Wednesday/Raapa 12th June
We did some exploring of Carmel-by-the-Sea - a quaint town which is similar to Princeton, with coffee shops and boutique type shops. The difference is Princeton has the university, Carmel-by-the-Sea has Pebble Beach Golf Course. It is a square mile village. There is a no high heels law, and there are no street addresses. Thirty years ago when Clint Eastwood was Mayor of Carmel he did not want to citify Carmel and rejected house- to-house mail delivery in favour of a central post office. (There are also no parking meters or street lights, and no sidewalks outside of Carmel's downtown commercial area.) Those seeking directions receive hints such as "fifth house on the east side of Torres Street, green trim, driftwood fence" or by the names adorning most houses, such as "Hansel" or "Sea Urchin." It is also bad luck to change the name on a Carmel cottage.
Shots of Carmel below. They really look after their gardens here, and there are 40 side alleys with different shops.
We are staying in Carmel Valley, about a 15min drive away, in an Airbn’b up on the hill. It is quiet and comfortable.
We discovered after paying $100 each for shuttles to the golf, we could drive to close to a second gate where the 10th golf hole is. It is more for locals, and not advertised as available, but it will be much better than driving to the public car park which is a 45min bus ride from the golf course. I went to the shuttle people to ask if we could get our money back at the end of the day. That was the day’s miracle - the lady gave me $200 back. Yay.
