My Take on Carmel, CA

Let me begin by saying I think my visit to Carmel would have been much more enjoyable if I had not started the trip horribly car sick, stayed car sick the entire time and then thrown up all over my in-law’s porch as soon as we got back from the trip.

I mean, I really thought I wanted baby #4 very soon but just this glimpse of a reminder of how I felt every single day has me really re-considering. Also, as a side note, to be fair to my husband I haven’t even talked him INTO considering baby #4.

Back to Carmel. I love visiting new cities, new little towns, new restaurants, bakeries, boutiques…what can I say? I inherited it from my grandmother, I believe. Also, my husband loves little towns like that.

I will say Carmel is just a TINCH too ritzy for me. I like trendy cities. I like restaurants where things are organic and they care about where their meat comes from. I like cities where you can stop by a shop ONLY for Fedoras and also a city where the people care about it being clean and snazzy looking. BUT it starts to get a bit TOO ritzy for me when the main storefronts are COACH and FENDI. And when I want to buy a souvenir it costs me an arm and a leg (well, if I really adored the souvenir that would be alright, I suppose) or when we find a new cooking spice it doesn’t cost MORE than it would at Williams & Sonoma.

Although, maybe it’s ok if it’s a tinch too ritzy because Carmel does have some nice side effects. The beaches were full of people of all different colors speaking all different languages. Is it odd that I feel most at home and comfortable around people in that setting? It is true. The beach was clean and the sand was just so soft and wonderful to sift in and out of my hand.

Carmel was a nice escape from the over 100 temperature days in California.  It was refreshing to walk around in a light sweatshirt. A bit too cold for the beach, however. Abby begged and begged to try body surfing. I showed her that the only people in the water were grown men in wet suits and that even the teenage boys with their skim boards were screaming like 2 year old little girls. But that girl had body surfing on her Summer Fun List and it was going to get done. So we tried. She got pulled under the very small wave and told me that yes, in fact it was freezing and why did *I* make her go and do that? Silly girl. Cameron played in the sand the entire time and had no interest in the waves. Boy, are those two so different.

I want to try Carmel again someday. Next time without being car sick, next time I’ll buy myself a Fedora (if I could even pull it off…see above) so I don’t have to steal my husband’s and next time I just cannot miss the sea glass.

Cannot.

I will always remember Carmel as the place where Shae first met the beach. I took her down to the waves and stuck her little toe right in them. Then she lay down on the blanket all wrapped up by her grandpa and took a nap listening to the waves. I will always remember Grandma going on a long, long walk just to find some seashells for the girls. I will always remember Carmel as the place where Tyler talked to his dad for hours and hours non stop and how it made me smile.

So that is my take on Carmel, CA.

P.S. And yes yes Mom, I will always remember Carmel as the place where Abby asked me *the* question for the first time. Sigh. Goodness me.

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