On September 12, 2016, I received an email about participating in the Worldwide WordPress 5k, which the Automatticians, the company that offers a range of products and services for WordPress users. The email stated that joining this #WWWP5K meant someone could run, walk, hop, etc., until they reached the miles or steps needed to say that they had been a part of the #WWWP5K between Monday, September 19th and Sunday, September 25th. This was the best way for the thousands of WordPress Automatticians  to reach as many people as possible, have them blog about their 5k experience around the world, and by doing so those who participated in the #WWWP5K were also making a donation to Soles4Souls, a charity dedicated to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing.

My husband and I had made plans many months ago to go to Atlanta as a mini-get away for our 29th Wedding Anniversary to watch the Top 30 PGA Golf Pros play in the Final Round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs/Tour Championship from September 20th-23rd. We knew that we would be doing a great deal of walking along and around the East Lake Golf Club, where the Tour Championship was held as we followed our favorite golf pros and also walked the beautiful Club Course; so, we researched and discovered that the total yardage for the entire course was over 7300 yards. In 2 days- Media Day and the First Round of the FedEx Cup Playoff/Tour Championship, my husband and I walked approximately 2 1/2 #WWWP5Ks, while walking around East Lake Golf Club’s Course.

I am including some pictures of the course so that anyone reading this blog, can get an idea of the beautiful course, bright greens, large shade trees, hilly plateaus, sand-traps, narrow tee offs, the lake itself, and the difficult 18-hole course created/designed by the famous golfer Bobby Jones over 100 years ago. We walked on concrete paths and grassy areas along the 18-hole course, and enjoyed our time immensely watching our favorite PGA Pros up close as they practiced and played out their First Round so close to us that we could reach out and touch them.

Enjoy the photos of the Golf Course, and also be sure to look closely at the pictures of my swollen ankle and swollen finger joints and the inflammation that shows on my body, in general, caused by the spinal osteoarthritis that I live with on a daily basis. Arthritis did not win this time because I was determined to enjoy the game of golf that I love so much.

I am not placing captions under my photos below. If you are a golf fanatic like me, you will recognize the Top 30 PGA Pros who made it to the FedEx Cup finale. If you would like me to answer any questions about our trip or the photos, please leave your email address and comment either below this blog or in the Contact section on my blog Home page.

I hope many others participated in the WordPress Worldwide 5K blog in some enjoyable way, like my husband and I did last week. The purpose was to get people moving, blogging about how you took part in the #WWWP5K, and to raise awareness for the wonderful charity, Soles4Souls. I am glad to have had the chance to be a part of the 2016 #WWWP5K!!

By the way, the overall winner of both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup and over $10 million was, Rory McIlroy!!

Also, as a side note– the weirdest experience for me at beginning of each day and the end of our days spent walking around East Lake Golf Club had to be using lyft and uber cars to drive us back and forth between our downtown hotel and East Lake. My husband and I live 30 minutes from a university city, but our hometown has a population of about 1000 people. I guess you could say we live in rural Mississippi. But we every person in our family has a car; so, that means there a 4 automobiles in my driveway at times. We don’t have a stoplight in our hometown; thus, you drive, walk, or ride your bike around the inner area of our small town. I digress

My cell already had an uber app, but according to the East Lake drop of point directions during the TOUR Championship, only lyft cars could drop ticket holders off near the front 9, which used to be the back 9. NOT!! On, media day, I downloaded the lyft app onto my phone, ordered a lyft car with PayPal, and the very talkative, kind driver arrived at out hotel in a few minutes. When we left East Lake that afternoon, tired and with a good deal of “Brain fog” on my part, the guides told us that an uber car could pick us up outside the main gate. So, I ordered an uber driver, who took 15 minutes in downtown Atlanta traffic to get to our pick up point, which was 3 miles from where the uber map showed the car to be. The uber driver was also a nice guy and got us back to our hotel as quickly and safely as he possibly could, but I had two problems with uber. First, our morning lyft car cost $3.36 vs our afternoon uber car (it was about 4 pm) which cost $16.50. That is a huge price gap. Also, somehow uber listed me as a driver, and I am still getting emails from uber telling me that I haven’t made any money yet b/c I haven’t picked anyone up yet. I don’t even have the uber driver app on my cell. If anyone can explain this craziness to me, please comment in the area below. I love Atlanta, but we usually take a town car around downtown or a limo (for long distances in ATL). I will continue to visit Atlanta on special occasions. I like being able to drive my own SUV in my small hometown or the larger towns 30 minutes to 1 hour from my home.

The lyft vs uber aspect of the #WWWP5K is non-important to the fantastic way that I was able to get two 5ks in during my time at the East Lake Golf Club, while watching the greatest pro-golfers in the world. This was just an after thought. I can actually walk to my Country Club’s Golf Course in small town Mississippi. Its about a 5k walk . . . one way!