I had the opportunity to take my sister with me when using my flight benefits this past weekend. Finding a place to go was a little tough this time, though. First we planned on Colorado Springs for a concert, but it was sold out (and very cold). Then I thought of San Antonio, beautiful city and she's never seen the Riverwalk - but they drained the river for maintenance. It had to be somewhere we could get to Friday and back on Saturday, so when we got to the airport and they were boarding a Monterey flight we hopped on.
What a great choice! I was a bit worried that the weather would be bad (the forecast was for very cold rain) but it was nice. A little chilly Friday for this Desert baby, and a bit cloudy, but not unbearable - Saturday was absolutely sunny and gorgeous. The whole area reminded me of the things I love (and miss) about San Francisco - without the crush of a million tourists. The scenery was beautiful, the people were wonderful - the food was great. We found a great little taqueria in Sand City, thoroughly enjoyed the walking and shopping down Cannery Row and in Carmel, and even the regular mall in Monterey (where we went to eat at Pizza My Heart) was pleasant. Before catching our flight home we enjoyed a home cooked breakfast at Ann Kelly's, a smallish restaurant with the freshest veggies and a wonderful view of the lake.
Carmel was pretty much the way I imagined it would be. Friendly people strolling and chatting, many with their dogs, and just enjoying the beauty of the place - and there was so much beauty to enjoy. A major plus ~ all the shops we visited were playing actual music - jazz, swing, big band..... Unlike here where every store plays either some KennyG-esque muzak or ear-cracking hip-hop/rap. What a joy to shop while enjoying great melodies, clever lyrics and reasonable volumes.
Definitely a trip I would recommend, I certainly plan to do it again. I do wish we had done a little planning, I know we wasted lot of time just trying to figure out what there was to do - instead of actually doing it.
The only real downside was the hotel - Comfort Inn. I have usually had good luck with them but not this location. Dirty room, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, carpet that hadn't seen a vacuum this millennium, bedskirt torn and hanging from the bedframe, heater that sounded like a chainsaw when it was on, TV that didn't get broadcast channels (and only had about ten cable choices), TV guide for the following week, the list goes on and on.... Fortunately, we weren't there for the hotel and that was a small slice of the weekend.
BTW: The ladies with National/Alamo rental cars were so friendly and helpful that they started the whole visit off for us on a wonderful, positive note.