Carmel-by-the-Sea
My partner surprised me on my birthday to my favorite place in all of California this past weekend… Carmel and Monterey!! I grew up coming here as a child because my family would always be in northern California visiting our extended family. So, bringing me back knowing how important and special this place is to me, was such a memorable experience for me, expecially with someone who means the most to me now. Thank you my love (I’m sure you’re reading this).
We headed up on a Friday morning, so we would still have time to spend in Carmel that evening. We got there kind of late in the afternoon though, because I wanted to stop in Malibu for a little shopping and nice morning coffee and such. But by the time we got to Carmel, it was so beautiful still. The sun was about to set, and we had just made it to the beach in time. The sand is so soft, just like I remember it being, the sky was gloomy and grey, yet the sun was peaking through. We stayed and watched the most beautiful and calming sunset.
The following day, we got up and headed straight to Monterey Bay for the breakfast and then the aquarium. I would definitely recommend Alta for a really high quality breakfast, and the most beautiful, rustic scenerey. I could sit in the back of that place for the entire morning. Although, the tickets we had to the Monterey Bay Aquarium were only valid until 5pm, so we got goin, so we could spend a while there before they close.
The aquarium was beautiful, much different than I remember from childhood, although I won’t lie, I don’t remember much anyways. The jellyfish exhibit was probably one of my favorites, they had so many different kinds, bell jellies, black sea nettles, blubber jellies, lion’s mane jellies, the list goes on and on. They were all so uniquely exquisite. I also loved the sea otters. I could watch them float on their backs and scratch themselves for days and not get bored. The penguins were so cute too. Something I found so intrinsic were the massive schools of fish they had, usually at the bottom of the bigger tanks, but I found it so mesmerizing to look at. I could also watch them for hours. The aquarium really does have so much to offer too, so if you ever find yourself in Monterey, I would always tell you to stop here for an afternoon with all the fishies!
After a nice afternoon in Monterey, we headed back to Carmel-by-the-sea, my alltime favorite place. And yes, I do love Monterey, but my heart truly lies in Carmel. They have the softest beaches, the most charming cottage and beach like neighborhoods, and then of course the best donuts of all time located at the shopping area.
Later on Saturday evening, Pranav took me to a very nice birthday dinner at Mission Bistro. I had been craving mussels for a while, and this place of course had them. They were incredible. Pranav got the black cod for his main. The entire meal and evening we spent there was amazing. I loved all the food we ate, not to mention, the delicious water we drank as well (haha..only pranav knows what I’m referring to).
The following day, we made another stop at Duck Donuts, and then of course my favorite bakery to pick up my favorite coffee, elephant ears and soft, german pretzals to snack on for the car ride back down.
We also made a short visit to Big Sur, because pranav had never been to the Bixby Bridge before. It was still there and still beautiful as ever. The weather was so perfect and gloomy this day, so there really were no complaints from me. Also, something I didn’t remember from growing up was how beautiful the drive there was, it really is so beautiful. There are so many gorgeous cliffs, and also farms hanging off the cliffs with cows just hangin around. It was such a nice drive.
After Big Sur, we headed back down to orange county—took us nothing short of 9 hours.. Of course we had to stop in LA for a yummy Erewhon smoothie. It’s still my birthday weekend, so pranav made sure to stop at all my favorite places. It was a weekend I will never forget. So much fun, especially before school starts too, it felt like such a warm and grounding weekend. And, again, with my favorite person. Cheers to 22!!
