Dear Friends, Summer is almost upon us, and so are the annual Summertime extravaganzas! The annual Carmel Art Festival kicked off today in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, with the main events beginning tomorrow on Mission Street. There will be a painting competition and various tents up and down the street. The events will go until Sunday and bring even more visitors to our little town, many of whom pour...

Dear Friends, One of my two favorite event weeks is upon us! Next week kicks off the AT&T Pro-Amateur Celebrity Golf Tournament. Since I was a kid, my parents and I would help Ron Faia and the gang in the Carmel Youth Center Tent out on the 14th Fairway at Pebble Beach. The wind would be blowing the tent over, heavy showers prompting everyone on the course to seek shelter under our 2 foot overhangs,...

Happy New Year! New Year's Eve kicked off this go 'round with Monterey's annual First Night Celebration on Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey. Pebble Beach Company and Spanish Bay threw their own shindigs, but we opted for dinner at The Bench, the restaurant on the 18th green in the Pebble Beach Lodge. If you ever go there, and you fancy yourself a fan of martinis, I strongly support you in trying the...

Dear Friends, We finally had some rain! Two separate storm fronts in the last month, and even a multi-day storm expected to roll in tomorrow. All I can say is we NEEDED it. With some of our water well tests coming back over the Summer at less than positive numbers, we could use some help with the local water table. Anything to push those raw land deals along! This past Friday evening, Carmel held the...

Dear Friends, As the days grow shorter, the nights colder and the holidays nearer, some buzz persists in our quaint little town. This last weekend was the annual Big Sur Food & Wine festival, and we headed out to the Grand Tasting at Pfeiffer State Park with some good friends to celebrate life and the pursuit of happiness. Back in town, clear Winter skies proved good beach weather for us locals and...

Well, Fourth of July came and went without a hitch. Since we have in recent years been without the annual fireworks display, many locals travel out of town to the Bay Area and beyond for their pyrotechnic fix. Others still sneak down to Carmel Beach and Still Water Cove in Pebble Beach in search of an opportunity to set off a few bottle rockets or Roman Candles. I still recall heading down to Carmel Beach...