Requiem for a Heavyweight

"Santa Claus Lane is also home to a beautiful beach, restaurants, shops, and a number of private beach homes. It is isolated from the rest of Carpinteria by the estuary and is sort of in a world of its own."

when I moved to Carp I stayed on two ranches: Rancho Monte Alegre and The Young Ranch...stayed in Olive Carey's old pink bungaloo and played her piano at night...she'd host cocktail parties with the likes of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.. I spent two wonderful years there then went to the Young Ranch and met Playboy Centerfold Kym Herrin and Doobie bro Tom Johnston lived up there I'm told..John and June  Young owned the ranch, a Spanish Grant...

and June invented The Big Yellow House (I fondly remember the Cornbread Girls!) and Santa Claus Lane...I loved the rich history I was living but needed my own place so I bought a condo close to everything I love

so naturally I wanted to protect this place from development..I mean they were talking about filling in the marsh to build houses but the City Council at the time said NO WAY and the marsh remains, beautiful as ever

in 1998 an effort to SAVE SANTA and the Lane emerged and to a large extent, it remains a rural beach hangout with gorgeous views..a nod to simpler times...GOOD JOB!!

but development happened anyway and now they plan to turn Santa Claus Lane into a modern mecca of crosswalks, sidewalks and lights...given the Lane's popularity, some changes should be made, but the rendering I saw on Noozhawk is overkill with bells and whistles up the kazoo

oh, and the 8 million dollar DOG PATH that connects Santa Claus Lane to Carpinteria: WELCOME TO DOGPATCH

I guess it had to happen, these people who come here with no sense of history or place...all they wanna do is walk their dogs and smoke pot and pour more concrete...

bunch of loo-loos

thanks Das and Salud