Pebble Beach Memories

Wow. The trip to Carmel and my visit to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am was nothing short of AWESOME. We got to Carmel about noon on Saturday and checked into our hotel. The hotel was small and only had a King bed. We brought sleeping bags for the boys and all managed to squeeze into the room for one night. Tami and Jerry had a reservation at the Carmel River Inn, but were able to extend their stay at the time share they rented in Pacific Grove over the weekend. It wasn't initially available and they were on the waiting list and it opened up. We grabbed their room at the Carmel River Inn, but couldn't upgrade to two Queens or a two bedroom as they were booked what with the golf tournament in town.

We met Tami and went into Carmel for lunch. We ate at a little European cafe in the heart of Carmel and ate outside in the sun. Saturday was a beautiful day with no breeze and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for golf and a perfect day to watch golf. Darla and Tami went shopping after lunch and the boys tagged along with them. I took a long walk down Ocean Street to the beach and down the beach to the golf course. I sat below hole number nine and ten and watched the golfers approach into the tenth hole. Little did I know, but Jerry and his brother, Bob, were set up at hole number nine watching the action. I was below them on the beach.

We met up with Tami and Jerry at their condo in Pacific Grove and had a drink with them and Bob. Bob is a prison guard and had to work Sunday so he made his goodbyes and headed back to Sonora. We walked over to a little Pizza place around the corner from their condo and had dinner. Last year's British Open winner, Todd Hamilton, was in the condo next to Jerry's, but he missed the cut and we assume he was packing up to leave. Dinner was great, but Darla had bought me some new Chaps jeans to wear and they were too tight. My clothes have been getting tighter of late and the jeans really bothered me. I'm back up over 200 pounds and need to lose some weight, so peanut butter on English muffins is off the menu for me and salads are in. I'd like to get back down around 190 pounds and I guess talking about it in my blog should give me the extra motivation I need to lose the poundage.

As we were enjoying dinner and laughing over things going on in our respective lives, a couple next to us asked if we were in town for the tournament. The owner of the pizza joint was just in and let everyone know that the busses to the course out of Pacific Grove would be limited on Sunday as they had some mechanical problems. Jerry had complained of long delays on Saturday (it took them an hour to get a bus out of there). We decided it would be better to leave out of Carmel and Jerry was to meet us at our hotel at 6:45. We got in to Carmel at a little after seven and there were three busses waiting . We grabbed coffee, boarded the smaller shuttle bus that turned out to be an employee shuttle. The driver took us right into the lodge at Pebble instead of to the equestrian center which is about a mile walk from the course where the public is dropped off. We jumped off right at the putting green and saw Mark O'Meara and Jim Furyk practicing. The first tee time was 7:40, so we were able to scout the course and find where we wanted to set up. I wanted to sit at a par three and we finally decided on number 12, which is the toughest par three on the course. We set up right at the gallery ropes and watched all of the competitors come through. The weather had turned for the worse and we endured a driving rain, wind and cold. Jerry had asked me if we should bring the umbrellas and I said no it wasn't supposed to rain until Monday. Oops.

A few observations..Bill Murray is a nut. A truly funny human being. He came to the green and started handing out mini Snicker bars, throwing them to the crowd like a peanut vendor. He missed his putt for par and then stood off to the side as his partner, Scott Simpson lined up a three footer for par. Just as he was about to hit the ball, Murray yelled, "Oh God, I hope he makes this!" Simpson backed off and went back through his routine. Then as he putt the ball, Murray threw a candy bar over his head to someone on the other side of the green. Simpson missed his putt and just shook his head. Chris Berman, the ESPN announcer is grossly overweight, I'd say pushing 280 pounds. He was sweating profusely in the 60 degree weather and dragging a bum leg behind him, probably no better off for having to cart around the side of beef that is his body. He was gracious, but is an inordinately poor golfer at an 18 handicap. I have no idea how his group made the cut. He swung at a ball in the bunker and completely whiffed it.

Most of the golfers were very gracious. Mickelson, who won the tournament, was extremely kind to the gallery and appreciative of the support he got. However, there were a few grumps in the crowd, including one who yelled at a father whose daughter of three was a little unruly. The father told the golfer to do something to himself that is a bit unnatural. There were a couple of golfers that you just hoped they'd miss their putt, they were so grouchy, but for the most part, the pros are just that and realize where their money comes from, the fans.

Friday night was David's game with number one, Natomas. We smoked them in the first half, taking a 30-19 lead and then went on one of those slow falls down the stairs where your head hits the wall, the steps, the landing and it all happens in slow motion. We ended up losing on a three pointer with time running out and it hurt. We are in the playoffs, but the team's confidence is not at an all time high. The goal is to win two games and get to Arco Arena for the tournament. I will have to miss the game on Wednesday as I have a meeting in San Francisco.

Well, that's a bit of a one dimensional view of our weekend and my week, but I have to get to work. Check out Jennifer's blog, she has added to it. Happy Valentine's Day. Ciao.