Back on the Left Coast after visits to Ashland, Louisville, and NOLA. Two+ weeks of travel seasoned liberally with illness, and I’m still not feeling right. Some kind of respiratory infection has grabbed me and won’t let go. Two solid weeks of fatigue, coughing, nasal drip and general cold symptoms. Just not fun.

The NOLA trip was great in terms of spending time with my buddy Jon, but we failed to win our golf tournament for the first time in a couple of years. Biggest problem – I crashed toward the end of our first day. After about 24 holes in the heat (it was 90-ish all day, with that high pressure heat feeling that just magnifies the sun), I couldn’t focus enough to hit the ball properly and we lost the last three holes to a lesser team. I played a lot better the second day (it wasn’t as hot, and we only played 18 holes), but we had dug too large a hole for ourselves on day one. We missed winning it all (in our flight) by 1.5 points, so the three-peat was within our grasp but my body just gave out. That’s kind of my story of the year so far – the body is wearing out. On a better note, here’s a picture of the beautiful Tchefuncta golf course. The morning shadows are long.

Southwest flights were absolutely full again, every seat, every flight. Not optimal for someone who (a) is large, and (b) is fighting respiratory problems. But I’m not willing to drive cross-country all the time, so…welcome to the cattle car. On the ground, the San Diego airport is a disaster zone (infinite construction), but the new NOLA airport is one of the best I’ve seen. Roomy, well-designed, great food venues, comfortable seating – it’s a good one.

Now that I’m back in CA, it’s time to find a way to get healthy. It shouldn’t be that complicated – eat properly, sleep more, drink less (or not at all), take some walks. I plan to have a quiet, restful week before trundling off to Hawaii for yet another week of golf and outdoor activity. The timing isn’t great, but reservations have been made so off we go.