Archive for the 'Carmel' Category
Deals worth springing for in Monterey County
February 26, 2009 4:34pm
Thinking about a trip up the coast to the Monterey Peninsula, by road or air? If not, read this post and perhaps you’ll reconsider. As if the region’s gorgeous scenery, prime vineyards, tranquil vibe and world-class aquarium aren’t reasons enough to visit, the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau has put together a new promotion rife with some serious deals.
The “Smile Recovery” promo — I’m already feeling sunnier — offers something for everyone: families on the hunt for fun, couples craving quiet and students seeking shoestring rates.
Deals: Here are some of the more noteworthy offers of the bunch: Read the rest of this entry »
California coast trip, Day 6: From Nepenthe to Half Moon Bay, with stops to chat along the way
January 7, 2009 1:30pm
The day is done, and I have in my right shirt pocket a matchbook from Nepenthe, a Junipero Serra prayer card from the mission in Carmel, and a receipt for a perfectly adequate scallops dinner here in Half Moon Bay.
Which means, dinner snarkiness aside, that I put in a lot of stops along the 167 miles between Ragged Point and here. And it’s a funny thing. Some days, on a trip like this, you fall into a landscape habit and spend the day walking or climbing, but you don’t talk much with other people. Other days, you bounce from one conversation to another, never get to half the spots on your itinerary, yet feel great about the way it turned out.
And then there are days like today: landscape and people, people and landscape.
12 books of Christmas: ‘Galen Rowell’
December 19, 2008 11:42am
You look at the soft-cover version of “Galen Rowell: A Retrospective” (Sierra Club Books, $39.95) and you want to weep — at the beauty of his photography, at the notion that Rowell and his wife, Barbara, were taken too soon. The couple died in a plane crash in August 2002, a shock at the time and a shock still.
This retrospective, with an intro by friend and admirer Tom Brokaw and commentaries by other comrades, contains 180 of his images.
A fall full of deals in Monterey County
August 28, 2008 10:06am
Take advantage of the warm weather, fewer crowds and winery harvests of the fall season in Monterey County with deals under the “Big Skies, Big Savings” promotion.
Deal: The promotion features 50 hotel deals, including the following: a $100 gas card with a two-night stay at Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa; 30% off midweek reservations at Candle Light Inn, Dolphin Inn and Svendsgaard’s Inn in Carmel; two free dual massages with a one-night stay at the Monterey Bay Inn ($339 per double, pre-tax), Portola Hotel & Spa ($349) and Victorian Inn ($269); and dinners for two at Wills Fargo Restaurant and Los Laureles Restaurant plus wine tasting at five wineries with a two-night stay in Carmel Valley’s Los Laureles Lodge ($310). Read the rest of this entry »
Coastal Big Sur bounces back from wildfires
July 16, 2008 4:50pm
Big Sur is certainly open for business, but what does it look like since the area was shut by wildfires that started June 21 and continue to burn east of Highway 1?
Ed Kendig of the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District says it’s business as usual, except for the dramatic burn on the hillsides.
“The coastal escarpment has all been burned, it’s really striking,” he said. But Kendig was there to check out the air quality, which he says is good. You pretty much can’t smell or see any smoke, he said, but some odor lingers from the ash in the area.
Monarch butterfly reserves in Mexico and California
July 10, 2008 11:43am
The Monarch butterflies’ beautiful setting-sun-like orange and black hues make them some of the best-recognized insects. One of the best places to see them in full flutter is at Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve.
The site, officially known as El Santuario de la Mariposa Monarca (Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary), was just added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. But there are also several California homes for the monarchs. See below for more information. Note that the best time to see these butterflies on North America’s West Coast is in the fall and winter.
Big Sur Fire: Part of Highway 1 opens to residents, workers
July 8, 2008 11:52am
Basin Complex Fire officials are lifting some road restrictions for Highway 1 in fire-ravaged Big Sur, but access remains limited to residents and fire service workers, according to a joint release by the Los Padres National Forest and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
As of 10 a.m. today, Highway 1 from Palo Colorado Road to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park will be open to residents and workers; the state park remains closed. Highway 1 remains closed from the state park south to Lucia Lodge.
Big Sur fire: Rocky Point and Ragged Point are open
July 7, 2008 6:17pm
The Basin Complex fire that’s still raging in Big Sur is keeping Highway 1 closed from Palo Colorado Road to Limekiln State Park — shutting the Post Ranch Inn, Nepenthe restaurant, the Ventana Inn & Spa, the Henry Miller Library, Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn and all the cliff-hugging state parks such as Andrew Molera, Julia Pfeiffer Burns and Pfeiffer Big Sur. The entire Monterey Ranger District of Los Padres National Forest is shut as well.
So where can you stay in Big Sur these days or at least grab a burger?
What’s open
Coming from the south, the Ragged Point Inn & Resort has 30 rooms and a restaurant, and sits just 15 miles north of Hearst Castle.
Big Sur Basin Complex fire update from evacuated Ventana Inn resident
July 7, 2008 9:41am
Laura Elliott has been living in Big Sur, at the Ventana Inn & Spa, since January of this year. She’s also been blogging and taking lots of Big Sur and Basin Complex fire photos, some of which are excerpted below from her most recent updates posted here.
Laura has evacuated but e-mails that she may be allowed to return to Big Sur and the Ventana Inn as early as this coming week. Stay tuned for more on-the-ground updates from Laura; check the Ventana Inn website for official opening and closing updates.
[Ventana Inn, Big Sur]
[Big deer at the Cottage, outside the Ventana Inn & Spa]
