You Know You're in Carmel When...

Upon arriving in California, we were surprised to find out that Phillip, Cami, Christina and Chad were going to fly in Friday night to join us. With Kyle and Lori already here, the family would be complete for a couple of hours before Kyle and Lori left Saturday morning on a 6am flight.

After saying goodbye to them, the rest of us headed down to Carmel where Justin's parents recently purchased a house.

Carmel is a cute and quaint little town situated on the coast of California. And as with any place it has its own quirks and other things that make it unique. As we have spent the past 4 days here I have made some observations and come up with a list. Hope you enjoy reading it and maybe have a laugh or 2. So, without further adiou,

You know you are in Carmel when...

1. As you walk past high price, expensive little boutiques, you find dog water bowls positioned just outside the doors.

2. The dog population is greater than the child population (Must be the reason for #1.)

3. There is a sign posted in an outdoor shopping mall asking the shoppers to "avoid any unnecessary staring and stalking", among other interesting requests.

4. The local newspaper dedicates a section to the daily area police log, which while we were there included a story of suspected pink eye and a fire truck and ambulance response to a home where a lady had fallen and couldn't get up.

5. You find a sign telling the patrons of a store that "unattended children will be given espresso and free puppies".

6. Plenty of people go to the beach, but none of them get in the water. Brrrrrrr!!!!

7. The houses don't have addresses just names. Justin's parents' house is named Ocean Peep. And the sign outside the house reads 3NW3RD, which means third house northwest of third street.

8. Streets undergo "Pavement Rehibilation", as the sign reads. Really it's just referring to good old fashioned road work.

After Justin and I walked around the town this afternoon, we concluded that this would be a great place for a writer or artist to live...plenty of nothing to do but sit on the porch listening to birds chirp and aimlessly walking the streets looking for inspiration. And they would find plenty of that with all the interesting people and charming houses just waiting to tell their story.

We have had a great time and have really enjoyed the slower pace after the frenzy of the weeks preceding our trip.