We recently celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary!  Hard to believe but nonetheless true. It was time to return to romantic Carmel-by-the-Sea, the first stop on our 1969 honeymoon.  Back then, we had stayed at the same hotel where my parents had spent their honeymoon in 1943. It had been a bit of a creaky old place with smallish rooms and miniscule bathrooms, but  we had wanted to stay at The La Playa Hotel, “The Grande Dame of Carmel,” for nostalgia’s sake. To our surprise, The Grande Dame had undergone a facelift and  the ocean view rooms were going for $500/night! As it turned out, we found a cozy B and B in a quiet residential area, one block from the beach and a 10 minute walk into town.  It was a trip down Memory Lane as we meandered the streets of Carmel Village, walked on the beach and spent some quality time with our good friend Jill.

Carmel Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

On the trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Boulder Creek, California

A highlight of our weekend was a glorious afternoon along the Big Sur coast. This area is a must-see for anyone interested in spectacular ocean views, rugged mountains and redwood groves. The hiking possibilities are endless here. There are some amazing ocean views from the trail at Julia Pieffer Burns State Park. On the return to San Francisco we camped at Big Basin Redwoods State Park and hiked among the magnificent giants there.