The Day Before Big Sur...

The drive to Monterey was pretty uneventful except for the fact that I saw a Driscoll's Farm in Watsonville, that I instantly recognized as being the producers of the strawberries that I find at my ol' local 'Teet (my affectionate nickname for my fave grocery store, Harris Teeter). And upon closer inspection I made a mental note to pick up some of that spray that you can buy to wash your fruits and veggies before you eat it.

Ummm.. all I'll say is... strawberry fields, strawberry pickers, and lots of port-a-potties.

We finally got to Monterey and headed into the Big Sur expo. After picking up our packet we perused the expo for a bit. It was a decent sized one. Probably about the same size as the Country Music ones that I've been to in the past. Although, they didn't have any discount shoes for sale. Or much of anything discount, actually. But, they did have quite a few samples.. gu, cliff bars, lara bars, drinks, etc... Those tables were covered up with people though... seriously... for a 2 oz cliff bar you wouldn't believe the line that formed. (Of course, I was in the line!).

We decided to kill some time before we could check into our hotel and walked around Monterey to find some lunch.

Really cute town. A little touristy... but still cute. The ocean views were spectacular though...

After a little sightseeing in Monterey we drove to Carmel. We ended up paying $9.50 to get onto the 17 mile drive that would take us to one of the most special places in all of the U.S...

That's right.

PEBBLE FREAKING BEACH. Dude. LOOK HOW FREAKING CLOSE I AM TO THE 18th GREEN!!!!!

Needless to say... I was happier than a pig in shit. I mean, you have no idea. It's the U.S. Mecca for golfers! (Okay, so Vandy Montana and I had a discussion over whether Pebble Beach is the Mecca or Augusta is the Mecca. I decided that since at that very moment, I was standing on the grounds at Pebble Beach, that it was indeed the Mecca).

The Lodge: (where incidentally I immediately decided that I will be having my wedding ceremony here in about 19 years when I am actually ready to get hitched. Better start saving up, Mom and Dad!)

After that amazing experience, I was done with 17 mile drive. (We literally paid $9.50 to drive the mile and a half to Pebble Beach and then left). We stopped off at a bar that one of Vandy Montana's friends recommended in Carmel, Hogs Breath Inn, to carb load with a beer before checking into our hotel in Pacific Grove.

It had been a long and eventful day (pebble beach! pebble beach! pebble beach!) and we finished it off with some local pizza and getting into bed early.

Our wake up call for the next morning was 2:45am...