It wasn’t until mid February that we finally hit the road. Though Monterey isn’t that far, the destination was the reward. Rain had been forecast but that didn’t stop us from attending the 2026 AT&T ProAm golf match at Pebble Beach, well that, and the unrefundable tickets.
Leslie was hoping that Rory McElroy was going to win again like he did last year, this year it was Collin Morikowa’s turn to claim the $3 million prize.
The setting is so picturesque. This year we decided to sit and wait at the 18th hole and let the players come to us, instead of following them from green to green. We had prime seats and plenty of rain gear.
Also unlike last year where I had a parking pass cause we were volunteering, this year we had to take a free shuttle from the nearby town of Seaside.
It was a good time.
Shell Creek Road isn’t exactly a road trip away for us, but we do enjoy taking a drive out there to check out the wildflowers. And this year was not disappointing. It wasn’t a super bloom like some years ago, but it was impressive.
We headed out on a weekday to keep traffic down, and that was perfect for just wandering around enjoying the moment.
Some years I’ve brought my tripod and big camera, but I’m trying to transition to this mobile smart device. The apps and features keep getting better every year.
Well the year started wet. We spent two weeks in Portland, Oregon. We spent a couple days at my nieces place, and then headed to the coast. We did a day trip to Astoria, and then two nights in Newport. Here’s some shots from both locations.
We were also able to attend a Portland Trailblazers game with great seats, cause, well basically, they’re not doing great this year.
We were also able to make it out to Hood River where my sister and her husband live. It was an enjoyable time of sharing. Along the drive there we stopped at Multnomah Falls which I truly love photographing.
We spent two nights in some of the McMenamins hotels, one in McMinnville, and the other at the Kennedy School in PDX. If you’ve never stayed at one, I highly recommend it. It’s not just a place to stay, it’s an experience.
And then she surprised me with a three day trip to Yosemite to celebrate us being together 21 years. Sucks that I was sick most of the trip, but the park was empty, just the way we like it.
And by the end of January we were scheduled to volunteer at the ATT ProAm Pebble Beach Classic. I was appointed to do distribution while Leslie did admissions.
Our son-in-law flies for Fed-Ex, and is stationed out of Nashville, TN. He needed one of his cars that are located in Paso Robles, CA where he lives taken out east, and since we both now have open schedules we offered to drive it there for him. Four days on the road,, ten days travel time, 2400 miles, and a ton of fun. Love road trips like this with no timeline or explanation. And since we were there we even did some family history research on Leslie’s tree.
And in May we could be found in the Pacific Northwest passage, specifically Ketchikan and Juneau, Alaska. Was a little rainy, but an enjoyable trip, complete with Glaciers and Orca whales.
And here's a couple YouTube videos of images and videos I shot while on the trip.
September found us on the east coast, visiting 19 Edgemere which was my first house I lived in, to Jersey City where Leslie has Irish ancestry.
From there we made our way to Nantucket for a couple days. Great weather and wonderful scenery.
From there we were off to NYC for four days. Again, great weather. Went to a broadway show, did a boat cruise, saw a Yankees game, went to a taping of Jimmy Fallon, and Leslie got a selfie with Sheinelle Jones.
And to close out the year we headed east to Texas, specifically Austin and San Antonio.
We booked an extended stay for a week in downtown Austin which offered us the benefit of cooking our own breakfast, keeping my beer chilled, and had a great rooftop view.
There were lots of football games happening that week, and there were plenty of sports bars to visit and checkout.
Leslie wanted to see a Spurs game so we spent two days in San Antonio. Did the Riverwalk, took a trolley tour of the town, skipped the Alamo (too pricey), saw the basketball game, and even a fireworks show.
Leslie convinced her daughter and her family to join us in Austin, so we spent another five days back in Austin, visiting the Zilker Park, taking a river boat ride, and state Capitol.
And for those that really care about what we did here are full videos broken into segments for easier viewing.
Though the year is still early, we were lucky to make it up to Monterey to witness the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Classic. The weather was a bit rough, the crowds was thin, which allowed us to get up and close to some real professional golfers.
By May we were ready to travel again, and this time it was off to the East Coast, more specifically, Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston.
The Fourth of July found us in San Diego visiting Tod and Trish, and A Padres game, a great firework display, and an overall wonderful weekend. The best part was that we flew from San Luis Obispo, so the commute was only 45 minutes.
And then, just in time for great weather in Europe, we made our fifth trip to the island of Ireland. We went from Dublin to the bottom right corner of County Waterford where my great-great grandfather William Flaherty was from, then all the way up to the far Northwestern side by County Donegal where Enya and Clannad had their origins. It was a great trip, even though I lost my phone even before leaving the states.
We didn’t do a heck of a lot after this trip to Ireland, other than visiting the grandkids down in LA, and seeing a Dodgers game.
And then the day came where I simply got tired of waking up, making the commute to another city, just to get a paycheck. I wasn’t learning as much as I wanted from a job, and I’ve heard too many stories of people who don’t get to enjoy their senior years, and well, I decided to retire. Leslie did it at the end of 2023 and enjoys it, and now that we both have free schedules, we plan on making the most of it by traveling even more than we did while working.
We spent a night in Pismo Beach to celebrate my retirement. Great waves, great color.
Christmas Day we’re heading to Portland, OR for two weeks. We might move there, as house prices are cheaper, and going this time of the year we’ll be seeing at its worst. Luckily, my neice Shannon will be out of town and we can stay at her place.
Well we started 2023 a little late. Took a trip north up to Bodega Bay and San Francisco.
Oh and I was finally able to sell Tom's motorhome and pay off my Impreza.
And Shell Creek had another one of their superblooms.
And then one of the best events of the year happened in March with the birth of Jordyn Paige Antonville.
And if the year couldn’t get any more exciting, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!
Crazy year.
But it didn't end there. For Leslie's 65 birthday we flew up to Seattle, rented a car, and drove up to Vancouver, British Columbia. After a couple days there, we headed to the island of Vancouver, where we had a great stay in Tofino, a small cute town, and then on to the city of Victoria.
