Thursday, August 31, 2017

Water fun

We haven't been to Yas Marina for a while so when Bobby had an award dinner across the street at the Viceroy hotel, we decided to have an early dinner and playtime at the splash pad.  But first, Graham had to "drink" his mango sorbet with chocolate sauce. Interesting choice...
It is 38C/100F and Graham and Charlie are obviously being cooled off nicely!
Charlie kept running up and down these water spouts to a point he was actually in tears that night as his leg hurt.  Poor fella!
Graham was more conservative, mostly staying in one spot and performing his version of Water Kung Fu :-)
These boys LOVE water!!!

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Quick trip to Los Angeles, California

Bob and I are off to Los Angeles early in the morning after checking out of the Pebble Beach Resort.  He actually has a job interview later at 1pm.  Looking sharp, honey!
Glad we are not playing golf today. Seems colder and mistier today:
Once we are out of the bay area, it is clear and sunny:
We make it to the job interview site with 20 minutes to spare. Phew! LA traffic can be quite bad!!!

While Bobby is having his job interview, I am roaming around Manhattan Beach - just a few minutes south of the LAX airport. Such a nice little area.  The view of the ocean at the bottom of the slope is awesome!
But first, lunch! I find this restaurant and sit at the bar. I was really hoping to watch some golf but there is a rain delay. Just my luck!
At least the lunch was yummy.  Lobster salad! :-)
I walked towards the beach only to be faced with a steep incline uphill to get back to the car!
But gosh, what a view!!! Million dollar homes with million dollar views:
Selfie time!
Love how there are bike paths as well. After some research, rent around this area can reach up to USD$5,000 easily for just a little studio/1 bedroom apartment. YIKES!!!
I pick Bob up from his interview and it's good news!  All went really well. Maybe California might be our new home state???!  The boys would love to be able to learn to surf out here:
And Bobby would definitely love the 2-for-1 pricing for these beers during Happy Hour!!! He is happy for sure! :-D
Speaking of love, what's not to love about this sunset:
And I loved how this guy just set up his hammock right in between two perfectly spaced palm trees, not too far from the parking lot. Looks very cozy:
We head back to New Jersey the next day with all these warm and fuzzy feelings.  Bobby has another interview in Jersey City and guess what I did to his work shirt - I burnt it with the iron!
Maybe subconsciously I wanted the interview in Jersey City to go bad (like his shirt) and take the job in LA instead! Will keep everyone posted on our new adventure!!! 

Pebble Beach Resort - The golf @ Spanish Bay

Day 3 - Our last day of golf at the resort. It's cold today! It was misting when we started on the first tee today:
You can barely see the silhouette of the ocean, but it's there behind us. Here's a better view - behind green #1, across the street:
Pretty golf course.  Using carts today and no caddies:
It's pretty weaving from inland back towards the ocean:
Here's the street I was talking about earlier. It's called the 17 mile Drive. It's amazing how busy it gets with tourists!
Moving back inland... the trees here are so tall!!!
And back towards the ocean, just so relaxing with these views:
We are done and so happy to have broken 80 today!  And so happy to warm up by the fireplace during lunch:
Still feeling a bit cold but didn't stop Mina and I from ordering ice-cream. And it's even yummier on a skillet cookie :-)
It's the last day and obviously the men still want to get another round under their belt. So a quick 5-10 minute drive down the street to a public golf course:
There is a light house built back in 1855 that's next to the golf course. Too cool!
Mina and I head over to get a massage off site from the resort. I can't believe they were asking for USD95 for a 25 minute foot massage!

After dinner, we relax in the room that has a fireplace. I have to say, it was nice being able to sleep to the cool breeze from the open sliding door off our balcony and listen to the waves.
A spectacular trip!!! Thanks to Tod and Mina for inviting us to join them on their special anniversary. We are going to miss you both and your kids but hope to definitely visit all of you in S. America someday :-)

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Pebble Beach Resort - The golf @ Pebble Beach

Day 2 - Playing Pebble Beach today!  This is the one that everyone was waiting for. But first, breakfast. YUM!!!
Speaking of yum, bought some cherry-plums yesterday at a Farmer's Market. Loved the market!
Okay, back to golf. Ready on the first tee! Funny but I was actually nervous hitting the first shot. Maybe because there were quite a few people hanging around and watching.
Bobby is already taking the "scenic" route :-P
You know a bunker is really deep when they have to put steps to get in and out of it!
Check out these mansions along the golf course. Woah!!!
Once we get to Hole #5, we hit the view along the coast.  I think the men are also enjoying not having to carry their own golf bags today:
While we are enjoying the view, the seagull steals food from the golf cart. Bad seagull... BAD!!!
Oh well, too late now. In the meantime... Hole #6: Where is the green???
The famous hole #7 - only playing 90 yards today. Bob almost had a hole-in-one here!
We did manage 3 birdies. How about that!
Love this photo of all of us from the 8th tee box looking down towards the 7th green. One of our caddies was quite the photographer:
The sign says "Danger. Steep Cliff". Good thing all of our golf balls stopped right before the drop!
I think I would be very happy with just the guestroom at this mansion!!!
I love the new marketing idea on the Snicker chocolate bars!
Bobby is burning off some of that sugar from the chocolate bar - really excited over the 2010 US Open plaque. By the way, not sure if you can see on the plaque but the trademark of Pebble Beach is the Lone Cypress.  Supposedly, it is one of the most photographed tree in North America!
On the home stretch, you can see the seals lazing out on the rocks. Good thing the wind was not blowing into our direction. They can sure smell:
Bob is taking the "scenic" route again.  Definitely getting his money worth on this golf course!
One last look of Hole #18 from the fairway:
When we get done, the bag boys clean our shoes. With the money we pay for to play on this golf course, they should have to clean them every other hole. Ha ha!
A fun day at Pebble!... despite another 81 for me and 86 for Bobby:
Another well-deserved beer. What a spectacular view of the finishing hole and the coast. So many non-golfers/tourists just roaming around the grounds:
After lunch, we look for the infamous Lone Cypress:
There is it! In case you are wondering, I circled it :-)
Yes, we are crazy about it too! Definitely had to do a we-fie after coming all this way :-)
Just reading up on the Cypress: The tree may be as old as 250 years and after being scarred by a fire, it has been held in place with cables for the last 65 years. Wow! 

End of Day 2!