Weekend in Carmel

Isn’t it amazing what just 24 hours away will do?! The weekend before last, we went to Carmel for a quick overnight trip. Even though it was short, it was so refreshing! We are fortunate to be able to rely on family to watch the boys when we go away for a longer trip, but since none of them live in the area, it’s simpler to use a sitter for a short trip such as our weekend in Carmel.

We went to our younger son’s soccer class before heading out for our weekend in Carmel. Boy was it cool and foggy there compared to Silicon Valley! We stayed at The Homestead Inn, which is run by the same people as Mission Ranch. Both properties are owned by Clint Eastwood. Surprisingly, neither one is too expensive. Mission Ranch has a beautiful location on the water, whereas Homestead is right downtown in walking distance from all the shops and restaurants.

We had an ocean view from our room, so we relaxed there for a couple of hours before heading out to take blog photos and walk around town. Downtown Carmel is so quaint and charming! It is filled with boutiques, restaurants, and art galleries. We headed to a cheese shop that we were hoping to check out before dinner, but alas it had closed just before we got there! Note to self: check schedules before coming up with your plan. Ha.

We wanted to have a drink before dinner but we couldn’t find a lot of options besides wine bars. We ended up at a pub, which was perfect because they had a full bar menu as well as wine and beer. A lot of other folks had the same idea; it was pretty crowded! Dinner was at a lovely French restaurant called L’Escargot. We were joking that our presence significantly lowered the average age of the diners there. Sure enough, the entire place cleared out by 8:30 and we were the last ones there! It’s definitely a bit different from dining out in Silicon Valley!

The next morning we had breakfast at Mission Ranch. It was fun to be able to see the property there, just a mile up the road from where we were staying. We went back downtown after checking out to wander around a bit more. We spent some time at a photography gallery before ending up at a seafood place for lunch. The sun was out that day and it was glorious! We got home just after 3:30 so that we had time to get organized for the week. I’m thankful that we live close to so many great destinations! We had a lovely weekend in Carmel.