The morning after the wedding we're all a little shady, and we fill in the blanks over a buffet brunch at the hotel restaurant. George somehow devours prawns and crab legs but  I struggle to finish eggs benedict - hardly getting my money's worth at  US$24.95 for all you can eat! Ewan, Olivia and Jack, Phil and Sofia, and George and I are all booked into the same hotel in Carmel, and we leave in convoy heading to Santa Cruz, on the coast a few miles south. Santa Cruz is a typical seaside resort, with a tacky 100 year old amusement park and Brighton-style wharf. After bumping into Claire and Rich we decide to find the town centre, hoping it would be a little less touristy. Unfortunately we walk in the wrong direction and after a couple of blocks Olivia and I make the executive decision to head back to the beach to grab a late lunch. That may have been a mistake - the tuna sandwiches (their 'speciality') appear to have been deep fried. It's a relief to arrive in pretty Carmel and get ourselves checked in at the very pink Hofsas House, where we discover that Rich and Claire have booked in too. That evening, we join Phil and Sofia for dinner at Jack London Bar and Grill, where I order the vegetarian dinner of stuffed mushrooms and brown rice to make some sort of amends for the stodgy lunch.

I first heard of Carmel in American novels where the heroes invariably had a beach house in this exclusive little town. It's everything I imagined and more - tiny hilly streets, beautiful houses and quaint shops. Local bylaws prohibit anything remotely down-at-heel such as neon signs, and there are no street lights - it's like stepping back in time. After spending so much time in the car we're very happy to spend a quiet day exploring the town. We find a deli with great sandwiches then wander down to the beach. It's beautiful - clean white sand and ground squirrels running among the bushes. We wonder why no-one is swimming, then dip a toe in the surf... it's positively arctic! The hike back up the hill to our hotel is exhausting, but we soon recover on the sun loungers by the pool. It's Rich and Claire's last night with us so we all go out for dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant. Emily and Jack take turns to play up, but eventually Emily falls asleep and we go for a couple of beers at Jack London's.

On Tuesday we feel ready to tackle Big Sur, the famous coastal drive south of Carmel. Highway 1 runs for 90 miles squeezed between the mountains and the huge cliffs, without a single junction. As soon as we hit the first switchback we are terribly jealous of Phil and Sofia's convertible hire car - it feels like this drive should only be undertaken with the wind in your hair. With Emily snoozing peacefully in the car seat we drive as far south as we can, stopping only to take photos of the stunning views. We've not gone far when we see 'accident ahead' signs and as we turn a steep hairpin two huge tow-trucks are almost hanging over the cliff edge. They appear to be winching up a vehicle from the base of the cliff, perhaps 300ft below. We stop at a viewpoint a little further around the curve and I overhear what I take to be a local telling someone that the car went over a couple of days ago with 3 people inside... and no survivors. We carefully continue on our way, eventually stopping off at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. From the carpark it's a short walk to McWay Falls, California's only coastal waterfall. It's a pretty spot but the waterfall fails to live up to the hype. As we eat our lunch we make a snap decision to drive another 40+ miles further south to see elephant seals at Piedras Blancas. The guidebook makes them sound pretty amazing - it promises up to 7500 seals, some the size of SUVs, all lounging around on a beach right next to highway 1. Unfortunately the big bull seals are yet to return for mating season and the only SUV sized things we see are SUVs - and lots of them. There were however lots of smaller funny looking seals, and it was fascinating watching them lumber across the sand and bark at each other. The extra drive was worth it just for the scenery: the drive back is just as stunning, especially as sunset approaches. That night we say goodbye to Ewan, Olivia and Jack with a lovely sushi dinner.

Wednesday is our last day in Carmel and we spend the morning in the beautiful Point Lobos State Reserve. We take a short walk along the Monterey Cypress Trail, looking out for sea otters hiding in the kelp in the rocky coves. Then a quick hike around Sea Lion Point, with seals and sea lions on the rocks and pelicans in formation in the air. It's blustery and exposed so we don't stay long and head back into Carmel for lunch at a little coffee shop. After another relaxing afternoon by the pool we spend our last night with Phil and Sofia at a seafood restaurant.

Next morning we pack ourselves up again and head back towards San Francisco. We've got all day to get to the airport hotel so we start with the tourist route of 17-Mile Drive. This bizarre private road runs along the coast from Carmel to Monterey; we're given a map at the entrance gate which details 21 points of interest. Seeing as 5 of these are golf courses, we immediately decide to take the most direct route along the coast and avoid several stops. However this means we are doing the route in the wrong order, so we only see the signposts once we have passed them and have to turn around and come back! Number 17, 'The Ghost Tree - With a trunk bleached white from wind and sea spray, this unique Monterey cypress has a sinister silhouette worthy of examination', didn't even warrant a photograph. However the coastline was quite stunning and the drive was pleasant enough. The best sight, hundreds and hundreds of stacked pebbles at Spanish Bay, wasn't even mentioned in the guide. At the far end of 17-Mile drive we find ourselves in Pacific Grove - famous for the swarms of monarch butterflies that descend each winter. The guidebook directed us to the Monarch Sanctuary, where they promised that from October to March the butterflies 'cluster by the millions'. Someone can't have told the butterflies - we saw approximately four. Back on the road we drive through the tourist hell of Cannery Row in Monterey before hitting rush hour traffic near the airport. It's burgers from room service for dinner, and an early night.