I am not originally from California and know quite little about it, even after moving to Los Angeles. Of course I had been to the other big CA cities, such as SF or San Diego, but all that laid in between was a complete mystery to me. What's the Central Valley? Is that where Silicon Valley is? Isn't the entire State of California just a bunch of desert, gold mines, and dead grass? Thankfully my husband is a California native, born and bred, and would eventually correct my ignorance and impart to me his vast knowledge of the Golden State.

He had casually mentioned Carmel-by-the-Sea sometime before. At the sound of the name my interest was already piqued. So it was such a pleasant surprise when he told me on the eve of my birthday, "Honey, pack your bags in the weekender tote I just bought you, 'cause we're heading to Carmel!"

This is actually just part I of our trip...some of other rolls of film are still pending in the lab. I wanted to go ahead and share a few snippets from our excursion to Point Lobos, so in case you were expecting Carmel photos, uhh I apologize. But now I've built up your anticipation...so check back later for more! :)

Point Lobos is easier to explain in photos. I think it's pretty self-explanatory how breathtaking it is. My favorite shot was of the deer prancing in the golden meadow, though by no means a perfect image, it was fun pretending to be a national geographic photographer for a second...hehe.

Here's Carol-by-the-Sea: