CARMEL SUMER RENTAL-OUR LOVE NEST

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EXTRACTED FROM MY BOOK: OUR SUMMER IN CARMEL, AMAZON.COM

There is a lot of information in the next two posts for those who might want to consider adopting our "No Second Home" wanderlust lifestyle.

Since beginning our annual escapades away from Florida’s abysmal summer climate, Elysee and I have had several cozy “Love Nests.” A town house in Kinsale, Ireland, a beach cottage on the Pacific Ocean south of Ensenada, Mexico, a first floor in a two-story villa overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Coogee Beach, Australia, and an apartment in view of the Karavanke Alps in Bled, Slovenia, and last summer a town house in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

We move furnishings about our temporary home to suit ourselves, and within a few days our several months-long rental becomes our home. Carmel was no different. Our SUV, aided by a large car top carrier, jammed full of clothes and belongings including golf clubs and pull carts, was unpacked by the afternoon we arrived, our “stuff ” put in its proper place. The kitchen was decoded, appliances checked, and, by the next day, our cupboards were stocked.

A corner in the living area was set aside to mix our evening cocktails. Fresh flowers were placed about the house. Nothing like fresh flowers to say, “We are here for awhile” this is not just a weekend diversion. People do not buy fresh flowers for a weekender. A workspace was designated for each of us. For Elysee, a place to attend to her voluminous correspondence, and for me, a place to write. We also carry framed photographs of our family and place them about the place, storing away any similar owner items. Should you have visited a week after our arrival the impression we hoped you would get was the two of us comfortably at home, as though we had been living there a long while.

I began planning for our Carmel summer eight months ahead of time, and even then, because Carmel is so popular, I had some difficulty finding a suitable place. Despite the late start I found a place, in a good location, that was the right size, and priced at what I was willing to pay. We always rent two bedroom-two bath homes. This not only assures our guests are comfortably accommodated, but when it is only the two of us we can spread out more, each of us with our own bath and dressing area. The second bedroom can also function as an office and/or golf club and baggage storage. More reasonably though, I have found that limiting the search to at least two bedrooms screens out the marginal one-bedroom offerings, such as Mother-in-Law suites, rooms over the garage, or junior’s basement hideaway.

Our Carmel Love Nest, although functional, need some redecoration. Elysee observed that the cocktail hour snacks kept getting lost in the 1960s style shag carpet. In the kitchen, the Formica counter tops were “quaint” and the cookware was left over from Wagon Train. Compensating for the furnishings being out of style, the location was ideal. We could walk to the village shops, post office, library, restaurants, and theaters. Being two blocks from the beach provided the steady, gentle sound of the usually placid surf in Carmel Bay, and I could look out to see the ocean from the library loft.

The Carmel gate into Pebble Beach was only a few minutes walk. A little further on down the path the Pebble Beach Lodge awaits with a fine meal or an evening cocktail. Walking there gives us the promise of an even more pleasant return walk to our Carmel home, especially on moonlit nights, the golf course slumbering, and the gentle, silent swell of Carmel Bay beyond. (More in part two.)

Tom Marshall

"The World Is Our Second Home"

www.marshallpublications.com

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Photos

LIVING ROOM
Note the flowers Elysee has placed about.

VIEW OUT TO SUN-FILLED PATIO
This is where I was allowed an after dinner cigar. Stairs lead to loft upstairs.

OUR SUV OUTSIDE OF HOME
Note the loft which was my study with a peek of Carmel bay and Pebble Beach.