A Mother's Day weekend get-away with my Mom!  We started the long weekend by flying into Berkeley, CA to visit my mom's friend Tanya (from 2nd grade!).  We spent 2 nights there and had a wonderful visit, relaxed on a walk to the produce market and enjoyed a delicious home cooked meal! (That's a rarity for someone on the road over half the year.)

On Friday my mom and I drove down to Carmel to spend 2 nights there.  What a beautiful area!  The saying is true...everywhere you look is begging to be photographed for a postcard!
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Elizabeth, Marty, Cooper, Tanya and Kathy

Trip Highlights


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  • Take the extra time and drive down the Pacific Coast Highway!  I can tell you with confidence that roadtrips in Texas don't even compare to the beauty of the west coast.   We drove from Berkeley, across the Bay Bridge, and down the PCH to Carmel.   We pulled over a couple times for photo ops, and then had lunch in Davenport at Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill.  
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Mom and I on the PCH
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Walking through Carmel-by-the-Sea
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  • Factor in plenty of time to window shop in the city center of Carmel-by-the-Sea.  It was so much fun to just relax and enjoy walking around all the cute shops.  
  • Don't forget to stop in one of the many coffee shops.
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Cute alley while walking through town
  • ​​Unplanned (I promise!), but this trip became a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives trip somehow.  Our first Triple D restaurant was dinner at Little Napoli.   The wait was long, so we started at the attached bar - Vino Napoli.  I tried a local wine flight, which was very nice, and we split a couple appetizers.  
  • Once seated, we split a grilled artichoke and the asparagus, basil cream tagliatelle.  All amazing!  Finished off with some biscotti for a small sweet bite.
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Wine Flight at Vino Napoli
  • I don't think I have to even tell you this - but the 17 mile drive is a must!  Since it was Saturday we knew it could get pretty busy so we headed out first thing after breakfast.  Turned out perfect - not too crowded at all.  It was also a chilly and very windy day, so maybe that deterred some people?  Either way - great drive!  
  • At some point you just have to stop yourself from taking another picture...I could fill an entire album of photos just from that drive.     We didn't stop everywhere, but the places we did enjoy were:
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Mom and I at Pescadaro Point
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The Lone Cypress
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Mom and I at Fanshell Beach
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Point Joe
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Bird Rock
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Spanish Bay Beach
  • We stumbled upon a lunch place in town that was very nice - Dametra Cafe.  We were even entertained by the staff performing a song during the meal!
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Being serenaded at Dametra Cafe
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Walking path along Scenic Road
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A lavendar yard on Scenic Road
  • Walk off lunch with a beautiful walk along Scenic Road in Carmel (about 3 miles round-trip).   You'll want to start near the parking lot at Ocean Ave and San Antonio Ave.   The lot was full, but we found street parking on San Antonio.  
  • Cut over to Scenic Road and you'll find the walking path.   Enjoy the beach on the right and the unbelievable houses on the left!   
  • We walked down past Carmel Point, and then walked back through the neighborhood to see more of the houses.  The neighborhood blocks also got us out of the wind!  I'm sure I could afford one of those houses - right?!  
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Walking along Scenic Road
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Dinner at Monterey Fish House
  • A friend recommended the Monterey Fish House (Our second Triple D restaurant), so I made a reservation for dinner on Saturday night.   Glad I had the reservation - it's a small place and the wait can be quite long.  
  • Delicious meal - really great fresh and local fish, a pasta side and veggies.    I had the salmon and mom had the halibut.  Simple perfection!
  • Mother's Day Brunch - and the third Triple D stop at From Scratch Restaurant!  We knew town would be busy at all the brunch spots, and my mom ended up finding a great place just across the parking lot from our hotel.  The wait was almost an hour, but it was worth it.  I stuffed myself with their sausage gravy biscuits (I could only eat half - oh my)!  And mom had the eggs benedict.  
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Brunch at From Scratch Restaurant
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Jelly Fish
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Jelly Fish
  • After brunch we headed to the Monterey Aquarium.  We were able to buy tickets through the hotel, so we didn't have to wait in a longer line, which was nice.
  • The Aquarium really was everything it was cracked up to be.   The Jelly Fish tanks were by far my favorite!  Every detail in that place was well thought out - from the layout of the exhibits, to the blue backdrop in the tanks for perfect photos, to the outdoor decks so you could get some fresh air and enjoy the view of the bay.  
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Mom and I on Cannery Row in Monterey
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  • After the Aqaurium we took a walk up and down Cannery Row, through some of the shops, and stopped at A Taste of Monterey for a glass of wine and a couple shared plates for a light lunch.  We lucked out and got to sit in some of their comfortable chairs overlooking the bay.  A perfect way to finish our trip.  
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Appetizers and Wine at A Taste of Monterey

Slideshow of more Carmel photos - use right/left control arrows or scroll and click to view
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