Wednesday 29th April

Look closely and there is a coyote crossing the buggy track

We ought to try this sort of comp at Lutterworth!

Today was very hot with our car temperature recording 100 degrees this afternoon. We had booked to play golf at the Vineyards course again today as we enjoyed it so much on Monday. We first had to find a post office for stamps for postcards (no wonder they arive after we have got back!). This proved to be more  difficult than we expected as for the first time since we came here the Tom Tom was unable to take us to the door! Ben eventually asked a man working on the highway and he directed us. We then had the usual wait and finally managed to make the asian girl on the counter understand that we only wanted 4 stamps to put on postcards to send to England!

As we hadn't had enough time to do some wine tasting on Monday we put this right this morning. We selected  six different wines to taste (2 whites, a rose, and 3 reds) and our preconceived thoughts that American wines are not as good as French were significantly reinforced! Earthy is the best description we can come up with - amazingly they were charging between £28 and $40 dollars per bottle and people were queueing to pay it!

The vineyard was next door to the golf course so we arrived there in a 'happy' frame of mind. The wind proved to be very strong on the front nine, but we managed to play this with improved scores from when we played on Monday. We knew where the lakes cut into the fairways this time! The wind dropped for the back 9 so it was very hot. These holes were as pretty as before and we had the additional benefit of watching a coyote walk across the fairway in front of us.

We ate back at the hotel and got engaged in a conversation with a younger couple from Milan. They were telling us about their plans to leave Italy because of the political and financial position in Italy (i.e. they were being taxed out of existence) and move to the Canary Islands. Both spoke excellent English and were obviously well educated - just the sort of people a country can ill afford to lose!

We will be leaving here tomorrow morning and are intending to drive up the coast road to Los Angeles airport taking in Long Beach and Pebble Beach golf clubs (we checked the price of Pebble beach and it is only $500 - shame we will not have the time to play it!!!).  Our flight is at 9pm and we are due back in England at 4pm on Friday - hopefully the computer glitch at UK passport control reported on this evening's news will have been sorted.

We have had a really good time and when using the US scoring system have had a very close overall result in our golf matches.

Tuesday 29th April

 

The 'Bridge' into Coronado Island

'Doc' - note the putter!

Today the temperatures have, according to locals, been unseasonably hot. The car was registering the outside air temperature as 88F. We had a teetime booked for 2pm at the Coronado golf course, which is reputed to be the best value municipal course in the USA. We set off fairly early to spend the day at Coronado which is an area within the City of San Diego . The traffic was as usual heavy on the main I-5, but when we reached the outskirts of San Diego it all seemed to disappear off our road and was reasonably quiet in the centre. We passed San Diego airport which from an aircraft approach perspective is a bit like Hongkong - we had an airliner descend in front of us as we drove along.  The road engineering is on a grand scale and we crossed the 2.1 mile bridge on to the Coronado peninsular.

It really is a beautiful area particularly when there are blue cloudless skies reflecting in the water. We walked along the water's edge on the north coast and had a drink in a local cafe. The views across the bay towards San Diego centre were spectacular with all sorts of marine craft sailing off the mainland. There are several American navy bases in the area and there are many different ships based at the navy dockyards. There were also canoes, yachts and gin palaces on the water.

USS aircraft carrier 'Ronald Reagan'

Sunset at La Jolla

We arrived at the golf club, where there was a pleasant cool breeze blowing from the sea. We had planned to walk around the course as it is flat being near the coast, but (Liz) decided as it was so hot we should have a buggy. It took us nearly 5 hours to play the round so it was, I think, a sensible idea. We were paired up with 2 other men- 'Doc', who was nearly 90 - he still managed to hit the ball straight and accurately. He had been a pastor and had some golf jokes to tell us on the way round, although talking to him wasn't easy as he was very deaf. The other player was Robert, who reminded me of Phil Mickelson (except Robert's golf was awful) with shorter hair. He lived in San Diego so had an accent like Mickelson's and was also left handed. Both Doc and Robert left us at the 9th hole so we played the second half on our own. Some of the holes we played were along the water's edge which were very pretty and provided a cooling breeze.

We didn't finish our round of golf until 6.30pm so we drove up the coast road (historic highway 101) to find somewhere to eat.  We stopped at La Jolla and just caught the end of sunset - I wish we had been a few minutes earlier as it would have looked spectacular as the sun sank into the Pacific Ocean.  We found a very good Pizza restaurant in 'Del Mar'.

Monday 28th April

Great Par 3 - trouble is it was really hard to hold the green

18th - great view

We woke to a lovely sunny day and took a leisurely drive to a golf course called The Vineyard at Escondido. The course was in perfect condition with blue coloured lakes reflecting the clear blue skies above.  It was difficult to score well as many of the fairway runoffs took you into a conservation hazard which you were not allowed to enter or water; the greens were undulating and very quick. We were partnered to play with a young American lawyer (aren't they all) and an older regular at the course. The young man left us after 9 holes and then the older one was able to point us in the right direction and helped us with where to place shots etc. We enjoyed the course so much that we have booked to play again on Wednesday.
Liz recovered her form today and won by a point!

Nearby there are some vineyards, but unfortunately we ran out of time to do some tasting. Hopefully there will be more time on Wednesday.

Sunday 27 April




A good photo opportunity

It was warmer today with more sunshine so we set off in the morning to view a botanical garden before embarking on the afternoon's golf. The garden proved to be beautiful. It was located at Beverly Mansion near Fallbrook. The gardens are used mostly as a wedding venue, but are open to the public each morning between 9am and 2pm - we presumed that the weddings took place after the riff raff had left! The whole area was very impressive with a huge array of colour, waterfalls and a lake.


And another

Apparently the bride and her father drive around the lake in a horse and carriage and then the ceremony takes place in one of the many settings which were ablaze with colour and had a waterfall of some description as a backdrop. The gardens were immaculate without a sign of a leaf out of place or a dead flower head. It really was inspiring, but no doubt the cost would almost be prohibitive for anyone but the very rich.

We moved on at lunchtime to the golf course at Fallbrook. It was a public course and quite cheap - $25 per head. There were a lot of people on the course of varying standards and the round was consequently quite slow. The fairways were not up to much but the greens were receptive and putted well. The main challenge was the very narrow fairways and cross/side ditches - we both managed to clatter the odd tree! Liz had an 'off-day' and did not putt as well as she has during the holiday. Ben had a good round and won easily playing 3 under his UK handicap - he had been so fed up yesterday with his putting that he bought a new putter at a golf shop on the way back to the hotel. The new putter, according to him, proved that his old one was not up to scratch (2 birdies on the front nine and only one 3 putt in the round)!!!


Tight fairways

Saturday 26 April

Baby 'least tern'



Not sure what this is

Today was another cool and windy day with a few short showers during the morning. We had booked to play golf at the Carmel Highland Golf Resort course just after 1.00 p.m. so decided to go and visit Lake Hodges which was relatively close to the course. The lake was a reservoir for San Diego and was open for recreation for 3 days per week. We saw some interesting birds including some baby 'least terns' which were scuttling along the water's edge. There were a few more species, some of  which we are still trying to identify from our trusty USA bird book.

We then moved on to the golf course, which proved to be not particularly well maintained on the front 9. The course was very compact and quite a lot of it was by the main I-15 interstate road. We saw a humming bird which was fascinating particularly when it seemed to be completely stationary in mid air - never long enough to get a picture. For the record we drew pointswise


Friday 25th April 2014



Our Coaster 'double-decker' train

Victorian Style House

As planned we visited San Diego today. The weather was overcast and cooler which was a boon as it would probably have been uncomfortable sightseeing under a blazing sun. Today we went  to the old town of San Diego. We travelled by the coaster train which takes about an hour with some excellent views of the coast and beaches on the way. The old town proved to be very interesting with the buildings made into museums with the old furnishings etc. There were lots of guides and most shopkeepers/restaurant staff all dressed in period costme We looked at the cemetry where the first settlers were buried-most died at a very young age - some were executed or murdered! We looked around the first brick house to be built there, a victorian house, the first synagogue and a building commemorating the Mormon Battalion - this is one of the most interesting presentations we have ever seen being a mix of our guide, modern technology, and background scenery in the various rooms we visited to cover each stage of the battalion's journey.





This lady greeted us when we visited the Whaley Museum

The old Wells Fargo office and shops were set out as they were over 150 years ago. There was not time to extend our visit beyound Old Town so we returned to Carlsbad - we feel that we should try and and fit in a trip into Downtown San Diego before we have to leave.

We ate out at TGI Friday in Carsbad.










Thursday 24th April 2014

Here we are again - guess what - the sun is shining again!  We had a leisurely breakfast and after sorting domestics went to suss out the train station.   Parking is free and it costs $12 for the return journey to San Diego Downtown Station - the ticket is valid for 24 hours and also covers the buses and trams in San Diego!

We were booked to play golf just after 1.00 pm so decided to bimble up the coast road through Oceanside.  This was a little more built up when compared with south of Carlsbad - we took a wrong turn and ended up on a main road where U-turns were not permitted.  This was broadly on the way to our golf venue so we perservered.  We then spotted a sign for a historic building so took the turn - it turned out to be the the "Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia".  This historic mission was founded in 1798 and is still used today fot training priests and as the home of franciscan monks.  There was an aura of peace within the mission which was a major contrast to the general hustle and bustle of Southern California!  The picture is through an arch into the cloisters garden which features the oldest pepper tree in California (big green tree on right).

The cloisters garden

We visited the Church just before mass was due to be held and could hear the franciscan monks practicing their singing - it was a pity we did not have time to stay as I am sure it would have bee a very uplifting experience.  The adjacent cemetery was beautifully laid out with commemorative walls in use to this day.

Time beat us so we hot footed to our golf venue.  This was called "Marine Memorial Golf Course" and was located within the US Marine Corps Base at Camp Pendleton.  We had to show our passports to get into the base which must have encompassed thousands of acres.  The golf course was pristine and the greens extremely fast and diffuclt to read. 

Marine Memorial

We tied our scores using our UK handicaps (31 points apiece) but when I calculate the US equivalent Liz won by one point - using the USA system it is very close and I am one match up and 2 points ahead overall!

Tomorrow we are going to get the train to San Diego and will let you know how we get on!

Wednesday 23rd April 2014

Another lovely day with the temperature in the mid 70s.  We played golf at a course called Castle Creek Country Club.  The course was moderate with 2 very different halves - the front nine had generous fairways with well kept houses and tidy gardens backing onto the fairways - we even pruned a bush for an elderly couple who asked for our help!  The back half was tighter and 3 holes had long carries over a wide creek - needless to say we both ended up in it. 

There was a rusting old tin plate buggy in front of the clubhouse which is pictured.  They had also hollow tined the 1st and 18th fairways which looked horrendous but did not really interfere with our play.

We had a brief stop at Walmart to top up water supplies - amazing how you get sucked into buying more than you originally intended (clothes and trainers)!

Tuesday 22nd April 2014

We drove down the I-5 to Torrey Pines - this is the main interstate route following the west coast to San Diego - as usual it was wall to wall traffic.  We arrived in good time at Torrey Pines and checked in with no problems - well done to 'Eric' who took the booking!  We then visited the golf shop to get some memorabilia - it was very easy to spend $200!

We were buddied up with 2 individual golfers - one good the other mediocre.  We played the North Course which was in great condition and just like you see on the TV when they televise the PGA Tour 'Farmers' competition. 







Here we are at Torrey Pines





There was fresh breeze off the sea which made the into wind holes a little more challenging.  The 6th par 3 pictured is very scenic with a big elevation change to a small green below.  Needless to say Liz got her par!

 

North Course 6th Hole

The views were excellent - there were quite a few paragliders soaring along the cliffs.  There is an airbase nearby and there was quite a lot of fighter activity with the aircraft crosing the golf course in their climb out over the sea - as we used to remark in the RAF 'jet noise - the sound of freedom'!

We followed the historic Highway 101 coast road back to Carlsbad which was a very pleasant drive through a number of small resort towns hugging the coast line.  There were lots of people surfing on the pacific waves.

The pacific coaster rail line also followed the coastline and we are researching the train times for a trip on it to San Diego.

Monday 21st April 2014

After yesterday's long trip into the mountains we had a leisurely start.  We played at a nearby course called 'Oceanside'.  Despite the name there were no views of the Pacific!  Whilst the greens were 'quick and true' the rest of the course was not in great condition and Lutterworth would have easily surpassed it from a playing perspective (Oceanside had too many bare lies - both on and off the fairways).  The pictured hole was an elevated par 3 which Liz cleverly got a par.  What can I say - "Ben had an off day".  There is no other way to describe it but I was well and truly thrashed by Liz.  She relentlassly drove straight down the middle followed by equally good fairway shots and putts - I have not done the calculations but I am sure she will have played below her handicap when using the USA slope system.

Liz on the elevated par 3, 13th tee at the Oceanside Course, California

We are very close to the famous 'Torrey Pines' which is a public course.  To get to play there you have to apply to the local municipal authority.  On the offchance we gave them a ring and were dealt with by a very helpful chap called 'Eric'.  The upshot was that 'Eric' has managed to engineer us a tee time of  11.00 am tomorrow on the North Course at Torrey Pines.  We will arrive in good time and hope that the local government process works in our favour -we will report back tomorrow.

Sunday 20th April 2014

We have had a long day driving to the Joshua Tree National Park over 150 miles from Carlsbad. It is a high desert area with lots of joshua trees and many different varieties of cacti, most of which are a month away from flowering.  There are piles of huge boulders making interesting shapes . We also spotted some different types of lizards and a couple of snakes that had been 'run over'. From the highest viewing area of the park you can see the San Andreas Fault, Palm Springs and the Salton Sea in the valley below. The view was a little hazy because of the heat.
 



Joshua Trees

After leaving the park we drove towards Palm Springs through an area of thousands of wind turbines. Most of the turbines were hardly moving as it was a calm day with the temperature reaching 96 degrees F in the afternoon. Palm Springs itself is an interesting looking place which appeared to be a good centre for 'posing'. We then drove up into the mountains on a hairpin road - the picture of the golf courses below in Palm Springs area was taken from a viewing area near the top.

The drive back took us through a couple of indian reservations but there was no sign of any habitation within them (except a lone casino in the middle of nowhere).  We stopped on the way back at an italian restaurant.  The food was good but as usual there was far too much of it so had to leave some and decline the offer of a 'doggy bag'.

 









Palm Springs Golf Courses


 



San Andreas Fault Line in the valley below


 











 







 





















Saturday 19th April 2014

It has been a lovely sunny day with temperatures up into the 80s with a pleasant breeze. We decided to play golf on a course which was about 50 miles away from where we were staying and well worth the drive as it was a much prettier and interesting golfwise than the last 2 days' rounds. The terrain was more rugged and putting on the greens was like putting on a carpet! It was a harder course so Ben won comfortably.
After we had driven back to the area around the hotel we found the beach on the Pacific Ocean at Carlsbad which had rocky promontories jutting into the sea with sandy beaches between. We ate this evening in a true Italian restaurant where the waiter wanted to know which football team we supported. Interesting that he recognised that we were English when even the Americans have to ask us where we are  from. He said he supported West Ham. The meal was excellent with fresh vegetables instead of fries. I think we are planning a non golf day tomorrow.

The photos show some of the flora and, if you look carefully, the fauna which we saw on the golf course today.





 



Friday 18th April 2014



Looking over the 10th hole at St Luis Rey Downs Golf & Country Club

 Our body clocks are gradually getting used to the time difference although we were awake at 5.30pm this morning mainly due to Ben's phone ringing! We decided to venture to San Diego to a golf shop so that he could purchase a new golf bag. Apparently the zips on the pockets of his old one have all broken. The drive was quite hair rasising as have all our driving trips in the area. We are amazed at the amount of traffic on up to 9 lane roads at all times of day. Fortunately Ben brought his Tom tom so we have managed to find our way around quite easily. He successfuly bought a new golf bag as well as golfballs and tee pegs so is all set to play now.  From San Diego we travelled north to the small town called Bonsall, where we had a tee time booked on a course in the neighbourhood. We were paired up with 2 men, one of whom played regularly on this course. He was able to point us in the direction of some other courses reasonably near by. It was a much closer competition today as we had equal scores at the begining of the 18th hole, but Ben managed to beat me in the end by 1 point. After our needle golf match we drove home via the nearest Red Lobster restaurant, one of our favourite restaurant chains, where we ate lobster, scallops, prawns and crab claws.  



Thursday 17th April 2014

Our first day was supposed to be relaxing as we managed about 2 hours sleep at the most in the last 24 hours or so. However we woke fairly early so were all ready to go. The weather was overcast although comfortable to be out in without a sweater. The hotel is inundated with young children presumably on Easter holidays. We decided to find a golf course to play and found Meadow Lake which was about 15 miles from our base. It was up in the hills east of here and although the greens were fast the fairways were not  so good. It was a pretty course with some lovely houses around the course. The gardens were full of flowers in bloom. All the bougenvillia was in flower as were the hibiscus and other flowers. We (or at least I am) looking forward to better golf to come. After golf we managed to find Walmart where I saw a photo opportunity, but hadn't the nerve to take the photo! It was then back to our hotel for an early meal and then an equally early night.



Wednesday 16 April 2014

Our A380 on the stand at Heathrow Terminal 5

We arrived at Purple Parking Heathrow after a longer than planned trip to avoid the M25 which was at a standstill.  Check in was quick and we bought a sandwich and went straight to the gate waiting area - Terminal 5 is enormous!  Our aircraft - shown on the stand is an A380 and was 3 weeks old.  We flew Premium Economy and had a cabin on the upper deck over the wings.  We had a spectacular view of Greenland from 38,000 feet.  The sea was frozen in the fjords and everything was covered in snow.  Our departure and arrival were both delayed as there were problems with the walkway that connects to the aircraft - in both cases they could not get it to retract outbound and get close enough inbound.



Greenland under snow

It took 3 hours from landing to clear immigration and customs and get our car.  We then had to content with Route 405 to San Diego being closed and the diversion was not well signed.  We eventually got to our hotel at 0115 pacific time somewhat knackered -22 hours door to door!

Test Post

We depart on Wednesday - Ben has done nothing to help. Aagh