Road Trip To Carmel By The Sea
Hitting the road has been a time-honored tradition for decades. Whether you hate flying, or just like to experience a new destination from a front-seat view, road trips are often the best way to explore.
We've been to Monterey and Carmel quite a few times now, and fall in love with the town more and more each time. Though, this time was quite different to the last. We were no longer driving around in 2 McLaren 570's. Instead, we were driving around in Nissan's new electric LEAF! Quite the contrast to say the least.
As we continued our journey from Pismo Beach, we drove up the 101 and stopped at a couple charging stations (the new LEAF has a range of 150 miles, 40% more range as its predecessor) before making our way into Monterey to kick off our week long adventure.
Unlike our last few visits to Monterey and Carmel, we never had our little pup with us, so when we heard that Carmel has their very own dog beach, we headed straight there. The beach was filled with puppers of all kinds and was just a short walk from the hotels we stayed at, so we spent most mornings and afternoons there. We've never seen Italia so happy, so we'll definitely be taking her to the beach more often in SoCal.
At the beginning of our trip, we first stayed at The Horizon Inn which had a cute little fire place and jacuzzi. It was super spacious, and we lit up the fire each night, it was sooooo good! Then the remainder of the trip we stayed at The Hideaway, which was so gorgeous. I'd been wanting to stay there for such a long time after I first discovered them on Instagram, I just love how they decorated the rooms! Both hotels were dog-friendly (with dog treats included too) and had a free nearby EV charging station so we could recharge the LEAF overnight.
BTW how cute does Italia look in her Baxter Blue's?!
During our trip, we got a lot of exploring in around town, and made our way through some funky little alley ways which were filled with lots of art and cafes. And when we were on the road, we often found ourselves driving down random streets where we stumbled across many hidden gems. We also spotted a few remote houses which were blended in with the surrounding landscapes, which Trevor and I love.
The architecture throughout Carmel and Monterey is incredibly diverse and mixed with traditional and modern homes, and we were captivated by some of the homes that were situated so close to the water. Some of which had a ridiculous price tag, as you could imagine.
We also made it back to 17 Mile Drive, which is undoubtably one of my favorite destinations and it's always picture perfect for car shoots. You may remember this place from my VW, Agera RS1 and McLaren shoot during Monterey Car Week last year. The tones there are just unreal, and the views are really awe-inspiring. I could spend every day there, and never get tired of the view.
Make sure you visit at least one if you're ever in the area, especially during Car Week. The roads are so nice! Oh and usually you have to pay to get in, but if you make a reservation at Roy's, you can get in for free!
Roy's at Pebble Beach is somewhere we always visit for some yummy sushi when we're driving along 17 Mile Drive. The food and location is simply beautiful, and if you like golf, it's situated right next to a huge driving range.
We also discovered a few other new food spots which are worth mentioning... Forge in the Forest (get the Reuben Egg Rolls! We ordered them 3 times they were that good!) Basil Carmel, From Scratch, Carmel Valley Roasting Co, Carmel Bakery, Paris Bakery and the world-renowned Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn. Stay tuned for a separate blog post on that soon!
By the way, is anyone going to Car Week this year?!
