Best Place on the Planet
At a recent Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce lunch- eon, we had the privilege of listening to a very impassioned and inspiring speech from one of our local treasures, Secretary Leon Panetta. Among the many important topics he discussed, he stressed the fact that we live in the most beautiful place in the world.
We are so fortunate to call the Monterey Peninsula home and whether you live here, are visiting, or are just passing through, it is undeniable what a treasure we have here.
And we all need to do our part to preserve the Monterey Bay Area and protect it, so I was pleased to learn that U.S. Rep-resentative Jimmy Panetta introduced a bill, The Monterey Bay National Heritage Area Study Act, which could help preserve the history and beauty of our communities surrounding the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
It’s because of this beauty that our area is such a magnet for visitors. You never know who you might run into around here—certainly there have been many sightings of Brad Pitt zipping around in his old white Porsche, and we’ve had recent visits by major celebrities, including the former President Barrack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
For many years I have been contacted by locals informing me that actor Erik Estrada frequently stays here and is a nice guy who has a lot of friends in the area. He has lived in Los Angeles for many years, but Carmel is like a second home to him and his family.
It was a few weeks before Christmas when one of my advertising associates, Jill Martin, was shopping at the Crossroads Shopping Center Safeway. She called to tell me that she had run into Erik Estrada there. I asked her to see if he would be up for an interview and story in Carmel Magazine. He responded enthusiastically, “Sure,” and gave Jill his contact info. When I called to discuss the story, he was at his room in the Carmel Bay View Inn where he and his wife Nanette were enjoying their last day here in Carmel. We had a great conversation and they invited me over to do the interview, but, as I told him, “I’m not the writer, but I will have her contact you.” As you will see in our story, he is simply so generous and loves life, loves his family, including his dogs, and Carmel has been his go-to spot for the last 30 years. I hope you enjoy our story as much as I did.
Living in Los Angeles, Estrada is heartbroken by the fires. He is lucky to live in a neighborhood unscathed by the fires, but shared a great and inexpensive tip with our writer about connecting oscillating sprinklers to your roof to keep the likelihood of fire ignition down. I was down in Los Angeles myself during the tragic fires to help my son, Evan, move from one apartment to a new one in West Hollywood. When I got to my hotel, I noticed how many distraught people—many with dogs—were milling around the lobby. I felt so bad for them. Some did not even know if they had a home to return to. When I got up to my room my cell phone went crazy with an evacuation notice. Imagine being evacuated from your home and moving into a hotel and then having to evacuate again. I looked out the window and didn’t see any immediate danger, but decided to go down to see what was happening outside. On my way down in the elevator I was joined by a young woman with three dogs. She was sobbing, as this was here third evacuation in three days. She was in a total panic. She went straight to the front desk and checked out. I went outside and didn’t see any signs of fire. Then my cell phone went off again with another alert saying to disregard the previous evacuation notice—it had been a mistake. How awful.
Despite all the sadness and loss, I was heartened to see the incredible response to the fires by our local community, including a drive by Tancredi & Morgen (a family business featured in our last issue), to gather and donate goods and funds to those impacted. My heart goes out to all the people affected by these deadly fires. I hope they are able to recover and rebuild or at least resume some sense of normalcy.