It’s time to say goodbye to summer! I don’t hate summers on the west coast, y’all, ESPECIALLY on the beaches of California. As opposed to the east coast beaches I am used to, Northern California beaches are much cooler temperatures and surrounded by incredible landscapes. Before summer is officially gone, I wanted to do a recap of a 24 hour trip we took a few months back to Carmel-By-The-Sea.
Back in June, we decided to take an overnight trip to Carmel-By-The-Sea as a birthday trip of sorts. Both of our birthdays are at the end of May. Grayson actually stayed with a friend, so we took Charlie solo! I was pretty pregnant at this point, so a quick trip with little physical exertion was perfect. Tyler grew up visiting Carmel and it was one of the places he was eager to see again, now that we were back in the area. With that, we set out on a Saturday morning to spend a day away from Napa.
It’s about a three hour drive to Carmel from Napa. If I’m only spending a couple days somewhere, I hesitate to go much further than that by car. Charlie did surprisingly well on the trip and we arrived mid-day in great spirits. We went straight to the beach. I was comfortable in a swimsuit, while Tyler was a little too cold blooded for the temps and stayed in pants. I think it was around 68-70 degrees and breezy. In my opinion, that’s the PERFECT temperature for the beach. Charlie had a blast playing in the sand and I took lots of pictures. I couldn’t stop admiring the scenery.
We stayed at the beach for a few hours until it was time to check in to our hotel. We made reservations at a quaint inn that was right in the downtown area within walking distance to everything. It was called The Coachman’s Inn.
They were very welcoming with cookies in the lobby, a wine and appetizer hour in the afternoon, and friendly employees. The rooms were darling and comfortable, complete with large tubs for relaxing baths. We were happy with our hotel choice!
We grabbed a late lunch at Lafayette French Kitchen on a whim, and it was INCREDIBLE. I can still taste the crepes. And now I’m starving.
We spent some more time walking the sweet streets before my hugely pregnant and miserable self was exhausted.
After a quick Yelp search, we decided to check out Bistro Giovanni for dinner. I was craving Italian, and the reviews looked great. As it turns out, Yelp nailed it again! The service was excellent and the food was even better.
We weren’t there long before Charlie was irritable and destructive (as per her norm), so we hurried to finish and left to call it a night.
The next morning we leisurely got up and enjoyed continental breakfast in the lobby by the fire and checked out after. We decided to drive the famous “17-mile-drive” on the way back. This was undoubtedly my favorite part of the weekend. I’m a Georgia girl with little exposure to west coast landscapes, so I was totally in awe. Here are some images from the drive.
The views of the drive were totally breathtaking. If you are ever anywhere in that vicinity, it’s a must do. You won’t regret it! And with that, our quick trip was a wrap! We headed home having enjoyed a little getaway in a perfect little spot. We can’t WAIT to go back and have more time to explore. Have you ever been to Carmel?
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