Weekend Getaway | Monterey & Big Sur

After stretching our legs on the beach in Santa Cruz and exploring downtown, we hopped back in our rental to explore more beautiful coastline. We were not disappointed. It felt like driving through the clouds...or a movie set of what the beach is supposed to look like. Then we happened upon the cutest small town called Carmel-by-the-Sea and got ice cream. I'm not kidding when I say it's cute. Topiaries everywhere. Houses that look like elves both built and live in them, and flowers everywhere.

Checking out my bush...I mean topiary

In Michigan I'm kind of used to some of these cute "not-real" places for tourists (Traverse City, Mackinac Island, etc.) but this is on another level. Cutesy art shops, clothing boutiques, the whole nine yards. (Although I doubt Mackinac Island has a Cartier...but I haven't been there recently, so I can't really judge.)

We wanted to buy this, but it didn't have the business school on it? Know your market, people! 

So full of ice cream and ready to go on this Big Sur trip we'd heard so much about, we were off....

On an amazing adventure! This is not a trip you will enjoy if you get carsick from heights or anything as you are driving on cliffs, and it can get crowded and slow at times (I'm sure it's much worse in summer, we were there in the off-season.)


I would be careful about a few things when you go: a) make sure you FILL UP (we had a stressful experience because someone who I am not naming did not fill up and the closest gas station is in Carmel-by-the-Sea b) eat or bring snacks so you get to enjoy the scenery because there are pretty much no restaurants or hotels on the stretch c) be safe! shortly after we were there the road was close because of a LANDSLIDE! Also- NO phone reception! AT ALL! So plan your trip accordingly.

Ok, because of our previously mentioned gas emergency, we eventually had to make a choice: a) call it a day and drive back to Carmel-by-the-Sea or b) hope a gas fairy appeared. When it looked like b) wasn't going to materialize, we decided to head back. We even got desperate and pushed the "ON*Star" button in our rental and asked for the address of the closest gas station. (So, no phone reception, but GM could reach us.) We drove back to an awesome town called Monterey.

We booked last minute at an awesome hotel called Monterey Tides. I would stay here again in a heartbeat. It was right on the beach and had deck chairs so we could watch the sunset. We got a bottle of cheap Moscato at a gas station and snagged the robes out of our room and watched the sunset. (We are such a classy couple!)

For dinner we decided to venture out to Montereys' Fisherman's Wharf for dinner because we are seafood addicts. We made sure to put away copious amounts of oysters and wine! While we were driving around, the signs kind of rang a bell-- Cannery Row, Steinbeck, that. My ears completely perked up and I felt really silly! Monterey was the inspiration for John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row." The wharf was crowded with other fans though- fans of the HBO series "Big Little Lies" (Although I've read "Cannery Row," I haven't gotten to "Big Little Lies"...)




Monterey, you've been good to us! I'll be back soon!