Day 3: Cannery Row and Carmel by the Sea

Our final full day in CA and the sun finally came out!  The view that greeted us in the morning:

We spent the morning poking around local yard sales and then driving back down to Monterey to the Cannery Row Antique Mall.  It was huge and well organized and was super fun to look through.

Then we went back to Carmel for lunch at Basil--probably one of my favorite meals on this trip.  Love the seasonal dining concept and the delicious warm crusty bread and specialty "basil" dip.

BK had the Thai shortribs which melted right in your mouth

And I hoarded the freshly made spinach tortellini in an amazing truffle cream sauce with prosciutto and asparagus

Seriously--if you are anywhere near this place, you MUST GO!

Carmel-by-the-Sea was super charming to walk around--great for window shopping, enjoying the cool weather, and admiring the gorgeous flowers and plants.

Next up: Big Sur!

Day 2: Point Lobos State Reserve

To cap off our day, we headed to the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, located close to our hotel in Carmel.  There are several trails that you can hike and since we had about 2 hours till sunset, we chose the three most interesting to us.  First up was Sea Lion Point trail where you could see (with binoculars) the sea lions out on their rock islands, frolicking and making a general din.   Even with the cloudy day, the hike was still beautiful.  Love seeing the mountains in the distance and the fog just adds a little mystery!

Then it was on to the trail furthest south where you take these very steep steps down...

All the way to a gorgeous beach--China Cove

Our final hike was Cypress Grove Trail

Monterey Cypress trees are rare and only grow in this location (something about the combination of the soil, weather and sea air).  These magnificent trees grow over 70 feet and live as long as 300 years.

Stay tuned for day 3--when the sun finally came out and we did more hiking, including my kind of urban hiking...through an antique mall!

Day 2: Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

We packed in a lot on day 2 but had a great time!  Started off our foggy morning at the Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

We quickly found our breakfast spot: Crepes of Brittany, which I highly highly recommend

We had the ham and egg buckwheat crepe (delicious) and the nutella and strawberries (oh California strawberries, how I love you!) dessert crepe.  I'm pretty sure these were the best crepes I've ever had. (and you know I've had a lot of crepes)

We walked around the wharf a bit--it's filled with seafood restaurants, gift shops and candy stores.

There was a car show in town and we walked up and down the streets checking out all the amazing restored cars on show.

Found this adorable vintage shop

Back to the wharf for some lunch at the Old Fisherman's Grotto

Delicious clam chowder, coconut shrimp and crabcakes

On next to the aquarium--this day isn't half over yet!  To be continued...