the ocean views of the back nine at pacific grove golf course

the deer on the front 9 of pacific grove golf course

view of the ocean from the 1 highway

the long and winding road

driving up the 101/1 highway in a convertible is one of the great joys in life. yesterday was especially rewarding because it was overcast for most of my trip and the air was very cool. considering the record setting heat wave we've had, the cloudy, cool weather was a very nice surprise.
one of the highlights of my morning drive was listening to the kevin and bean show on kroq 106.7 fm. i think my favorite new personality is the guy psycho mike. they allowed him to do the red carpet interviews for the premier for the new will ferrell movie. hilarious questions and responses.
the 101 only touches the coast on a few spots before pismo beach. but the those spots are usually gorgeous and the appropriate music is definitely required for such scenery. my band of choice this time was social distortion - with the songs 'ring of fire' and fittingly 'highway 101' as the anthems.
once 101 reaches pismo/morro bay, one can choose to stay on the 101 and drive up more inland or cut over to the 1 and drive up the coast. i chose the coast. the first 40 miles or so was magnificent. no traffic, beautiful views, great weather, straight roads. but once i hit the mountainous area, the drive became a little tedious. the views were still great, but the road is uphill and winding and slow. cars in front of me were too careful to move fast so i was stuck for a good 50 miles behind quite a few vehicles. and since i only got 4 hours of sleep the last two nights, the drive was almost unbearable, despite the amazing views. so instead of arriving at montery/pacific grove at 3pm, i got there right at 4. since i started my day an hour late, 4pm is 2 hours behind schedule.
but here is the unexpected bright spot. because i got to the pacific grove golf course at 4, the price was reduced from $35 to $20. i was afraid that there would be a big crowd and therefore a slow day on the links due to the rate drop. but to my surprise, there was no crowd at all. in fact, i played alone and finished the front nine in an hour, walking. the crown jewel of the course is the back nine because 7 of the 9 holes play along side the ocean or have great views of the ocean. the wind was howling so the golf was tough. but you couldn't beat the golfing experience for a mere $20. considering i'm going to play the fame bandon dunes golf course later next week in oregon at $240 a pop. pacific grove might be the best bargain of the trip.
after the round of golf, i drove through salinas briefly and then caught the freeway to my brother's place in san jose/saratoga.
i didn't do much deep thinking during the day's drive. mostly i concentrated on the right music and direction. i was able to get the i-trip on my ipod to work on the 1 so the dj was the playlist i made awhile ago of 80's and 90's metal bands. that was a nice trip down memory lane.
besides from the random shuffle from my ipod, this was the rest of the playlist:
1. kevin and bean
2. keith olbermain on the dan patrick show (smartest man in sports)
3. social distortion (their last 3 studio albums)
4. a mix cd i made the night before featuring mark knopfler and emmylou harris
5. tom petty (highway companion)
6. ipod - metal mix
-at night
7. dire straits (greatest hits)
8. cheap trick (greatest hits)

total miles traveled. 460. (day 1)