In 1905, artist Christian “Chris” Jorgensen—an accomplished painter known for his evocative watercolors of California landscapes—started construction on La Playa in the remote and wild dunes of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It was to be a winter home and studio for Jorgensen and his wife, Angela Ghirardelli. Ghirardelli was heiress to the San Francisco chocolate empire, but despite her vast wealth, she and her husband were bohemians at heart, lovers of nature and the arts. They came upon Carmel in 1904 while on a rugged two-year horse-and-buggy painting tour of the California missions and fell in love w ..read more

He’s quite possibly the most famous musician you’ve never heard of. A newly minted Pebble Beach resident, John Beland has lent his guitar and vocal chops to countless recordings and live performances. A conversation with him is liberally peppered with a plethora of mid- to late-20th century musical household names such as Arlo Guthrie, Ricky Nelson, Rita Coolidge, Glen Frey, Kim Carnes, Johnny Cash, Slash, The Bellamy Brothers and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Beland’s memoir, “Best Seat in the House,” features jacket blurbs from some with whom he’s played and remained friends: Garth Brooks, K ..read more

Elephant seal, Ano Nuevo State Park, Monterey Bay, California, USA If a human sees an estimated 25 million images in an average lifetime, iconic wildlife photographer Frans Lanting has probably seen double that. Lanting, known worldwide, lives quietly just outside of Santa Cruz with his partner in life and work, Chris Eckstrom. They’ve spent decades traversing the globe for National Geographic, and spend much of their “free time” leading expeditions in locations such as Antarctica. But now the couple is pulling focus on what exists in their literal and figurative backyard—the greater Monterey ..read more

Porsche Rennsport Reunion V On a sun-drenched stretch of the peninsula, just a few miles inland of the Monterey Bay, sits one of the country’s most famous road courses and its history is everything one would expect from a race track sitting just a stone’s throw from one of the country’s most famous car events. Laguna Seca, or more officially, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, was built back in the 1950s as an answer to the area’s desire to continue sports car racing that was growing in popularity. When it was decided that the tree-lined coastal roads weren’t the safest roads to zip through, org ..read more

2HW6D3R Clint Eastwood at the Albany Hotel on Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham. 5th June 1967. Clint Eastwood has worked as an actor, producer, director and composer on well over 100 films and television shows, for which he has received countless honors, including four Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. He’s also a conservationist in his beloved Carmel, putting up significant funds to preserve open space and to keep the historic Mission Ranch, a hotel and restaurant with views of grazing sheep and Point Lobos, from being developed into condominiums. His local roles have included mayo ..read more

Since she started volunteering with Animal Friends Rescue Project (AFRP) 11 years ago, Michelle Starr has filled diverse roles. She helped with the nonprofit’s 25th anniversary celebration in September, about three months after joining the AFRP Board of Directors. She’s welcomed 115 dogs into her home as a foster volunteer, accommodating some for a few weeks and others for more than a year. Starr has taken on various weekend cat care projects and—through her dog boarding, grooming and day care business, All-Starr Pet Services—she also provides complimentary treatments for dogs leaving local s ..read more

Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1973 was a very different village than the one we know and love today. Yes, there were plenty of visitors, but the retail landscape was more directed to catering to a local clientele. As now, there were plenty of art dealers—in keeping with the town’s heritage as an art colony—good restaurants and souvenir shops, in addition to shops that served the full-time population. The business community was a bohemian mix, populated by entrepreneurs from all over the globe. Into this mix arrived a young man, a gentleman of Armenian extraction who grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. He ope ..read more

The most frequently traveled route into downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea is via Ocean Avenue west from Highway 1. And the first thing visitors see upon entering town is a white, exquisitely landscaped building on the corner of Ocean and Junipero. The store’s windows are an ever-changing riot of color and style, a statement that subtly and tastefully says, “Welcome to Carmel.” This is J. Lawrence Khaki’s, Men’s Clothier of Carmel.­ Jim Ockert and wife Connie are the proprietors of Khaki’s, as it’s familiarly known. “We want people to have a good experience when they come to Carmel,” Ockert says “We ..read more

Guests enjoy commanding Carmel Valley views outside the Hacienda, a Spanish colonial-style gathering place for members of the Santa Lucia Preserve’s Ranch Club. Trees dot the landscape and hills shift from shades of gold to green as the seasons change, here in the heart of this 20,000-acre private community. The nonprofit Santa Lucia Conservancy permanently protects the diverse wildlife and ecological integrity of 18,000 of those acres. Given the Preserve’s community-wide sustainability commitment, it’s no surprise that Ranch Club members once rallied to create an on-site organic garden. Afte ..read more

This year marks the 77th winter that the PGA Tour has made an annual trek to the Monterey Peninsula for the grandfather of all pro-am golf tournaments—known today as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. However, the tournament actually began 87 winters ago at Rancho Santa Fe in Southern California. It was the idea of entertainer Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby who, in 1925 at age 22, came to Los Angeles from Spokane, Washing-ton, and launched what quickly became a remarkable career. As a singer, he had his first number one hit in 1929 with “Ol’ Man River” and he eventually recorded more than 1,600 so ..read more