Busy Budget Foodie: A New Job & The San Juan Islands

Oh my goodness, where does the time go?? It feel like just yesterday that I was writing about our move to Monterey and promising that I was going to get back on a more regular blog schedule. That was...almost one month ago. Don't worry, as usual I am ready with good excuses for my radio silence. First off, I have a new job! Only at the end of July I officially started work as an Executive Assistant at Pebble Beach Company. Yes, as in the world-famous golf resort that hosts all the fancy celebrity golf tournaments. I know, you may be thinking that one important detail doesn't make sense...I don't golf. In fact, I will cheerfully admit that I don't know the first thing about golf, despite the fact that as an employee I can now play the world's best course for free.

It turns out that Pebble Beach is a lot more than just a golf course. I've learned over the past few weeks that it is in fact home to the world-famous scenic "17 Mile Drive," five golf courses, three hotels, a fancy award-winning spa, and almost 15 restaurants. It has a free employee dining room, which means no brown bagging it to work...ever. It is also absolutely gorgeous and only ten minutes drive from my house. In other words, somebody better pinch me because it doesn't seem quite real yet. My job is located at the Inn at Spanish Bay, where I support the general manager, food and beverage director, and rooms director. This is my first time working directly in the hospitality industry, and it is absolutely fascinating. Everyone I work with is extremely nice and very, very good at what they do. I'm still learning the ropes, the lingo, and the industry and probably will continue to learn for a long while to come.

As you know, training for a new job is exhausting just because everything is so new and there is a TON to learn. So, good thing Stuart and I had a pre-planned vacation to the San Juan Islands at the beginning of August! After a week of intensive training at my new job, we headed to the airport for some R&R. We started off with 24 hours in Seattle, followed up by four nights on Orcas Island to celebrate the wedding of two good family friends. It was just what the doctor ordered a great way to sneak a summer vacation into what has been a truly whirlwind of a summer. Here is a glimpse of our recent trip!