Carmel for the weekend

 My husband and I, along with our four dogs spent the weekend in Carmel-by-the-sea celebrating our wedding anniversary.  We couldn't of asked for better weather.  As you can see our kids were enjoying the beach.  Carmel is very dog friendly, with lots of hotels and restaurants encouraging you to bring your dogs.

My sister and her husband drove down on Saturday to spend the day with us.  They surprised us with a coconut cake and Kir royale, which we shared later that day.

I can't believe it's been at least 7 years since we last visited Carmel.  So much has changed during that time.  I think the economy has really had an impact on the town.  Lots of galleries that had been in Carmel for years were closed.  Favorite small gift shops were gone; and big galleries and stores on Ocean Avenue were moving to smaller locations.  There were still a lot of galleries and tons of restaurants, but just not as big. But the one thing that hasn't changed, everything was still over priced. 

This get-a-way was great because it recharged my artistic batteries.  Came home with lots ideas, that hopefully I'll put down on paper.  I did see a couple of artist working on paintings, one in particular using a palette knife and acrylic paint.  The canvas that the artist was working on was really big,which appealed to me; just need to find the space to work on that size.

I've always have loved Carmel and didn't realize how much I've missed the town.  My husband and I dream of moving to Carmel, hopefully it will become a reality some day.  In-the-mean-time, it's back to creating.