Yesterday we left the Bay area and started our journey south. We stopped in Carmel specifically to visit the Tuck Box, one of Rachael Ray's favorite finds. Chloe and I love to watch Rachael's travel shows. Actually we tried to come here once before and this time we still didn't make it. We didn't realize we were too late, but they close at 2:30 and we got there about 10 minutes late. Silly me, I thought since the sign says Breakfast, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea that they would actually be open in the afternoon. Well, we got a photo anyway. Perhaps three times will be the charm, though I have no idea when that might be.
We had a nice time walking around the village of Carmel By-the-Sea. This is the Milk Shrine, c. 1920. This is an actual structure where the villagers would leave their empty milk bottles and they would be replaced with fresh bottles by the milk man each day. Each compartment would have a name of a patron in the neighborhood.
Carmel is the kind of place that has wonderful little nooks and crannies, Our favorite shop was the Christmas shop. They have the most wonderful Santas and a Darth Vader nutcracker among others!
Of coure, in Carmel, art galleries are a dime a dozen. This was our favorite art piece- a map of the US made with license plates. It's very cool! Even the littlest states are made with a piece of the plate that makes sense. So, for Rhode Island, there is simply an R. Click to see it bigger.
Last night we stayed in Paso Robles, my dad's birthplace. We are going to see if we can find the home they lived in at the time. Then we are off to the Big Bear area to visit my sister.