Carmel By The Sea
02 March 2010
It’s Monday, the following day. Orllyene, my wife, & I are now on speaking terms again so we head for Camel-by-the-Sea. In Placerville we stop at a favorite bakery & buy 2 magnificent cinnamon rolls the size of a dinner plates…..one for us & one for Dana & Herb, our hosts. Later I find out Dana is hyperglycemic; just looking at the roll could send her into shock.
We turn off Interstate 5 onto California Hwy. 152 & climb over Pacheco Pass. ‘This must be what Ireland looks like; the hills are cloaked in a velvety green,’ Orllyene says demurely as we glide between rounding hills glowing in sunny exuberance. California is dressed in her best Spring dress.
The other day a respected friend remarked, ‘Carmel-by-the-Sea, that’s where a lot of rich people live isn’t it?’ Her words seemed diminishing & slightly vexatious. Carmel-by-the-Sea is a composite of beauty & luxurious living. You get the feeling that you’re in a time warp of early California, a time of somnolent haciendas & prancing caballeros. Hoards of cyclamen the color of raspberries, beds of yellow & orange primrose burst like rainbows all over town. The point is, you don’t have to be rich to be there, just enjoy the place!
In May 1903 the Carmel Development Co. sent out a brochure; ‘To the School teachers of California & other Brain Workers at in-door employment,’(sounds like folks who work in office cubicles today). Sales were sluggish at first but eventually professors & artsy types discovered this highly coveted stretch of coastline. Today Tudor replicas, Mexican adobes, woodsy cottages and palatial villas blend to form a mélange of interesting neighborhoods.
‘The Cottage,’ where we are staying, was built in 1922. Dana has taken the place under her wing & has a long list of guests who make reservations years in advance. The floors dip & weave & single light bulbs pop up like mushrooms on the ceilings, all connected with exposed wires & insulators. By intent, we have no TV nor telephone. Incidentally, there are no street addresses nor postal delivery in Carmel by the Sea so you must go to the post office to get your mail.
The next day I drop into the Carmel Coffee & Roasting Company, a favorite hangout & take a seat in the courtyard. I’m alone. All the uncertainty about coming on the trip has taken its toll & I just sit there. Finally I wander off to the post office to buy stamps. It’s Wednesday-I’m my old self. I return to the CC & RC, & jokingly ask, ‘am I allowed to sit in the patio & write postcards to which the pretty young server replies, ‘well if you don’t get too crazy.’ My confidence returns & I dash off 6 postcards.
There are 23 art galleries & 50 gourmet eating places in the immediate vicinity. Window shopping, visiting galleries, & being a part of the lavish luxuriousness of the place are all part of the Carmel-by-the-Sea experience. Dining out is another treat. ‘The Monterey Fish House’ in Monterey is by far the best dining experience I have ever had for seafood……anywhere. ‘Robata’s, an intimate Japanese restaurant is cozy & authentic. We had a filet mignon, $15.95, Senior Menu. Delicious.
Our hosts Herb & Dana, are remarkable people. Dana cherishes ‘The Cottage’ & shares it unselfishly. She’s also been a docent at the Monterey Aquarium for 17 years…..she insists we visit as her guests. Herb is solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. I learn that he flew a P-47 in 1945. ‘I’m still amazed that they trusted us young guys with that much responsibility. The plane carried a thousand pounds of bombs & had 8 fifty millimeter machine guns. I was 22 at the time.’ Just above a whisper he says, ‘ I received the Distinguished Flying Cross.’ I feel very honored & grateful to know people like Herb & Dana……real people in a really beautiful town.
Ron Walker lives in Smith, NV