California coast: Even a 30-hour visit reveals Carmel, Monterey among state's shining jewels

CARMEL, Calif. — Take two adult children and one mom. Give them 30 hours to spend in Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea, where none of them have been before. They'll come away wondering why it took them so long to visit this part of California, where the scenery is gold-rush gorgeous.

The son, who loves big cities, enjoyed the restaurants in Carmel — but was also charmed by the town's small scale and by the fact that there are no addresses on the buildings. The daughter, who loves photography, longed to linger at the mission and at the ocean.

Thirty hours is not enough time, of course. And moms are the ones most likely to bend the schedule. Moms think they have the right to ponder purchases at a gift shop. Gaze at cypress trees instead of road signs. Start conversations with museum docents.

On occasions such as these, when time is short, it is good to have kids who are old enough to be the family taskmasters, kids who hurry things along, saying, "Buy this bracelet." And, "Turn here."

And, "Come on, we have to leave." And, "Hey, don't fret. We can come back someday."

Carmel is 120 miles south of San Francisco. To get there, we took scenic Highway 1, Camino Real. As we drove, we noticed that some of the homes we passed were dorkier than our own house in Utah. Of course these homes do have a less-than-dorky ocean view. We found ourselves thinking about California's Proposition 13 and wondering what the owners pay in property taxes, wondering if anyone would like to trade homes, straight across.

We arrived in Monterey before noon.

We ate at The Fish Hopper restaurant, sitting on the deck, looking over the bay, watching kayakers and tide pool searchers. (Crab cakes are $12.)

After lunch we spent a few minutes checking out jewelry and candy stores.

At 1 p.m. we headed toward Carmel, paying $8.75 to take the 17-Mile Drive. The sea views alone made it worth the fee. The road runs through the Del Monte Forest. We didn't stop at all of the 20 points of interest, but we did stop at Asilomar Beach. And at Pebble Beach and one or two other amazing golf courses. And at that famous cypress tree.

By 3 p.m. we were in Carmel — just south of the town, actually, at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo, on Rio Road. (Admission is $5 per person.) This quintessential tile-roofed California mission is the burial place of Father Junipero Serra.