Carmel Trip

Hi guys!   We went on a little trip to the east coast right after my last blog post, so I did not get to do this Carmel by the Sea post that I wanted to document on here. So here are some photos and thoughts on the trip.

I use to work in Carmel back in the late 80's when my husband was doing his graduate degree at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS).  Carmel was such a different place then. Filled with beautiful unique shops, including the gallery I worked in. Today it's a bit different, and I was saddened to see that the beautiful space that I worked in was now a darkly painted shoe store. The space before was the epitome of Carmel. It was filled with the cream of the crop American Handcrafts. Beautiful turned wood bowls, blown glass, gorgeous hand made furniture, pottery etc. filled the shop. We were not the only shop like this, and that is what made this storybook village so special. Granted, we didn't walk the streets of Carmel this visit, and only had dinner near my old work place, so maybe the criticism isn't fair, but from what we saw,  there wasn't anything that special. The things that still remain from the past are, good food, the cute little thatched roofed tea house called The Tuck Box, and another shop that we use to love called Carmel Bay Company. Perhaps I'm seeing the past through rose colored glasses and I need to spend more time checking out the new shops. The only constant though.........Carmel is still drop dead gorgeous!  The  homes that were there in the 80's have stood the test of time and still look just as beautiful today.  On this visit we stayed in a two bedroom cottage at Lincoln Green Inn. Click on the name and check out the site. They have four cottages that are decked out inside with all kinds of comfort. It's been a while since I stayed somewhere where the bed was equal to my own cloud bed. Four stars for this place! 

We took Ruby to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time. She was very overwhelmed, and it didn't help that it was a weekend, but I think she did have fun.   One thing they have added since we were last there, was a whole area for little ones that are Ruby's age, which made it fun for her. I thought she would really love the wall of jelly fish, but there were just too many people, and it slightly scared her. I'm sure when we take her again at an older age, she will have more fun, and perhaps we can go mid week instead of the weekend, because what were we thinking?! We were members of the aquarium when we lived there and took Nicole there when she was  little. Weekdays were the prime time to go. 

We ordered take out that night,  because another restaurant outing with a toddler was just not going to cut it, and we were all so wiped out chasing Ruby through the exhibits. We had some good food from a place called Yafa. We liked it enough that we would recommend it to anyone who likes Mediterranean food. You can't really go too wrong with the food in Carmel though. 

On our last day we drove through 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach, and then found a spot to get out near Carmel to walk on the beach for a while. Again, I think it was overwhelming for Ruby, because she didn't want to walk at all in the sand and only wanted to be in her daddy's arms. Maybe next visit we won't be able to tear her away from the beach. We had lovely weather and enjoyed the short amount of time we stayed. I'm glad that the overall feel of Carmel is still there even though some of the favorite shops have moved on. We will definitely go again soon, and not wait 11 years!

I'll be doing a post on our trip to Pennsylvania and Boston, so if you would like to come take a virtual trip, check back soon.