Carmel

On Sunday, June 5, 2011, Di Yin, her parents (they were visiting), and I drove to Carmel. The forecast was horrid, predicting rain all day. Nevertheless, Di Yin's parents had already rearranged their schedule to be free this day, so we continued our plan to go to Carmel.

It was pouring during the drive through San Jose. We drove ten miles per hour under the speed limit. The rain let up near Gilroy. By the time we got to Carmel, it was misting.

But this was no ordinary misting. No precipitation fell from the sky. Rather, clouds of mist blew horizontally. One could see the flow of air currents as they sweep around roofs and reflected off the ground.

We parked and trotted over to The Tuck Box for lunch. Di Yin had tried to bring me to this adorable little cafe in a hundred-year-old building on every previous visit to Carmel but it was closed every time (wrong hours, wrong day of week during low season, closed for vacation, etc.). In contrast, Di Yin brought her parents to The Tuck Box on every visit to Carmel, and it was open every time for them. This time, The Tuck Box was open--I guess her parents' luck is more powerful than my bad luck.

As for lunch, Di Yin and I split a turkey sandwich and some scones. The sandwich came with a side of fruit salad topped with whipped cream! How strange. Also, the Tuck Box is known for its scones. They're non-traditional (at least to me), tasting like they're made with buttermilk and corn meal. For spreads, we chose between orange marmalade, some kind of berry jam, and whipped cream. The scones were good with the definitely good quality whipped cream.

By the end of lunch, the weather was rather nice: partially cloudy, no rain. We only needed jackets because it was windy. Despite the clouds, it was bright. I wished I brought my sunglasses (but how could I have known given the forecast?). It was brighter than a cloudless Paris. Is that possible? Maybe it's because of the difference in latitude.

We walked around Carmel. In town, I enjoyed peering through the windows of the many art galleries.

We took a walk on the beach. It was long time-wise but short length-wise because we kept pausing to take pictures and enjoy the sights. We watched dogs playing in the surf, dogs playing for dominance, and even one person kitesurfing.

By the way, Di Yin took many pictures (not just of the beach but also of the town, of lunch, and more) as did her mom, though her mom's photographs aren't online. I didn't bother taking any pictures because I felt that three of us running around snapping pictures like mad would be absurd. The link goes to Di Yin's first picture from this day (picture #6) in one of her albums covering her parent's visit to California. If you're in slideshow mode and see pictures of Di Yin's parents at Google, you've cycled back to the beginning of the album and are viewing pictures unconnected with Carmel.

We walked through the residential areas and admired houses. We even wandered through a nicely staged open house with four bedrooms, four baths and two half-baths, a fireplace, a garden with a stone plaza patio and a grill, ... Six million dollars.

It was a nice time to visit Carmel. Everything was in bloom (gardens by houses, planters of flowers by businesses, etc.).

On the way home, we stopped by the Gilroy outlets.

Carmel's forecast, like that of the rest of the bay area, was for rain. Carmel's was the only forecast that was wrong. For instance, San Francisco saw record rainfall. (Of course, as a rule it doesn't rain in June, thus making virtually any rainfall a record.)

In conclusion, Di Yin's parents have great Carmel luck. I appreciate it.

Carmel

On Thursday, March 17, 2011, Di Yin and I decided to take the day off work to head down to Carmel. I've been there three times before (1, 2, 3). I wanted to get away and relax and read in a different setting.

We chose to go to Carmel this day because the forecast predicted better weather (highs 58 or 60 and sunny) than any other day during the coming week. The weather was great--even better than we planned for/expected! It was beautifully clear and warmer than expected. I sat comfortably in the sun on the beach without a jacket. Also, I got to watch the large, crashing waves. (There was a high-surf advisory.)

I enjoyed the drive to Carmel. After San Jose, 101 passes many green hills. We accidentally took 152 to the coast rather than 156 as would've been faster. Thus, the trip took longer than I'd hoped, especially the last leg as we came out of the mountains. Nevertheless, the long route was alright: 152 travels through an attractive, lichen-covered forest. Also, once we hit the coast, we got to see what artichoke plants look like. (I had forgotten.)

We did an expected assortment of activities in Carmel: sat on the beach, ate lunch in a restaurant, walked a bit around town, and sat in a cafe, whereupon I returned to the beach to read more and Di Yin remained in the cafe. Later reunited, we sat on a library bench for a bit, then walked along the beach and then through residential neighborhoods (commenting on houses along the way), at which point it was getting to be late afternoon and the right time to head home.

I took a few pictures on this trip.

Carmel

Di Yin and I went down once again to Carmel on January 3, 2009. We stopped by Dakao in San Jose to pick up banh mi sandwiches for later, then by Cafe Brasil in Santa Cruz for brunch. Of the dishes we tried, the best dish served in this colorful, lively, quirkily-decorated Brazilian eatery was an acai berry smoothie topped with bananas, strawberries, and granola.

Once in Carmel, we walked through the town, window-shopping, for a while before I settled on the beach to read. I only lasted there for two hours before I decided it was too cold--50s--and I wanted to move my limbs and walk around again. We settled in a cafe and, later, the library. At dusk we walked around the town enjoying the holiday lights and decoration, drove along the beach as night fell, and then headed home. On the way back, we stopped at a Hong Kong-style restaurant in Sunnyvale.

Di Yin's pictures are online, starting from this one in the album. When you hit the picture of red bean soup, that's the end of the pictures from this trip.

Carmel

On July 3, 2008, Di Yin and I drove again to Carmel. I took a few pictures but did not upload them. Di Yin took more; here are her pictures. (You'll know you hit a different section of the album when you see both of us dressed up for a different activity. You're done with the Carmel pictures then.)

Carmel

On Saturday, January 12, 2008, I drove to Carmel. It's a cute small town, easily walkable, with lovely beaches nearby.

We had a picnic on a bluff overlooking the beach. It included baguette sandwiches made with ham, cheese (various bries), basil, and tomato, accompanied by snacks of fruit.

We climbed onto the Pebble Beach Golf Course. The caddies were nice when giving us directions on how to find our way out.

We ran among the pretty houses in Carmel. Many have names! How fun.

In town, I went into an art store with many rip van wrinkle paintings, an English candy store, a cheese-and-wine shop, and a store with character that different people liked for different reasons.

I'm not going to bother to put my pictures online.