Mission Carmel, CA

I can't get enough of California's wonderful missions. I've been to nine of them that I can recall and have a goal to visit all of them eventually, so that's twelve more to go. 

However, I particularly like San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, named for the Archbishop of Milan, and I try to visit it every time I'm in the Carmel-Monterey area. It's simply beautiful. No wonder there's always a wedding underway when I show up! Strolling around the lovely grounds always makes me feel like I am back in Mexico, too. 

There's so much to photograph at Mission Carmel, and this time the weather was on my side - no May gray or June gloom, which this area is famous for...

This particular mission was founded in 1770. Today it is an active Catholic parish and has an interesting museum and a small elementary school on its grounds - what a nice place to go to school, eh? Have you been to any of California's missions?

Click HERE to see photos from my visit to this area a couple of years ago.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

Carmel-by-the-Sea has long been a popular weekend destination for those of us living in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's the perfect place to forget about your troubles, worries, and stress and just relax and soak in the beautiful natural surroundings. It's the quintessential, charming beach enclave. It can be a bit on the pricey side, but if you're lucky and plan ahead, you can often snag an internet special and save yourself some money, which you'll need once you get there! 

That's exactly what we did in early May. Along with three other couples, we booked ourselves into the delightful Briarwood Inn, just a few blocks from the main shopping area along Ocean Avenue. So what is there to do in Carmel? Well, come take a look, but leave your car behind, put on your walking shoes, and grab your wallet...

Carmel Beach is popular for its pristine sand and waters... 

 

 

 

 A stroll along Scenic Drive will definitely bring on some housing envy - these places may be small, but they're worth millions...

 

 

 

Here's our little inn...

 

 Carmel has loads of restaurants, shops, and art galleries... 

 

 

 

 

 Maybe you remember Carmel's former mayor - Clint Eastwood? 

Here's one of his restaurants, Hog's Breath Inn. We ate there and it was quite tasty...

 

Window shopping anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

Carmel loves flowers...

 

 

 

 

 Even the fire station is cute...

This is only a small sampling of what Carmel has to offer. You can get in your car and in a very short time find yourself at Pebble Beach or Monterey to the north or Big Sur to the south. Summertime can bring on the fog; we were lucky and had brilliant sunshine our entire stay. If you're ever touring the central coast, make sure to check out Carmel-by-the-Sea. And if I ever win the lottery, that's where you'll find me!