As a regular columnist for Carmel Magazine, the regional magazine for California's Monterey Peninsula, I write a quarterly essay in which I wax poetic about a place on the Peninsula, accompanied by a couple of photographs taken by my wife Amy.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
An ode to Pacific Grove's historical charm (Winter 2009)

HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL PEBBLE BEACH
An ode to the Ghost Tree (Holiday 2008)

DIGGING IT IN CARMEL
An ode to the Carmel Sandcastle Contest (Summer/Fall 2008)

A BRUSH WITH PARADISE
An ode to the canvas-worthy Pacific Grove coast (Spring 2008)

THE CENTER OF THINGS
An exploration of the geographic and spiritual center of the Monterey Peninsula (Winter 2008)

A VIEW TO REMEMBER
An ode to 9/11 victim Suzanne Calley and her persevering mother Norma (Holiday 2007)

ALL TOGETHER NOW
An ode to the Monterey Farmers' Market (Summer/Fall 2007)

LOVE EVERLASTING
An ode to Robinson Jeffers' Tor House (Spring 2007)

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS
An ode to McWay Falls in Big Sur (Winter 2007)

EASY BEING GREEN
An ode to the Frog Pond in Del Rey Oaks (Holiday 2006)

THE PRO OF CON
The tale of Howard Hughes hoaxer Clifford Irving (Summer/Fall 2006)

END OF THE BEGINNING
An ode to Carmel Beach (Summer/Fall 2006)

PEBBLE BEACH, METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING
How a classic golf course became a metaphor (Spring 2006)

THE EYES SKATE
An ode to Pacific Grove's Holman Building (Spring 2006)

ON THE UP AND UP
A hike through Garrapata State Park (Winter 2006)

POINT OF LIGHT
Ode to Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove (Holiday 2005)

DOC OF THE BAY
Homage to Doc Ricketts' Lab on Cannery Row (Summer/Fall 2005)

A PIRATE'S LIFE
Ode to Carmel's Point Lobos State Reserve (Spring/Summer 2005)

KITE TALES
The flying colors at Seaside Beach (Winter 2005)