Carmel-by-the-Sea

I start a new job on Monday (yippee!), so Mr. H and I decided to spend my last week of "freedom" by visiting a few towns around us.   Carmel-by-the-Sea (aka Carmel) has been at the top of my list to visit, so we made the 2.5 hour drive south of Monterey Bay to this adorable seaside town.  If you ever visit California, Carmel should be on your list of things to see.....it's AMAZING!  It has fantastic shops, yummy cafes, beautiful art galleries, and quaint cottages.  And here's an interesting fact...Clint Eastwood (yes, the actor) was the mayor of Carmel from 1986-1988 and he still owns the Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant in town.     

I couldn't get over how beautiful the flowers were all over town.  So many different colors.

Love, love, love this window display.  It screams ocean!!

I was in search of fried oysters and we found them and a lot more at Flaherty's Oyster Bar.  Mr. H ordered crab tacos and I had delicious clam chowder soup with my friend oysters.   

We collect ornaments from every city we visit.  To represent Carmel, we selected an ornament with a cottage on the front because there are so many cottages in town.  The cottage pictured above is called The Tuck Box and is painted on the ornament we purchased.  The Tuck Box is a popular tea room in town.

Another view of The Tuck Box built by Hugh Comstock in 1927.  Hugh built several cottages in town refered to as the Comstock Fairy Tale Cottages.

It was suggested to Mr. H to visit Galante Vineyards & Winery for a wine tasting.  It's a cute lil' tasting room with a western vibe...be sure to check it out. 

Before moving to San Francisco, we lived in Houston...home of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (aka "the rodeo).  The rodeo is a big deal and hosts two weeks of concerts, bull riding contests, livestock shows, and a wine competition.  Galante Vineyards just won many awards for their wines in March at the rodeo...way to go!

I love this chair and it was comfy too!  Takes me back to my Texas roots...

Another adorable storefront called The Cottage of Sweets.  Any store that sells only sugar is my kind of place!

The designer-builder of The Tuck Box, Hugh Comstock, built several other fairy-tale cottages in Carmel.  This lil' cutie called "Hansel" was built by Hugh to house and showcase his wife's hobby of making "Otsy-Totsy" dolls. He built a sister property called "Gretel".

Beautiful beach!

Such beautiful white sand.

A Comstock Cottage inspired home!

Check out the beautiful turquoise water...almost looks like a Caribbean island, not California!

After visiting Carmel, we decided to drive a bit further along the PCH.  There are so many places to stop along the highway and walk down to the beach.  So we did just that! 

Stunning!

Walking along this beach feels as though you're on the movie set of "The Beach" with Leo DiCaprio...totally isolated, relaxing and beautiful.

Don't let the sun and blue water fool you....it was barely 60 degrees out there!

We took the famous 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach back home.  He's the start of our journey. 

The famous "Lone Tree".

You really can't appreciate how large this mansion is.....it seriously looks like a hotel in person!!

"Excuse me, sir, would you happen to have a sunflower seed to share with me?"

That's it for our Carmel-by-the-Sea adventure and I can't wait to head back!  If you've ever visited this lil' town, I'd love to hear your advice on other sights I should see/do.