What I Did Last Memorial Day
I was browsing through some old pictures and realized I had meant to put up a post about our trip to Carmel from Memorial Day weekend. I had an appointment to interview a witness at a nearby state prison so we made it an even longer long weekend. We stayed in a cottage down by the shore called the Abalone Cottage and wrangled a deal out of the owner. It’s a neat rustic cottage with two bedrooms. Here is a picture I took with an iPhone from inside the cottage:
Walking out to the yard you can take stairs to a path that leads along the coast and takes you to rocks with tide pools:
The cottage is probably about as close as you can stay to what I believe is the greatest state park in California: the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. Picture walking amongst conifers with the ocean at your side:
We ate at Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch Restaurant, which is really a beautiful property:
We had taken driving trips up the California coast before but had only cruised through Carmel. That was a mistake. It’s a beautiful area and worth spending 3-4 days.
I used to work for a company that had an office on the Monterey Peninsula, and I always loved to find excuses to go up there for “work” visits. It is definitely one of the prettiest spots in the entire state, and with such historical importance too. Glad you enjoyed it.
JVW (4d72aa) — 11/6/2011 @ 11:55 amMy wife and I have driven the complete (as much as possible) Pacific Coast Highway a couple of times. It is always worth the trip. I can also recommend taking Amtrak from Los Angeles to the Hearst Castle which allows you to see things that you don’t see from the highway. Lovely country.
Paul Schulte (1ddb39) — 11/6/2011 @ 1:19 pmI was stationed in Monterey for a few years. The Monterey Peninsula is God/Allah/yaweh’s playground.
JD (207300) — 11/6/2011 @ 1:39 pmSay all you will about Southern California, but once you get out of congested Los Angeles, there is nothing quite as spectacular as the California coastline. From Central Cali all the way up to Humboldt County, it is stunningly gorgeous.
Dana (4eca6e) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:24 pmI know what you did last summer Patterico.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:30 pmOk no I don’t.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:36 pmeh, reminds me of when I was driving down to LA from SF with the boyfriend, both quite poor, and passing on the 17-mile drive because it cost $2.50 or something. Whatever, it was serious money to us back then.
jeanne (49e156) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:38 pmThose pix certainly look better than Soledad.
AD-RtR/OS! (cc4610) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:45 pmIf I had f-u money, I would choose to live in the Monterey peninsula.
Ed from SFV (494f27) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:52 pmIf I had that much money, I’d live in Monaco.
AD-RtR/OS! (cc4610) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:53 pmI wish I was you.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 2:59 pmMany happy memories of driving up the coast and staying in Carmel. Used to stay there while I was at racing school at Laguna Seca. Also ate at Hog’s Breath Inn, which was Mr Eastwood’s first restaurant. Great classic movie featuring Clint and the area is “Play Misty for Me.” Highly recommended.
Gazzer (edeb1d) — 11/6/2011 @ 3:20 pmWe honeymooned in Carmel over 40 years ago; beautiful place. I love the area but it is verrrrry expensive to live there. My brother bought a house in Pacific Grove in the mid 60’s for $65,000 which was a lot in those days. Now worth over a mil.
Whew!
Andy (a35672) — 11/6/2011 @ 7:11 pmSorry for the O/T-But the left accuse anyone to their right of being stalinist especially if you speak the truth about the fact they supported the communists in nicaragua. That is rich.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 7:32 pmThat looks like a sweet spot. I plan on making a reservation soon!
ColonelHaiku (ad6eba) — 11/6/2011 @ 7:34 pmThat’s nice Colonel.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 7:38 pmMy family went to Carmel a few years ago and it was beautiful.
Oddly enough, I’ve been to California a few times and the part mostly above Fresno is a place to be cherished.
I’ve often wondered why the people who live there don’t think so.
Ag80 (ec45d6) — 11/6/2011 @ 7:45 pmHave you been to NY noted anti-war hypocrite John Lennon has a fanbase there.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 8:25 pmIf Lennon were alive today he’d be silent at the democraps wars.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 8:28 pmAs the radio guys say: tell ’em Patterico sent you!
Patterico (f724ca) — 11/6/2011 @ 9:31 pmHeheheh.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 10:28 pmO/T-but the leader of Farc was killed by Columbia. Now he and Bin Laden can get acquainted although Bin Laden was an anti-communist just like the nazis he deemed them unwanted competition.
DohBiden (d54602) — 11/6/2011 @ 10:33 pmMonterey and Carmel are indeed beautiful. My memories are marred only a little by the fact that I endured basic training at Fort Ord (it would be sunny in Carmel to the south and Santa Cruz to the north, while a patch of gloom sat directly over the post and its miserable sand trails), but subsequent visits have had a restorative effect. The mission at Carmel is a wonderful place for a quiet, contemplative walk. My daughter is particularly fond of the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row — a great place for visitors of all ages. Glad you and your family had a wonderful time.
angeleno (a07e00) — 11/7/2011 @ 6:28 amAngeleno, Fort Ord was a garden spot compared to Ft Leonard Wood.
BarSinister (5a3146) — 11/7/2011 @ 9:00 am“Your Cottage has a first name,
It’s O-S-C-A-R…”
😀
Smock Puppet, Jingle Rewriting Expert (2fb1c2) — 11/7/2011 @ 9:26 amIf I had that much money I’d own an island in the Caribbean.
Smock Puppet, Jingle Rewriting Expert (2fb1c2) — 11/7/2011 @ 9:28 amA friend was taking his wife to Eastwood’s restaurant for Mother’s Day some years ago. As they walked in the front door, there was Eastwood and his mother. They said hello and Happy Mother’s Day. A year later, my friend took his wife there again and,lo and behold, there was Eastwood again. This time he recognized them and said hello.
Interesting guy,
Mike K (4c76c8) — 11/7/2011 @ 9:47 amAs the radio guys say: tell ‘em Patterico sent you!
will do, Patterico. We live a couple hours away from the Monterey Peninsula and stay in Carmel quite often, but have never even noticed this place.
Anybody makes their way to Carmel, make sure you eat at Aw Shucks… best oysters and fried prawns you will find.
ColonelHaiku (ad6eba) — 11/7/2011 @ 11:25 amComment by Smock Puppet, Jingle Rewriting Expert — 11/7/2011 @ 9:28 am
Yeah, but then YOU would be the landlord.
AD-RtR/OS! (fc5a11) — 11/7/2011 @ 11:32 amPatrick,
While I am happy you enjoyed staying in our neck of the woods (and you are right about Point Lobos) You were supposed to keep it a secret!!! No photo’s!! no telling how nice it was here!! Come on now, tell the truth.
Its miserable, I tell ya, miserable!
We have traffic jams, its cloudy and overcast most of the time, cold enough you freeze your ****s off in the evenings. Miserable place! Everyone hates it, No one should subject themselves to this horrible place when there are many, many more beautiful places in California to visit.
Have you been to Mount Shasta? Lovely in both the summer and winter.
How about Lake Tahoe? again, no time of the year is bad for a visit here.
If you insist on visiting the coast, the Humboldt area around Eureka is nice if a little cool, and anywhere between Malibu and the Hearst Castle is wonderful!!! Sunny, warm, and beautiful, you just can’t beat this stretch of the coast!
You shouldn’t waste your time coming to the Monterey peninsula when you have many better choices for a vacation.
lol, back to lurking,
Kenny (76922b) — 11/7/2011 @ 4:56 pmHey Kenny. Sorry we didn’t look you up this last time but I still remember enjoying a coffee with you a while back.
Patterico (f724ca) — 11/7/2011 @ 6:35 pmDid Herman Cain bury your head in his crotch?
DohBiden (ef98f0) — 11/7/2011 @ 6:36 pmThat looks like just about anywhere on the Oregon coast.
Jim S. (9f727c) — 11/8/2011 @ 11:13 amHmmm… Think I could get on the news by creating my own one-man OWS and protesting myself?
Smock Puppet, Jingle Rewriting Expert (2fb1c2) — 11/8/2011 @ 11:43 am😀