California Parts 1 and 2: San Francisco and Pebble Beach

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.

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....