One of our favorite places to visit when we lived in the Bay Area was Carmel. Now that we live in the great Central Valley, it is somewhat closer to drive over to the Pismo/Morro Bay/San Luis Obispo areas. But the charm, shopping, dining, and ocean views of Carmel entice us back, again and again.
When traveling around the world, many people mention both the Napa Valley and the Carmel-Monterey area as places they would love to visit. And fortunately, we get to do both, whenever we want!
You know the story, we spent part of our honeymoon here back in 1995. And shortly after, I started working a few hours a month at Pebble Beach. They were quite generous, giving us an apartment for overnight stays, and meals at the company cafeteria. And the drive to and from work was on Seventeen Mile Drive. But the real kicker was FREE golf at Pebble and Spyglass!!!
But we just love the Monterey Peninsula area, Seventeen Mile Drive, a few old friends, shopping, dining out at a few local favorites, and just relaxing. I plan to bring my bicycle for a few coastal rides, as Lexi will be at Elaine’s Pet Resort. The best trail runs from the Monterey Wharf out to Lover’s Point. From there, just follow the coast until reaching Seventeen Mile Drive, which will take you all the way to the Lodge at Pebble Beach.
I can tell you many stories about this area, but you undoubtedly heard them before. Suffice it to say that the ghost of Steinbeck still haunts most areas, and locals like Dirty Harry still garner too much attention. Back in the day, I had many famous patients, like Alan Shepherd, John Henry Deutchendorf
, Jack Lemmon, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus.
Sidebar: Speaking of John Steinbeck, did you know he was born just 30 miles from Monterey’s Cannery Row in the Salinas area? He won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for Grapes of Wrath, and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Seventeen of his works were made into Hollywood movies. He actually attended Stanford, which might explain some of his eccentricity. He and his first wife actually lived in Pacific Grove next to Cannery Row, where he gathered much of his inspiration and information. He died in 1968 in New York City, but his ashes are in a Salinas cemetery.
We have a few places that we like to visit. For breakfast, Toasties (seafood Benedict) in PG. For dinner, Peppers (corn chowder), or Taste Bistro (lamb chops) also in PG. Some good French pastries (almond croissants) at Paris Bakery in Monterey. We also enjoy Abalonetti’s on the Monterey Wharf for their crab Louie or their crab and angel hair pasta. We have been to the fancy places, and just don’t enjoy them as much as these “hole in the wall” places. And good golf clothing at a discount at the Pebble Beach Factory Store down on Cannery Row in Monterey. It is always fun to make a run up and down Ocean Avenue in downtown Carmel, even if we don’t buy anything.
Driving over from the Valley, rather than the Bay Area, the scenery will be much different. We can see how much water is stored in the San Luis Reservoir (back to normal). And maybe stop for hot cinnamon rolls at Eddie’s (NOT) in Los Banos.
