“Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance – each beautiful, unique and too soon gone.” ~ Deborah Whipp (1964-), web designer.

Its four days before Christmas and this is our first trip together to the Monterey/Carmel areas and our fourth year in a row to Cambria. Bella and I decided to mix it up this year by selecting the Cambria Pines Lodge (2905 Burton Drive, Cambria, CA 93428, 805-927-4200, cambriapineslodge.com) instead of our faithful Moonstone Landing (Moonstonelanding.com) on Moonstone Beach. The lodge is surrounded by pine trees in the hills above the East Village of Cambria. The property features romantic gardens, an organic garden for their restaurant’s kitchen and a nature trail that stretches into East Village.

We check in at the lodge before driving to our room in the Wildrose Cabin. They have 152 rooms and suites, ours being a king, “forest view” room with a log-burning fireplace ($76.00 per night including tax). The accommodations are nothing fancy but clean and equipped with all the typical “hotel” room amenities. The nature trail runs below our window and foot traffic is light. I watch a woodpecker carve away at the top of a thirty foot tree absent of branches. As I walk across the floor I notice the hollowness under the floorboards. I’d recommend choosing a room on the 2^nd floor since the walls and ceilings aren’t thick either. Possibly this dwelling was built “many moons ago”.

We drive to the rustic Sow’s Ear (2248 Main Street, Cambria, CA, 93428, 805-927-4865, thesowsear.com). The waitress pours me a few tastes of their by-the-glass wines. She highly recommends the Minassian-Young Zinfandel. I typically steer clear of the zins due to their high alcohol content with that harsh “rubbing alcohol” finish but this one has massive jammy fruit that overpowers the alcohol finish. Thus, I order a bottle to complement our meals. Their wine list is loaded with local, inexpensive options.

We begin with fried calamari with three dipping sauces (tartar, cocktail and lemon aioli). The calamari is quite tasty although the texture is very un-calamari-like (not rubbery or chewy). I find the lemon aioli to be a great companion. Fresh bread is served in a terra cotta flower pot and it is hot, soft, slightly salty and delicious.

Bella opts for an entrée of braised short ribs in a red wine and port reduction with buttermilk mashed potatoes. I choose the char-grilled New Zealand rack of lamb which is marinated and herb-crusted. It comes with a side of red roasted potatoes. The lamb is very good and perfectly cooked but I think the herb-crusting is a little overdone. I’m not a huge pepper fan and this is very peppery to the point that it competes with the natural flavor of the tender fleshy pink meat.

We close the meal by sharing a slice of white chocolate cheesecake with a hazelnut cookie crumb crust and topped off with fresh whipped cream. I should mention that all desserts on their menu are homemade. This cheesecake is soft, silky perfection that makes me wish I’d ordered my own. Greedy, I know. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A-. It is raining lightly outside so we quickly browse a couple of shops before heading back to our room at the lodge.

We grab an umbrella and walk through the gardens to the lodge’s Fireside Lounge. The featured act for the night is a grey-haired, ponytailed, singer/guitarist playing 70s’ covers. He sings America, Bread, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce and Paul McCartney to name a few.

Here we encounter what I can only refer to as the “Wine Cork Fiasco”. A threesome (two guys and a girl) in their late twenties (Bella thinks they are Chinese) enter the lounge and take a table near ours. Bella discreetly points and I notice that they have brought their own wine and glasses as if they’re at a concert in the park. I’m thinking their late model BMW is parked outside.

Additional hilarity ensues as we observe the men attempt to open the bottle with a plastic twist-style (t-shaped) corkscrew. One of them keeps twisting into oblivion before roughly attempting to yank the cork out – failure. Finally, he passes the bottle to his “comrade in crime” which garners similar not-so-successful results. Minutes later, I hear the hollow popping sound of an artificial cork. I squelch my chuckle — barely. Call me a wine snob, I know.

We resume our enjoyment of the music but I soon discover that the comedy routine isn’t over. Bear in mind, everyone in the bar is feeling the holiday vibe by listening to the music, drinking cocktails or chatting with family and friends. The threesome, however, are drinking their wine as if it were Coca-Cola in a can all the while being fully entranced in technological devices. The boys are on hand-held gaming devices while the girl is on a notebook computer. Apparently nobody told them they’re out of the metropolis and in a quaint town with a population of 6,232.

In the morning we walk through the gardens to the lodge for our free breakfast buffet which includes items like scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, grapefruit, juice and coffee. Everything is fresh and tasty. Unfortunately, the management has insufficient staff for replenishing food and bussing tables. I quickly overlook the minor inconvenience given the “free factor” and how nice the food is. Afterwards, we pack, check-out at the lodge and drive down to East Village.

We peruse an antique store before heading over to Fermentations (4056 Burton Drive, East Village, 805-927-7141, fermentations.com), a wine and gourmet food store. Bella and I sample five wines ($5.00) before purchasing her favorite, a late harvest Chardonnay (think dessert wine). Then we stop at Soto’s Gourmet Market and Deli (2244 Main Street, Cambria, CA, 93428, 805-927-4865) where I pick up a couple bottles of the Minassian-Young Zinfandel from last night’s dinner.

We get back on Highway One and make our way toward San Simeon. We stop briefly at the Piedras Blancas turn-out where there are large numbers of elephant seals beached on the sand. We photograph the behemoth beasts before venturing toward Carmel. Driving this steep and windy road isn’t great for the driver but these are the prettiest coastal views you will see in all of California so a passenger is kindly rewarded.

As we come upon Carmel we recall that our Sow’s Ear waitress recommended a restaurant for us. Fortunately, she mentioned some landmarks that make finding it easy. The interior of Rio Grill (101 Crossroads Boulevard, Carmel, CA, 93923, 831-625-5436, riogrill.com) has southwestern décor that reminds me of New Mexico. Bella chooses a couple of appetizers; a local Castroville artichoke, marinated and fire-roasted with sundried tomato aioli and a side of beef and pork stew. I order a grilled, mustard-soy marinated skirt steak with yam gratin.

Bella gives her meal a double-thumbs-up and even tries to borrow one of my thumbs. My steak is perfectly cooked and the meat is beyond savory. The marinade is considerably lighter than I expected. We finish our meal by sharing a piece of warm homemade olallieberry pie with vanilla bean ice cream. I’ve tried over a dozen olallieberry pies and I believe this to be the best one yet. It is very natural tasting and “oh so fresh”. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A+.

We arrive in Monterey at the four-star Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa (400 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940, 800-334-3999, montereyplazahotel.com). It is located less than a quarter of a mile from Cannery Row on Monterey Bay. The interior of the hotel features exquisite European architecture with rich walnut wood throughout the lobby, a beautifully decorated twenty foot Christmas tree and a grand player piano. We relax in our room for a couple of hours before heading to dinner.

Be forewarned that Carmel is very much into preserving their small town persona. As a result, a city ordinance prohibits the normal large glow-in-the-dark street signs most track-home or city people are accustomed to. The majority of the signs consist of skinny wooden posts staked vertically into the ground. I imagine this is largely irrelevant to most locals but can be highly frustrating for tourists.

We drive at about 15 miles per hour in pitch blackness, constantly braking, attempting (nearly in vain) to try and locate our restaurant courtesy of Yahoo Maps. Of course the rain isn’t helping our cause. I do realize I shouldn’t complain about something that preserves the history of such a beautiful town rich with culture. However, I’m sure some locals aren’t thrilled with our highly questionable driving and I know my auto insurance policy wouldn’t be renewed if our agent had a birds-eye view. Regardless, somehow, some way we arrive unscathed even though I swear we missed at least two turns according to our directions.

Christopher’s Restaurant (between 5^th & 6^th, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, 831-626-8000, christophersonlincoln.com) is located less than a block from downtown Carmel. At Christopher’s, Bella loves her appetizer of steamed manila clams and linguica sausage in white wine, garlic, shallots and tomatoes. My starter is the butternut squash ravioli with brown-butter sage sauce. It is out-of-this world good! Bella has an entrée of sea bass resting on garlic mashed potatoes in a leak broth. I devour a char-broiled ribeye in balsamic syrup with sides of mixed green beans and carrot mash. Regrettably, their list of red wines-by-the-glass could be better which does compromise my pairing with my steak. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A.

After dinner we walk around the downtown area window shopping (Carmel shops close around 6pm). The streets are illuminated with holiday lights and as I peer in various store windows the aroma of oodles of “greenbacks” overwhelms my nostrils. I predict a lot more “window shopping” will occur tomorrow as well. We head back to the hotel to relax and get caught up on our ESPN Sportscenter. Occupancy at the hotel is very low which creates the mystique that you have the hotel to yourselves – “Living la Vida Loca”.

The next morning we eat at the Duck Club Grill (400 Cannery Row, inside of the Monterey Plaza Hotel, 831-646-1706) for breakfast. We have Peet’s coffee, bagels with lox, capers and cream cheese and blueberry pancakes with pure maple syrup. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is A-.

We walk to the touristy Cannery Row area where we browse shops. A few have items more compelling than the typical seagull magnet with “Monterey” imprinted on it. Across from our hotel we stop at the Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation Gallery (425 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA, 93940, 831-655-1267, mpaf.org).

On the bottom floor of this Craftsman home they feature the works of thirty award winning local artists with sculptures, ceramics, jewelry, oil paintings, water color paintings, acrylic paintings and mixed media available for purchase. I pick up a small ceramic vase as a Christmas gift for my mother.

Back at the hotel, we have the valet retrieve our car and we drive to Carmel’s “17 Mile Drive”. For a mere $9.50 we are exposed to the most beautiful beaches in California, as well as some of the most expensive homes in the state. We stop at The Lodge at Pebble Beach (1700 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA, 93953, 800-654-9300), a historic hotel that dates back to 1919. While here we peruse inside the Pebble Beach Market (831-622-8770). Surprisingly they are very reasonably priced, including their vast wine selection. I have a terrific piece of carrot cake which has multiple layers of cream cheese frosting with chopped walnuts inside.

After eating, we drive to downtown Carmel to shop for some last minute Christmas gifts. I find a couple of nice hand blown glass penguins at Vasana Gifts & Candies (Doud Arcade Building, #110, Ocean Avenue & San Carlos, Carmel, CA 93921, 831-625-5511) for my collection.

Around the corner I pick up a “Black and White Cannoli Siciliana” from Pepe’s Little Napoli Bistro Italiano (Dolores Street near 7^th, PO Box 901, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, 93921, 831-626-6335, littlenapoli.com). One half is filled with very sweet chocolate ricotta and another half with unsweetened regular ricotta. Surprisingly, the chocolate chips stuffed inside only make it marginally better. In a nutshell, it is more aesthetically pleasing than it is to the palate.

We have an early dinner at actor Clint Eastwood’s (or “Clean Westwood” as my wife struggles to recall his name) The Restaurant at Mission Ranch (26270 Dolores Street, Carmel, CA 93923, 800-538-8221, missionranchcarmel.com) is located on an 1890s’ dairy ranch. Immediately I can tell this is Clint’s type of place as the property is very rustic with barns and bunkhouses nearby. The restaurant is a quaint farmhouse with stone fireplaces inside and out on the back porch. We have a corner window view of meadows, wetlands, Carmel River Beach and an amazing sunset in the background.

Our choice of appetizer is a smoked salmon plate with crème fraiche, red onion and dill. I choose the jumbo sea scallops served with cheese polenta and sautéed spinach in a lemon butter caper sauce. Bella orders the roasted prime rib served with a twice baked potato. Bella has the vanilla bean crème brulee and I have the warm pecan pie with vanilla bean ice cream on top. My rating for this meal (food, service, ambiance and value) is B+. Back at the room we watch a college football bowl game before retiring. Yes, we’re married.

Its Christmas Eve morning and we’re at the Duck Club Grill for our farewell breakfast. We are given a special treat as a sea otter repeatedly hunts for crab, each time doing the back float while using a rock to de-shell his prize with an anxious sea gull trailing him for scraps as he zigzags through the water. After breakfast we call the valet and bell boy and we are soon on our way to Ventura to celebrate Christmas with my family.

“Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends.” ~ Margaret Thatcher (1925- ), English political leader.