Carmel-by-the-Sea

On previous trips to California, Barb and I  had passed near the ocean-side community of Carmel-by-the-Sea. On our excursion down scenic CA-1 last Thanksgiving, we even turned off the highway and made a quick drive through the town itself. Drive through is about all you can do; parking is all but impossible. More about that later.

Carmel-by-the-Sea - or in it's less pretentious, un-hyphenated form, Carmel - has a long-established history as an art colony, dating from the beginning of the 19th century. The long list of artists, poets, writers and movie stars that influenced the look and feel of the town over the last century is impressive, but if you ask today, the celeb that comes to mind is probably Clint Eastwood, based on his one term as mayor of the town  back in the late '80's.

The village itself takes up just a bit more than a square mile; in that space dwell 3,722 residents, and on any given summer day there are twice that many tourists looking for a place to park. Smallish houses are tightly packed on a steep hillside - "a village in a forest overlooking a white sand beach." One major street, Ocean Avenue, runs from CA-1 down to the beach, crossing twelve or so streets in the process. Galleries, restaurants, coffee shops and retailers of all types line Ocean Avenue, offering high-priced goods to an affluent clientele. It felt like Aspen by the Sea.

Some of the things that set Carmel apart:

• There are no house numbers or street addresses. Our hotel was located on "Junipero, between 5th & 6th." Consequently, there is no home mail delivery. Overnight services use "geophysical" addresses, like ""Monte Verde 4SW of 8th." That would be a building on the west side of Monte Verde Street four properties south of the 8th Ave intersection.
• Street signs are limited to a single post about 3 feet tall, located on varying corners of the intersection. Not every intersection has a post.
• High heels are prohibited. Really. There is an ordnance prohibiting wearing high heels without a permit.
• There is no public transportation in the village. And since there are limited parking opportunities, walking is the preferred method of transportation. Bicycles are frowned upon, as well. Almost all on-street parking, if you can find it, is limited to 2 hours.
• Parking tickets are a major source of income for the village.
• Carmel-by-the-Sea is an exceptionally dog-friendly city. Almost all restaurants that offer outside dining allow dogs in those areas and a few have special "doggie menus." Many retailers allow dogs to accompany their owners in their stores and many have treats available. Water bowls and dog biscuits can also be found in front of many stores.
• Dogs are not permitted, even on leash, in Devendorf Park. Really.

So if you have not come to Carmel for the fine dining, or the art galleries, or for that new Baume and Mercier watch, or to walk your dog, you must have come - as we did - for the beach.

Gorgeous white sand and gentle waves. Big Sur to the south - Pebble Beach to the north. Carmel really has one of the premier beaches of California. You may notice, however, that no one is actually in the water. This is northern California, after all, and the water temperature was about 55 degrees. The air temperature was 61.

Our hotel was located at the top of the hill, and since we did have a parking place (something not guaranteed with the reservation), we walked down to the beach, checking out the stores and shops on the way. After chilling at the beach (literally), we discovered that walking down hill is so much easier than walking up hill! And both of us have been walking seriously for exercise for some time! We blamed it on the altitude.

Most of the public parking was along Ocean Avenue, but along both sides of the street, placards announced that all of these places were going away overnight.

Sure enough, during the night we heard numerous car transports moving through the narrow streets, and in the morning, rows of luxury automobiles were parked in numbered spaces, participating in the "Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue" auto show.

 While we were wandering down the Avenue, a parade of Porsches, with police motorcycle escort, arrived, engines revving loudly. We thought we were in the middle of the ROT Rally. Maybe this was the ROC Rally.



Bottom line: if you want to have your morning coffee on the balcony and look through a pine forest at the ocean, I can recommend a place to do just that!