19th hole

DH - 98*
MW - 101
RE - 106

I won 10 skins Don pressed and lost on his 5 skins. Roy had 3 skins.

*Don's equitable adjusted posted score includes an 8 on 15, which is where he picked up. He was on his way to a 12 or 15.

Don is in a bit of trouble on 18

working his way back to the green.

Don is pressing on 18

Down 9-4 on skins

Roy out of the trap on 16

The pivotal 15th hole. After a drop for an unplayable...

... this is Don's 3rd shot on 15.

And here is Don taking his 5th shot on the 15th, and yes that is the same body of water as in the first picture. He is only about 100 yards in front of the tee. After eight strokes, he was still in the weeds off to the right of the green when he finally picked up. No telling what his actual score was.

In the meantime, I was on the green in regulation, and...


... this was my birdie (and par) putt. It was a good hole.

Roy knocks it stiff

On 13.

In this case "knocking it stiff" means 22 feet past the hole on the green. Which is a lot closer than Don or I, who were hitting our second shots from 50 yards left and right of the green, respectively.

Roy 2-putted for the par.

10th tee

Dons 2nd on 7

Roy tees off on 6

Form check

Pretty morning

With a a little haze over the San Andreas Fault. Earthquake weather.

Rolling my birdie putt past the hole on 4

But got the par on 4

Don tees off on 4

Into the woods on the right.

Roy tees off on 3

Not pretty, but rolls to just off the green. Then missed a 3 footer for a bogey.

Live blogging Crystal Springs

The knee passed the abalone test. Now on to the golf test. Don and Roy are planning to take advantage of me, as I have not touched a club in 2 months.

BTW - Dan, our supposed fourth, is an unreliable golfer.

At the Washoe House Inn

Favorite stop for the ride back. Had a Buffalo Burger and a Guinness.

Abalone - Take Two

Stiffed yet again by my unreliable ab dive buddies, I decided conditions were safe enough for my second solo abalone venture (the first is linked here). Well, not quite solo. My guardian angel was keeping watch from the bluff top, as well as photo documenting the dive (will update with her pictures later). Went in from the side, and dove in 6-8 feet of water with 12-18 inches of visibility, near the bluff out toward the point.

UPDATE
Pictures from above:

The search is on...

putting an abalone away

working my way out through the kelp and surf

Enjoying a traditional apres-dive brew.

END UPDATE

Took three, but kept two. The third one was kind of odd - got the iron under it, grabbed the edge of the shell and headed back to the surface. Got there with the shell, but no abalone. Must have been old or diseased. Anyway, stuck to the letter of the law, and limited myself to three takes and two keepers. They were on the small side, but with no dive buddy, my objective was to get my limit and get out. The good news, was the "scoped" knee held up on the climb down and back. No real difference from before the surgery.

Back at the Ab Shack. Perfect size for dinner for two. Without the Ab Slicer, I felt like I had traveled back to prehistoric times, returning to the tools of a caveman cleaning and prepping the meat for dinner.

Fresh abalone- traditionally prepared, Sigrid's Yukon mashed potatoes with chives, a wedge of iceberg lettuce with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, washed down with Chardonnay. Life is good.

Ebb tide

Low tide in 3 hours. Viz not good, but swells are manageable. Going in.

Dueling Hummingbirds

The Ab Shack Gardens have attracted a number of hummingbirds, each of whom apparently resents the presence of the others. We counted at least four and watched them attempt to run each other out of the garden. Sigrid and I tried to get a decent picture of the birds, she with her Canon SLR, me with my point and shoot Olympus - a few samples included in this post for the reader's enjoyment.


It is left as an exercise for the reader to determine who took which pictures.

9-10 foot swells? really?

From the Pacific Waverider site. Just can't pick the right weekends this year. It's forecast to settle down for the low tide this afternoon. Still a shot.

Enjoying a fire at the ab shack

Relaxing tonight. Abs tomorrow?