December 21, 2006

TIMESTRAVELS

TravelTalk
By Mike Cleary

Annual file cleaning yields some gems

By Mike Cleary
Times Travel

Welcome to my Third Annual File Clearing Column. Like a lot of you, I enjoy heading into a New Year feeling somewhat organized. What helps is a little housekeeping. To that end, I just emptied a cabinet that contains files for press releases and other relevant information categorized under the snappy headings of books, travel, restaurants, hotels, wine and dated events.

The really strange thing about this file system is I rarely access it. Stuff goes in and rarely comes out. It is, bluntly, a place where press releases go to die. For some, this end seems fitting.

For instance, I found a release in the book file promoting a potential classic titled "Cooking on the Lam" (Simon and Schuster) by Joe "Dogs" Ianuzzi, a mobster-turned-informant who once cooked for the Gambino crime family. Maybe it was the Tuscan Bean Crostini recipe that made me keep it.

Another was a release for a book with a title so silly it deserves a drum roll. "A Man’s Whirled: Every Guy’s Guide to Cooking with a Blender" (Simon and Schuster) was written by Chris Peterson, who I am sure has no links to organized crime. I mean he would have been laughed out of the Gambini family kitchen for concocting a dish called Susan’s Super Simple Soufflé'. Alliteration is a real no-no in the underworld.

I fared a little better in the dated events’ file. Movie fans will appreciate knowing A-list movie stars, many of whom call this Central Coast city home, will gather in Santa Barbara for the 22nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (sbfilmfestival.org). The festival runs Jan. 25 through Feb. 4. Honorees this year include Helen Mirren, Will Smith and Al Gore. All three sound like out-of-towners to me.

I haven’t been to this festival yet. Truth is I’m really not a cinephile. In fact, I wait for movies to come to radio. However, there were two more events in the file that I have attended and will attest to their fun.

No sooner does the curtain go down on that Santa Barbara film fest than a golf tournament breaks out further up the coast. From Feb. 5 through the 11th, celebrities like The Donald, Kevin Costner and Ray Romano who sport low golf handicaps team up with top PGA pros at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The pros and celebrities for the most part look at it as a competition, but for everyone else it’s a great party and a wonderful time to be on the Monterey Peninsula.

Finally, Mendocino hosts its 8th Annual Crab and Wine Days (gomendo.com). Lodgings, restaurants, wineries and the fishing community all get involved. This used to be an eight to nine-day party with all kinds of winemaker dinners, crab feasts and other fun promotions. Now the fun begins the day after Christmas and runs through the end of February. Talk about keeping a party going. I’d suggest you check their Web site for dates of specific events.

My hotel file produced news of two properties that, after reading about them again, we are determined to visit the first of the new year. The first is the Avila La Fonda Hotel, a luxury complex of 33 amenity-laden suites located a block from the ocean in Avila Beach. The hotel with its impressive street facade of eight casitas was inspired by a typical 19th century Mexican village in California.

Avila Beach adds to the charm of a trip there with a beach town full of wine-tasting rooms, art galleries, several restaurants and nearby, some challenging golf courses. As publicist Adrienne Moore said in her press release: "Not bad for a town 4 blocks by 4 blocks and a permanent population of 300."

The other hotel release concerned the Captain’s Inn at Moss Landing (captainsinn.com), located on the banks of the Monterey Bay and Elkhorn Slough. Captain Yohn and Melanie Gideon have turned the Historic Pacific Coast Steamship Company Building into a delightful inn with four main guest rooms and six boathouse guestrooms. The building is a century old this year and they are planning yearlong celebrations.

Moss Landing, by the way, is ideal for kayaking, adventure Slough tours, whale and bird watching, hiking and browsing the town’s antique shops.

Cheers.

Mike Cleary spent 30 years at KABL and KNBR where he co-hosted the station’s popular morning show with Frank Dill.