Stories from the Road

Stories from the Road
July 22, 2016
Olympia, WA

They say there is a lot of traffic in Seattle, and they are right. Luckily as we drove south, all the cars were coming north into the city. After a baguette with butter and jam in the bistro within our hotel, we checked out and got our car from the valet. The drive to Olympia was pleasant, and it is always refreshing to see all the spruce trees.

Lunch was at a restaurant above the Tumwater falls with Marle and Lucas. It is refreshing to hear the rushing sound of whitewater. After a short hike in the river park there, we cruised a couple of shops, before returning to Ken Lake.

Lucas works for a nearby fire department. It is very difficult to get hired by departments as the applicants far outnumber the number of open positions. There were 6000 applicants for positions with the Seattle Fire Department.

I am looking out over Ken Lake as I write this blog. There are kids swimming here and there but no ducks this afternoon. Apparently they move on once the ducklings can fly. They will be back in the coming months.

Lucas and his girlfriend Jaime will be coming to the Lake for dinner tonight. . Both are outdoors people and are comfortable camping and hiking in the backcountry for extended periods of time. They are both competent people, with whom it is fun to talk. After a nice dinner on the patio overlooking the lake, we played bocce ball. Marle and I fell to Lucas and Maria 11-4. Tomorrow Marle and I play golf at Tumwater.

A thunder and lightening storm rolled in late last night. It reminded me of being a camper on Lake Winnipesaukee many years ago. We would watch the storm coming across the lake bringing sheets of rain which fell on us soon enough. There was always an excitement accompanying these storms, which often were accompanied by thunder and lightening.

Have a good day.

Stories from the Road

Stories from the Road
July 21, 2016
Seattle, WA.
Inn at the Market

Local produce

If you want a construction job, Seattle is the place to come. Today we walked around the city, and it seemed that a new building was going up in every block. The place is booming!

After breakfast in a small café in our hotel, we began walking towards REI’s flagship store. On the way we hit Mountain Hardware. Columbia, Arcteryx, and Feathered Friends gear shops.  I didn’t buy anything, since golf is my game now, but it was fun to look at all the great products. Finally we reached REI, which is a remarkable store, whether or not you are an outdoor person. It features three floors of clothing and gear along with an outdoor mountain bike path and an indoor climbing wall.

Local bakery

On the way to the Space Needle to see the Chihuly Glass exhibit, we found a boutique lunch spot, which was excellent. Vicki and I split a chicken salad, which had warm potatoes, olives, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh pieces of chicken. The dressing of mayonnaise with mustard seed and garlic was excellent as was the salad. For desert we split a scoop of homemade peach praline ice cream accompanied by a homemade cookie.

Ken Lake

The glass exhibit was more interesting than I thought it would be. The pieces were colorful and spectacular. Many were twenty feet high. I remember seeing some of the artist’s work in Venice last year. Some of the smaller pieces were selling for 5-10 thousand dollars in the gift shop, so I can only imagine what the twenty footers went for.

Dinner tonight was at Etta’s seafood restaurant along the waterfront. Our waitress was exuberant, and reminded me of the servers in Scotland. Every time you ordered they said “lovely”.  The reinforcement never stopped coming! Vicki had halibut, and I had salmon. After dinner we watched the republican convention before turning the light off.

Becoming a Golfer’s Enemy

Most golfers start out making poor shots. Eventually the hope is to eliminate these shots and begin to hit the ball with proper technique. However, some errors are harder to change than others. What starts out as an error to be corrected can morph into an annoying bad habit.

For example for a while I shanked my short iron shots. I was hitting the ball on the horsel(shaft of the club) rather than the face. The result was that the ball squirted ineffectively to the right.  At first the shot didn’t bother me, but when I couldn’t stop shanking, I became increasingly frustrated. The shank became a hated enemy. Even now, though I rarely shank, if I do, I am ready to explode.

As my golf career has progressed I have made new enemies, which I try to rid myself of as quickly as possible. Some go away more easily than others.

Road trip: June 2016

It felt like we were definitely off the grid. The road  went up and over hills of golden grass interspersed with healthy looking grape plants. Once and a while we would drive by a small winery. Cloverdale was miles behind, as we made out way from Sonoma County to the coastal town of Mendocino, California.

There were few cars on highway 128, but I let them all pass at the frequent turnouts, since Vicki and I wanted to see the sights at a leisure pace. Eventually we came to redwood groves, a sign that we were nearing the coast.

Little River Inn

At one point I rounded a corner, and there was the Pacific Ocean in front of me. The rocky coast was attractive and very different from our shoreline in San Diego. The sky was clear with bright sun and blue sky. Soon we arrived at The Little River Inn, two miles from Mendocino. Our room has a magnificent ocean view, and there was a 9-hole golf course 75 yards behind the Inn.

The town of Mendocino was smaller than I had imagined. It was funky with artistic shops and hip eateries. The view of the rugged coastline was striking. We ate lunch at a local place and split a salad with fresh tuna. Our waiter from Costa Rica told us he had bought rental units over the years in Ft. Bragg, a town ten miles north. He spent his winters in Costa Rica and his summers on the coast of California. Not a bad program, I thought.

Later we stopped at a cove, where scuba divers were scurrying in and out of rubber boats. Upon inquiry I learned that it was abalone season and the gold rush atmosphere of the beach then began to make sense.

That evening we walked for thirty seconds from our room to the main building of the inn to our window table. Our dinner accompanied by local wines was excellent.

The morning was cool but clear, as we made our way to the Inn’s golf course. I learned that an early owner of the Inn wanted to build a course on the property after watching Arnold palmer play in a tournament on TV. He consulted several golf course architects, but the money they wanted was excessive in the owner’s mind. He decided to build the course himself, and he did.

Scene from the Inn

The course, which snaked through groves of redwoods, was funky and fun. Deer wandered around the different holes. There were a lot of locals playing, but they were friendly and waved us through. There were 11 greens so that there was  more variety, when golfers played the nine holes again.

Later that day we drove to Fort Bragg for lunch. Less trendy than Mendocino, this town was a pleasant place with a blue-collar feel to it. We were both struck by  how much open land along the ocean existed along highway 1 from Mendocino to Fort Bragg.

The next day we played golf,  went to town, and relaxed at the Inn. I never tired of looking at the rugged coastline from our room. Eventually we made out way to dinner, which as usual was excellent. In the morning it was back off the grid, as we drove through the hills to Sonoma.

I was impressed

1. We recently at a restaurant on Coronado called Stake Chophouse with Lou and Elinor Mone. The eatery was having a surf and turf special. When it came time for the meal to come out of the kitchen, the waiter appeared at our table with a medium sized box. What is this, I thought?  He opened the box, which was filled with fine cutlery. He showed a number of fine knives from different countries and suggested we pick the one that appealed to us. I took a knife from Japan, and we were off and running.
2. I was at the Rancho Carlsbad Golf Course for a lesson with Clark Renner. I looked over and saw a 5 or 6-year-old boy at the first tee with his father.  The first hole is 150 yards. The boy would up, took a big swing, and hit the ball on the edge of the green. He then chipped it up near the cup. Later I gave him a dozen balls I had found in the creek and told him to keep on playing.
3. We were eating at the Aquavite Ristorante in La Jolla. I inquired about the cannolis, and the waiter said he would bring out the pastry chef, who was the owner’s wife. She was an attractive, socially skilled woman from Tuscany. She charmed us all, and I knew I was destined to have a cannoli.

The Old Crocker Inn

On our trip north we had planned to stay in Healdsburg, but the hotels were too expensive. I found the funky Old Croker Inn on the Internet, and I booked it for a couple of nights. The owner sent me direction with the admonition not to try to use my GPS, as it probably wouldn’t get me there. He was right!

Deer at the Old Crocker Inn

The inn is part of what once was a huge ranch owned by some prominent California people. Over the years the ranch was sold off, and part of it became a B&B.  The Old Crocker Inn now consists of several small cabins and a main building where breakfast and snacks are served.

Our cabin had been modernized and had all the conveniences of a modern hotel.  One difference were the deer that roamed around the property all hours of the day. The owners were pleasant people, who were very accommodating. Needless to say the Inn was
 quiet and restful.

The Inn was 3 or 4 miles from the center of Cloverdale on a winding mountain road. We enjoyed our stay there.

How the Godfather Rolls

We left Cloverdale in the morning and headed towards Healdsburg. The plan was to stop at Francis Ford Coppola’s Winery on the way. Over the top probably best describes this Disneyland for adults. After driving through a large gate, we parked and walked to the main building. From there we wandered through shops, bars, and museum rooms displaying memorabilia from Coppola’s movies. There were pictures of Brando, Pacino, and others. It was all done with care and great taste. Later we came across the complex’s large swimming pool and cabanas, which were rented out for day use. The bocce ball courts were beyond the pool.

 

What a marketer this man was, I thought. I could have spent the day at the winery and a lot of money I suppose. I loved the integration of film, wine, and food. They say that Godfather I and II were Francis’s greatest creations, but I wonder if his winery doesn’t come close to matching the creativity of those two films.

Cape cod

Scotland: The Orkney Islands

The Dolomites

Putting: A sport unto itself

Putting can be a fun part of golf, though for many it is frustrating times 10. Why is it so hard? Part of the answer is that the golfer had to calculate many variables at the same time, some of which are very subtle. Here are some tips:

1. Find the right line.  Look at the line from a number of vantage points. Keep your head over the ball and keep you eyes and body still.
2. Take your putter back and make a pendulum motion. Swing with pace and rhythm. Be athletic. Feel the putt. Speed is crucial. Even if you have the right line, too much or too little speed may condemn you to a three putt.

1.    Unless you have a straight putt, you shouldn’t be putting at the hole. Putt down a line and let the green take the ball to the hole. Practice a lot until you get a feel for the breaks in a green.

2.    Phil Michelson’s Short Game DVD is excellent. He not only covers putting but chipping. Pitching, and bunker paly as well.

I was impressed

1.    We recently at a restaurant on Coronado called Stake Chophouse with Lou and Elinor Mone. The eatery was having a surf and turf special. When it came time for the meal to come out of the kitchen, the waiter appeared at our table with a medium sized box. What is this, I thought?  He opened the box, which was filled with fine cutlery. He showed a number of fine knives from different countries and suggested we pick the one that appealed to us. I took a knife from Japan, and we were off and running.

2.    I was at the Rancho Carlsbad Golf Course for a lesson with Clark Renner. I looked over and saw a 5 or 6-year-old boy at the first tee with his father.  The first hole is 150 yards. The boy would up, took a big swing, and hit the ball on the edge of the green. He then chipped it up near the cup. Later I gave him a dozen balls I had found in the creek and told him to keep on playing.

3.    We were eating at the Aquavite Ristorante in La Jolla. I inquired about the cannolis, and the waiter said he would bring out the pastry chef, who was the owner’s wife. She was an attractive, socially skilled woman from Tuscany. She charmed us all, and I knew I was destined to have a cannoli.

Cortina d'Ampezzo

The Salmon River

Floating through time and space on the Salmon River,

High in the golden meadows run the swift deer,

Being where the sun meets the water,

Being in the warmth of the day, the cool of the night.

River slow and wide, water swift and pointed,

Sheep, bear, eagles and the otter too,

Paddling in the joys of yesterday,

Paddling in the dreams of tomorrow.