We continue to have an amazing time in Carmel. This picture was taken on 17 Mile Drive, a must if you ever visit the Monterey Peninsula. The weather has been just perfect and we have been making the most of it.
We started the day with a healthy portion of avocado toast and strong coffee. We briefly considered having a heavier breakfast or maybe even just pastries with our coffee, but settled on avocado toast instead and didn't regret it. It was SO good!
I've mentioned that we used to live in this area, 13 years ago. While we lived in the Monterey area, our son Ahren lived with us while he attended college at Cal Poly and did internships at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey. He also had part-time jobs at various retail businesses in Carmel. One of them was the location in the picture above. When Ahren worked there it was Villeroy and Boch, a high-end dishware company. Now it is a women's clothing store! When he worked there when it was Villeroy and Boch, I acquired several sets of beautiful dishes and even glassware with the help of his employee discount. Those were the days. I thought he would get a kick out of the changes that have taken place in the place where we used to work and live, so I was texting him photos all day long.
There is definitely a lot of money in the Carmel/Monterey area, which is reflected in the type of automobile you see all around town. Honestly, people drive cars that cost as much as some housing!
While my husband and I have been hobnobbing with the rich and famous, spending our children's inheritance, and eating like kings, something bad has been happening back at home. A fire has broken out about 7 miles (as the crow flies) from our home. Supposedly someone was welding their fence in the weeds and sparks caused a fire to break out. It is now at 5500 acres and all the power to our town and the surrounding area has been off for over 24 hours. I had a freezer full of nice things I am going to have to throw out. At this point, I think the fire is only 23% contained.
We are headed home this morning and will need to take a detour rather north of where we live because the highway we normally would use is closed due to the Aero fire (as it has been named). You can see from the photo above that things are serious. Many people have been evacuated and cattle and other livestock have had to be rounded up and transported out of harm's way. This is a huge undertaking and hardship in our rural agricultural area. Fires in California are real, seem to happen more often and with greater damages each year. When will people learn to have common sense and not endanger other people, animals, and property through their thoughtless carelessness? The cost of fighting these blazes is enormous.