I liked Carmel so much I decided to go back for another few days so I could check out the area more. I emailed Gael, who had done the Carmel Walking Tour, to see if she would do a private tour with me around the general area so I could see Carmel Valley, Pacific Grove, Monterey and Point Lobos. It was a great day!
Here are a bunch of photos:
This time I stayed at The Hideaway, which is on the opposite end of town from The Hotel Carmel. I felt like I should check out a different side of town. Turns out that The Hideaway is owned by Gavin Newsom, the Governor of CA! They had a nice wine and snack hour from 5-6pm and I arrived around 4:50 so after getting my suitcase to my room I decided to partake.
Next morning I walked down to my favorite view – the beach!
Then time to head back up into town
When I was in Carmel before, I had some drinks at a place called The Pocket. I talked to the bartender, Jose, quite a bit (and got to practice my Spanish!) and told him I’d see him in January. So, I stopped in for Happy Hour and to catch up with him. Saw this rainbow prism on the wall of the bar and had to take a photo! I’m not sure what the sun was shining through to make the prism though! 
Next day was tour day. Here’s a shot of Fisherman’s Wharf from the Presidio in Monterey
Another statue of Junipero Serra
Point Lobos – what a beautiful state park. I saw grey whale spouts (they’re migrating now), otters, and sea lions!
I love that cloud formation!
Do you see the sperm whale in the photo below?
Hint: it’s a rock formation and there is orange lichen on the whale’s head!
I didn’t take that many photos other than Point Lobos, but I got a great idea how things ‘fit’ together. We also went to the butterfly sanctuary in Pacific Grove where the Monarch Butterflies rest during their migration. Saw a lot of clusters of butterflies – it was really cool!
Next day spent more time at the beach (of course). It was a pretty warm day so I sat on the sand barefoot for a while to get some good grounding.
Saw this little sign as I was walking around afterwards
I was walking around and saw some people eating outside. I asked them where is the restaurant and they pointed into a little alley and said it was in there. It’s called Stationaery and I had been wanting to try it so I went in and got myself a table outside. Had Prosecco and some of the best oysters I’ve ever had!
One last view of the ocean before I headed out. I ended up staying one extra night (again!) and, again, I didn’t want to leave. But Spirit was leading me into the desert after almost 3 months next to the ocean. What a change!
So, after my extra day I headed towards Henderson NV. I spent one night in Tehachapi, CA and then made it to Henderson the next day. I’ll post about that in the next post, so stay tuned!