The 17 Mile Drive

This is the longest I have gone without posting in a long time, but I had the opportunity to spend some time with my husband and son in beautiful surroundings and I wanted to take advantage of that.  Plus it was my birthday on Saturday, so I had a little break.

Anyway, our son has now gone home ahead of us so he can get back to college, and I plan to spend the last few days of this visit to California doing some more sightseeing and catching up on my writing and blogging.  I’ve already got a great big long list of things to write about! 

I had the most wonderful birthday, and it was all because of chance.  We had planned to drive down to Monterey and perhaps along the coast a bit further, but on Friday night we met some folks at dinner who told us that Pebble Beach was only a few miles on from there, and that there was a fantastic drive you could do through the area called “The 17 Mile Drive”.  I’m not a golfer, but my Dad was, and I always remember seeing Pebble Beach on the television when he watched the US Open and other golf tournaments.  It looked so beautiful, it became somewhere I always wanted to visit, and I’m so glad we did! 

You have to pay $9.50 to do the 17 Mile Drive, but it is worth every penny, and anyway, most of the restaurants on the drive will reimburse your gate fee if you spend over $25 (not hard when there are three of you)!   From the first vista point at Shepherd’s Knoll, there are lots of places where you can stop and admire the view, and also lots of restaurants and places to picnic. 

We stopped at Roy’s restaurant at The Inn at Spanish Bay for lunch .  The hostess gave us a table over looking the sea and we had a wonderful meal.  Afterwards we carried on along the drive.  There are a total of 21 stops on the drive in all.  “Point Joe” made us smile as it reminded us of my Dad (whose name was Joe), and Bird Rock was absolutely covered in marine birds, harbour seals and sea lions.  The Fanshell Overlook had only just reopened on 1st June as it is a beach where harbour seals return each spring to bear their young.  There were some very cute baby seals there.  The scenery at Pescadero Point was incredible.  As you drive between the stops, you see some wonderful homes nestled in the forest and hills - some of them totally the stuff of dreams.  Our last stop was The Lodge at Pebble Beach, home to the 2010 US Open.

We had a celebratory drink in their beautiful Terrace Lounge overlooking the storied 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links.  I had my first Mint Julep ever (I’ve always wanted to try one) and we toasted my Dad, who used to dream of playing this course. 

There are lots of lovely little shops at the lodge and after we had enjoyed our drinks and the view and wandered down to the 18th green for a few minutes, we spent some time browsing and shopping in them.   There is even a village market where you can buy groceries, treats and picnic supplies. 

Sadly by then it was time to leave, but we still had our dinner that evening on Santana Row to look forward to.  It really was the most wonderful day!  If you ever find yourself nearby, do take The 17 Mile Drive around Pebble Beach.  I can’t wait to go back again!