Pebble Beach, Part 3

This week, ghostly apparitions give way to the heart of Pebble Beach

Note: This is part three of a multiple part post on Pebble Beach. It is best enjoyed after reading the previous posts in the series.

Find Part 1 here.

Find Part 2, here.

When we left you last week, we were traveling in a generally southward direction where we encountered the Lone Cypress in all its glory. Today we are poised to head further south, then eastward, inland on our way to the de facto “capital” of the region, Pebble Beach Village.

We’ll make one more stop first, though: Pescadero Point. Last week we showed you a grove of some of the oldest trees in the world; here you’ll see some of the ghostliest:
This spooky trunk and branches are bleached and (there’s no other way to put this) dying. Even so, the grove looks fairly innocuous during the day. Don’t be fooled; local legend has it that the trees are haunted, and at night you’ll see a “Lady in Lace” wandering the general vicinity. Seems an image perfectly suited for the darkest of foggy nights, and you get plenty of those in Pebble Beach.

Frightened? Well, there’s some good news. Not long past the ghost trees lies Pebble Beach Village, for all intents and purposes the heart of Pebble Beach.
In addition to the visitor’s center and spacious gift shop pictured above (note the official Cypress Tree logo), there is much to see in the Village. For a website that sums up what’s available better than we can, click here. In the meantime, we’ll concentrate on a few highlights.

There’s no question that the centerpiece of the Village is the Lodge at Pebble Beach, a landmark destination with almost legendary stature due, in no small part, to its centerpiece: the Pebble Beach Golf Links, which its website describes it as being “…unanimously rated the No. 1 public course in the country.”

People throw the term, “legendary” around a lot, but the descriptor really does apply to the Links. In addition to breathtaking, in-play, on-the-water views, this is a golf course with great credentials and a serious history: it will host its sixth U.S. Open in 2019. Every February a host of celebrities play here in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. The following is a shot of the Lodge, emphasizing the well-groomed putting green in the foreground (for another view, see the photo that leads off this post).

As you probably can see from the above, the front of the Lodge faces a kind of courtyard, and that’s where you’ll find the Pebble Beach Shops, a high-end retail mall with any number of unique stores. Our favorite is a fascinating shop that deals in golf collectables and other historical memorabilia and books. Here’s a view of one shop row to give you a bit of the flavor:
Right behind the first tee stands Pebble Beach’s recognition wall, which incorporates the Bing Crosby Wall of Fame. In the middle you’ll see a bust of Samuel F.B. Morse, who essentially created Pebble Beach. Mr. Morse is flanked on both sides by names etched in the wall plaques, including every pro and amateur that have won the AT&T Pro-Am back to its days as the “Crosby Clambake.”
Words often fail us when we describe the unique atmosphere and attractive environment of this locality. Perhaps one last shot of the golf course can keep you satisfied until next week, when we explore further.