California Dreaming: Monterey and Carmel

7 July 2014

Feels good to be back in California! :) When last we left off, John and I were in the quiet and beautifully green woods of Big Sur. We woke up in our little cabin in the woods and set off for an early morning hike at Pfeiffer Falls.

pfeiffer-falls

The two-mile hike lead to a valley view first, then down to a pretty waterfall. I was so glad we were there in the morning – the towering redwoods made it feel a bit like we were in an enchanted forest.

pfeiffer-falls-waterfall

Rounding a corner in the trail on our way back up, I found myself face to face with a baby deer!! She didn’t seem at all concerned at the sight of me, and continued her leisurely walk down the trail. Once she was about six feet from me, though, she decided that it might be unwise to walk directly past me, so she cut through the switchback instead. We watched her continue down the trail to the waterfall at a stately pace, open-mouthed. I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to a deer!

baby-deer

redwoods-hike

We grabbed a yogurt and granola parfait to go from the state park lodge and brought it back to eat by the Big Sur River at Glen Oaks before getting back on the road.

big-sur-river

Our next destination, Carmel, was only about 45 minutes north of Big Sur. We stopped at several turn-outs along the way, including the famous Bixby Bridge (to the left in the photo below!). As you can see, it was another beautiful day, but windy on the Pacific Coast Highway!

bixby-bridge

pacific-coast-highway

We arrived in Carmel with time to walk its shaded and lovely streets before sitting down to lunch. To us, Carmel felt European, classic, and sedate. The feel is definitely more “old money” than “hip” – lots of cute fairytale-looking houses with names. We stopped briefly by the Carmel Mission, but chose not to go inside (there is an entrance fee).

carmel-mission

After lunch, we left Carmel briefly to head next door to the Monterey Bay Aquarium! We had heard great things about it. While it was neat and the location can’t be beat (perched on a tide pool!), we agreed that we wish we had spent our time elsewhere, if only because we had seen otters and seals in the wild so recently and impressively!

monterey-aquarium

monterey-aquarium-tide-pool

If we hadn’t spent the time and money at the aquarium, it might have been neat to kayak in Monterey, but honestly, once we reached our destination for the night, we realized we would have been thrilled to spend even more time there! From the minute we drove onto Carmel Valley Ranch’s property, we knew it was special. (The frolicking deer and wild turkeys that accompanied our drive up the hill might have been a giveaway.)

Carmel Valley Ranch was without a doubt a splurge, but we had some Jetsetter credits squirreled away from birthdays and holidays that made it more palatable. However, John would want me to add that he thinks it’s a bargain at almost any price (and I would agree). That was at least in part due to the size of our suite’s bathroom:

carmel-valley-ranch-bathroom

carmel-valley-ranch-room

After checking in and dropping off our luggage, we headed out to the Huff ‘n Puff Trail, one of several routes on their 500-acre property. We were captivated and delighted from the first step!

carmel-valley-ranch-golf-course

We were, indeed, huffing a bit as we made our way up several hundred feet through trees draped with trailing lace lichen. I tried out some poses as we caught our breath on the yoga platform at the top of the property.

carmel-valley-ranch-yoga-platform

I was incredibly delighted to see that CVR offered their weekly hilltop class at the civilized hour of 10am, instead of the ridiculous crack of dawn time-slot usually reserved for yoga. Much appreciated by people like me, who love their sleep! I would have LOVED to take a class, but they’re only offered on Saturdays, and we were there on a Wednesday.

huff-and-puff-trail

carmel-valley-hike

coastal-oaks

carmel-valley

We followed various trails through the rest of the main property, including the vineyard, the lavender fields, and the vegetable garden. They even have chickens!

lavender-fields

vegetable-garden

hen-house

There are several tree swings throughout the property, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

tree-swing

On our way back to our room, we had another wildlife encounter! We saw a herd of deer mix with a herd of wild turkeys, and surprisingly, the turkeys came out on top.

carmel-valley-wildlife

After our hike we changed and got ready for dinner. Our suite was within walking distance of the main complex, which included the Lodge restaurant and the main pool. I loved the design of the restaurant – it was the perfect balance of rustic cabin and modern openness, with a giant bar and fireplace anchoring the space. I couldn’t find a great photo, but here’s a peek:

carmel-valley-ranch-lodge

Our dinner was leisurely and absolutely delicious all around – one of our favorites on the trip. Like many California restaurants, the Lodge uses as many local and in-season ingredients as possible (many from their own property!), and you could taste how fresh everything was. We finished our evening with s’mores around a fire pit, then a dip under the stars in the infinity hot tub, open 24 hours a day!

carmel-valley-ranch-pool

carmel-valley-ranch-hot-tub

Spoiler alert: our time at Carmel Valley Ranch was over much too soon! But we were on to great things, so we couldn’t be too sad. Yosemite is up next!

Day one: Malibu, Ojai, Montecito
Day two: Santa Barbara, Montana de Oro, Cayucos
Day three: Cambria, San Simeon, Big Sur

All photos personal except restaurant and infinity tub photos!

July Goals

3 July 2014

Contrary to appearances, I have not abandoned my blog. I got back after midnight last night from eight days of traveling, and though I had hopes to continue my California posts while on the road, it just didn’t happen. And that’s okay! Carmel and Monterey will be up next (and there will be photos and text when I finally get my act together – ha!), but in the meantime, let’s talk monthly goals!

peaches

Boxes of peaches at Kalawi Farms in Eagle Springs!

First, a little note about the fact that it’s July. Like many other people, I have the tendency to say the following or similar:
Where has the time gone?!
This year is flying by!
This year is almost over!
The summer’s basically over, and before we know it, it will be fall!

I’ve recently decided that phrases like these can not only become self-fulfilling prophecies, but they can feed into the manic tendency of our culture, normalizing the urge to always be on to the next thing. It’s July 1 – summer is NOT almost over. I’m trying to cut these phrases out of my conversation as a mini rebellion, and am interested to hear what you think :)

June goal recap:
Install a rain barrel (Still not done… our house budget is recovering. Adding it to July!)
Finish taking house photos and post tour (Photos are 75% done? Hoping to post in July.)
Finally buy Cuyana bag Yes!! Observant readers spotted it in this photo.
Hang new mirror in our powder room (Mirror purchased – yet to be hung.)
Finish preparing for and co-host a baby shower and a few other very fun events Yes! So much fun.
Pay off our second car loan and celebrate becoming debt free aside from our mortgage! Hooray!
Set a date for our Blacksburg adventure (I have an email in my inbox waiting for a response – underway!)

July goals:
— Install a rain barrel
— Finish taking house photos and post tour
— Finalize and print last third of household maintenance doc
— Clean out our “art storage room” – hang everything we like and organize/donate/sell/get rid of the rest
— Pick blueberries
— Celebrate John’s birthday!

Keeping things simple to hopefully have a 100% success rate! If you’ve posted your monthly goals, I’d love to take a peek.