The Fun Outside San Fran Continues

Our morning in Monterey started with breakfast at the Duck Club in our hotel. We were seated right next to a window and could look out over the water while eating.

I loved how a beautiful, purple flower was placed on each of our plates to make our food look so picturesque.

We had to be back at the Carmel Valley Ranch at noon when Abe and Klarissa needed to check out. But we were able to use all the facilities as long as we wanted.

There were swings all around the place.

Basketball was fun to play while waiting for a bocce ball court to free up.

In case some are as ignorant as I was about what in the world bocce ball even is, let me explain...

You throw out the small white ball, called the pallino, and then everyone tries to throw their bigger ball as close to the pallino as possible. Both players on both teams are always trying to get closest to the pallino. It's a very fun game.

Abe and Klarissa have done a great job getting close to the pallino. Good luck, Glen!

Sometimes it gets very competitive--right down to 1/8th of an inch. Glen was always whipping out that tape measure to eliminate any doubt of which ball was closest.

This was the moment Klarissa and I enjoyed the most--Abe lying flat on his stomach to get the best shot.

Since it was the Sabbath, it was a good time to visit the Carmel Mission.

We walked around Carmel-by-the-Sea, visited an outdoor mall, and ate at a Mediterranean restaurant--complete with live entertainment.

On Memorial Day, we hit an early IMAX movie--3D "Pirates of the Caribbean". We made it a daily double by seeing Kung Fu Panda 2 later in the day.

On this day, our field trip was driving to Napa Valley. Since we were in wine country, it only seemed fitting that we stopped by a winery--but we skipped the wine tasting.

Abe insisted we stop by the Boon Fly Cafe for a little snack of doughnuts. The porch swing made a great place to sit and eat our treat.

Our dinner that evening was at Bottega. The surrounding grounds were so beautiful.

Abe, this last picture is for you...

After all was said and done, I'd say we had a high-jumping, phone-dropping, heel-clicking, big-grinning excellent time on our vacation!

Thanks for showing us a great time, Abe and Klarissa!