Back on June 26th, I posted some pictures real-time of our golf, dinner and overnight in HMB. Again, the iPhone photos didn’t do the scenery justice. Grace had a firm event in Golden Gate Park that morning and I went to the office. We headed down to HMB on Highway 1 shortly after lunch and arrived at the Ritz-Carlton just in time to check-in, grab a burger, and make our afternoon tee-time. It was a bit foggy and cool, but it was still awesome to be outside. Early in the round, Grace commented that her feet must have grown during pregnancy because her shoes hurt. Then, later, she said she had bit it hard in a potato sack race in the morning (team, team, team). It didn’t get better.
After the round, we relaxed for a bit and enjoyed a nice dinner at Navio, which was much better than I remember it being before. The next morning, it was quite foggy. Grace’s toe was sufficiently damaged that she opted out of our unlimited golf package and decided to sleep in and hit the spa instead. I played with a nice couple who were also local and enjoying a night away. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We have played the Old Course several times, but this was my first time playing the Ocean Course, which was also beautiful and challenging.
After the 17th hole, I headed to the 18th tee in the cart, briefly merging onto a pedestrian walkway with access to the beach. I heard someone call my name and it turned out to be Matt Idema, who brought the whole family to the beach. What are the odds that we’d cross paths in that moment? Grace was still at the spa when I finished, so I enjoyed a sandwich outside on the patio next to the 18th hole of the Old Course.
Upon leaving, there was a slight mix-up, as the head bellman came to us and confessed that they believed they had not only misplaced our bags, but likely had put them into the wrong car and were waiting to hear from the other travelers that they had found them. I was too relaxed to care much. We checked the luggage room just in case, and sure enough, all the bags were in there (tagged “Grace Park,” causing the confusion).
Thanks again to Mom and Dad for not only visiting us for a couple weeks, but for allowing us to get away.
Our personal fire pit. That’s the 18th green of the Ocean Course.
190 yards to an 18-inch birdie putt. Noonan – I missed it.
17th tee.
18th on the Old Course.
