Carmel-by-the-Sea

We spent a few days in the very quaint, very beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea. Carmel is a one mile square village on the Carmel Bay -on the southern bend of the Monterey Peninsula, in Central California. Our Hotel was at the top of the downtown and a 1/2 mile walk through downtown took us to Carmel Beach. We enjoyed the beach, watching the pelicans score dinner and took in a super pretty sunset. As we were watching the sunset we were surprised to hear bagpipe music- and we caught sight of the bagpiper at the end of sunset. It turns out the "Valley Piper" began playing during sunset at Carmel Beach during the pandemic.

https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/people/face_to_face/greg-freeman-makes-music-and-deep-human-connections-by-playing-the-bagpipes-on-carmel-beach/article_c7c4e53a-1bf4-11ec-bc26-a7a5c41bcd5d.html

The surroundings and the haunting music made for a wonderful introduction to Carmel!

17 Mile Drive and PCH

We spent the day exploring the " 17 Mile Drive" and then headed out to the Pacific Coast Highway. This famous 17-Mile Drive is within the gates of the Pebble Beach Golf Course from Pacific Grove to Pebble Beach along the coastline. There was a $10.75 fee to enter - but the views were well worth it. We took in the sights of cypress trees, coastal views and really enjoyed watching the seals, sea lions playing and even saw a sea otter!