This summer I took a girls trip to Carmel Valley ranch with two friends and all the Selkie pieces I could possibly fit in my weekend bag. Read more to see all the Selkie outfits and read about some of the AMAZING activities offered at Carmel Valley ranch.
Garden Meet and Greet
One of the free activities offered at Carmel Valley ranch is a garden meet and greet. Who are you meeting and greeting? CHICKENS! And the friendly gardening staff, but mainly chickens lol. I wore my Summer Sisters Selkie French puff dress to the meet and greet and LOVED IT. I felt like Marie Antoinette walking through her own personal cottage gardens (her escape).
Wearing my Selkie Puff dress in such a public place freaked me out at first. I don’t love people staring at me in public, which is why most of my “fun” clothes stay at home for the most part. With some encouragement from my friends however, I was brave enough to waltz out in my puff dress.
To get to the gardens we had to walk through the hotel lobby, restaurant and pool area. Most guests were enjoying their coffee while wearing yoga pants and Patagonia tops when we passed. I wanted to melt from embarrassment when I first felt peoples eyes on me… but then something amazing happened. A little boy asked his mom if I was a princess, and when I heard him I couldn’t help but smile. Once I smiled, other guests started coming up to me to tell me they loved my dress. Even more came up to us later when we were in the garden to say the same, or to share that they WISHED they had worn a similar dress they have at home.
Moral of the story: WEAR WHAT YOU WANT.
Dress: Selkie
Falconry at Carmel Valley Ranch
This was hands down the group favorite. We got to meet several different birds of prey, learned about the history of falconry, cuddled baby owls and then got to work with the birds themselves! The pictures really capture everything better than my words ever could. You can also watch more videos on my instagram, @KkAntoinette.
Jeans: Agolde
Nocturnal Hike
Carmel Valley Ranch’s nocturnal hike is right at sunset and is an absolute dream. You first walk through the vineyard right as the sunsets. You learn about different foliage as you hike up the hills of Carmel Valley. At the top we used a sonar device to find and identify bats (SO COOL!) before getting glow sticks and hiking back to the s’more’s pits.
It was a very easy hike!
Sweatshirt: Selkie Brooklyn Top
Leggings and Sports bra: Fiorucci
Horse meet and greet
We had NO IDEA what this was going to be like. At all.
We almost cancelled it multiple times (each activity cost $$$) but we were so glad we didn’t. The horse meet and greet was exactly that; you meet the horses and hang out with them. You don’t ride them at all but you do get to feed them, brush them, and just kinda hang out.
Their owners talked about how healing it can be for humans to be around horses as well as their work with troubled youth. Don’t go looking for thrills. It’s a slow paced, healing experience if you’re open to it. This one is especially wonderful for any “horse girls”…. you know who you are =) .
Archery at Carmel Valley Ranch
The last time I had done archery was when I was nine at girl scout camp… so it was like doing it for the first time. We had a BLAST goofing off (safely) by quoting Robin Hood men in tights the whole time. Our “camp counselor” so to speak (activities leader?) was also the same guy that led the nocturnal hike, and the horse meet and greet, soooo we were very comfortable around him by this time.
Overall, we had an amazing time at Carmel Valley ranch! While it was mainly occupied by large family groups, we were able to have a fun girls trip; complete with oyster hours and champagne & S’mores.
Till next time, Kk