Thanksgiving Day I stood on the beach at the end of Ocean Street with the sun shining and my toes burrowing into the sugar white sand. While most of the country was adding logs to their fires to ward off the cold, my wife and I were strolling on one of the most beautiful beaches on the West Coast marveling at the Cypress Pines, the dogs running in the surf and the 65 degree weather.

There was probably a more perfect place to be but we sure couldn't think where it might be!

Carmel-by-the-Sea is located about 2 hours South of San Francisco. It is probably best known as the home of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course where Bing Crosby held court for so many years and still hosts celebrities every February doe it's  famous golf tournament. Lots of us have seen the gorgeous "blimp shots" while viewing "the AT&T" on television and when you get there in person it does not disapoint.

But Carmel is so much more.

We drove in at midday Thursday. We headed for one of our favorite, (and quite reasonably priced), B&Bs.  The Sandpiper Inn is just a short block away from the beach. Many of the rooms have views of the water. Ours looked across the bay towards Pebble Beach. The rooms are nice, the ambience is laid back, and the staff is helpful and friendly. There is a large common room with a big fireplace and plenty of places to curl up with your current book.

While Carmel is full of wonderful restaurants we chose to head out of town a bit and see if we could grab a table with a front row seat for the sunset at the Rocky Point Restaurant. Located about 10 miles South of Carmel on California's Highway 1, the restaurant sits on rocks jutting right into the Pacific Ocean. We got a window table and watched a beautiful sunset as the waves crashed into the rocks below us. As darkness enveloped the beach below the lights came on with dramatic illumination of the surf and the crfashing waves. TIP-It is a bit pricey and the food is rather pedestrian, but the views cannot be beat. You may want to try breakfast or lunch to save a few bucks and still get the view.

After our dinner we made our short drive up the coast, parked the car at the Sandpiper and walked the short block down to the beach for a moonlight walk to get rid of a few calories. The weather was a little brisker at night but the moon was full and the waves were crashing as the tide went out. A perfect to ending to our Thanksgiving in Carmel. More to come!-Conrad