carmel

I'm so grateful for this area where we live. I've loved Carmel ever since my first visit in 1994 and it's been wonderful to have the opportunity to live here since 1998. No matter where we end up next year, living here has been a dream come true.

I love it so much that it was the only place I wanted to spend my birthday morning. Mr. T was working all day so I took myself off to my beloved Carmel for a solo breakfast trip, which is kind of perfect for an introvert like me. I was exhausted from having to be social at work all week (along with trying to learn a whole bunch of stuff that just isn't clicking yet in my brain) so a quiet morning in my favorite place was exactly what I wanted.

I love Carmel on weekday mornings before the tourists have taken over. This is the headquarters of the Carmel Heritage Society, which was my workplace for about a decade. Isn't it charming?

I think that's one of the things I love most about Carmel, all the charming buildings and unique architecture. Many of the most charming buildings were built in the 1920s which has become my favorite decade to research. Hopefully one day I can do something with all that research but whether that happens or not, I've spent many happy hours immersing myself in the '20s. The building above was the first Tudor/fairytale commercial building in Carmel and was used as a weavers studio and ticket window for the theater that used to reside behind it. Nowawdays it's a very popular candy store...they make delicious fudge!

My favorite spot in all of Carmel - the Tuck Box. Built (by my favorite research subject, Hugh Comstock) and opened in 1926 (as Kay's) it has always been a breakfast and lunch spot and was my destination for birthday breakfast last week.

My favorite table, off to the side. Our local paper (in print since 1914) comes out each Friday so I grabbed a copy and prepared to entertain myself during my meal. The dining room was fairly empty which is kind of unusual for this place but I wasn't complaining.

The avocado and jack cheese omelette was particularly delicious that day but the real star of any Tuck Box meal is the scone. It's unlike any scone I've ever had anywhere else. It's not your regular biscuit-type scone, it's unique. The recipe was introduced in the 1940s and is supposed to be of nothern English or Scottish origin but I've never seen or tasted anything like it. It's especially good with the homemade jams and marmalade that the Tuck Box has made for them and I never turn down a little whipped cream. Just looking at the picture makes me want to skip work and go back today for more.

The dining room is cozy and adorable. Most people enjoy sitting in the front bay window but I prefer my little table off to the side.

I did spend the rest of the day being more social but my solitary breakfast in Carmel was the perfect way to start the day. Carmel will always be my hometown and I'm so grateful to be able to spend so much time there.

Small steps in the right direction

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Old Chinese Proverb

Sometimes I think it's possible to take many small steps before you even realize you're going in a particular direction. That's what happened to me recently.

A year ago I started a research project for no reason other than that it was a subject in which I'd always had an interest. Well, not always but at least for the last 15 years. I wanted to learn everything I could about a local architect, Hugh Comstock, who achieved minor fame by building cute little cottages that look like they stepped off the pages of a book of fairytales. The fairytale cottages were built in the 1920s. He went on to build other styles of houses and commercial buildings throughout the '30s and '40s but it's his storybook cottages that bring the tourists in these days and it could be argued that they've set the tone for the whole village.


Shortly after I started the research two big things happened - the local history library closed and Jasper died. It was hard to do specific research without the resources of the history library but I desperately needed the research to distract me so I turned to the only resource open to me in the main library - I started reading microfilm copies of the local newspaper. Comstock came to town in 1924 so I started reading the 1923 paper and just kept going. Pretty soon I found myself obsessed with the 1920s in Carmel. It was a period of much building and expansion of the business district, some amazing examples of Spanish-California Revival architecture

 and even a Comstock fairytale cottage that's been a restaurant since it opened in 1926 even though it was built to be an art shop.



The Tuck Box, the building that made me fall in love with Carmel 20 years ago

 After spending so much time in the 1920s the next small step just seemed obvious - start my own historic walking tour. Ok, maybe it wasn't an obvious step but the opportunity presented itself and I went for it. I came up with a business name, started a website, joined the chamber of commerce and put together a 90 minute, 1-mile tour of the business district with a slight detour up a really steep hill to see the fairytale cottages. The tour was easy to put together, my months of newspaper research had provided me with all the information that I needed including specific details that had previously been lost to time and legend. Now to be perfectly honest, while the tour came together easily, refining it took a bit of work. The first version of the tour lasted well over 2 hours and even I was cranky and bored by the end of it. Luckily the only other participant was T and with his suggestions I reworked the tour just in time to take my first customers around the town. They asked great questions and didn't run away screaming at the end so I think it was a success.

Like the beginnings of any business there are ups and downs. Competition that I didn't think would be an issue when I came up with the idea, has indeed become an issue. My ability to do adequate marketing is currently more restricted than I would like which limits my reach into the customer base. But inside every obstacle is an opportunity and recently I've reworked my business model and my historic focus so that I'm really meeting the interests of the typical visitor...which leads me right back to my favorite architect. That new focus is starting to lead me down an interesting new path that could change my business once again and spawn side projects.

Small steps in the right direction...