In honor of this special occasion we are now parked in his favorite city, San Diego. Sadly the weather gods aren't in on this celebration and have ushered in cool wind and rain in lieu of the typically perfect sunny 75 degrees. Oh well, there are still good friends and food calling us so it's all still good.
Let's catch up on our shenanigans since last we posted. The pro at Desert Dunes, on the outskirts of Palm Springs, invited us to play his course with him on our way out of town last Sunday. What he hadn't planned on was the whipping 40+ mph winds. Consequently the three of us stood in the pro shop staring at one another waiting for someone to blink. It was clear to me that neither of the men wanted to play but refused to admit it so I broke the silence with, "Let's do this!". I don't put on a collared shirt and a skort only to wimp out because of a little breeze. OK, so maybe a bit more than a breeze. There is a reason the government installed a zillion windmills in this part of the country.
Currently hosting the Canadian Pro Qualifying school, the course was in prestine condition, offering majestic snow capped mountain views, no homes on the course (only place in the desert for this), and a challenging Robert Trent Jones lay out.
The greens were well manicured but were no match for the wind that pushed and tugged our balls in every direction.
The wind repeatedly ran off with my hat while the squirrels did the same with our fruit.
One of a very few teaching pros who will get out and play with potential members, Pat impressed us with his knock down shot that one MUST have in the bag if you live near windmills.
But it was Mike who impressed with his game and took down the pro. I think Pat is anxious for a rematch and offered some unbeatable pricing to either join or invest with his group of Canadians in a REIT for the property.
Who knows?
After a quick round we climbed back into the Winnie and allowed the wind to blow us forty miles down the road to my mom's home in Redlands. A short stay, we spent our time eating at our favorites places including Mom's kitchen, getting new shoes on the car, doing some needed yard work, and getting Peanut tended to both with the beauty salon and the vet.
After half a day with the groomer, the following day was spent under anesthesia to have tests, teeth cleaning, shots, and his infected ear checked out. He is doing better now and out of his groggy state though he is on antibiotics for the ear and for Lyme disease, sigh.
While the little man was under the dental scalpel, Mike and I did something I've wanted to do as long as I can remember--visit and play the oldest club west of the Mississippi, and my hometown's Redlands Country Club. As a child I grumbled incessantly about the hills I had to pedal on my bike. As an adult I grumbled about n'er a flat lie on the course...but so beautiful.
The only caption I can come up with for this next shot is, "not that there's anything wrong with that."
Playing the course allowed this native Redlands girl to finally see the gorgeous and often palatial homes on the course.
With no HOA's in the neighborhoods, one can even have RV parking at their home along the course, that is if one isn't too fond of one's windshield.
But by far the home that has been built by one after my heart was this party house that offers mega spotlights off the outdoor kitchen/living room for those interested in midnight practice.
Although not for sale, it has certainly sparked some ideas for the place we do finally land.
The greens were often small, elevated, barricaded, or all three.
Not known for tornados or hurricanes, the trees lining this course date back to 1896 and have withstood the tests of time and now of Mike Evans.
Not to worry, Andrew, no one was hurt during the filming of this shot.
We were paired with Joyce, the current president of the Ladies association and what a great ambassador for the club. She said the ladies group would welcome me with open arms should we decide to join this club, which allows personal golf carts and is one of the most affordable member owned clubs we've found on this journey. After golf we were joined by her husband Ron who is the club's president and would have played with us if he hadn't been tied up with club business--and there is a lot of it. We were both impressed with the friendliness of this club that has been a mysterious place to me since I was a young child looking from the outside in.
Am out of time as I have to get Mike out to enjoy his birthday beginning with lobster machaca at Bustamantes in Pacific Beach!
P.S. Denise, will be calling you shortly!
Once upon a long-ago time I played five rounds at once on my birthday at Desert Dunes. No wind until my last round but I did have to deal with a baby rattler curled up in the 11th hole.
(Mental note to self: NEVER forget there is a baby snake wrapped around the 11th flag)
Very funny with the "Mike in the tree's" shot but I suspect Mike had never done that before and will never do that again.
Having spent a lot of time in the Redlands / Loma Linda area myownbadself, I had idea.
It might not be what you are looking for but Banning/Beaumont now has three golf courses across the freeway from each other.
I have a colleague who lives on the southside in the Southern California PGA (or something like that) and he likes it there. The northside has a course I loved when it first opened. I hear it has houses all around it now.
Might be worth checking out...
All the best. Happy Birthday Mike!
Posted by: Andrew | 04/09/2011 at 02:01 PM
Thanks Andrew. We checked into the Banning course formerly known as PGA something. They are on their third owner in two years and not yet offering a membership program yet. And nothing for women so I've ruled it out. Right now we are checking out stoneridge in Poway and LaCosta in Carlsbad. Poor Mike's b'day hopes were thwarted when we learned Bustamantes retired so no lobster machaca and then we got locked out of the rv for two hours waiting on a locksmith. Oh well, there's always next year!!!
Posted by: Juanita | 04/09/2011 at 04:13 PM