Jake on the go: Clint Eastwood's footsteps in Carmel

Clint Eastwood's "Play Misty for me" was the movie which taught me about Carmel-by-the-sea. I must have seen it at least 20 years ago, but I still remember the rugged shoreline. Funny how small things are carried with you through all the years and finally, when planning a holiday, it comes back to you and you mark it in your itinerary.

And Monterey... Liisa Sorsa, my Finnish teacher in high school taught me to read literature. I read East of Eden, Winter of Discontent, The Grapes of Wrath, and of course the Monterey trilogy: Cannery Row, Tortilla Flat and Sweet Thursday. Even though Cannery Row is now only a tourist attraction, it still reminds me of the Steinbeck's novels.

Just before we left, Minna saw that there was a TV series on HBO called Big Little Lies. It takes place in Monterey so we watched the first six episodes as an appetizer. The series opening credit sequence shows The Bixby Bridge which is one of the landmarks in Big Sur.

And we weren't disappointed. We arrived at Carmel very late in the evening and there were no street lights so we didn't really know what to expect. But when the sun came up we noticed that it was a very beautiful small town with a lot of pine trees, art galleries and wine tasting rooms. And we set out to Wrath wines tasting room. It just has such a clever name and we had tasted Wrath on our previous trip two years ago.

The area has one of the most beatiful scenic routes we have ever driven. 17-Mile Drive curves around Pebble Beach. It is a toll-road but it is totally worth the money. Otherwise you would not see the Lonely cypress or the Ghost tree.

The next morning we drove to Big Sur. As the PCH was closed at https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=570 we approached Big Sur from the north. Again, one of the most beautiful scenic drives.