A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.” —John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America In 1960 in a camper named Rocinante, Steinbeck traveled with […]…
Pinnacles national park
A hundred years of protection have made Pinnacles National Park, right in Soledad’s backyard, a nature-lovers happy place. Best spot to see condors: get to the summit early on High […]…
Where the rubber met the field!
During World War II, the US government enacted the Emergency Rubber Project Act which created the Guayule Rubber Project just east of Soledad, under the direction of the US Forest […]…
Norma Jean Baker — aka Marilyn
As a young starlet, Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Baker at the time) came to Castroville in 1948 on a promotional junket for a local jewelry store. She made such an […]…
Soul on a Mission
When I was in college … some time ago … I wanted to study art history. At the time, my very practical Dad said, “How will you ever make a […]…
Cows on the moo-ve
In the early 1900s, dairy farming in the Salinas Valley preceded the prosperity of agriculture. In 1906, the first condensed milk in California was produced by the Alpine Milk Company […]…
The first theatre
Monterey is home to California’s First Theatre. Melodramas were in vogue in the 1800s. The audience cheered the heroes and booed the villains and the girl was always saved in […]…
El Camino Real
El Camino Real, or the King’s Highway, traverses California for more than 600 miles, north to south. The Highway is now a California Historical Landmark marked by more than 550 […]…
The Soul of Surfing
I was a water baby. Pools, lakes, the ocean – I loved them all! To me, there was no better summer vacation than spending it with my grandparents, who lived […]…
Lighting the way
Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast. The lighthouse was lit in 1855 and still operates with it’s original lens. In […]…