Going Back to Cali

I'd thought about taking a trip to Iowa last weekend.


Then a friend suggested Northern California:  Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur...


Sorry Iowa (maybe next time).


I landed in San Francisco at 3:30pm, rented a car and drove Highway 1 down the Pacific Coast at sunset.

I'd made reservation at Hotel Abrego in Monterey, but first I had to stop at Fishwife at Asilomar Beach in Pacific Grove for the award-winning Tilapia Cancun (delicious!).


The next morning, after breakfast at Loulou's Griddle in the Middle (located, appropriately, at the middle of Municipal Wharf #2),

I headed south on Seventeen Mile Drive, back to Highway 1 towards Carmel and Big Sur.

In Big Sur, I stopped at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for the short hike to McWay Falls.

Later, on the way back to Monterey, I had dinner at The Grill on Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea (so charming!), where I tried Sand Dabs for the first time (and loved them!).


The next morning, I had to go back to Loulou's for breakfast (it's that good!), then, since it was raining, decided to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, located on historic Cannery Row (made famous by John Steinbeck's incredible book Cannery Row: (Centennial Edition)).

Dancing!

Then it was time to head back to San Francisco, to visit my good friend from Lemons & Chambray.


We had our traditional thai dinner at Shana Thai Restaurant in Mountain View, then sat up talking at her home in Menlo Park until we couldn't stay awake any longer.


In the morning, we headed to the Palo Alto Creamery Fountain & Grill for some of my friend's (justifiably!) favorite french toast.

It looks old-fashioned because it is.

(Opened in 1923!)

Look at these apple pies!

There was a short wait, so we walked next door to Bells Books.  

Should we go in?

Yes, we should!

I love to support local, independent bookstores (and, love books in general), so bought Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña,  a biography of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez (Menlo Park resident!) living in Greenwich Village in the 60's,  The Subterraneans, by Jack Kerouac, and a vintage edition of Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworldby Herbert Asbury (who also wrote The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld (Vintage), among other books).

After breakfast, my friend's husband took their kids to see Puss in Boots, while we did some shopping at the Savers thrift store in Redwood City.

This place is amazing!  I found a black AG Adriano Goldschmied corduroy jacket, and a long black cardigan by Matty M for $7 each.

$7!

Unfortunately, by then it was almost time to leave for my overnight flight back to New York, but not before a quick cheeseburger and fries at In-N-Out Burger (my first, but hopefully not last!).

Although I do miss Iowa, I think I made a good choice!