August 14, 2007
Carmel Hell: 71 Miles' Midsummer Travel Tip/Warning
Who doesn't love a weekend jaunt to Carmel? Well, those of us who can afford it, anyway. What's more, those of us who can tolerate its cloying horror.
John Vlahides, co-founder and executive editor at 71 Miles, knows better.
71 Miles -- an extraordinarily useful local travel site (at last!) for those of us living in the Bay Area (i.e., not tourists) who want to know more about hitting up the greater Bay Area, the beach, downtown SF, or around your very own block -- exposes the dark underbelly of Clint Eastwood's former kingdom.
Vlahides starts out by saying, "[e]very storybook village has a witch, and she lives in Carmel," and gets pointed from there.
He mentions in his article how "dogs, trees, and old people have more rights than anyone else in town," rotting ten-million dollar mansions that are "held together with liquid nails and plywood," women being "legally banned from wearing high heels downtown," (the hell?), says that the Carmel "could use a few muggers, if only to mix things up," and much more.
And here we thought Carmel was a top-drawer place to buy dolphin art and glass animals. Huh.
Well, guess it's off to Big Sur for our romantic weekend excursion. Oh wait, we're single. A BART ride to In-N-Out in Serramonte it is, then.
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Having grown up on the Monterey Peninsula, and having had my very first retail job in Carmel-by-the-Sea (that's its official name, people!) I can confirm that everything he says about the twee cesspool of nasty old ladies, nasty tourists, and horrible, horrible, horrible "art" is 100% true.
Oh and also: it's always worth reading John King's take on the subject. Although in this case he goes too easy 'em.
You could take MUNI to the In-n-Out at Fisherman's Wharf, or do you hate tourists more than suburbanites?
There's a Target in Serramonte; there's no hate involved in the decision.
re: comment 1
grew up in carmel - one of my first jobs was at cafe cardinale downtown. still holds for worst job ever (and worst boss ever).
it always blew my mind that it was a tourist attraction. even as an adult now i cannot understand it. like paying $9 to drive around in pebble beach. blah!
OK, 10 points for referencing "play Misty for me"! that is a camp classic.
I got in my first-and-only travelling spat with my husband in Carmel, over whether or not it was obcene to spend $300 on a handbag at Coach. Unstereotypically, I was on the pro-obcene side. [That translates to a $900 handbag in today's handbag dollars. Full disclosure: I now have two Coach handbags.] But I still hate Carmel.
Worst job ever: any kid who grew up there can attest to how horribly evil the Pebble Beach Company is. Who hasn't worked at some event or as a caddy, then swore to never do it again?
As far as those laws go: absolutely true. Nothing is more awesome and ridiculous than the police log in the Carmel Pine Cone.
Worst job ever: any kid who grew up there can attest to how horribly evil the Pebble Beach Company is. Who hasn't worked at some event or as a caddy, then swore to never do it again?
As far as those laws go: absolutely true. Nothing is more awesome and ridiculous than the police log in the Carmel Pine Cone.
Worst job ever: any kid who grew up there can attest to how horribly evil the Pebble Beach Company is. Who hasn't worked at some event or as a caddy, then swore to never do it again?
As far as those laws go: absolutely true. Nothing is more awesome and ridiculous than the police log in the Carmel Pine Cone.