Special Thanksgiving Menus

If you don’t make it home for the holidays, or, if you just don’t want to cook (understandable) why not visit some of the wonderful restaurants that are within walking distance of the Tradewinds.

Andres Bouchee is a Tradewinds favorite and this year they have a TG menu that promises not to disappoint: your choice of free-range turkey, braised spare ribs or local Halibut.

Grasings is another magnificent choice for Thanksgiving. Mouth watering selections include Bronzed Sea Bass, Braised Veal Osso Bucco and Herb Roasted Turkey.

For nontraditional Thanksgiving fare go to the consistently high-ranking Flying Fish Grill. Last but not least is Christopher’s with one of the best California Coastal Cuisine menus in Carmel. Just a tip, we hear the Cornmeal Crusted Chile Relleno with rock shrimp is to die for!

Shopping Black Friday

For a more relaxed shopping experience, many spend Black Friday in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Carmel is usually not as crowded as other shopping destinations. You’ll love the charm and won’t return home as frazzled. Carmel Plaza has a number of fantastic stores including Cole Haan, Louis Vutton, Sur La Table and the famous Cheese Shop. Spending the day with the family in a charming seaside village AND getting your shopping done…priceless!

Best after TG dinner activity

As many families already know, after dinner activities are a great way to bond and, sometimes, to work off calories. Regardless of weather, Point Lobos is a wonderful option. It’s inexpensive ($9 per car) and a late afternoon visit rewards you with breath-taking sunsets.  Walking around the state park and laughing at the raucous wildlife can be a good way for the whole family to get some exercise without even thinking about it.

If Big Sur’s Most Famous and Photographed Road in the World wasn’t enough for you, and the collision of condor, coastline, redwoods and literary legend don’t quite float your two-man kayak either, then you may want to see a shrink.

More affordable than said psychiatry—and wildly more enjoyable, engaging and enlivening—would be a visit to Tradewinds, where a Carmel stroll to the beach from the boutique dream hotel, a stop by one of the hamlet’s venerable restaurants and a recoup in the hotel’s jet tubs sets the mood and the energy for a trip south on the aforementioned Highway 1 and the bounty-for-the-senses that is Big Sur.

For there are more reasons to get to Big Sur than ever before. Here come a six-pack of them, beginning with a burgeoning foodie festival, and closing with a sublime five-pack of the best Big Sur parks, in alphabetical order:

Big Sur Food & Wine Festival

In its first year, people marveled at the amount of wineries with robust reputations (and better wines) and the number restaurants with adept chefs (and warm personalities) who came out for a little first-time benefit in the redwoods.

In its second, they gawked at how, despite the uptick in quantity and quality of the purveyors represented—as they joined the returning collaborators who swore they were in for life—the event retained the feeling of family that any event worth its Big Sur sea salt wants.

Now, in year three, it’s the organizers turn to be shocked—namely, at how quickly their “Magic Mystery Tour” trip (through three breathtaking properties paired with three standout wineries from Paso Robles, Monterey County and beyond plus three top chefs like Dory Ford) sold out.

There’s more indulgent epicurean education where that came from.

Folks from hallowed Big Sur taste destinations like Big Sur Bakery and Deetjen’s join forces with dozens of top wineries from Paso Robles to Santa Lucia (think Isoceles, Garys’ Vineyards, Talbott and Testarossa) for Pacific Coast-size waves of winemaker dinners, grand tastings, an opening gala at Highlands Inn and new events like a pork paradise party at Henry Miller Library called Swine and Wine.

There’s a reason people travel from as far off as Florida to tempt the South Coast’s treasures with as many senses as possible.

More at (831) 869-1341, www.bigsurfoodandwine.org

Andrew Molera State Park

This quazi-secret, 5,000-acre state park stretches along the shore for four full miles, with gotta-earn-it access to one of the longest beaches in Big Sur. Locals surf here religiously even though the waves require a pilgrimage hike from the cars that stretches at least a mile. Molera also offers equestrian trails and picnic facilities, as well as first-come-first-served walk-in camping in a expansive meadow a brief walk from the ocean, with lots of human-friendly trails snaking around the woods and coast too.

Located 21 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1, Big Sur. 667-2315.

Garrapata State Park

Garrapata earns local adoration for its range of difficulties and similar range of payoffs. Think of it as a closer-to-town version of everything deeper Big Sur has to share. Its 3,000 acres encompass scenic shorelines, deep canyons and steep mountains. The Rocky Ridge trail turns inland and upward for some gulp-inducing views of the Santa Lucia Mountains, while the Soberanes Canyon trail is lined with redwoods and offers a rewarding hike without quite as much physical exertion.

Located 10 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. 624-4909.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

The southernmost state park in Big Sur is worth the drive, given the close-to-4,000 acres stretching from a much-photographed waterfall to the soaring peaks of the Santa Lucia Range. That means hikers can revel in beautiful redwood groves, river walks and views of the picturesque McWay Falls as it empties into the sea, or just picnic near the parking lot.

Located 37 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. 667-2315.

Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park

There can only be one king. Established in 1933, this state park is one of the reasons the government had to outsource reservations—it just got too damn popular. Located within its 850 acres are the Big Sur Lodge and cabins, a store, a restaurant, camping, and numerous sites for picnicking, swimming and fishing, plus the über-popular “Gorge” for its river beach and rocks to jump from.

Located 31 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. 667-2315.

Point Lobos State Reserve

While not technically Big Sur, and arguably “the greatest meeting of land and water in the world,” as landscape artist Francis McComas called it, Point Lobos is hard to parallel, and tougher to describe accurately. Some 14 interconnecting trails wind through native pine forests, cypress groves and breathtaking, rugged coastal scenery that drawn divers and otters alike. Whalers Cove and other locations provide plenty of opportunities to view 250 bird and animal species, including, when the season is right, migrating gray whales. Day use only—but that includes the inspiring sunsets.

Located 2 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1. 624-4909.

We all love Carmel for the great hotels, restaurants, arts galleries and coastal beauty, but I also love Carmel because it is such a great walking town. In addition to the many great walks along the water, here is one of my favorite walks that I don’t think even many locals take advantage of.

This walk is only a couple of miles round trip from the Tradewinds, and will take you past the Forest Theater, through one of my favorite Carmel neighborhoods, onto the Mission Trail Nature Preserve, and to the historic Carmel Mission.

It does involve an unpaved trail and a few small hills, so plan accordingly for footwear, and on a warm day be sure to bring some water with you (you might even stop by Bruno’s Market on the way for a light picnic. I recommend the warm tri-tip sandwich! Bruno’s is on the corner of Junipero and 6th, and this walk takes you right by there.)

Here are the directions for the walk (also including more information) in case the map is not clear enough:

1) From the Tradewinds, head south (towards downtown) on Mission Street. One block before Ocean, on the 6th Avenue, take a left and walk up to Junipero, passing on the back side of Devendorf Park.

Walking Carmel

2) Stop at Bruno’s Market (just across Junipero) for picnic supplies or just a bottle of water)

3) Head south on Junipero until you get to Ocean Avenue. Cross at Ocean and turn left up Mountain View (this road angles southeast out of that five-way intersection at Ocean)

4) Once on Mountain View, take your first right onto Torres. This is one of my favorite streets in Carmel, especially the stretch between 8th and 11th. Torres rides the ridge at this point, with the Mission Trail on the East side, and the valley occupied by Junipero to the West. This street also has many Carmel bungalows of the old style (they have not all been fully remodeled, and at the end near 11th passes by one of the most unique homes in Carmel, a 3-story Tuscan-style villa. Torres will dead-end into 11th Ave, and this is near where you get on the Mission Trail.

5) Turn left on 11th, and admire the Tuscan villa on your left. I love those massive wooden gates. Stay to the right on 11th, and you will come to a fire road gate. This is where you get on the Mission Trail. There is an opening just to the left of the gate.

6) once past the gate, walk about 30 yards and look for a little foot bridge to your left. This is where you will cross the creek over to the Sierra Trail on the Mission Trail Preserve.  NOTE: Stay on the trail and be careful of touching plants unless you know what they are. Poison oak is common in the preserve.

7) Once across the bridge, turn right and head down the hill on the Sierra Trail. This will bring you down to Rio Road, and to the Carmel Mission.

8.) Once at Rio Road, cross the street and walk about 100 yards to the north and explore the Carmel Mission.

THE RETURN TRIP

9) Get back on the Mission Trail where you exited onto Rio Road. You will follow the Sierra Trail all the way to its end. You will know you are at the trail’s end when you come to a large bridge going to your left (this will be about 5 minute’s walk past the small bridge you crossed over earlier.) There will be a small trail that continues on in the direction of the trail you were on, but it will be obviously smaller and not well travelled.

10) Cross the bridge and continue the 30 or so yards to the end of the trail.

11) Continue in the direction you were walking, and you will be back on Mountain View, heading West. Continue in this direction. It will take you back to Ocean Avenue and the five-way stop in the heart of down-town.

12) While on Mountain View, note that you will pass the Forest Theater (on your right at Santa Rita). The Forest Theater is the oldest outdoor community theater west of the Rockies, and except during the Winter offers plays and outdoor movies.

13) To return to the Tradewinds, simply head down Ocean to Mission, then head north on Mission to 3rd Ave.

For a longer variation of the walk, you could:
a) While in the Mission Trail Preserve, Deviate onto the Flanders trail to visit the historic Flanders Mansion. While there, take a stroll through the Lester Rowntree Native Plant Garden.

b) Continue on past the Carmel Mission to the lagoon and walk along the water on Scenic, back to Ocean Avenue. (Take Lansen Drive past the Mission, to Carmelo. Left on Carmelo, and keep walking. Carmelo turns into Scenic at the lagoon, and will take you back to Ocean Avenue along the water.

What’s your favorite place to walk or hike in Carmel, or anywhere on the peninsula? Share your stories as a comment below.

Happy hiking!