Matt's 40th Birthday Adventure

July 21, 2017

Matt's 40th Birthday Adventure - Days 2 & 3

We woke up early again on Monday and drove about half an hour outside of town to the whole reason we went to Nebraska in the first place. The Prairie Club! Our home away from home for two days and one night. The Prairie Club is a golf resort. There's a lodge, some cabins, two golf courses that are like two different worlds. We both loved it!

I dropped Matt off and went back into Valentine to grab some breakfast and check out of our hotel. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Sunday night. It was just off Main Street so I walked down and checked out some shops. There was a Prairie bookstore, a coffee shop, some little clothing boutiques, and a discount western wear store. Nothing I needed and I was itching to get to the lodge.

When I got to the lodge, they took our luggage, stored it, and valeted our car. I grabbed some flavored water and went to the patio and read. It was a bit chilly and the sun was shining. They got us into our room at 11am (instead of 3pm) which was so nice! After I checked it out, I went back to the patio to read some more. The rooms were very nice. The bed had a super soft pillow top, which for us both was a little too much like mama bear's bed. Great just not our preference. The shower was amazing! It was very much designed with men in mind but even though it was dark woods it was still pretty.

Matt came in from his first round and we ate lunch at the bar and grill. We charged everything to our room. So fancy! Then we went out for the next round. He played The Dunes Course. It was built into the Sand Hills. It was gorgeous!

Check out this bunker! This is natural sand. There were so many beautiful bunkers like this.

I have no idea what kind of plant this is, but it was everywhere on The Dunes.

I would go here every single year just to see this smile.

He was so in his element!

I loved being out there and helping.

This is the cute little snack shop after the 9th hole. They sold sandwiches, beverages, etc. They also had a bathroom. Important for us girls.

The sky never disappointed on our whole trip.

That night we had fancy dinner. I got dressed up and we ate in the restaurant. I had the best salmon! I'll be looking that up and recreating at home. After dinner we grabbed a drink and sat on the patio watching the sun set. Then we crashed because we had another early day on Tuesday.

Day 2 was The Pine course. It was also hurricane force winds day. 💨

We were paired up with the nicest couple. Both in their 70s, both golfers. They were from Naples, Fl and were traveling/golfing across the US with the plan to end up in Seattle on July 15. They were going to stay there until September. Isn't that fun?

A completely different experience and not just because of the winds. Pine trees and bluffs.

This is the cute little snack shack on The Pines course. Matt bought a turkey sandwich here just because he wanted me to try it. It was a basic sandwich but had garlic aoli. Another thing I need to recreate at home.

Matt was scheduled to play The Pines again but the winds were so severe he knew it wouldn't be any fun. So we went to the Horse course. Remember the couple we played with? Well, the wife Susan was so encouraging to me when I told her I would like to take up golf. Her husband was as well and encouraged me to do what his wife had done and play 9 hole courses. So, I'm going to take up golf. I asked for lessons for my birthday. I was feeling pretty confident in my ability to at least try golf and was less intimidated to golf with Matt (he's GOOD).

The Horse course has 10 holes with only a fairway and a green. You drop your ball anywhere on the fairway and go from there. Matt bought a putter at a garage sale for me just for this course.