When I think of Carmel, I tend to think of movies and books that I watched and read in my childhood, like the original Parent Trap with Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills or the Mediator book series by Meg Cabot. Both stories are at least partially set in Carmel.
This is how my day in Carmel began:
I started off with a walk down Ocean St. to the beach and realized that I had seriously overdressed. I had been prepared for the icy cold winds of a beach in January, but found that I didn't need my wool coat, gloves, or sweater and I was seriously regretting my turtleneck shirt and boots. (There is one advantage, however, to wearing boots on the beach: no sand got in my shoes.) The beach was full of dog walkers strolling barefoot across the sand. The saltwater covered dogs zigzagged between people rushing to smell seaweed or catch their balls and the wind blew softly, causing the trees and brush on the tops of the cliff to sway.
The sand looked soft but I couldn't feel it through my boots. I walked the length of the beach and then turned back to watch the waves pound onto the sand and the seagulls soar overhead. The sky was a blue gray and the sun beat down with surprising warmth.
I turned my back to the beach and walked back into the town. There I picked up some salt water taffy and found a hidden public patio where I sat reading for an hour or two. The patio was peaceful and no one bothered me as I read. Gallery owners loaded new works off of trucks and carried them past me into buildings.
I hopped from one gallery to the next, my favorite of which was Gallery 21, where the works of Eyvind Earle are on display. His landscapes feel magical and viewing them is like being transported into a dream. Expansive feilds, towering trees, mountains, moons, and reflections.
There is no better way to spend a day than to spend it roaming beachs and galleries, even if alone.
Location: Carmel, California, U.S.A.
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