Sunday in Monterey
Paul and I played golf at Corral de Tierra, beautiful course in the foothills outside of Monterey. Our host from the previous evening was a member and had invited us to join him for a round of golf. Pictures I would have taken would not have done justice, but if you go to the web site, you can really appreciate the beauty of the course. I'm not sure who designed the course, but they seemed to have an affinity for sand :-). Fun day and while we were slaving at the golf course, Vi and Sandy enjoyed a leisurely day in Monterey.
Yesterday I promised a picture or two of Herrmann Hall, so here's a view of the building as well as the lobby area. I'm sure I have told you all before that when the Navy took over the Del Monte Hotel (a great resort in the early 1900's until just before WWII), the money they paid to the Del Monte family was used to purchase the land where Pebble Beach Golf Course is now situated. Good use of the money!
Later Vi and I took a short trip downtown to the Puma Road tasting room in the heart of downtown Monterey. We weren't impressed with their wines, but several people the night before had said we had to try them. In any event, it was fun to walk around downtown - lots of tourists as you might expect on a summer Sunday afternoon.
Sandy had made reservations for our joint anniversary dinner, but hadn't told us where we were going. After a drive down Seventeen Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, we arrived at The Lodge at Pebble Beach for dinner at the Stillwater Bar and Grill. What an awesome place. We had a window table overlooking the 18th green and were able to watch the golfers coming in, the deer grazing on the fairway, and of course, views across Stillwater Bay. It wasn't quite as crowded as the course had been earlier in the year when they played the US Open there - go figure! However, there was a steady stream of golfers finishing up their rounds - right up until it was too dark to play. They even had a golf cart with lights to light up the green for the late finishers.
To top it all off, there will be a full moon in a couple of days, so the waxing gibbous moon was almost full and very beautiful. The only thing which slightly tarnished the evening was a group of boisterous New Yorkers who had a large table just down from us. Obviously, they were a group of guys who had come for the golf, had a little too much to drink, and didn't care how much noise they made. Several tables across from them asked to be moved, but it didn't phase them at all.
As a nice touch, Sandy had told the Stillwater that it was both our anniversaries, so they had the menus emblazoned with "Happy 50th Anniversary - Tom & Vi". Paul and Sandy's menu just had "Happy Anniversary - Paul and Sandy". It was such a great evening. It'll be hard to top that next year when we celebrate their 25th anniversary,
We came back to our room for a glass of wine afterwards. Sandy had asked during dinner about our wedding in Vietnam and I mentioned that I had the pictures on my laptop. We had showed them to Ken and Melanie when we were out in North Dakota last year. Hope we didn't bore them too much with the pictures, but it was fun to relive that day when we were married, both in the civil ceremony in downtown Saigon and our wedding at Tan Son Nhut chapel. As usual, we had a great conversation and I shared a photo of Paul and I from July 1947 (which I had just recently discovered). It was taken at Waterwich Beach in New Jersey. Not sure what we were doing, but I think he was sharing (however reluctantly) his ice cream.
Yesterday I promised a picture or two of Herrmann Hall, so here's a view of the building as well as the lobby area. I'm sure I have told you all before that when the Navy took over the Del Monte Hotel (a great resort in the early 1900's until just before WWII), the money they paid to the Del Monte family was used to purchase the land where Pebble Beach Golf Course is now situated. Good use of the money!
They continue the military traditions of reveille, raising of the colors, etc. and it's always beautiful to hear the music and, when we are in the vicinity, watch the ceremonies. Military traditions are great.
Sandy had made reservations for our joint anniversary dinner, but hadn't told us where we were going. After a drive down Seventeen Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, we arrived at The Lodge at Pebble Beach for dinner at the Stillwater Bar and Grill. What an awesome place. We had a window table overlooking the 18th green and were able to watch the golfers coming in, the deer grazing on the fairway, and of course, views across Stillwater Bay. It wasn't quite as crowded as the course had been earlier in the year when they played the US Open there - go figure! However, there was a steady stream of golfers finishing up their rounds - right up until it was too dark to play. They even had a golf cart with lights to light up the green for the late finishers.
To top it all off, there will be a full moon in a couple of days, so the waxing gibbous moon was almost full and very beautiful. The only thing which slightly tarnished the evening was a group of boisterous New Yorkers who had a large table just down from us. Obviously, they were a group of guys who had come for the golf, had a little too much to drink, and didn't care how much noise they made. Several tables across from them asked to be moved, but it didn't phase them at all.
As a nice touch, Sandy had told the Stillwater that it was both our anniversaries, so they had the menus emblazoned with "Happy 50th Anniversary - Tom & Vi". Paul and Sandy's menu just had "Happy Anniversary - Paul and Sandy". It was such a great evening. It'll be hard to top that next year when we celebrate their 25th anniversary,
We came back to our room for a glass of wine afterwards. Sandy had asked during dinner about our wedding in Vietnam and I mentioned that I had the pictures on my laptop. We had showed them to Ken and Melanie when we were out in North Dakota last year. Hope we didn't bore them too much with the pictures, but it was fun to relive that day when we were married, both in the civil ceremony in downtown Saigon and our wedding at Tan Son Nhut chapel. As usual, we had a great conversation and I shared a photo of Paul and I from July 1947 (which I had just recently discovered). It was taken at Waterwich Beach in New Jersey. Not sure what we were doing, but I think he was sharing (however reluctantly) his ice cream.
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