2026 Sea Ranch - Day #2

Just before 5 am, I started to hear some odd noise in the room near the windows. I thought that it might be a rat. I got up using my phone as a flashlight. As I checked the windows, the noise stopped. As soon as I got back in bed, the noise started again. I got up again without the light. Poking at the shade, something flew by my head.

Turning on a light, there was a fairly large bat flying around the high ceiled room. Sharon started screaming and pulled the covers over her head.

Almost 45 years ago, I had the same thing happen in the East View house. I grabbed a towel thinking that I would swat it out of the air.

Sharon insisted that we leave the room. Pulling on some clothes, we drove to the main lobby. There was a sign on the door sayinng that no one would be there until 7 am. Sharon called the number of the door but no one answered. She left them an obscenity laced message.

Driving back to the room, we sat in the car for awhile. Sharon kept calling every ten minutes, but no one answered. Eventually, I coaxed Sharon back into the bathroom of the room. I turned on all of the lights. At this point, I could see the bat wedged in a corner of the vaulted ceiling. We both took showers. I dragged all of the luggage into the entry way and started packing the car.

Someone finally called from the lobby about 6:45 am. We drove to the lobby, had some coffee and waited for the Gainsleys.

The restaurant for the hotel didn't serve breakfast until 8 am. With the plan for the day to play golf at the Link at Bodega Bay, the four of us decided to drive there and breakfast.

I had made a 9 am tee time. After getting breakfast burritos and hitting a few balls into a net, we ended up teeing off at about 8:30 am. It was a crisp, cold morning with temperatures in the high 30s. Unfortuantely, the course was cart path only.

Walking to my tee shot on the first hole, I slipped in the mud walking down the hillside. My bad knee on the leg that I had surgery on in October folded under me in a way that it probably hasn't been able to bend in 20 years. Kevin had to drag me up to my feet.

The rest of the day was brutal. With my knee wrenched, I struggled to find any consistency. Trying to be honest about my score, I took six penalty shots for lost balls. I was in seven bunkers; it took me four strokes to get out of one of them and two strokes to get out of two others. I would hit a good shot and then a bad shot. I couldn't string two shots together. I ended up with a fairly honestly scored 125. Ugly...

It warmed up nicely in the afternoon. It is a beautiful course.


After the round, we stopped at the Tides Market for fish, smoked salmon and oysters. Heading towards The Sea Ranch, Sharon and I took the Meyers Grade Road past the Fort Ross Winery that bypasses the cliff section of Highway 1.

We got to Gualala about 3:30 pm. We picked up the key and did some shopping at the market. We finally got to Monette just before 4 pm.

After getting settled in the house, Kevin barbecuded oysters and ling cod for dinner. We added a caesar salad.

The four of us finished the night watching the Olympics. We crashed early.

This is the fifth time that we have rented Monette since February 2022. We love this spot!