Carmel & Mission Ranch

Doug and I left the Sulavers early this morning for our trip to Carmel.  We were glad that they were still home so that we could say goodbye before we left.  We decided to drive straight to downtown Carmel to enjoy all the city had to offer before we checked into Mission Ranch.  The weather was beautiful on our drive but once we arrived at the seacoast community, the skies opened up and the rain began to pour.  It didn't hinder anything that we were doing, but it did make the morning a little dreary and cool.  

Our first stop was the Carmel Bakery.  Maggie had suggested it and we loved the two pastries that we picked out for breakfast.  We then did a little bit of shopping where I found the perfect purple sweatshirt and Doug bought a Carmel hat.  The rain stopped soon after we finished shopping, so we decided to drive out to Point Lobos State Reserve to see the sealions.  We had not visited there on our last trip and were blown away by the views of the ocean that we had on the hiking trails.  The sealions were hard to see where they were perched on their rock, but we could hear them loud and clear.

Doug picked out a brewery to try next and while we were there, Mission Ranch called to let us know that our room was ready early.  I was very happy to hear that and we spent the rest of the day on Clint Eastwood's renovated sheep farm.  To say that we loved our day there was an understatement.  Our room was awesome complete with a working fireplace and back porch.  We had the best view of the sheep meadow and could even see the ocean from our windows.  The happy hour in their piano bar was fantastic with even better views all around.  We returned for dinner a few hours later and enjoyed a delicious dinner while watching the sheep being called in for the evening and listening to the "piano man."  All in all, Mission Ranch was wonderful and we ranked it as one of our favorite places to stay ever.