Up early to drive down to Bixby Bridge.
Getting pictures.
I hiked down to this lower area, but the angle wasn't any better.
Push!
Monica getting more pics.
Then we drove a few miles to the Calla Lily Valley. It's a nice little hike through flowers.
Although the valley is only lilies.
With a little stream down the middle.
Lilies and the ocean.
Ogii in the flowers.
A little bridge.
The beach.
Dead otter.
Monica getting close.
Little plants growing out of the sand.
The beach from up on the hill.
Over a bit more.
Construction on some new mansions.
We saw some turkey vultures by the side of the road, so we stopped to get some pictures.
Two of them.
This guy was sunning himself.
Then fixed his feathers.
I used my 200mm lens with a 2x extender.
Bright flowers by the golf course.
Cypress trees.
Light and dark waves.
A row of big palm trees.
We spotted these deer.
Hiding behind the tree.
Next stop was Lovers Point.
A seagull landing.
A couple of other birds.
Monica going down by the water.
Ogii feeding a squirrel.
Me.
Monica.
On to the aquarium.
Water overhead.
A little squid.
Seagulls on top of a car.
Brunch at Mission Ranch.
With the sheep.
It's unbelievable how bright these flowers are.
Little buds.
A flower.
The top story in the Carmel Pine Cone is baby opossums recovering after their mom died.
Monica has her coffee.
Gals shopping.
By a city sign.
Licorice in the candy store.
Even more. The last time we were here, I bought a Super Rope. I didn't see any, so I asked them, and they said they had been discontinued and they hadn't received any in months.
$75,000 for a picture; that's pretty good if he can sell it.
The mall used to have a statue of a guy playing a flute; they changed it.
We stopped by Refuge, but they had a waitlist.
So we went to a wine tasting in Carmel Valley while we waited.
He was very friendly.
An amazing table.
Then back to Refuge to soak in small pools of different temperatures, from cold to hot, and wander into the steam room, sauna, and chairs by fires for around an hour.
Final stop of the night was Aubergine at L'Auberge.
They don't have a wine list.
They have a wine book; 165 pages.
Course one.
Course two.
Course three.
The chef came out to explain course four.
This sauce was amazing.
The plates were really nice as well.
The sous chef explaining this sauce.
Course five.
So many little components.
Course six.
This sauce was great as well.
Some bread.
Course seven.
Lots of little flowers.
That looks like a steak knife; now I'm excited.
The sous chef putting some sauce on my ribeye.
Course eight.
Almost too pretty to eat.
Course nine: the optional wagyu, still amazing.
So much fat that it literally melts in your mouth.
The plates were from this artist on Etsy.
Very neat.
Now onto desserts.
Number one.
Number two.
Lots of different tastes.
Number three was a little cake for my birthday.
With gold on top.
Number five.
And number six, to go.
Still the best restaurant we've been to.