Playing Catch Up: An Epic Disc Golf Tour

With graduation approaching, we asked Will what he wanted out of the experience. He wasn't particularly interested in a party, so we opted for a semi-fancy dinner out with our family of four plus all four grandparents. There wasn't anything significant he wanted as a gift, so we offered - in lieu of a gift (and because we saved a little money by not throwing a party) - some kind of graduation trip instead. We let him think about it for a while, and eventually he decided he wanted the disc golf trip of his dreams. 

In the end we had to pare down his dream disc golf trip a little (if given complete freedom with regard to time and money, I think he would have created an itinerary that included at least one course in all 48 contiguous states...and we didn't have that kind of time or money), but the trip he ended up with was still pretty incredible.

Over the span of 10 days, we hit Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska, playing 15 different courses, two of which were "bucket list" courses and one of which I'd describe as the nicest course I've ever seen in real life. Along the way and as we passed through the Midwest states, we visited my sister and her family, my parents, Tom's parents, and Tom's sister, many of whom joined us to play or walk various courses. 

In the middle of the trip, we paused in Iowa City for freshman orientation. Tom and I enjoyed returning to our old stomping grounds, and by the end of our visit, I think Will was looking forward to returning to our old stomping grounds without us and Tom's big dad energy. 😉

In no particular order, some of the highlights:

The BEAUTIFUL driving range (first course I've ever seen
with a driving range) at the nicest course we've ever played.

Eagle's Crossing

The course was incredible.

In addition to beautiful scenery and perfectly manicured holes,
the course has life-like animal sculptures scattered throughout.

My favorite.

My least favorite. I knew this giant (probably 12-15 feet long and
a foot in diameter) snake was fake and still couldn't go anywhere near it.

On every course I took a picture of Will...
literally and figuratively walking away from me.

A glimpse into the physicality of the
nicer, harder, more complex courses.

Home sweet home during my junior and senior years of college.

Playing what is now his "home" course in Iowa City.

I don't that I've ever taken a hotter, sweatier, dirtier trip in my life, but we had an incredible time together crossing the country and playing this sport that Tom and Will love so much.