I ran away from home today...

and wrote a nice long post about it that got deleted and has been recreated without the panache of the first post.
Sigh.
I don't suppose it was truly running away as I took nsyo with me.
We went to see the river otters at the aquarium. There's something about they way they fluidly move through the water, the way they cuddle and play, the way they rip flesh off of fish with those pointy, little teeth. It's all just damned amazing.
So we had to go check it out.
And then I *had* to drag the nyso off with me to Carmel for food.
First thing I noticed was that there is now a chain restaurant on Ocean Ave. Oh my. And a chain beauty store. This is a bit different than letting Saks in... Right?
And then, to drive by and realize that the restaurant I loved was gone. Sad but true and turns out its been gone awhile. New place called La Bicyclette that is owned by the same people that have Corkscrew in the Valley and Casanova. Interestingly enough, they owned that cafe in the 70s -- but that's another story.
This one is about where we went instead. Cantinetta Luca is a bit closer to Ocean Ave and seemed new.
Turns out it was quite a bit newer than we thought and sister restaurant to L'auberge Carmel.
We sat at the chef's counter and had a fun night. A bit of prosecco, a bit of dolcetto, a bit of food and cheese. A very well put together tiramisu (in a cup, all equal layers each 1/2 inch thick. Hmmmm....) and then a lazy tired drive bay to the Bay.
All in all, I'd go there again. But since it took me three years this time....

So, we chose