At the end of Birch Street is a new nursery that has opened its doors for business in Montara. My wife and I paid them a visit today and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and variety of plants for sale. The other advantage with buying plants from a few blocks away is that they are more than likely already acclimatized to the Montara climate. The people are really nice and I wish them all the best in their new venture. Drop by and check them out, maybe buy a plant or two and support your local businesses.

Coastal Cuisine. Gone.

Coming home from work last week hungry and too burnt to cook I decided to swing by The Mavericks Roadhouse and pick up one of their tasty burgers for me and the missus. Imagine my disappointment and frustration to find the place shut, or as the website puts it ‘Gone to the beach’ for the season (in this weather?). WTF? Why? This just says to me that they don’t give a monkeys ass about the local trade, tourists are all they care about. The main road sign has even been pasted over with another sign directing any hungry customers to the mothership HMB brewery. So I now have to wait for Spring for the place to reopen, maybe I’ll go to La Costanera instead, wait, it’s Monday they are shut to. Argh!

Jeff Clark. image ©yahoo.com

In June 2009, Jeff Clark, the man whose name is synonymous with the infamous big wave, ceased to be Contest Director of the Mavericks Surf Contest run by Mavericks Surf Ventures. The sad irony here is that the company he helped form in 2003 to promote and be an ambassador for the wave, the sport, the contest and Mr. Clark himself, seems to have turned on the man who started it all over 30 years ago. Since then Jeff has been very quiet on the subject hoping to settle his differences with Mavericks Surf Ventures and it’s CEO Keir Beidling in private.

Sadly, it seems that Jeff’s vision of keeping the Mavericks Surf Contest true to honoring his spirit and passion for surfing has failed in the face of corporate sponsorship dollars and broken promises. He now has to resort to a legal approach to settle the dispute.

The Mavericks Big Wave contest is still waiting to be called at the time of writing (the 24 competitors now call the start), huge swells hitting the coast promise an exciting competition if Mother Nature allows the right conditions. The question has to be asked, can corporate sponsorship demanding a return on their investment and the true spirt of big wave surfing ever live comfortably together? Personally I think not, especially when Mother Nature holds the ultimate trump card of game on, or not.

Good luck Jeff, I believe you have a solid case. And good luck and safe surfing to all the competitors in the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest!

To read the man’s own words check out his blog Jeff Clark: My Word.

(If you happen to read this post Jeff drop me a line, I have 10 Montara Life questions for you!)

Being a fan of  the main restaurant I was interested to try their new bar/lounge venture out. Four of us ate at Main Street first then moved next door to the lounge for after dinner drinks. The decor is very cool, Asian flavored with modern overtones. Huge chunks of fossilized wood are used for some of the seating, don’t try to lift one you will put your back out!  Only sake and beer is served at the moment as they don’t have a liquor license, but that’s not really a problem. We ordered a plate of the smoked fish to try, it was awesome, the chef smokes his own fish apparently. I applaud the owners for opening on Main Street HMB with the retail doom and gloom reputation this street has we need a  place that can make a go of things, if you are a local please support them by trying the place out, it’s a very cool place to hang.

Nancy Korbet's web site, mindbodywardrobe.com

“The way we experience life is directly related to how we see ourselves. Learn how to forgive the flaws and flaunt the fabulous! Discover your personal style and express it with confidence.” –Nancy Korbet

Nancy Korbet was an apparel-marketing professional for over 25 years, she recently founded www.mindbodywardrobe.com to help empower women feel better about themselves and look their best no matter what their body shape, size or age. Nancy has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Millikin University and lives in Montara with her husband and two fashionably furry friends. But right now she needs to take a break from being a style guru and answer these 10 MontaraLife.com questions:

What inspired you to start your own business?

I started this business while I was still working full time out of a need to do something more meaningful, and it grew from there.

Why mind/body/wardrobe, what’s the link between the three?

The goal of Mind Body Wardrobe is to help women see themselves in a positive light. The mind is the most powerful part of this equation. The mind creates the chatter, “I’m too old, too fat, too wrinkled”, etc. The body is what all the chatter is about. When you get the wardrobe right, you can dissipate the chatter. It doesn’t mean you have to have an extensive collection of clothes, you can do it with a simple, easy wardrobe. The key is to recognize, focus and accentuate your assets. When you get that right, you look in the mirror and see your body in a whole new way, the mind then starts down the positive road of ”Girl… you look Great!”  That is powerful! [Read more →]