“Newport Beach is a picture-perfect place to visit any time of year for its stunning coastline, dramatic yacht-dotted harbor and aesthetically inclined locals.”
Wineries across both Napa and Sonoma are open and pouring their best vintages – except Signorello Estate, which burned to the ground on the Silverado Trail in Napa during the October fires.
Who are Millbillies? When did Brett Harte move to Arcata? What makes Carlsbad a “walkable town” and Newport Beach a “shop ’til you drop” destination? How much is Johnny Carson’s Malibu mansion on the market for? And where did Hollywood celebrities “from Clark Gable to Renée Zellwegger” hang out when they were, well, not in Hollywood?
Find out answers to these burning questions (with apologies to Sonoma and Napa valley residents and wineries) with this month’s Baker’s Dozen.
Highlights and Headlines: November 2017
San Diego. ‘Floating’ concrete house wins top architecture award. “The (awards) jury felt the project was an excellent example of great architecture that is also carbon neutral and energy neutral,” the five-member selection panel said. “The simple clean lines of the architecture reminded the jury of the quality work of (modernist architect Rudolph) Schindler.” Called “The Cresta,” the three-story house sits on a 5,000-square-foot lot, a fraction of the size of nearby sites, Segal said in his nomination form. (Film by Jeff Durkin, Architecture by Jonathan & Matthew Segal. (Courtesy of Bread Truck Films)
North County. Carlsbad is a lovely ocean-side community just north of San Diego, and directly adjacent to the aptly named town of Oceanside. It offers year-around amazing weather, scenic beaches, dozens of quaint restaurants, and two wineries. Carlsbad is a very walkable town, at least for tourists like us, so we parked our car when we arrived and pretty much walked everywhere we wanted to go! https://winetastingbliss.com/2017/10/wine-carlsbad/#
Orange County Beach Towns. “Newport Beach is a picture-perfect place to visit any time of year for its stunning coastline, dramatic yacht-dotted harbor and aesthetically inclined locals. And now—thanks to a tasteful, modern-day reincarnation of a vintage favorite—this Orange County haunt is also a sensational place to shop ‘til you drop. Lido Marina Village (3434 Via Lido, Newport Beach) was first developed in 1971, originally conceived as a small and charming pedestrian- friendly shopping center. It was only last year that private equity investment firm” Hauteliving.com
Naples to Palos Verdes Peninsula. Long Beach. “The 1,500 square-foot area is roughly bounded by Seventh Street, Marine Stadium and Orange County. It includes single and multifamily residential neighborhoods and several large shopping centers, such as Marina Pacifica, the Marketplace and Marina Shores.” Long Beach Press-Telegram
South Bay. Malibu. “For the first time in a decade, the lifelong home of comedy legend Johnny Carson has hit the market. Listed by Coldwell Banker, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom Malibu residence can be your new home away from home for a cool $81.5 million dollars.” JUSTLUXE: LUXURY NEWS AND REVIEWS
Ventura County. Ojai. “But for those in the know, a historic property 35 miles south of Santa Barbara is the perfect spot for a pleasing respite. Ojai Valley Inn & Spa in Ojai, California, has long been the go-to vacation spot for the Hollywood elite, from Clark Gable to Renée Zellwegger.” PURSUITIST
Islands along the Pacific Coast. Catalina Island. A modern estate perched on a hillside in Avalon has sold for $4.6 million, making it the most expensive home sold on Santa Catalina Island since 2013. Built in 2007, the red-hued home is a confluence of contemporary and Balinese style. Los Angeles Times
Santa Barbara. CONSTANTIA is an estate of unparalleled quality located in the heart of Montecito. Juxtaposed between the mountains and the sea, this Cape Dutch Colonial masterpiece harkens back to a more elegant time, but with the conveniences of a 21st Century home. Hauteresidence.com
La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve. Huge new Bay Area open space preserve opens to public. For the past 175 years, it’s been a Mexican land grant, a dairy farm, a hideout for members of Jesse James’ outlaw gang, an oil field, a redwood logging mill, a cattle ranch and a retreat for heirs to the Weyerhaeuser lumber and Folgers coffee fortunes. The Mercury News.
From bread bowls to Karl the Fog to our indisputable holy object, the Golden Gate Bridge, scroll through the above gallery for a list of things San Franciscans consider sacred. SF Gate
Mill Valley. “An informal Millbilly gathering on a Friday night at the Depot Plaza. From left, Gary Scheuenstuhl, a local drummer and owner of Mill Valley Music; Jesse Lee Kincaid, a local guitarist; and Eric Meade of Fairfax. Says Scheuenstuhl: “The ’60s and ’70s were the golden era here. A lot of my high school friends had to leave.” (Photo by Mary Ann Hogan)” Marin Independent Journal
Sonoma and Napa Wine Country. Wineries across both Napa and Sonoma are open and pouring their best vintages – except Signorello Estate, which burned to the ground on the Silverado Trail in Napa during the October fires, and a few others that suffered damage. But the classics are still at the top of their games, with favorites like the award-winning Shafer Vineyards (whose Relentless 2008 bottling took home the world’s number one wine prize from Wine Spectator in 2012) unscathed and taking reservations for during-the-week tastings. http://ncwineguys.com/
Arcata. “(Bret) Harte moved to California in 1853, later working there in a number of capacities, including miner, teacher, messenger, and journalist. He spent part of his life in the northern California coastal town of Union (now Arcata). The 1860 massacre of between 80 and 200 Wiyots at the village of Tuluwat was well documented historically and was reported in San Francisco and New York by Harte. When serving as assistant editor for the Northern Californian.” Wikipedia