Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Beyond Darkest Carmel-by-the-Sea


Saturday evening, February 20. After leaving Point Lobos, we continued toward Big Sur. Phil had no trouble taking the Fit through the steep twists and turns of the two lane road high above the ocean. It's always fascinating to me to get glimpses of the houses just off the road perched precariously on cliffs, some of them luxurious and some of them tumbledown, and wonder what it's like to live with your back turned firmly to the entire continent. I'd love to give it a try for a month or two as long as it's not too rainy.




We drove just past the Bixby Creek Bridge, the impressive, much photographed span that embodies the Big Sur drive for most people. We pulled over to have a better look and take some photos. Peter had lots to tell us about the engineering of the bridge and he seemed especially energized by seeing it.




Phil has a Carmel restaurant in mind for dinner. He had eaten there before with a golfing buddy and had taken me and our sons once on a rainy day several years ago. Jack London's Grill and Taproom has the comfortable wood-panelled feel of a gentleman's study. It used to be sort of a burger place, but now it is more of a sports bar with big screen televisions and the menu items are more sophisticated and more expensive. We enjoyed steak and shrimp fajitas and wine and beer. Our waiter was a little erratic, which put a damper on things. On the whole, the narrow cobbled streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea embellished with BMWs and countless art galleries do not appeal to me. The lack of street lights seem self consciously precious and inconvenient to the lowly tourists who dare to breech the hyphenated little enclave of the rich and filthy rich. It was a relief to leave the opulence and head for home.

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