Pin in the Map: Carmel

Typically I don't write about trips on here unless its somewhere brand new that I've never been before. I'm making an exception for my most recent weekend getaway though. I went to Carmel with a group of friends from grad school this past weekend. We ended up doing a lot of the touristy things in the area, so I think its blog-worthy!

I'm very fortunate to have had grandparents who bought a house in Carmel back in the day. Its a great little house near town with some awesome 70s decor. The house isn't very big so we had to creatively fit eight people into the house, but we made it work.

Friday afternoon Allison, her boyfriend Heath, and I drove down to Carmel. The rest of the gang wasn't arriving until later that night though. We went to the grocery store after we unloaded our stuff to pick up some groceries for Saturday night's dinner, then chilled a bit before dinner. We went to one of my favorite dinner spots, Rio Grill, and it didn't disappoint. Back at the house we played some Scattergories while we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive.

Scattergories

Around 11pm our friends finally made it-- Jen/Steve, Feruza/Sanjar, and Beatriz! We enjoyed a little wine and laughter, then called it a night so we could get some rest before our big day on Saturday.

We were off and running by 11:15am, which wasn't too bad considering there were eight people and two bathrooms. We walked around town in Carmel, found a coffee shop, and poked around in some shops. Then we walked down to Carmel Beach. It was a little overcast, but it was still a great view.

I suggested another of my favorite restaurants for lunch, Village Corner. Its a really cute place with yummy food. The heated outdoor patio is adorable, but given our group size we had to sit inside.

The Girls at Carmel Beach

Waiting Outside Village Corner

Next up was a drive to Monterey. We planned on going to Cannery Row, possibly Point Pinos, and then doing the 17-Mile Drive. By the time we got to Monterey and then got distracted by a bar downtown, we had to adjust our plans a little. I decided that Cannery Row was out. There is not too much there besides souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. I'm not completely writing it off, but given our timing, I felt ok skipping it.

YUM! Beer!

After a refreshing beer at an unknown pub, we decided to end our excursion with a trip to Point Pinos. We delayed our trip to 17-Mile Drive until Sunday since the fog was rolling in. Point Pinos was a blast from my past. My parents used to take me there when I was little to climb on the rocks and look at the tide pools. A few of us had a great time exploring the area, while the others just chilled ashore. Unfortunately we mostly only saw hermit crabs, but no starfish and just one sea anemome.

Feruza & I Exploring

Allison & I out on the rocks

Back at the house we made fajitas, played some games, drank, and had a blast just hanging out!

Fajitas!

Game Time!

We were a bit slow-moving on Sunday, but we had a few more things we wanted to do before heading home. First we stopped at the Carmel Mission.

Then it was time for our scenic drive down 17-Mile Drive. We started on the Monterey end at the Sunset Drive entrance. This way we would be driving on the coast side of the road and we would end our drive back in Carmel. There are 21 points of interest along the drive and we stopped at a lot of them to check out the scenery, animal life, and of course snap some pictures.