Page 4 - Garry's Golf
After a hiatus of several years, it was the Stephansons' turn to host the annual Poker Club golf get-together in June 2016 and 2017. Judy, who very efficiently handled all the arrangements for us, decided to again book the beautiful Double Tree by Hilton (was the Château Cartier) hotel in Gatineau, PQ, which we had picked in 2009 as everyone had agreed it was very good.
The hotel was extensively renovated after purchase by Hilton. An added advantage to choosing this hotel was the fact it was possible to book golf for us at the adjacent Chateau Cartier Golf Club, something we couldn't do in 2009 as they had already booked a large tournament! As can be seen above, its a beautiful hotel and golf course on the Ottawa River! Below is a view from our suite:
The schedule was as follows:
Arrive Wednesday and gather in our host suite for snacks and drinks, then depart for dinner at the nearby Ambrosia Restaurant. As Judy said, "Italian fare, of course. I chose it based on the assumption that guests would be pretty hungry after a long day on the road. It was recommended for in house fresh pasta dishes (gluten free pasta available). There is a varied menu as well as daily "blackboard" specials. It looks a little time worn, but we are going more for the food than the ambiance."
Here are some some photos from our pre-dinner gathering:
And, some photos from the 'tasty' Ambrosia Restaurant:
Garry looks like he's starving ... while Marsh sneaks back to the table.
Decisions, decisions, decisions, ...
Is this a horror movie???
Nope, just some of the works of art on the restaurant walls!
Below is a photo of the menu. I had the first listed dish, the Gnocchi, which was delicious!
I was supposed to show you the untouched presentation, but ... as can be seen ... I was too hungry.
On Thursday evening, we visited the L'Aubergiste restaurant that Judy described as, "Nicely appointed dark wood bar & dining area. Small plates plus standard pub menu." I had Fish & Chips - enough supplied to feed a whole family. Luckily, Al and Judy helped me polish off this delicious albeit mammoth meal!
Friday evening was the piece de resistance, the L'Oree du Bois Restaurant in Chelsea. Gourmet food upstairs in our own separate room! It was a very special occasion as we celebrated Joyce and Al's 80th birthdays!!!
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos at either of these two restaurants, but I do have one which is an artistic highlight ... just click here. (Yeah, I know ...) Sooo, I e-mailed the group to see if anyone did take photos and Joyce and Ann sent me some they took at L'Oree du Bois as follows:
And Ann's when the Hay's 80th birthdays were being celebrated!
Just prior to the booze bonanza, their gift of a humongous bottle of Crown Royal, we all sang a song from an old song sheet JanOz had saved from an earlier Hays' birthday bash. It was a Beatles song modified to suit our aged friend's 80's event, "When I'm 64 ..."
Concerning Golf, we were very fortunate weather wise! It had been very wet and stormy but for the days we golfed, Thursday and especially Friday, the weather was OK. I just wish MY games were the same! Thursday on the Chateau Cartier GC, I did reasonably well (for me) as it was my first game this year and the course was pretty much wide open. Friday was a real disaster at Le Sorcier as there were numerous holes involving shooting over trees, water and other wandering players searching for their balls (golf that is)!!! I lost at least half a dozen balls. A tough course for everybody, but for me much can be attributed to the fact I was worn out - I still have to get back my resilience even though my replaced knee is OK. Unfortunately the Osteoarthritis in my lower back is now the chief pain producer!
Keith and Fran stayed at our place for Saturday and Sunday, departing
for Mississauga on Monday. The four of us plus other friends Ed and
Marian Fitzpatrick, visited Darlene Hepworth on Sunday at her
senior's residence and enjoyed catching up on all our happenings.
after the visit the six of us returned to our house for a scrumptious
dinner of planked barbecued salmon. Here is a photo of Fran, Edward,
Keith, and Marian :
Poker Club Golf June
2017 Gatineau PQ
Our repeat get-together as arranged by Judy (as usual) with minor assistance from me (Garry) started out on a high note! The rain had abated and we were looking forward to a wonderful time golfing and, of course, eating . But, medical problems abounded! For me, after the first excellent, but albeit, large dinner on the Wednesday evening, I developed the worst case of Acid Reflux I've ever had, in the early hours of Thursday. This was exaggerated by the heart specialist having switched my blood pressure prescription from Metoprolol to Viacoram a few days before as Metoprolol really had hit me with a ton of of terrible side effects!!! The change seemed to have created a conflict between the old and the new drugs! All this of course added to my continuing painful back Osteoarthritis. I was up all night and finally called it quits around 9 AM and crawled home where I retreated to the bedroom for the next few days. We also had others whose problems didn't permit golf so the final foursomes were actually reduced to a solitary men's and women's outing. Regardless, they had a great time evidently, especially at the beautiful Loch Marsh course! I felt a bit better on the Saturday, so as usual the MacLeods stayed with us for a couple of days
I've been advised that a back operation for my Osteo is a very chancy operation. I can vouch for the fact that relief can be temporary as I know several golfers at my Hylands military club who had the operation only to have the arthritis return a year later. Sooo, it was with regrets that I canceled my club membership after 25 years. Should I feel up to it, the club advised me I could always return even for a game or two no problem. Of course as all the Poker club members know, I feel that golf is like hitting yourself over the head with a hammer! It feels so good when you stop!
Regardless, I'm sure our yearly spring get-togethers will continue even though the majority of us are past our "Best Before" dates!
PS: My new blood pressure prescription is working with few side effects in comparison to its predecessor! I guess it just took time for me to get accustomed to it!
