Late lunch on Schooner’s deck at the Monterey Plaza hotel
My husband and I moved down here from San Francisco 17 years ago and ever since then, it’s been like we’ve been on a perennial vacation! What ‘s great is you don’t have to put aside a whole week to get away somewhere to become refreshed, relaxed, and replenished – all you need is a few hours! It was our dream to move here for years. Whether you live in Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, or Monterey. Natural beauty and “vacation living” is close by and lots of time spur of the moment!
Monterey Bay
For instance leaving work this afternoon on a warm, sunny, beautiful afternoon about 1:00pm, I decided to give my other half a call. Being very hungry and about to go grab a sandwich at the 5th Avenue Deli in Carmel, I thought my hubby might still be available for lunch. As it turned out he was just heading home from a round of golf and was delighted to contemplate a lovely Friday afternoon meal at Schooner’s which I suggested would be a great way to end the week. (Of course, as a realtor, my week never really ends and I will be working both Saturday and Sunday- which is the reason I need to constantly sprinkle in “vacation time” when I can get it!)
Susan Clark, enjoying the views of Monterey Bay
My point is – we had an amazing afternoon bathed in sunshine and dining on seafood while scanning the bay for otters, kayaks, and cormorants. Most people would have to drive for hours to get an enjoyable afternoon like this – we only had to drive about 12 blocks from our home.
Allan Freidson delighted in the sea air!
For Allan our lunch was his “19th Hole” having just finished a round of golf. For me it was a nice reward for completing work and errands. I was able to spend the morning getting ads created, preparation for a listing presentation, calls to clients made, and getting prepared for my weekend open houses. I even had time to run by Pac Rep to return my Centennial parade costume!
If you don’t live here and are reading this, consider living in this amazing place. We certainly have never been sorry to have settled in God’s country on the Monterey Peninsula.
Dreaming of living here on the Monterey Peninsula? Share your dream on ShareYourDream.com where others have shared theirs. I promise your dream will come true!
Pebble Beach Authors & Ideas Festival 2016 at Stevenson School, Pebble Beach
James Newman, astronaut. Currently a professor of space systems at the Naval Post Graduate School. Logged 43 days in space including 6 space walks totaling 43 hours.
What a great idea Cindy and Jim McGillen had 10 years ago to create a venue for great minds to come together and share their intriguing ideas. Twenty-seven plus nationally renowned authors and innovators gathered in Pebble Beach this weekend to share their knowledge and great ideas with the participants. The attendees were generous sponsors of the festival, paying guests, and educators who were invited as guests. I was lucky enough to be one of the volunteers helping with the event so I was able to hear many of the speakers when I wasn’t on duty..
Secretary Leon Panetta
Secretary Leon Panetta kicked off the festival with a thought provoking speech on Friday night. Prior to serving as the 23rd Secretary of Defense, Panetta (a local Carmel Valley resident) served as the Director of the CIA, White House Chief of Staff, Director of OMB, and before that a Congressman in the House of Representatives from 1977-1993. The amphitheater was packed with an enthusiastic audience.
Thousands of school children of Monterey County participated in the Student Ideas Festival thanks to the Carmel Ideas Foundation. Some students were also given the honor to be student presenters introducing each speaker as they came onto the stage. What an opportunity for students to have such an amazing experience!
Amphitheater at Stevenson School~ John Hennessy speaking.
Presentations took place in several different venues. Speaking here in the outdoor amphitheater is John Hennessy. After a 16 year term as president of Stanford University he is being hailed as transformational after remaking the university from the inside out.
John Hennessy
He is now the founding director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars program designed to lure the best students in the world for graduate education at Stanford with the goal of “doing good for the world”.
Cara Hale Alter founder of SpeechSkills ~ author of The Credibility Code:How to Project Confidence and Competence When It Matters Most
The other venues included a large auditorium and small break out sessions in classrooms.
Cara Hale Alter
Cara Hale Alter was a popular speaker who has provided training to the world’s leading companies and top-100 law firms. She teaches how to project confidence and competence. Don’t miss buying her book on the subject complete with video demonstrations! Just as an aside story about Cara, she and I both recognized each other when she checked in at the registration desk, but couldn’t figure out how we knew each other. We finally figured out she had been my Jazz Dance instructor 25+ years ago in San Francisco!
The Credibility Code by Cara Hale Alter
Dr. Bernie Roth was very interesting and a kick to listen to. He is a Stanford professor who is the Rodney H. Adams Professor of Engineering and is also a co-founder of Stanford’s “d-school” which teaches “design thinking”. Early this year I completed Stanford University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certification program which included a day at Stanford learning all about design thinking so I was very interested in what he had to say.
Dr. Bernard Roth in his break out session.Dr. Bernard Roth, a Stanford University professor.
His book, The Achievement Habit is a “Don’t Miss” read.
The Achievement Habit by Bernard Roth
The authors all had book signings in the bookstore and there were long lines of people clutching their books in hand for a personal moment with the authors to get a personalized autograph.
Authors L-Hampton Sides and R-Peter Ricchiuti signing their books for eager readers.
The amazing array of authors is just too long to include in a short blog entry. There was Dan Buettner who discovered the Blue Zones where there is the highest concentration of centenarians; Kathlyn Cooney, an archaeologist who has researched ancient Egypt; Professor Andrew Fraknoi, who makes astronomy a joy to learn about, and Mas Matsumoto, an organic peach and grape farmer who had written about the family succession on a family farm.
Mas Masumoto, an organic peach and grape farmer with a story.
There were so many more stunning presentations with great ideas flowing that there isn’t room to talk about them all. Just make a note in your calendar to come next year last weekend in September to the
I visited Carmel many times before moving here and I always went home with the striking image of flowers in my mind. Everywhere I went in Carmel, there were aways flowers. In people’s yards, hanging from their houses, in restaurants, in the plaza, in the park, in the retail stores and even in front of real estate offices.
Alain Pinel Realtors
I would go home determined to plant more flowers in my yard, which I usually did. I’m not sure there is anything else that is a growing thing that can put me in such a delightful mood! I love asparagus, but it does’t make my heart sing like flowers do. So enjoy some of the “belles fleures” of Carmel.
‘Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” ~Luther Burbank
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” ~Henri Matisse
“I must have flowers, always, and always.” ~Claude Monet
“Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.” ~Theodore Roethke
“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”
~Edna St. Vincent Millay
“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
~Victor Hugo
I will end with my favorite flower. Talk about making my heart sing – gazing at, experiencing it, and smelling it -a rose makes my heart sing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus of the Messiah.
So I urge you, stop and smell and enjoy and savor the roses and all the other beautiful flowers of Carmel. If you’re somewhere else, smell the sweet gifts of nature wherever you are! But we hope you’ll come to Carmel soon!
I love happy sellers!! I recently represented the sellers of 1117 Sawmill Gulch Road in Pebble Beach. The sellers were ecstatic with multiple offers and a full price offer. Congratulations, Leonora and Sam!
This is what Leonora had to say . . .
Over the years I have bought and sold a number of houses in Maryland, California, Texas and Colorado. The real estate agents I have worked with have been knowledgeable and professional. And I have been satisfied with all of them. But Susan Clark stands out for qualities that are above and beyond normal agents.
In her sales pitch Susan Clark explained up front what she would do as our selling agent. Her promises were clear and compelling. Communication was at the top of the list. We would always know what was going on – good news or bad. Her follow up after every open house and every viewing was thorough and valuable. It wasn’t just a “not interested” comment but useful information.
Advertising was also near the top of the list. We appreciated how she used current technology to gain the greatest exposure from websites, professional photography, video complete with drone fly-over, social media to name just a few. The presentation and content were stunning. But advertising was not just passive. It was active, too, with weekly open houses and broker open houses.
Susan Clark’s professional appearance was complimented by her professional manner. She maintained an attitude of confidence and commitment to details that earned the best possible relationship between possible buyers and this seller.
Susan assisted us with decisions we made and guided us through the complex process of setting an asking price, handled offers and counter offers, and advised us during negotiations. After receiving three offers at once and after we accepted one of them (at full price) she urged us to accept a back-up offer which we did. Susan also continued to hold open houses. That led to the buyer removing contingencies without making too many demands for repairs.
To summarize, Susan Clark is the very essence of a great real estate agent whom I highly recommend.
Leonora Branca, Pebble Beach Seller
Thinking of making a change? I’d love to represent you on the sale of your home!
