17 Mile Drive & Carmel, California

I was fortunate enough to travel out to Palo Alto for work and knowing that I was so close to California's beautiful, northern coastline and one of my dearest friends in the world, Katie Rye, I decided to extend my stay through the weekend! I woke up in Palo Alto on Saturday morning to 80 degree weather and sunshine. By the time we made it to the coast it was barely 60 degrees and very gray and cloudy. It was still beautiful out though and the cool temperature didn't prevent us from getting out and exploring the beach and surround landscapes.

For those of you who haven't taken the 17 Mile Drive, I highly recommend it. It's a stretch of road from Monterrey down to Carmel that is private - so you'll have to pay the $9 entrance fee to experience it - but it's well worth the price tag. You get to stop by any one of the three Pebble Beach golf courses - we stopped at the Inn at Spanish Bay to watch the last and final USA World Cup match. We had cocktails and enjoyed the biggest helping of onion straws (basically thin onion rings) that I have ever seen - all while enjoying the view of the bay. For those of you who enjoy a rockier beachscape - full of interesting, oddly shaped trees - with beautiful mansions perched along the hillside - you will definitely enjoy it!

~Katie and I: Self portrait at the Inn at Spanish Bay~

~You have to get out and climb some of the massive rocks along the drive~

~Curvy trees everywhere you look!~

~Katie catching some sweet air ~

~the bright yellow flowers really popped because it was such a gray day - I love gray and yellow!~

~More bendy trees~

~And a trip along 17 Mile Drive would not be complete without the infamous photograph of the Pebble Beach tree that they always show off during the U.S. Open (when it's at Pebble Beach). Interestingly enough, the Open took place at Pebble Beach the weekend before our visit, so we just missed Tiger :(~

After spending a couple of hours of parking our car and hopping out to enjoy the numerous view points, we departed the 17 Mile Drive and headed up through Carmel to our hotel for the evening, the Highland Inn. During the work week I had heard about the Highland Inn from one of the Naval Postgraduate professors. This is a gorgeous hotel that is very natural and blends in to it's surroundings with ease and elegance. The hotel is a dark wood material that fits in well with the dark colors on the cliff side that it is nestled into - and it overlooks Carmel Bay! This was my first visit to Carmel and I must say that it is one of my new favorite beach towns in the U.S.! It's so charming, with small little cottages where the retailers and art dealers sell their odds and ends, flowers, pine trees, and a nice sandy beach at the bottom of the hill. It has a very quaint feeling and I really enjoyed our time there.

They have a candy store there called the Cottage of Sweets which I highly recommend - what's more fun than picking up some salt water taffy, fudge, or sour belts as you meander around the beach? Plus, if you check out the link you will notice that the candy store is situated in a mini Snow White cottage - it looks like something straight out of Disneyland! And for all of you ladies who get excited whenever you see a Coach outlet - there is one of those as well!

~Views of Carmel Bay from the Highlands Inn~

That evening we decided to hang out at the hotel and enjoy dinner and the view from the Highlands Inn. We had a great evening - complete with pool, hot tub, and champagne time! Such a great trip! I love you Katie - hope we get to do that again really soon!

~Lovely Katie~