My wife & I will be spending a week tramping through central California- a few days in Tahoe at the beginning and a few days in Carmel at the end with 2-3 days in between. We are planning on a leisurely drive over those 2-3 days by way of Yosemite.

Any recommendations for sites/routes?

Any recommendations for restaurants in Tahoe, central CA or Carmel/Monterey?

Thanks

Take a drive along the coast near Carmel. Big Sur is beautiful. Pt. Lobos is just a few minutes south of Carmel, and is an excellent place for hiking. We also visited the Hearst Castle while we were in Carmel, although it was a three hour drive south.

Don't know where in Tahoe you will be staying but here are some good restaurants we've eaten at:

South Shore:
Evans American Gourmet - best food in Tahoe.

Cafe Fiore - second best food great little place, has only 6 or 7 tables.

Cafe Riva - sister restaurant to Garwoods in Carnelian Bay in north Tahoe. Riva is located in the marina in south shore.

Cantina Bar and Grill - for mexican food.


West Side:

Angelina's Pizza in Tahoma

Norfolk Woods Inn for breakfast. great crepes.

Sunnyside Resort - great food and views.

Garwoods for lunch and a Wet Woody, half price on Wet Woody wednesday.


Things to do in Tahoe:

Gondola at South Shore. Picnic at the stop near the top. Get back on and go to the top and hike around.

Raft down the Truckee river. It's slow and it's fun. Try to get into splash fights with other rafters. Stop along the sand bars to join in the fun.

Go to Squaw Valley High camp for the day. Buy the ticket that gets you into the pool and ice skating. There is grilled food and a bar at the top too.

Zypher cove has lots of water vehicles to rent as well as boat tours of all kinds, paddle wheel and sailing.

Sand Harbor and Incline have great beaches.
Historic stuff:

Tallac in Camp Richardson
Mansion and Tea House at Emerald Bay
Mansion at Sugar Pine Point

Second summer for the high speed ferry Meteor. Leaves from South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City.

Spend a day at the beach at Meeks Bay. Nice sandy beach on the west side. Has a snack bar with grilled food. They also rent paddle boats, etc.

Visit historic Chambers Landing on the west side. Go during happy hour for a chambers punch.

Visit the Thunderbird Lodge. Tours on Wed and Thurs. Must have reservations call 1-800-GO-TAHOE to make arrangements for a tour.

Have fun!

ttt

Spend a day in Yosemite - it's an incredible place - it is crowded between Memorial Day and Labor Day, so plan accordingly. Then take the most direct route to the coast. There isn't much to see between Yosemite and the Bay Area - just a lot of farm land. Santa Cruz is a great place to visit. You could spend the night there, and then have a leisurly drive down to Carmel.

From Tahoe take the Kingsbury Highway 207 to Hwy 395 and come down to Yosemite that way. A little south Bridgeport and off the Hwy is Bodie State Historical Site which is a real nicely preserved ghost town. In Lee Vining there's Mono Lake. From there take Hwy 120 over Tioga Pass. I would recommend spending your time in Yosemite, hiking, relaxing and enjoying the views.

Utahtea

Point Lobos Park near Carmel is a must ! Allegro (casual italian) has very good food, it's in the Barnyard Center downtown.