-1 on Saturday. I got to watch Maroon 5 twice in one week.

As for the golf aspect, I spent a few hours with Lynn and Pia from Vision 54. They watched me play and gave me positive feedback on how to be more mentally sound on the golf course. We really talked a lot about body language. I will try not to be a robot out on the course, but I will try to keep positive body language no matter what kind of shot I hit. I am sure many of you can recall a poor shot you hit followed by slamming your club into the ground but think, what did the club do? It did exactly what your brain and body told it to do. No need to damage your ego or the club, just smile, or even laugh and see what that can do to your golf game and attitude.

Also, since the season is here already I made the flight to Florida to see one of my coaches, Craig Harmon. He is normally at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y. However, it’s a bit cool and not exactly golf season in N.Y. so he is in Florida for a little sunshine. It was great to see Craig as he not only has words of wisdom, but will also tell me straight out what I need to work on.

Right now I need to continue to work on getting to my left side on the follow thru of my golf swing. This is not a new problem (usually new swing flaws do not accrue to most golfers, but the old ones always sneak back up on you). I believe this is one of my first lessons with Craig where we did not need to work on my back-swing. This is huge for me as I have had a problem crossing the line in the past. I was very happy to hear him tell me my back-swing looked good.

Craig and I also worked on my chipping, pitching and putting. I always learn a lot in the short-game area with Craig as the Harmon family has a huge reputation of being short-game gurus.

While in Florida, I played golf with Craig and his staff from Oak Hill. It was very enjoyable as Craig was able to observe me in action and afterwards the main thing we talked about was my equipment. I got a new set of irons from Ping in January. The clubs are exactly the same, but for some reason my divots were "toe" heavy so I will be headed back to Ping to get the lofts and lies checked one more time before I set sail to Hawaii.

My putter also seems to be off as well, Craig mentioned how my posture was not great because of that, so I am looking forward to the putter getting bent back to the correct position for me. I know, I know, sometimes its the Indian and not the arrow, but having the trained eye of Craig, I believe the arrow needs a little sharpening and then the Indian will be hitting the bulls-eye with the arrows.

Also, with all the traveling I do, the lies on the clubs get bent when getting put on and taken off the airplane. It affects all of us as I heard Cristie Kerr say she no longer putts with the putter she won the U.S. Women's Open with because when she pulled it out of her bag after a flight, the putters lie was different and no longer had that good feel or look to it.

Anyways, as professional golfers, we struggle with our golf swings just like any other golfer. I feel very fortunate that I have a wonderful teacher like Craig and mental coaches like Lynn and Pia at my disposal to make me a better person and golfer. Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me.

Till next time,

Alena

January 23, 2008

Greetings,

For all of you who don’t know me, my name is Alena Sharp and I was born and raised in Hamilton, ON. I now reside in Chandler, AZ so I can keep my golf swing in check all winter long.

This past week I traveled to South Africa for the Women's World Cup. I was the captain this year and I chose Lorie Kane to help me represent Canada.

My journey down there was long - I left the Phoenix airport at 12:30 am on Sunday and arrived in Atlanta 3 hours later. I had just over a two hour layover there before catching my two-hour flight to JFK airport. Then came the wait - seven hours in the JFK airport. I had something to eat, wrote some emails and eventually checked in for my flight to South Africa.

The flight from JFK to Johannesburg was about 16 hours long, with a stop to refuel in Dakar. So we finally touched down in Jo-berg on Monday evening and I learned we still had a two hour bus ride to Sun City. (For those of you trying to figure out how long I traveled.....close to 37 hours.)

For my first few practice rounds with Lorie we played nine holes each day to ease ourselves into the tournament. The weather was hot and the jet lag was a little bit of a factor.

The Pro-am was going to be our first time seeing the course fully in 18 holes, but when rain came in we only got nine holes in. No problem, we are professionals, but I was a little nervous going into the back nine on the first round (Friday) as I had not seen the back since Tuesday.

Lorie and I came out on fire in round one, better ball. I recorded six birdies and Lorie contributed with some great pars and a couple birdies herself. We were in the clubhouse at minus 8 and looking good.

Day two was alternate shot; we knew this day was going to be tough. We were cruising along quiet nicely when a hiccup hit the card and all the wind was knocked out of our sails. Let’s just say the rough was rough, one-over in alternate shot was not bad, but felt like we could have done a few shots better.

Day three, our final day was here before we knew it. We were four shots out and it was better ball again. I birdied the first two holes while Lorie was hitting it close also with chances on three and five for birdie. I had a short eagle putt on five, but a tap in birdie was alright. Coming into the leader-board on six we were only two shots from the lead. Then seven and eight brought a turn for the worse, we fell back and could not recover. Lorie made some birdies on the back and I finished with a birdie, but by then it was too late. Team Canada finished tied for six.

While we were in South Africa the tournament set up a Safari, which was really neat. We got to see three of the big five. We saw the Elephant, Rhino, and Lion but missed the Water Buffalo and the Leopard. I was disappointed because we did not see a giraffe either. We did see a lot of other wildlife though and got many pictures. I kept flashing back to The Lion King, because I saw Nala, Pumba, Simba, the hyenas, and Rafiki.

Also, Tara (my caddy) and I stayed an extra day and went on an Elephant back safari. We did not see as much wildlife, but we saw and interacted with a baby elephant...Dumbo... not really, but it was so cute.

When the final round was done Team USA, Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst asked Tara and I if we wanted to go parasailing with them. So we headed down to the lake, which was just off of the golf course and went parasailing. I went tandem with Juli and it was an awesome experience! I went to a crocodile sanctuary as well and learned about the crocodiles. I also saw meerkats, which reminded me of Meerkat Manner, and of course the baboons and wild monkeys that lined the golf course were fun to watch while I played.

All and all, the long travel was well worth the experience. Thanks for reading about my adventure and until next time, keep your eyes above the horizon, so you don't miss a thing...

Alena