August 2013 - Oxnard to Vail - Part 1, Las Vegas and Arches National Park

About two months ago, my friend Joyce Krasnow asked me to play in a tournament with her in her hometown of Vail, Colorado on August 6, 7 and 8.  My first response was to decline as I had never played in a tournament before and was nervous.  Also, it seemed unlikely I could get away or that Stan would want to go with me.  After thinking about it overnight, we decided that we would drive to Colorado with a stop first in Las Vegas to visit our warehouse, and then in Moab, Utah to visit Arches National Park.

After arriving in Las Vegas and taking care of some business, we invited two of the guys that work in our warehouse, Chris and Jim, to golf with us that night at the 9-hole Callaway course on Las Vegas Boulevard.  Callaway Golf Center  Happily, they decided to join us at about 8 pm, when it would be cool enough to play.  Summer in Las Vegas is ... well, you know how it is.  

Before we went to the golf course, we checked into our usual hotel, the Marriott Springhill Suites in Henderson.  Marriott Springhill Suites  The Marriott is a great place to stay.  We love the suite.  It has a sofa, work station, lots of plugs, free wi-fi and a good breakfast.  The staff is great, the room is clean and quiet, and it 's convenient to our office.  We gave up staying on the Strip a while ago.  For as often as we are in Vegas, which is quite often, it got too expensive to stay and eat there.  We do love the variety and quality of food on the Strip, but we'll take a little trip to the city if we want to.  The restaurants in Henderson are more in line with our budget and the kind of food we regularly eat.  Speaking of which, we have found a little Mediterranean restaurant that we just love.  It's called Crazy Pita Rotisserie and Grill.  It's near Green Valley Casino, right across from Lucille's BBQ.  Crazy Pita  I ordered a chicken pita which was excellent, served with a small cucumber, tomato and feta salad.  I usually get the steak pita which is amazing, served with eggplant dip, feta and olives, but opted for something a little lighter this time.  Stan ordered the quarter chicken, which he loved.  

Chicken Pita with Salad

Quarter Chicken with Salad and Pita Bread

Off to golf!  We opted for the Happy Hour deal, which is $30 for nine holes of golf and two drinks.  Fun!!  We met Chris at the range for a little practice; Jim ran late, but was there in time to tee off.  

Chris, Me and Jim

Golf is a challenging game under the best of circumstances and in broad daylight.  Night golfing is another thing altogether, but we had a great time with the guys.  

Note center-right the plane taking off from McCarren Airport.

After golf, we stopped at the bar, which, unfortunately, was about to close.  We got both our drinks at once, which I didn't finish, and Stan and Jim tried to figure out our score.  Confusion set in, but math prevailed.  I have no idea what happened to the scorecard, but I do know that I shot the highest score.  

Apres-golf.

The next morning, we left for Moab, Utah and a visit to Arches National Park.  The grandeur of Arches is something that should be on everyone's Must See list.  Each bend in the road is more breathtaking than the last.  Each trail takes you to wonders you will not believe.  

Our first stop was Park Avenue, in late afternoon, where the sheer walls look as if they were sliced off of somehow.  This is the first step to arch formation.

Park Avenue

We drove around the park a bit, but it was getting late, so we checked into our motel, the Inca Inn, a 50s-style, one-story, drive-up-to-your-door type of motel.  It was clean and quiet with a great bicycle weather vane on the roof top.  Our bathroom was vintage 1950s, decked out in yellow tile with brown trim.  Perfect!  Inca Inn

Since the Inca Inn is on the outskirts of town, we strolled next door to La Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant to grab a bite to eat.  La Hacienda  It is a cute and busy place.  I ordered the taquitos which were very greasy - dripping with oil when you took a bite.  Stan ordered soft chicken tacos.  The tacos, rice and beans were fine, but just not great.  I would have liked to sample a margarita, but I was acclimating to the elevation, as we were headed to Vail and over 8,000 feet.  I had suffered from altitude sickness before and didn't want to experience it again.

After dinner, we strolled into town where there was lots going on.  There were gift shops, art galleries and many restaurants available.  Stan and I each bought some t-shirts to commemorate our visit.  I felt a little sad that we hadn't taken the time to check it out before we ate at La Hacienda.  Oh well, next time.  We have to see Canyonlands, after all.  

At the hotel the next morning, we had a lovely little breakfast of hard boiled eggs, toast and coffee and set out to further explore Arches.  

Yummy Eggs, Toast and Coffee - A Perfect Start to an Arches Day

It was pretty warm in Moab, so we wanted to get an early start in order to do a little hiking and see some of the world-famous Arches and hoodoos.

Balancing Rock

Landscape Arch

Tired and hungry, we went back into town for a quick bite before we hit the road for Vail.  When you're driving, you need food that won't revisit you or cause any problems, especially if you're in remote areas.  My favorite road food is a BLT.  It's hard to screw up that sandwich, and they are heavy enough to give you energy for a while, but light enough to not weigh you down.  We stopped at the Moab Diner for the perfect BLT (we both ordered that).  Moab Diner  Now, Stan is something of a bacon aficionado.  In other words, he doesn't like most bacon.  He was semi-happy with the bacon on this sandwich, which made both of us very happy.  

BLT at the Moab Diner

Bellies full; we're off to Vail!!

July 2013 - The Links at Bodega Harbour

We drive to see our NoCal kids and grandkids several times a year.  Rather than drive the entire 12 to 14 hours in one day, as we mostly do, we have decided to break up the trip and golf on the way up our beautiful state.  If we leave super early in the morning, we are usually in or past the Bay Area by lunchtime - plenty of time for golf in the summer.

This trip we decided to go off the beaten path and stay in Bodega Bay.  As is the case in most northern California coastal venues, especially in the summer, the weather is unpredictable.  It was a chilly and gray day, which only added to the feeling of this links-style but very hilly course.  The Links at Bodega Harbour 

Golf Cart Art

Overlooking Bodega Bay in all its gloomy glory.

The course was fairly well maintained, and it was, for both of us, a difficult course.  Although the fairways were wide, if your ball didn't make them, as is true for the other links-style course(s) I've played, you're in a world of hurt.  My "worst" shot was one that took me to the very edge of a steep incline.  I literally had to choke down the club to the bottom of the grip, and prayed that when I took my teeny-tiny swing I wouldn't topple backwards down the hill into the bunker below, as my feet were on the downhill side and the ball waist-high.  Luckily that didn't happen, but I didn't hit the ball very far.  

The homes surrounding the course are close by, but not so close that I ever worried about breaking a window.  It was such a gloomy day, that I wondered what it would be like to sit at the window of one of these weathered homes and sip a cup of tea by the fire, looking out over the bay.

There was so much elevation and so much trouble to get into, but we still had a great time and felt that we may come back and visit the course again. 

As I'm not yet quite back in the swing of things, I didn't keep my scorecard, so I don't remember what I shot, but I can guarantee you that it isn't a score I would be proud to post.   

Chilly from the weather, Stan and I drove the coast, looking for a restaurant.  We found Lucas Wharf Restaurant and Bar, right at the wharf.  Lucas Wharf Restaurant and Bar  I started with a Moscow Mule.  Even though it didn't come in the usual copper mug, it was a good and refreshing drink after hiking up the hills of the golf course.  The soup and salad I had were specials that night.  The tomato soup was spectacularly good, just the right amount of tang with a drizzle of basil oil on top.  I had an arugula salad topped with grilled salmon (oops, forgot the photo) which was also delicious.  Stan had fish and chips, which he liked. 

We stayed at an inn, the name of which I can't recall.  That can only mean (and it does) that the place was forgettable, so no further mention of it here.  

A short six hour drive to Eureka the next morning, and we were hugging our delicious grandchildren.  

 

Back to Blogging...Finally

Quite a bit has happened since my last post in 2010.  I haven't been writing, not because I lost interest, but because I couldn't figure out how to get onto my blog.  Very sad.  But I've persevered and now I'm back.  Believe it or not I've even had a few people ask me what had happened.  That was kind of a kick.

I've done quite a bit of dining and driving over the last few years, and I can say that my game has improved...slightly.  I'm primarily still golfing at Buenaventura, and typically shoot in the high 90s or low 100s.  Still golfing with my sweetheart and husband, Stanley, who is my best golfing buddy ever.  And Stan Weiner still plays with us.  He's always good for a grumble or two and can't believe when his putt doesn't make it in the cup.  I've been taking lessons with Jeff Jones at Olivas Links, and he has been extremely helpful in correcting some of my mistakes.  If only I could remember them when I'm actually golfing!

Stan in Eureka

Over the last couple of years, Stan's older son (and my stepson) Mitch has started golfing with a vengeance. It is quite possible that he has not missed one day playing golf of some kind (driving range, 9 holes, practicing at home) since he really started playing in September 2011.  He's even created a small driving and pitching range in his backyard of 3 acres.  It has been great having this in common with him, for both Stan and me.  In fact, for Mitch's 50th birthday, just this past April, he chose to spend a weekend with his dad golfing at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.  Bandon Dunes Golf  I came up to Eureka to stay with Denise, Talia and Eliot for the weekend.  The boys had made plans to go up to Oregon on Friday, play several different golf courses over the weekend and come home Sunday night.  After that first Friday of golf, they abandoned the idea of going to Oregon and decided to stay in Eureka for the night and head out to Mt. Shasta to play there and stay for two days.  Little did we know, they had really decided to forget the whole going-away plan and just play locally in Eureka.  They are just a couple of homebodies!  I wish the NoCal Blocks were closer so we could golf more with Mitch, and just be with them more in general, but that is not to be.

A great thing is that Mitch is getting Talia and Eliot out to play.  Talia went to golf camp last summer and may do it again this year.  Eliot goes to the driving range where he likes to clobber the ball with a teeny golf club - great fun for a three-year-old.

Talia at Golf Summer Camp

Talia, at eight years old, is a great kid.  Loads of fun.  She just loves using my iPhone, taking photos and movies.  In fact, if it weren't for her, I'd probably have very few photos at all. The photo on the left is courtesy of her dad.  The video below was taken by Talia.  (I can't get the video to play while posting.  Maybe it'll work after I publish.)  

I play with pink balls, and when I'm done with them, I bring them to Talia.  It's much more fun to play with pink balls than white...even if you're 59 years old!

All of the boys in our family are playing golf now.  I'm the only girl, besides Talia, who isn't quite ready to hit the links.  I've got to work on Danielle and Denise to try it.  We need more girls out there!!!  

It's time to take more photos and movies of our escapades on, and off, the course.  And I need to post more photos and links to where we've been spending our time after golf.  Now that I can remember how to get on the blog, I'll do it!  I promise!