Seconds With Steff

The first time I went to Monterey and Carmel, it was a foggy 56 and my lodging was less than desirable. Although immaculately clean the only thing that separated me from the world outside my door was a knob and a button lock… like in a bathroom. So when I repeated my trip in 2022, I stayed at The Pine Inn, the oldest hotel in Carmel.

I haven’t done much in Monterey yet, but here are some fast pics as I drove through looking for 17-mile drive.

17 Mile Drive – So the thing about the 17 Mile Drive gates is that they are nowhere marked on an actual map. I read a bunch of blogs to get directions and just crossed my fingers I was getting to the right place. Ultimately, I had an early morning escort to help me find the entry gate.

If you know anything about seventh grade Stephanie, you know I loved two things more than anything: a boy whose eye I never caught and Danielle Steel books. Summer’s End setting was at times in Carmel-by-the-Sea. So that was it for me… I had to visit the famed village. I’ve now been twice and it is lovely and adorable and pure fantasy.

So I start with the beach. Deanna meets Ben in front of his beach house. Walking the beach, I looked for the house imagined to be Ben’s. I am fairly certain I found it, although it is difficult to see over the dune, as I watched some surfers for a while.

Walking back from the beach is just as magical. The houses that line the street parallel to the beach are stunning. There is a side story that goes with the first house below, Xanadu: I am a firm believer that sometimes you are told you are in the right place…First, I drove from San Francisco to Santa Cruz on Route 17 which is a main highway from my parent’s house and my sister’s in Virginia; second, the CVS shopping center I went to had a liquor store called Deer Park Wines and I live in Deer Park, NY; and third, while walking back from the beach, I happened upon this house called Xanadu. Now Xanadu has dual meanings to me, one being the totally overlooked and amazing Olivia Newton-John movie and the second, being mentioned in the first lines of Citizen Kane which helped inspire my California trips. … Mom always said it comes in threes.

Deanna also has lunch with Kim at the Pine Inn, so of course that is where I am staying. Please remember, I said that they dined here, perhaps if they had stayed here, I would have known there is no air conditioning in what could be possible be considered the smallest room ever. Picture linked to my full experience.

What I quickly realized when I first started exploring Carmel is that Danielle Steel has informed more of my life than I care to admit. I have wanted to go to Carmel by the Sea since middle school when I began reading her books. The village of Carmel-by-the Sea is an adorable fairy tale setting full of thatched roofs and passageways that I knew I did not have enough time with during my first visit, so in 2022, I spent two full days exploring.

In addition to the most adorable town ever, Hugh Comstock’s Fairy Tale Houses complete the storybook feel as I left the village to wander the neighborhood. I did a self-guided audio tour, but there are guided tours as well.

The food and libations in Carmel is delicious as well. I had a wine tasting flight at Windy Oaks (no pics), drank another glass of wine at Il Fornaio (where my Danielle Steel characters met for dinner and is the longest bar in Carmel), ate dinner at Dametra Cafe and Flaherty’s Seafood Grill, and had a nightcap at Brophy’s Tavern. (also, no pics)