Carmel Valley Ranch Play The Clay Event

Took the morning flight from Richmond to San Francisco yesterday. Felt a little like coming home when I landed. I spent half of '06 and most of '07 coming to the Bay area to research the market and understand the opportunity for bringing clay to the west coast. Actually looked at northern and southern Cal but at the end of the day we just loved the "community" that exists in tennis in the Bay area. So every other week for 6-7 months of the year I made this trip.

The trip had always felt a little like coming home. My dad grew up in Palo Alto, was a Paly High grad and went to San Jose St where he played water polo for a couple of national championship teams. I had taken several trips out here as a child to visit my Grandmother, who lived in Menlo Park, as well as my dad's sister in Los Gatos and my mom's brother in Apotos. My dad passed away a couple of years ago and my Aunt only two months ago and as I drive away from SFO south to Los Gatos for a meeting at Courtside Club, a flood of emotions best described as a combination of nostalgia, pride and a certain emptiness, invariably washes over me. It is a feeling I embrace and I am very glad to be back in Northern California swimming in memories that otherwise get stored away behind the cares of everyday.

Met up with Tim Beyer and after a nice meeting about Advantage Lighting with Gordon Collins at Courtside Club we head south on 17 for La Selva Beach and the Flora Vista Inn to pick up tennis balls and waters for the weekend. Flora Vista is a beautiful bed & breakfast nestled between fields of flowers and very private Manresa Beach, a lovely beach that is one of the few in the area that still allows campfires. The proprietors, Ed & Deanna Boos, are wonderfully warm and knowledgeable and understand that balance of privacy and company for their guests. The cooking is fantastic and as a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the Bay area it is first rate. And of course la piece de la resistance...there two, perfectly manicured Har-Tru courts there. These courts are a little known secret and in this season of clay - or any time for that mater - how nice it is to spend the day on the tennis courts accompanied by walks on the beach or just sitting, gazing across a tapestry of color with a glass of wine in hand.

On to Carmel. Monterey and Carmel are recognizable by reputation for most. They are exquisite seaside town homes to exclusive resort communities with postcard ocean views and quaint shops and restaurants. As an aside, the 2011 USPTA World Conference has been scheduled for Monterey which I think is a great choice and I am already looking for to. On the drive to Carmel you pass through some of the nation's finest growing areas. Fields of strawberries, almond farms and giant tracts dedicated to nothing but artichokes. Artichokes are grown on spiny looking bushes that are no more than 3' tall. The artichokes open up on the top like a flower. I saw a sign that the Artichoke Festival was coming May 16-19. Although I initially snickered a bit as I considered what the Artichoke Festival could possibly be like, I later learned from Tim that Marilyn Monroe was once the queen of the festival. Go figure.

Finally we arrived at the Carmel Valley Ranch. More on the Ranch in the next blog. After crossing through the gated entrance we wound our way through the community to the lodge, where we were greeted and driven to our room on a golf cart. A quick jog on the golf course as the sun dropped, to shake off the cobwebs of a long day, revealed marvelous old trees, deer and a few turkey, all of which seemed to regard me with suspicion and a bit of disdain for interrupting what I expected is typically "their time". Pizza at Ioli's - where we did manage to recruit some additional players for our clinics and round robins this weekend - and then bed.

First event starts tomorrow at 9 a.m.