Salinas, CA

First Awakenings

The Wahrlach-Cornett building Co. circa 1900, on the corner of Main St. and Gabilin in downtown Salinas. E. Peter Iverson, who made Salinas his home in 1868, was a stockholder […]…

San Juan Bautista

Vertigo, 1958

A dizzying psychological thriller produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Kim Novak, featuring the Mission bell tower.…

Central Coast CA

Stately elegance

Considered the “Most Elegant Seaside Resort in the World” and “California’s Largest and Best-loved Resort” in its Roaring 20s heyday, the Hotel Del Monte is one of Monter…

George Freeman

KSBW = Salad-Bowl-of-the-World

In 1953, local resident John C. Cohan paid homage to the Salinas Valley by naming his television station KSBW. He apparently selected those call letters to showcase the local ag […]…

Big Sur, CA

Jade Cove, Big Sur

Here you’ll find the only concentrated underwater deposit of quality nephrite jade in the world. The surf breaks it up and rolls it right up on to the beach! Perfect […]…

Esselen native 1791

First Peoples

I’m an armchair anthropologist. Basically, that means two things about me: I like to read about ancient peoples and, as a hiker, I like to go and find evidence of […]…

Boulder Creek, CA

At Big Basin

Stand beneath the area’s largest grove of giant ancient coast redwoods, some as tall as the Statue of Liberty, or climb to Buzzard’s Roost for a birds-eye view of Big […]…

Prunedale, CA

Plums and prunes

Did you know: all prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes? Prunedale takes its name from the Prune Plum trees that dotted the landscape in the town’s early […]…

Solitude Soledad, CA

Say Cheese!

In the late 1800s, the Soledad Train Depot was the last stop for the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Salinas Valley. Prior to agriculture dominating the landscape, the dairy industry […]…

Redwood trees in Big Basin State Park

A Taste of the San Lorenzo Valley

I really like driving on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It runs the length of the San Lorenzo Valley through some great small towns – Felton, Ben Lomond, […]…