April 11, 2022
Started the morning in rainy Monterey with an attempt to swing by the Aquarium (sold out) and Cannery Row (cold and rainy and touristy).
Turns out the intercontinental hotel is a nice spot to warm up and dry off. We walked around Monterey a little more but decided it was time to move on, get in the car and gas up and work our way over to the Pebble Beach area. This was a good call.
17 Mile Drive is unbelievably gorgeous, winding its way around some of the most beautiful golf courses as well as some of the most incredible real estate in the world. Hugging the ocean and the bay, it goes past Spyglass, The Links at Spanish Bay, and it works its way to the links at Pebble Beach. We stopped at Lone Cypress to get a photo and walk around and down to the iconic spot right on the ocean.
From Lone Cypress, we kept driving until we made it to the village at Pebble beach. This is sort of the hub for the entire area. There are shops, restaurants, and of course, the world famous golf course. We decided this would be a nice place to grab a fancy lunch. And even though the course is open to the public, at $600 per round, not everyone in the public is open to the course. The lunch, though, was great. We had tuna tartare, lobster salad, and two glasses of Veuve Clicquot champagne. Not too shabby!
After lunch, we decided to walk down to the 18th green along the water. We also walked back up and around to the first tee. It really is a gorgeous golf course. As we left, we continued the 17 mile drive on our way out of the Pebble Beach community. But before we left it entirely, we saw goats!
Our last stop in the Monterey and Carmel area, before we worked our way down to Big Sur, was Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. it’s only a few miles from the glitz and glamour of Pebble Beach, but it feels like it’s a world away.
(Photos and videos to be added later)
Nick McIlwain 