The Places We Go…

 I am home once again and it has been so nice to have some time off after being away from the girls for two weeks. Unfortunately, I did not have a great week on the course at the LPGA’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, but life goes on and I continue to be incredibly motivated to play better golf and to achieve my goal.

This week I will start a monthly series on my blog to highlight a city that I really enjoyed visiting during my journey. I love travelling and I am lucky to have the opportunity to visit cities throughout the world… Golf has taken me to places I never even dreamed of and I love exploring and getting to know these great cities. 

The last event I played was in Rogers, Arkansas. When I told people I was playing in Arkansas, I heard the same response over and over… “Really? Oh!” implying that Arkansas isn’t a wonderful spot.  Well, they could not be more wrong.  I loved travelling to Arkansas and Rogers is located right next to Bentonville, the home of Walmart and a great city in its own right. The reasons why I love Arkansas are below and, if you ever have a chance to go, you should be excited about visiting as well:

 1.  The People: Let’s start with the people, because they are the heart of the place and could not be any nicer.  From the staff and volunteers at the golf course to all my pro-am partners, and especially my hosts, Michael and Gloria Morse, who where simply incredible (a lot of times LPGA players stay in private homes with a family instead of at hotels). Gloria cooked me delicious Mexican food all week and treated me like a queen. People in Arkansas seem always go out of their way to help you.

2.  Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art:  This place is extraordinary.  The Museum founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.  The museum opened in 2011 offers free admission and is incredibly beautiful with gorgeous architecture, stunning grounds, and trails. It exposes the community to incredible art and also provides a place to spend quality time with family while enjoying the beautiful outdoors. Right in front of the Museum the Walton family built a Children’s Museum and an outdoor area for families to come and enjoy outdoor concerts on the weekend.  It is so cool. To learn a little more about the Museum go to its website: http://crystalbridges.org

3.  Downtown Bentonville:  One night, a friend of mine, Chris Shephard, who lives in Bentonville with his family, took me out to dinner downtown. Chris, his wife Shauna, and their three kids Sabrina, Teagan and Logan watched me play during the week and then showed me around downtown Bentonville. We went to a lovely fish restaurant called Fresh Market, which brings fresh fish in daily. It was delicious and after that we went to the famous Bentonville Square to get ice cream. The ice cream store is located inside the Walmart Museum and right next to it is the site of the first Walton Store, where Walmart started. Ice cream for five people cost me $8. I could not believe it!  There is a hotel called 21 C Museum Hotel, also owned by the Walton family, which brings incredible art pieces and exhibitions into the hotel. SO AWESOME!  To find a little more about downtown Bentonville you can go to: http://www.downtownbentonville.org.

I loved my time in NW Arkansas, and thank the Morse and Shepard families for being such great hosts. I can’t wait to go back and I hope that if you have the chance to go, you enjoy it as much as I did.