The Penner Clan: June 16... what a day!

It could not have been a better anniversary! Jesse had a great weekend planned and we were able to enjoy it as adults! Jed stayed with both my parents and Jesse's parents for the weekend. I missed him, but, it was really nice to wake up late, eat meals slowly, and keep our own schedule. We arrived Friday evening and, in true form, I was craving either sushi or sweet potato fries! So, we found some of the best sweet potato fries ever! Jesse had a burger, I had fries and a chicken salad and we both had milk shakes...mmmmm. Such a good start to the weekend!

Saturday morning, we woke up to a day of our favorite things! We usually go to Carmel Valley Coffee Roasting CO. where we get muffins/pastries and some sort of hot drink. What a great morning! We relaxed and enjoyed talking. After breakfast, we went to the grocery store and got a few grocery items for a picnic lunch.

On October 28, 2006, Jesse proposed to me (after an extravagant day) on the rock peninsula at the south point of Carmel beach. This has been a wonderful retreat for us for years. We enjoy walking there, watching the huge waves, sea life and ocean breeze. It was a beautiful day, warm enough to just enjoy the sun, cool enough to not cook! We packed ourselves some chips, sparkling water, panini's, fruit and cookies. We just sat and talked, SOOO fun! (I think this was my favorite part of the day)

mmmmm...

After lunch, Jesse had purchased tickets to the Forest Theater Guild Production, "James and the Giant Peach". We have always wanted to check out the theater and this was the perfect opportunity. It was a bit cheesy, and probably not worth the $25 ticket, but a fun experience and we have checked another thing off of our list of "to do's" in Carmel.

The set was really great! It was a huge peach with a pit on 1/3, a peach on 1/3 and the inside of the peach on the other 1/3. The whole peach turned throughout the play at various scenes. Overall, a really fun experience. Actually, if we had known earlier, we would have planned, but you can bring picnic lunches and snacks, drinks... whatever you want. So, if you ever plan on going (kids of course are welcome and have discounted tickets)... bring something to sit on (the benches have backs but are hard) and some snacks and it could be sooo much fun!

After the play, Jesse's cousin, Jon Shabaglian and his family called us because they were stopping through Carmel on their way home from camping in Big Sur. We were so excited they called and were able to hang out with them for a couple of hours. Andrea introduced me to a new favorite of mine in Carmel, one that I can't believe I didn't know about earlier... The Cheese Shop!!! It is located in the shopping center at the top of Ocean Ave. on the bottom floor. MMMMMMM!!!!!!!! I love cheese, it is one of my weaknesses, that and chocolate! So, we tasted and tasted and I bought a few cheeses including "Aged Euphoria that was 1/2 way eaten before we got to the car. So fun! We really enjoyed seeing them and having them be a part of our day.

For dinner, Jesse had reservations at Casanova, one of the "most romantic" restaurants in Carmel. It was just that. It was such a great environment and more importantly, the food was GREAT! It is an Italian style restaurant, it feels like you are eating at the kitchen table. The table next to us ordered soup and they brought out bowls, and out of the pot the soup was heated in, they served the couple with a ladle.

We shared the Dinginess Crab appetizer with a mango "yolk" and avocado garnish. Yummmmm.

I ordered the seafood linguini with muscles, lobster and shrimp in a lemon cream sauce. It was as good if not better then it sounds. It was light yet full of flavor.

Jesse had the fresh catch which was blackened salmon. He said it was really yummy!

For dessert, Jesse had a banana tartlet with banana cream puff and caramel drizzle. Again, he practically licked the plate clean!

I went with the creme brulee... one of my favorites and I have to say, this was one of the best I have ever tasted.

After dinner, (we are going to sound like gluttons...) we went to get Pieces of Heaven... in the form of chocolate... to eat while we watched the sun set. If I could pick my top 5 things to do in Carmel, visiting this little chocolate shop would be up there. Anything you like... they cover it in chocolate! So, I got a chocolate covered pretzel, and a marshmallow on a bed of caramel covered in chocolate x2. Jesse got something as well, but I was too busy looking around to catch what...

We changed out of our nice dinner clothes into some sweats and walked right out to where we got engaged. Background, Jesse asked me at sunset... the most perfect sunset ever! So, we enjoyed watching the sun go down. It was so beautiful!