Seven Days in Utopia – More Noteworthy Quotes

In my previous post about Seven Days in Utopia, I  briefly shared some noteworthy quotes from the book. The film surprised me by how well the movie depicted the book. It is appropriate for all audiences and had a solid quality message about life, not just golf.

Seven Days at the Links in UtopiaThe stage is set as it opens with a quote from Isaiah, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21

Here are some other noteworthy quotes, but take heed, they may require a spoiler alert for the progression of the movie, but I’m not giving away too much and certainly not the ending!

You don’t choose the game, it chooses you.

Day 1 Driving Range
The first step in finding your game is getting some conviction. If you don’t have conviction your confidence can be corroded.

Day 2 Fly Fishing
Rhythm, balance, and patience is what you need.
You must have a calm mindset – and focus on feel rather than outcome. To stay in balance you have to control emotion.

Day 3 Fairway
Don’t be late in life. Time is too precious to waste.
Paint the shot with the eyes first so our bodies can produce it accurately.

Day 4 Washer Throwing Game
Have respect for tradition and passion for the truth.

Day 5 Flying an Airplane
You can’t play in a tournament unless you’re ready for the unexpected.
When a firefly knows it is trapped it won’t light. Freedom is a powerful force.

Day 6 Play Golf
See it, feel it, trust it. (SFT)
You can’t spend your life trying to validate yourself on the golf course.

Day 7 Cemetery
What will your epitaph say? What do you want people to say about you when you are gone?
See God’s face. Feel His presence. Trust His love.
Gifts aren’t meant to be paid for, they are meant to be passed along.

I’ll leave you with a thoughtful prayer that Johnny (Robert Duvall) prayed before a family meal in the movie. My husband and I have used it recently ourselves.

For:
…Food in a world where many walk in hunger,

…Faith in a world where many walk in fear,
…Friends in a world where many walk alone,
We give you thanks, Oh Lord.
Amen.

Plugged In did a nice job on their review of this movie.  Great book. Great movie.  Read the  book or rent the movie my friends; it surely will provoke some contemplation on life lessons.  – Madge

Friendship for Grown-ups Review

In her book, Friendship for Grownups, author Lisa Whelchel honestly shares about the facade she wore for decades in her girlfriend relationships. Oh, she had lots of ‘friends’ but no deep friendships she truly trusted. Ironically she starred in a hit sitcom about friendships when she was merely a teenager (The Facts of Life). Adapting herself to an independent life while juggling the busyness of motherhood and a writing career allowed her to become somewhat transparent with others but never vulnerable or willing to develop intimate relationships.

She unfolds her journey to deeper adult friendships as well as lessons she learned along the way through personal experiences illustrated in her writing and the book:

  • Addresses handling conflict and finding ‘safe’ friends
  • Includes great tips for developing safe friendships.
  • Provides insightful discussion questions for groups
  • Provides exercises to personally apply lessons and develop closer friendships
  • Is appropriate for individuals, group studies or one-on-one studies

Lisa also gives pages of insightful conversation prompts that can be used to cultivate closer friendships.

I’ve gone through this book with a group of women and am currently discussing it with a longtime acquaintance who has now become a trustworthy close friend due in part to this book. It is an easy read and it could be on your list for a light-hearted, yet risk-taking, approach to growing greater depth in your friendships.  I’m glad to be on a new journey in friendships even though it takes more courage than I’d imagined.

“Friendship is about risk. Love is about risk. If we can control it and manage it and manufacture it, then it’s something else. But if it’s really love, really friendship, it is a little scary around the edges”. – Lisa Whelchel, Friendship for Grown-Ups (p. 142)

 

The Best Dog Park

When we go out of town we look for nearby dog parks where Tahoe can freely run and enjoy some playtime. As we rolled in to the parking lot of Nassau Humane Society Dog Park in Amelia Island, we had no idea that Tahoe would enjoy the best dog park we have ever visited.

It took less than a minute for Tahoe to make his way to the pool.  Such a happy dog. “Why don’t you come in, mom?”

“Okay, while I’d rather play with mom and dad, I’ll cautiously check out the the other dogs!”

There are nice benches and tables under grand oak trees for human parents.

Tahoe prefers to play with mom and dad over other dogs with few exceptions! He sure loved to swim in between fetching his Kong across the large grassy fenced-in field.

A moment for a happy family photo opportunity. We came to the park every morning after breakfast.

Tahoe habitually dropped his Kong in to the deep end and waited for Brent to fish it out with a net. After Brent was forced to wade waist high to retrieve Tahoe’s Kong we went to Petco and bought a floating Kong to use for the remainder of our trip! See Tahoe in the background just waiting to run for the Kong again!

Tahoe wasn’t a fan of doggie diving and enjoyed the floating orange Kong.

At 60 lbs, Tahoe qualifies as a ‘Big’ dog! There was a separate agility training area fully equipped with tunnels and jumps!

When you are on your way out, stop for a quick bath in one of four bathing areas. Complimentary shampoo, conditioner and towels are available in case you forget your own.

This black lab named Goose was our favorite doggie friend. He entertained us by diving for toys and he and Brent were instantly best buds. Ashly, we are still his godparents, right?

Say goodbye..until next time.

A ‘Fun’ Dog Friendly Destination

As spring ushers in beautiful weather it also inspires plans for family vacations and quick getaways to the beach. Last fall we took our first trip to Amelia Island. Wow! How had we missed this paradise?  We are blessed with the ability to take Tahoe everywhere we go whether it is a dog friendly place or not. He can stay at hotels with us because he is a certified canine assistant. But, if we needed a dog friendly destination Amelia Island would be the first place we would pick. It is the most dog friendly environment we have ever visited, additionally, the residents are friendly and community oriented and seem to treasure travelers that come to their area.

We stayed at the wonderful dog friendly Residence Inn (highly recommend it!) a block off the beach, and on the Egans Creek Greenway,  but there are many home rentals that are directly on the beach and high-rise hotels a few miles south in the Plantation area.The outside Lanai and putting green.

We had a nice kitchenette and a two bedroom ADA wheelchair accessible suite with a roll in shower.  They were out of the one bedroom accessible rooms and opted to give us this one! We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast buffet and afternoon snacks and Brent also used their gas grill on multiple occasions to prepare our lunch or dinner.

Brent and Tahoe relax by the pool.

The Greenway trailhead in the hotel parking lot!

If you head on down to the Fernandina marina, you can’t miss Brett’s Waterway Cafe. We ate there two times, and while you pay for the view, the food is excellent and we were surprised by their response to Tahoe. We had not even gotten settled at our table when they brought a big bowl of cold water and set it on the ground by Tahoe. As we were reading the menu and enjoying our water and the sunset view they brought two dog biscuits on a plate for Tahoe! Wow! He was getting better service than we were! It was so much fun.Tahoe sure looks excited to have yummy biscuits!


Well, he looks like he might just indulge without warning! He didn’t actually have the treats until we had finished our meals. We can be so cruel.Fernandina Beach is such a quaint town.

We took the opportunity to go on a cruise to Cumberland Island. While we didn’t disembark, it was a beautiful ride with views of wild horses and all kinds of birds and sea creatures.  We will try the sunset cruise on our next trip there.

Pajama Dave and Ellyn, the best tour guides, had no problem accomodating me and Tahoe.

If you take your dog, don’t miss the wonderful Nassau Humane Society dog park that is a couple miles inland by the airport! I’ll post about our experiences there in the future. It is so amazing that it deserves a dedicated article.

It seems like nearly every hotel welcomes dogs and the local business owners love them.  We went to Redbones Bakery and browsed the doggie fresh baked goods.

Of course we bought some yummy cookies to share with our neighbor pups when we got home.

Don’t forget to stop for fresh seafood at Lulu’s.

For more fun Brent added a segway tour! It was his first ride on one.

Even if you don’t have the need to take your dog with you on your trip, you will enjoy the community atmosphere in Amelia Island. It is a wondrous location with plenty of activities along with reasonable prices and friendly residents.

What destinations do you most enjoy? Where are you headed this year? Share your pet friendly experiences, please!