September is
almost over. It just got here and in 12 days it will be gone. September
is cool. Lots of awesome things have happened in September for me. I was
born in September, and so were lots of other people I love. I went on a
wonderful vacation in September more than one September. September is
such a nice month when it comes to the weather and overall I’d say
September is lovely.
I just got back
from California after going on a marvelous vacation with my domestic
partner. He will be hitting a milestone on his birthday in November, and
we took this trip as an early celebration of that. He is a golfing fool
so we went to the world famous Pebble Beach so he could play Spyglass, Spanish Bay and Pebble Beach. Although it must not be
that famous for us twenty-something chick non-golfers because I never
heard of it before I met J. Let me tell you, it was beautiful. And my J
was like a kid in a candy shop the whole time, bless his happy heart. I
love seeing him smile and his beautiful kind eyes sparkle. I don’t know
if I’ve ever told you masses this or not but the sun shines and sets out
of his perfectly round ass. I’m getting off track here.
The vacation was
stupendous. The first three days were spent in San Francisco. San
Francisco is a neat city. It’s the City by the Bay and on hills that
make your butthole clench up when you drive down them. The buildings are
pretty and all right next to each other. Our hotel guy said that San
Fran is 14 square miles, so nothing is ever more than seven miles away.
We walked and biked every single mile. Our first day we walked about
eight miles through the city, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Fort Mason, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Union Street, here and there
and then we took a ferry tour around the bay and Alcatraz. After a long day of being walking tourists, we ended up at our cute little Hotel del Sol. We cleaned up for
dinner and ate at Rose’s Café, which was recommended by the guy in the
lobby at our hotel. The food was good but expensive and I think that
night I would have preferred a big burrito or a greasy delicious
hamburger. It was still very romantic with the twinkling lights sitting
on the patio. After dinner, we were feeling unsatisfied so we went to
have a few drinks at the Horseshoe Tavern. We watched the Giants play
the Diamonbacks and sadly the DB’s got their asses handed to them in an
almost perfectly pitched game. The bartender was so nice though and made
J specially-made hot totties because he wasn’t feeling all that
wonderful and was suffering from a lost voice all day. When we felt like
we were tipsy enough we walked back to the hotel and hit the sack.
The next day, we
decided that we’d practice for The Amazing Race and rented bikes from
Blazing Saddles. We rode the bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge to
Sausalito, (I almost got hit by a tour bus) and there were about 52
billion people there, so decided to ride the bikes all the way to
Tiburon. The ride to Tiburon was beautiful (and scary at times, we rode
next to two major freeways and I fell off once causing a concerned
onlooker to run up and say “ARE YOU OKAY??? CAN YOU STAND??!” while I
lay in the grass laughing at my clumsy ass self. Note to you assholes
that walked RIGHT in front of my goddamn bike, watch where you’re
fucking going) but I was glad to take a breather during a long lunch at
Waypoint Pizza. I have never had a better tasting Diet Coke right out of
the can before in my whole entire life. I was also thankful for the
ferry that took us back to San Fran. By the time we rode the bikes back
to Blazing Saddles from the pier we had gone over 18 miles and every
teeny bump felt like someone was taking a sledgehammer to my pelvic
bones. “They’re all nice and comfortable” says the Blazing Saddles guy.
“Take the deluxe, it is great” he says.
It was quite an adventure and I enjoyed 99.8% of it. We walked back to the
hotel, where we cleaned up then headed out to have dinner at
Tacolicious. The tacos were
quite licious, and when we were done eating we were totally spent so
headed back to the hotel to get some much needed shut eye.
By our third day in
San Francisco, we were pretty tired from walking and biking everywhere,
so we decided to take advantage of their awesome public transportation
system. We took the electric bus to Chinatown, where there were 8
million Asians on the streets buying and selling things. We made our way
to Union Square to do some shopping. My man received his first birthday present
early; sucker even picked them out himself! I got him some new golf sunglasses and now his golf bag is 100% complete and loved. We spent a few hours in
Union Square then headed back via bus to Webster and Lombard. We made
our way to Pizza Orgasmica, where we had a few slices and beers while
watching the 49er’s play the Packers. Once again, I was not rooting for
the home team. This day we decided to go back to the hotel and chill out for the rest of the night. We had to wake up early to head out to Pebble Beach, J's heaven.
We headed out to Monterrey and it was really super foggy on our way out of San Francisco, but when the fog cleared the view was beautiful. We drove along the PCH taking our time, making stops where we could get some good pictures and made our way to 17 Mile Drive, where we listened to the playlist 17 Mile Drive. J couldn't be happier! We get to this exclusive neighborhood and it is so fancy and beautiful, then we pull up to the gate and into The Lodge to check in. We get J's clubs and make a quick run for lunch before coming back for him to play the first course, Spyglass. He was super excited and the day was foggy and man am I glad I brought a sweater with me. The weather said it was going to be around 70 which in Arizona is still totally shorts weather. On Pebble Beach, not so much. It was overcast and foggy and breezy and downright freezing. We saw about 200 deer hanging out on the course, lots of beautiful trees with moss growing all over them, views of the water, and lots of green fairway grass. J played alright because he was just so excited and nervous and this was the first time on the course going without his clubs for a week while they were being shipped to California. It took about five hours to get through the 18 holes and when it was over I was chilled to the bone and decided my skinny ass needed some pants. We went to Sand City to a Target so I could get some yoga pants and also breakfast because the prices at The Lodge were just crazy. We ate dinner at a Chipotle and headed back to The Lodge so we could take advantage of the super soaker tub in the bathroom. It. Was. Fantastic. Day one at Pebble was a success.
Day two was Spanish Bay, and I liked this course better than Spyglass. The first four or five holes were on the water, and even though it was cloudy again, it wasn't foggy so we were able to see more of the beautiful course and the beautiful landscape surrounding it. By mid morning the clouds cleared and it was sunny and gorgeous out. We saw more deer, and J started playing much better. Better than Tiger Woods better. He was walking with this father and son from North Carolina and the son reminded me of Forrest Gump so much I wanted to hug him. But I didn't. The course took about five hours again, but because J had an earlier tee time, we also had the afternoon to check out Carmel. It was a cute town, but wasn't my cup of tea. There were lots of boutiques where the owners make money ripping people off. We went to this restaurant called Rio Grill and it was gross. It wasn't worth the money and it definitely wasn't worth the four stars it got on Yelp. The beach at Carmel was very pretty though, the sand was white and soft and it was nice stopping there even though we didn't stay at the beach for long, because there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us at The Lodge. We took advantage of the wonderful fireplace in our room after exploring The Lodge and taking picutres. We enjoyed a night of champagne, fire, and each other's company. I'm pretty sure there is nothing better than that there trio.
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| Right by the 18th Hole |
The next day, J had a tee time of 1:40pm, so we had time in the morning to visit Point Los Lobos, which is a state park near Monterrey that people ranted and raved about. We headed out early to check it out, and it was well worth the $8 to get in. We walked a short trail through the trees along the coast and did a second trail right out on the cliffs/water. It was as beautiful as everyone said it was. You could hear sea lions everywhere. We were lucky enough to see some sea otters, a white seal, AND a school of dolphins! It was awesome. We stayed for a couple hours, picked up lunch, then headed back to 17 Mile Drive.
Now, it was time for THE Pebble Beach Golf Course. This is where boys become men. This is where golfers become legends. This is where The Parent Trap was filmed. This is where my domestic partner's dreams all came true. This was his heaven, and we both enjoyed every minute of it. I brought the big lens on the Nikon and was pretty much his paparazzi the whole time. I had a great time doing it and watching him be just so happy. He looked like a pro out there and even had a caddie who carried his clubs for him and told him about each hole. He was dressed sharp, had his happiest smile on, and the brightest twinkle in his eyes. It was super. This course took six hours to play but it didn't feel like it was that long at all. Time flies when you are having fun while surrounded by some of the most beautiful views you've ever seen. Pebble Beach definitely lives up to the hype. And then some. The weather was great. The views were amazing. We watched the sun start to set over the 18th hole. The whole experience was fantastic and surreal. It will be etched in my memory forever as one of the most magical days I spent with my handsome J....
After the round at Pebble, we had to head out to Glen Ellen to check into our hotel, The Gaige House, about three hours away. We drove in the dark and as we drove through Glen Ellen it was even darker and kind of creepy. We got to the hotel at about 10:30ish and there was no one at the front desk. We had to figure out this hardcore secure mailbox and find our way in pitch black darkness for our room, which was so cute and cozy. The next two days: wine tasting and exploring Napa and Sonoma! 
The first day we drove a big loop up to Healdsburg back down to Sonoma, exploring the beauty of the wine country and stopping at wineries along the way. Although we didn't find any wines we loved, the experience was still awesome. The landscape was beautiful and the number of wineries was overwhelming! We learned about wine and growing grapes and skins and stressed out grape vines and hills and flat land and climates for wine grape growing. I still don't really know which wines go with certain foods best and I don't know how to pick up all the aromas and aftertastes and all that complicated stuff. I still love wine though! The two days of wine country exploration gave J and I the much needed rest and relaxation we needed. We hung out at our hotel and watched some old movies and ate at Saddles in Napa, which was probably the best meal we had while in California. The best part: a salad, the main course and a scoop of ice cream was just $24.99. HECK YES for the weekday special! J got a delicious steak, which he'd been craving all week. 
Morning came and after breakfast, we went back to the beach so I could take a momento back home. I found a big sea shell. It was time to head back to San Francisco. On our way there, we stopped at Mavericks Surf Shop and at a Fresh and Easy to get supplies for the last thing I wanted to do before going to the airport. It is the same thing that any 90's kid would do: have a picnic right where the Tanner Family did in Alamo Square, right across from their house!! It was the absolute perfect way to end the vacation, and J is the absolute best for fulfilling this wish of mine. And, with that, after that picnic it was time to come back home. We headed to SFO, turned in our gangster Chevy Impala, and waited for Flight 601 to Phoenix.
