After a week filled with work I finally had a couple days off so my parents and I made the drive up to Carmel (which is near Monterey and about 2 hours south of San Francisco). The main reason for our visit was because my Dad wanted to eat Dinner at Clint Eastwood's restaurant, so with a 5 hour drive ahead of me, we started the trek.
Let me start by saying I gave up Soda, Candy, and Fast Food for Lent, and of course, when you're on a road trip, all that you can really eat if you're stopping quickly is fast food, so while my parents ate their delicious smelling breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's that morning, I sipped my Chai Tea from Starbucks and pouted. Our first stop was just beyond Santa Barbara at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, because my Mom wanted to gamble some money away. I ended up getting $50 in Free Play because of my 90066 zip code, and actually won $60 at the end of the day, so I came up ahead! After our quick 90 minute excursion we were back on the road taking the scenic 101 the entire way to Carmel. Once we got close, the sun disappeared and a cloudy marine layer appeared as we made our way to the Bay View Inn in Carmel.
We got to The Mission just after 7 pm and had a cocktail at the bar while we waited for our table. We got seated about 20 minutes later and after ordering and talking to our waiter, found out Clint came in after 6 pm stayed for a little bit and then left. He had also come by that afternoon for a little bit and our waiter told us sometimes even pops in later at night before the bar closes down. I know we were all a little bummed we missed him by less than an hour but were still really impressed that he was even in the area when we were. Our goat cheese appetizer was great but I wasn't all that excited about my steak until I got my hands on some horseradish that kicked it up a bit. Unfortunately, Mom thought it was coleslaw, so she took a hearty bite and had a nice surprise. The asparagus was perfect and my favorite part of the meal aside from my awesome Pinot Noir I switched to from my Hendrick's Gin drink at the bar. We couldn't end Dinner without getting the Chocolate Cake so I got some Sambuca and enjoyed my aperitif and 3 espresso beans.
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| Dinner at Mission Ranch in Carmel |
Before the night was over we sat back at the bar to have some after-dinner Drinks and even got Mom a Brandy Alexander that was delicious! The piano player had been playing all evening and at this point, people were getting up to sing with her, so I asked if she knew 'Baby Love,' she said she did, and 15 minutes later I was singing to all the Regulars around the piano, a few of which who gave me some dirty looks for invading their Sunday Night territory, but it's all in fun, right! The piano player asked me to sing again so later on I did 'Dreams' by Fleetwood Mac and then we all called it a night and made our way back to the Hotel.
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| Pacific Ocean |
The next morning we walked downtown for a little bit, bought some fun gifts and then made our way to the ocean. It was about 20 degrees cooler in Carmel and quite windy but it was beautiful to see the ocean, trees, and houses. I wanted to take a different route on the way back to LA so Dad drove the first part and we cut over on the 198 near Coalinga and what a drive that was! It was winding turns, narrow roads, fallen rock, and more cows than I could count, but it was awesome. I took over once we got to town and I had my Bagel from Starbucks while Dad enjoyed his Whopper with Cheese and Mom got her Ice Cream Cone...way to rub it in my face, Guys! The rest of the drive on the 5 felt quick because it was mostly farmland, tons of fruit trees, and some major mountain driving before getting into Santa Clarita but neat to take a different route on the way home.
The entire week with my family was awesome and taking the road trip with them was the icing on the cake. We had so much fun, did so many different activities and kept busy! I was so glad to have them out here spending time with me and can't wait to see them again soon :)
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