Carmel by the Sea

After realizing that the sun begins to set around 5pm here I made Stephen get up early today. We were up and out of the hotel room by 8am. If you know us well you know that is quite the accomplishment. :) Our first stop was a little cafe in the center of Carmel. They had Starbucks coffee (my main reason for going) and GREAT cranberry scones. After a quick breakfast and a quick review of our gameplan for the day we headed out for our first stop, Point Lobos State Park.

Point Lobos State Park is located just a few miles south of Carmel. We stopped to see the Sea Lions hanging out just off shore but the real highlight was the increadible views of the ocean crashing against the rock cliffs. We hiked through the rock cliffs for a bit before continuing south on highway 1 toward Point Sur.

The views from highway 1 were incredible. We drove far enough south to see Big Sur but didn't continue south onto the island. On the drive back north to Carmel we stopped to take a photo of Bixby Bridge - one of the world's highest single-span concrete arch bridges and probably the most photographed landmark on the coastal highway.

Upon returning to Carmel our next stop was the Carmel Mission. The mission was established in 1771. The founding priest, Father Junipero Serra, is burried at the mission and the room where he died has been restored to it's original condition. Eventhough my religious beliefs may not be in sync with the Catholic church I have a true interest in the history of the church and it's architecture. This visit was definately the cultural highlight of the trip.

The remainder of our day was spent wandering around Carmel. The one thing to note about Carmel is that EVERYONE brings their dogs with them when they visit. The boutique shops in town will not allow you to bring a cup of coffe in the shop with you but your dog is more than welcome. Even the restraunts in town have pet menus so that your dog may dine with you.

While it was sunny and somewhat warm we walked down to the beach (which was definately easier than the uphill walk back). From Carmel beach you could see the Pebble Beach and the golf course.

On the long uphill trek back to the center of town we passed a handfull of houses for sale. Stephen and I played "name that price" and were consistantly floored by the realestate prices in Carmel. A small, somewhat rundown, beach house with less than 2,000 sq. feet of living space would easily list for well over $1,000,000!

As much as we loved Carmel we both agreed it was way out of our price range.