Pinehurst

We took a day trip down to Pinehurst here in NC this last Saturday.  It’s one of our favorite places to go.

 

 Here we are driving up to the Carolina Hotel in beautiful Pinehurst, North Carolina.  We love coming here!  Two years ago we came and spent the weekend for our Anniversary and loved every minute of it.  Once we arrived, the valet parked our car and we never needed it again until it was time to go home.  The resort had air conditioned shuttle buses that took us anywhere we wanted to go.  Lunch at the clubhouse over looking the famous #2 golf course?   Yes, thank you!

The hotel has HUGE covered porches with white rocking chairs.  We sat out here sipping our favorite beverages.

Last time we were here, the Golf Channel was hosting an amateur’s tournament.  If you are a mini Golf Geek like me, Vince Cellini , one of the hosts on the Golf Channel was there and we saw him frequently in the restaurants in and around the hotel and got to talk with him several times. One guy in particular who was from Las Vegas, and we had been chatting with him over the course of the weekend, ended up winning the whole thing!   Amazing really, considering how much beer we watched him consume.  He had to have had a hangover the day he won.  :)  Anyway, after a full day of shopping, hitting the spa, golf or tennis (we never did get around to golfing while we were there!), it was so relaxing to hang out on this porch and sit in a rocker, have an ice cold beer and mingle with the other guests. 

 Pinehurst was the host of the 1999 US Open and that was the year Payne Stewart won the whole thing.  The entire main hallway in the Clubhouse has all kinds of golf memorabilia lining the walls.  There is especially a lot of Payne Stewart who was a great golfer and so entertaining to watch.  He is no longer with us.  He passed away in a freak airplane accident shortly after he won the US Open.  I miss watching him.  He always used to wear the traditional golf attire. 

This photo of Payne Stewart winning the 1999 US Open was immortalized into this statue that stands outside the clubhouse in Pinehurst. 

        

  Here are some more photos I found in the hallway of the Carolina Hotel.  Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicholas, and Tom Watson.

 These are part of the memorabilia lining the walls of the Clubhouse. 

Some shots from the 1970’s when Gerald Ford was in the White House.      

More shots from the year Payne Stewart won.

 After my husband and I arrived, we had our lunch at the Ryder Cup Restaurant in the Carolina Hotel.  Then we headed over the the Village to do some shopping.  The village is unbelievably “small town quaint” with flower pots and hanging flowers everywhere.  Cute shops and boutiques everywhere. 

  

The sidewalks are made of brick.  The flowers are gorgeous and everywhere!

  

Wouldn’t you like to do your banking here? 

I loved the flower combination in this flower pot.  It was huge and had one of my most favorites…Blue Lobelia…spilling over the sides of the pot. 

 

My favorite discovery on this trip was this cute shop called Green Gate Olive Oils.    I have never been in a shop quite like it.  It was an Olive Oil and Vinegar shop!  You can taste all kinds of flavored oils from all over the world.  And they have vinegars to taste with unbelievable flavors.  My favorite olive oil was a Blood Orange Olive Oil that I could kick myself now for not buying a bottle.  I did come home with an incredible bottle of Black Cherry Balsamic Vinegar.  The taste is amazing!

 

Here is the owner filling the bottle with my Black Cherry Vinegar.  Throughout the store are mini tasting cups and cubed up pieces of bread for tasting and dipping.

           

And here is the bottle I brought home with me.  I can’t wait to make a salad with it. 

Our day trip to Pinehurst was so much fun.  The village was decked out for the Fourth of July and they were going to have a parade that we were going to miss.  Maybe next year well plan to stay for the whole Fourth of July weekend there.  It’s a wonderful getaway.