With the impending delivery of our bundle of joy in about 4 months, Shawnna and I decided it would be a good time to take one of the last "pre-baby" trips to Monterey and Carmel.
We hit the road Sunday morning and were in Monterey with time to shop at the outlets and walk down Cannery Row before lunch. We ate at a place that Shawnna had heard about on a Rachael Ray cooking show called
Cafe Fina, which is located on the Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. I had the fish and chips while Shawnna chose the shrimp burger and we had fried calamari for an appetizer. The food was excellent and the view consisted of docked boats, kayakers and sea lions resting on rocks in the water - pretty nice.
After lunch, we drove along the coast of Monterey and Pacific Grove on our way to Carmel. We checked into our hotel which was
The Normandy Inn located on Ocean Avenue in between all the shops and the ocean. We ended up getting a room in the original building (built in 1921) with a fireplace and partial ocean view.
It was very charming, quaint, etc. and yes, we actually lit a fire in the fireplace. Next, we walked all around Carmel-by-the-Sea and looked in the various shops and galleries. For dinner, we drove back to Monterey and ate at
The Sardine Factory. We were sat in "The Conservatory" dining room where Shawnna ordered Chicken Baltino and I enjoyed Steak & Lobster. For dessert, we indulged in Madame Flora’s “Banana Split” Platter which had this description on the menu - Hot caramelized bananas foster & house churned gelato, such as chocolate cinnamon kahlúa, tahitian vanilla & frutti spumoni, topped with pineapple, raspberry & chocolate sauce with whipped cream & toasted nuts - Yum! After stuffing our faces, it was time to go back to Carmel where we walked a couple laps around Ocean Ave. (the shops were all closed at this point) and settled down for a warm, winter's night.
We woke up Monday morning, ate the complimentary continental breakfast at the Inn, lounged around until we had to check
out, then headed back towards Monterey. We stopped in Pacific Grove and took a long walk on the boardwalk at Asilomar Beach. The weather was so nice with the sun shining in the blue sky and ocean waves crashing on the sand - it was the perfect day. We continued driving down the coast to Monterey, made a stop at Lover's Point to soak in more of the great day and then headed back to reality. As tough as it was to come back, it was great to get away for a couple of days before our next journey begins.
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