As I stated in my Monterey blog post, we ended up loving Carmel more than Monterey. Carmel is a quieter beach town. Carmel is known for Pebble beach and the 17-Mile Drive. Most of the photos taken here and in my Monterey blog post were from the 17-Mile Drive. The drive takes you through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove. The drive passes famous golf courses, mansions and scenic attractions. Some of the scenic attractions includes the Lone Cypress (see Lone Cypress photos from my Monterey blog post), Bird Rock and the 5,300-acre Del Monte Forest of Monterey Cypress trees. The drive is absolutely stunning and you can’t go to Carmel without driving through. Continue reading

After visiting Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and Big Sur, we ended our California trip in Monterey and Carmel. It’s crazy how different the landscape and temperature is between Southern California and Northern California. You really need to layer in Northern California, because it gets cold. After watching Big Little Lies on HBO, I was dying to visit Monterey. In Monterey we stayed at the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. Honestly, we weren’t that impressed with the hotel. If we had done things differently we would have stayed in another hotel in Monterey or in Carmel. The hotel was a bit outdated; however, was in a great location. We ended up loving Carmel more than Monterey. Although, both areas are beautiful.

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After traveling to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Paso Robles, Jeremy and I drove to Big Sur. Big Sur was our favorite spot during our Pacific Coast highway vacation. Hands down the views in Big Sur are more spectacular than any other views in California. While in Big Sur we stayed at Treebones, a family run “glamping” resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Continue reading