Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A Sunday Drive: Day Four

Saturday night brought howling winds and rain into the Bay Area.

Before we left Texas, the forecast was for rain every day except Sunday.

When we awoke on Sunday morning, the rain was still pouring. We had prepared for the possibility of rain by all packing our rain coats...but it still didn't look like it would be much fun to walk around in. Thankfully, we had scheduled a day trip down the coast for Sunday.

The car picked us up at around 10 AM. We headed south toward Monterrey. About an hour later, we had our first peek at the Pacific Ocean. I had to go down to the beach to see if the water was really as cold as I had heard. It is!

This picture is not blurry...it was just raining that hard.
I don't think I dried out completely for the rest of the day.

We made at stop at the Santa Cruz boardwalk...but it was mostly closed due to the inclemate weather. We did stop by and pay Gina the Gypsy a visit though.
She told me that I "have the luck and the love of a millionaire". I could have told you that already. I mean have you seen him. Come on now, that is some serious eye candy!
Okay, back to San Francisco...or actually, to Monterrey. This was the view from Monterrey's Fisherman's Wharf. The rain had subsided, so we took a quick stroll down the wharf. Besides the sailboats, we also saw a sea lion playing in the marina. Cool!

After another quick stop at Cannery Row, we headed on down to Carmel by the Sea. I didn't get any pictures there, but the other girls may have. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at The Hog's Breath Inn before heading out for a scenic 17 mile drive.
I found it a little odd when we had to pay almost $10 to enter a gate for the 17 mile drive.
As we drove past huge homes and small mansions, it became evident that I was out of my element. But when the car pulled in front of a club house named "The Lodge at Pebble Beach", I was beside myself. The Girls couldn't believe how excited I was to be at "THE" Pebble Beach...but ya'll, I have literally watched hours and hours of golf tournaments being played at Pebble Beach.
Isn't it beautiful?
Needless to say, I spent a lot of time (and money) in the gift shop. The guys in the Pro Shop were nice enough to give us each a scorecard. I think Derrick may have his bronzed! He was almost as excited as I was.
On another of their golf courses we saw these deer. They don't look like Arkansas deer.

It took us a few hours to make our way back into the city. Once there, we had a few more souvenirs to pick up at Fisherman's Wharf. We made a quick stop at Ghiridelli, Chocolate Heaven, a place that had shells and another that had t'shirts. After all that shopping, I had to ask the driver to take me someplace that I could pick up another suitcase because there was no way I could get Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Hard Rock Cafe, Chinatown and Pebble Beach in my already filled bag. It was worth the cost of an extra bag to be sure that everything made it home in one piece. But walking through the airport was an adventure all it's own.
We made it back to the flat, packed and then turned in for the night. The next morning found us straightening up the place and getting our carry on bags situated for the flight.
Our flight was delayed about an hour due to the weather, but all in all it was a good trip.
I hope you have enjoyed my version of Grandmas Gone Wild: Part Two. I am sure that Robin and Stacy have more to add. It is fun reading their posts and being reminded of something I had totally forgotten!
Grandmas Gone Wild: Part Three has yet to be decided. But I will keep you updated.

3 comments:

Robin said...

can't wait for part 3...yippee!

Stacy said...

Ah, you left out the part about "taking" the golf flag - where is that picture ;)

Anonymous said...

I'm with the other girls about Pebble Beach. Watching golf is about as much fun as watching grass grow. Sorry Jim, but I just don't see the excitment in watching golf. Other than that it looks like another fun filled day despite the rain.

What's this about "taking" the golf flag? Are we going to have to come up with bail money for you? HA HA

Love ya and see you soon,
Rita