Blogs from Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, United States, North America

I have already written numerous times about our fabulous trips to the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel, Pacific Grove, and my favorite place on earth, Pebble Beach. Let me see if I can focus on some different, and perhaps more obscure or overlooked places in this great part of the world. First, let me say that we are so fortunate to have the Monterey Peninsula within an easy day trip or overnight jaunt from our homes in the Bay Area. And when the ATT Golf Tournament features four days of bright sun, I am sure the east coast and midwest just turn fairway green with envy. Dog Friendly most everywhere, especially hotels and outdoor cafes, as well as most retail. Most businesses have water bowls and puppy treats for our four legged friends. I don't let Buddy drink ... read more

Dorothy wasn't the only gal to rediscover the pleasures of being home. Despite my travels far and wide, I continue to enjoy the treasures right in my backyard. Invited by my special friend, Stephanie, who happens to own a Land Rover, we drove down to Carmel-by-the-Sea one recent Saturday morning for an off-road adventure. On the grounds of Quail Lodge, a former resort and current golf course, one will also find the Land Rover Experience driving school. The lodge sits on 850 acres - far more area than we could cover in our one-day adventure, which included some hair-raising off-roading, a slalom course and blindfolded driving (don't worry, one person gave instructions - the one without the blindfold, while the other slowly crawled through sets of cones scattered around a clearing). My highlights included the parts ... read more

Excerpted from my book OUR SUMMER IN CARMEL; Amazon.com (Narrative about the 2005 Pebble Beach Councours d'Elegance) On the third Sunday in August, the center of the automobile universe is a tiny piece of golf-sacred land, the finishing hole on the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course, alongside beautiful Carmel Bay, California. Isn’t the 18th at Pebble an unusual place for such a boastful automotive claim? Here’s the background. Since 1950, when the inaugural Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Road Race was conducted, the now week-long, peninsula-wide festival has grown to achieve an unparalleled status as the premier international celebration of the automobile. It began simply enough with a road race inside gated and private Pebble Beach, which in that first year was won by legendary driver Phil Hill. The accompanying Concours of about 30 cars at ... read more

Carmel-by-the-sea is a scenic costal area that includes Pebble Beach, the 17 mile drive, and the Lone Cypress.... read more

October 11, 2009 Today we decided to drive down the coast to the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel and Big Sur. The weather was a bit cloudy but we still saw some wonderful sights. Carmel was quite a town…a lot of shops, seemed very upscale. We didn’t stop, just drove through. We were looking for Clint Eastwood and ….he must not have heard we were in town because he didn’t show! Anyway we drove on to a route called “the 17 mile Drive” which brought us through this area of the coast with really beautiful homes. The road ended at the Pebble Beach Golf Course….WOW. There are holes right on the ocean…crazy. In the afternoon we drove down to Big Sur. We stopped at a place for lunch…kind of funky with people that looked as if they never ... read more