Pebble Beach, California

Pebble Beach, a golfers paradise, famous even among non-golfers. Seen by many of us when watching The US Open on our TV's. A scene of wind swept sand, waves crashing the beach along side a lush green golf course comes to mind. Pebble Beach in Montery County on the Monterey Peninsula is a gated community about 40 miles north of Big Sur.

If you wondered about how the affluent live behind those gates communities, take the 17 mile sometimes scenic Pebble Beach Tour. A fee of $9.50 per car is charged to take this tour. Sometimes you get a glimpse of an elaborate house, though often they are completely out of sight due to large stone walls, or privacy landscaping. Sometimes you see a scenic view of the beach and ocean as you wind your way along. Here you see seals dotting the beach landscape, a house barely visible up in the trees.
The US open has been held here in 1972,1982,1992, 2000 and is scheduled again in 2010.
The famous Ben Crosby Clambake tournament began here in 1937 and continues today, though now named AT & T National Pro-Am. The property was once owned by DelMonte, was sold to a Japanese businessman, then purchased again by a group of investors lead by Clint Eastwood and Arnold Palmer to name a few. No surprise then to learn there are 7 public golf courses, and 18 Private Golf Clubs.

The lone cypress tree, twisted and bent withstanding the strong winds, salt air has become the symbol for the city. This is perhaps one of the most photographed trees around.

Take a stroll on the boardwalk, stop for a picnic and enjoy the view. We didn't stop for a picnic, I think these pictures tell you why.



Should add for all my furry friends, those traveling with furry friends, and or children. Look at all places to walk and explore along the beach.

Ford's Colony, Williamsburg, Virginia

The outside of The Manor Club is as pretty as the inside. It's very Colonial in design, which is appropriate, given it's close proximity to Colonial Williamsburg. It's quite homey. A gated community, while hubby was off golfing, my daughter and I could go for walks and feel very comfortable. The Manor Club is a Marriott property in Colonial Williamsburg.




Such pretty bathrooms. This is the 2nd bathroom, the small one
that goes with the 2nd bedroom. A door could be closed between her space and our space, which it private--apt like.







The living room was beautiful, roomy and had plenty of furniture. There's a fireplace, though we didn't use it when we were there last July. Looking out the big sliding glass door is our screened in porch with table and chairs. We often had cocktails or ate our meals there.



Outside grill areas made cooking out convenient. This area was in the building next to ours; but still quite handy. We sat at the pool, enjoyed walks in the area, toured the historic area of Williamsburg, and hubby played multiple games of golf. Depending on your lodging, you get a certain number of free games. There's a spa which my daughter and I enjoyed one day while he was off golfing.



Join us for dinner? We had grilled veggies, baked potatoes and steak with a nice bottle of wine. The 3 of us sat leisurely and enjoyed the pretty views.






This is for the golfers out there. You can see how close we were to the course. Right out our screened porch. In fact, these photo's were taken right through the screen. Very nice to sit and cool off in the shade on the porch, or have our evening cocktails there as we planned what to do for dinner. This is hubby.


While in Virginia, tour the University,
Posting about Williamsburg seems very fitting as we begin to celebrate our Nations Birthday!
Happy Birthday America

**The trip had it all:

• good food
• pretty sites
• historical sites
• golf
• pool
• plenty of relaxation