Saturday June 14.

The US Open…the big show. Chris set the alarm on his cell phone and we scheduled a wakeup call…for 5AM! He jumped out of bed and was ready to go in 20 min, and I rolled out of bed to drive him to Qualcomm Stadium in my PJ's. I like to stay classy San Diego.

*side note. I’m not going with him. I never even entertained the idea. He and I get along famously, however we are very different. Take shopping for example. I go in, know exactly what I am looking for, buy without trying it on…and if I hate it I bring it back. Chris likes to browse, shop just to look, try everything on, come out and model it etc. See where I am going with this? Golf is similar. I’m happy going around 9am with some reading material and a hat, finding a seat in the grandstand on the 18th green, and staying put. He likes to arrive when it opens, see the holes and scout the spots before any players are out, watch them on the putting green or warming up, and then walk briskly from hole to hole and group to group. I did it his way at the Grand Slam, and was exhausted after one day. I literally sat down in the shade at one point and took a 20 min nap. I figured for him to have the best possible time, I should stay behind. I would rough it hanging out with Val in the city I miss most.


(Cars at Qualcomm)
Everyone attending the open had to park at Qualcomm and take the shuttle bus. We pulled up in front of the stadium and they hadn’t even opened the gates yet! As they started letting in cars we were the first wave thru. Chris ended up being the 46th person on the grass that morning. Yes, he even knows what number he was. He was at Torrey Pines by 6:30, and walking the holes by 7am.



He decided not to follow Tiger, having seen him play before he knew that 90% of the people would be following Tiger’s group. He did see him play a few holes, but tried to watch everyone else as well. He said that Adam Scott can smack one hell of a drive. He outdrove Phil by 40 yards on several holes, and Paul Casey is like a foot shorter than Vijay but easily outdrove him as well. He said the weather was amazing, the golf was going to be historical, and the course was very difficult.


(18th hole)
In all Chris was at Torrey for 11 hours, and managed to see everyone at least once. He also managed to drop some cash in the merchandise tent. Apparently that tent was something to see at almost 40K square feet. When I picked him up he was wearing all his purchases and carrying a few for me. I love this guy; he knows to come back with gifts!

As for me, I dropped him off and drove the long way back to the hotel. I wanted to see some of my favorite places and memories by myself in the early morning when no one else is out. Well the surfers and the seals are out, but the ocean in the early morning is very peaceful.


After some breakfast and a shower I was ready to meet Val for our “girls’ day”. When I lived in San Diego Val and I had different schedules so we usually spent one weekend day together, and had a routine. It involved going to Fashion Valley Mall, so that was our first stop. They had added a bunch of new stores that I wanted to check out.


After some mall time it was off to PB and the Green Flash for lunch. She and I have been ordering their Oriental Chicken Salad for about the last 7 years. No need to change perfection. Green Flash is a great spot on the boardwalk so if you're lucky enough to get an outside table the people watching will keep you entertained.

(table view at the Green Flash)

Then we head to Bogart Yogurt in the afternoon for a treat. We used to go on a walk on the bay, or ride our beach cruisers to do those things, but this time we traded that for sitting on Val’s patio in Mission Hills in the warm sun, and reading magazines. It was our perfect weekend date.


(the Fish House)

After I picked Chris up we decided to head back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. We walked across from the hotel to the Fish Market. I think it’s a fun restaurant on the water in the harbor. Halfway thru dinner we realized we were so exhausted that if we wanted dessert it would have to be room service because we were done for the night.



We walked back along the water, and ordered in room ice cream while watching highlights on sports center.