Ready for the Good Old Days? Need a Pacific Grove Vacation Rental?

showimageThere’s a reason we celebrate the “Good Old Days” in Pacific Grove: they never left.

A Pacific Grove tradition!! On Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, the whole town will be celebrating the 56th annual Good Old Days. Monterey County’s largest arts and crafts show, featuring over 225 art and food vendors in downtown Pacific Grove, a parade down Pine Avenue that starts at 10 am, live entertainment on five stages, old-fashioned games and contests and lots of family fun. The Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild presents an annual Quilt Show at Chautauqua Hall featuring award winning quilts.

Free admission

Need a place to stay visit www.montereyrentals.com

#pacificgrove #vacationrental

Carmel Sunset Center Presents – Storm Large Friday, April 19 at 8:00PM

Last year, Storm Large set the Sunset Center on fire when she filled in as the lead singer of Pink Martini. This year she makes a triumphant return with her own band and an eclectic set that shows off her exuberant personality and mesmerizing vocals.

Angels In Gas Stations - Storm Large

Click image to see video
 Angels In Gas Stations – Storm Large

 CLICK HERE for Tickets or call the Box Office at 831.620.2048

Central CA Coast Rental Rates Rising Along with Home Prices

By Jan Leasure
Along with the tight real estate sales market, an equally tight rental market has emerged.    There are more tenants in the market today, as homeowners have sold their homes (either short-sale or otherwise), as some who over-extended themselves have faced foreclosure, and as the twenty- and thirty-somethings elect not to become homeowners at all.  Few homes are available to accommodate these swollen tenant ranks.

When the supply of rentals becomes as tight as it is today, there are nowhere for prices to go but up.  Rental prices had stagnated for a number of years, starting with the housing boom years of 2000 – 2005.  As the mortgage industry made it easier and easier to purchase a home, tenants filed out of the rental market en masse.  That left a plentiful supply of rental properties for those who still failed to qualify to buy a home or otherwise elected not to.  When the real estate sales bubble burst, that trend reversed itself.  The rental market began to tighten as homeowners became tenants, and today, we have the tightest market we have seen in many years.

What is the likely result?  The rental market will continue to squeeze tenants for higher and higher prices until it gets to the point whereby the tenant market will support no more escalation.  Unlike the sales market, in which there seems to be no ceiling to prices that the market will bear, the rental market has its limits.  Rental rates are limited by the incomes of the tenants.   The tenant market of the Monterey Peninsula is primarily made up of the military and those in the hospitality industry.  The most that most tenants will budget for housing is 35 – 45%, with a few willing to push to 50%.  Even budgeting 50% for housing, that would mean that to afford $2500 for a modest three-bedroom house, the annual income must be $60,000.  While possibly doable for a military officer, it is challenging at best for an enlisted person or a hospitality worker.  So while there are limits to the heights to which rents will climb, this is still a great time to be a landlord!

The Great Monterey Clam Chowder & Calamari Festival – May 25-26-27, 2013

The 2nd Annual Great Monterey Clam Chowder & Calamari Festival to be held on Memorial Day Weekend - May 26, 27, 28, 2012 at the Custom House Plaza May, 2013; Monterey, CA

The 2nd Annual Great Monterey Clam Chowder & Calamari Festival to be held on Memorial Day Weekend – May 26, 27, 28, 2012 at the Custom House Plaza May, 2013; Monterey, CA

The Monterey-based Calamari Entertainment Group is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Great Monterey Clam Chowder & Calamari Festival. Don’t miss this free, family-friendly fun- filled event that will be held at the Custom House Plaza-Monterey State Historic Park, adjacent to Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.

During this exciting Festival, Monterey’s waterfront will come alive on Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday through Monday, May 25, 26 & 27, 2013, with a full weekend of food, live music and cooking demonstrations.
For more information, contact Bob Massaro at 831-649-6545 or email JoAnn Crivello at jocrivello@yahoo.com

Carmel Food Tour!

Our friend, Peter L., recently visited Carmel Food Tour.  Here is what he had to say about this unique way to enjoy Carmel. Five well-earned stars. Staci has put together about the most informative, fun thing you can do in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Our three hour tour included some of the best restaurants and wine tasting rooms in the town as well as interesting, informative stops and meanders along the way. I live here and didn’t know any of the historical and anecdotal tid-bits she wove into the tour.

She is fun, witty and timely – the trip was perfectly timed. And the food/wine/sweets were just enough.

GO!!!

For more information about this stroll through Carmel to taste foods and wines from local restaurants and boutique shops, visit CarmelFoodTour.com.

Volkswagen Sea Otter Classic

The Sea Otter Classic is “A Celebration of Cycling”! It’s a festival for anybody who enjoys or appreciates the bicycle, for any reason.

Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Thursday, April 18 through Sunday, April 21, 2013. These hours include the Expo with one exception: on Sunday, the Expo closes at 4 p.m.

That even includes a tot on a trike who’s only looking forward to a bike! This is a festival for tweens, teens, and twenty-somethings. It’s for Gen-Xers and Boomers and the Greatest Generation.

Whether a cyclist or a spectator, folks of all ages can share in the excitement and camaraderie of the Sea Otter Classic. If you love the idea of being part of a cool scene with active people who all share a passion for bicycles—people who are all a part of the cycling community—come!

Sea Otter is for road and mountain bikers. It’s for commuter bikers and recreational cyclists, and, yes, the Sea Otter Classic definitely draws the very best racers—both amateurs and pros!

Mountain Bike Races 

  • Cross Country (XC) – is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property,  Fort Ord National Monument. XC starts on the racetrack at Laguna Seca and finishes on the racetrack or on the Swale at Laguna Seca.
  • Downhill (DH) – is on Laguna Seca property and runs parallel to B Road. Finishes at the bottom of B Road below the Gun Range.
  • Dual Slalom (DS) – is on the Swale at Laguna Seca.
  • Short Track (STXC) – is on the Swale at Laguna Seca.

 Road Bike Races

  • Circuit – takes place on the racetrack at Laguna Seca.
  • Criterium – takes place on the racetrack at Laguna Seca.
  • Road – takes place mostly outside Laguna Seca (i.e., on Bureau of Land Management/BLM property).  Starts on the racetrack at Laguna Seca and finishes on Barloy Canyon Road.
  • Pro Road Stage – takes place outside of Laguna Seca (i.e., on Bureau of Land Management/BLM property). The stages are:Stage 1 – Criterium, on the racetrack at Laguna Seca; Stage 2 – Road, mostly off Laguna Seca (i.e., BLM property), starting on the racetrack at Laguna Seca and finishing on Barloy Canyon Road; Stage 3 – Time Trial, starts on track at Laguna Seca, ends on Barloy Canyon Road; and Stage 4 – Circuit, on the racetrack at Laguna Seca.

Cyclocross Races: takes place at Laguna Seca.

Festival Pass Sales | www.seaotterclassic.com

Pacific Grove Vacation Rental – Break Out the Bubbly!

Monterey Vacation RentalJust in time for Valentine’s Day, may we present the latest addition to our vacation rental inventory: “ADORABLE.”

Decorated in a whimsical, country theme by Lydia Collins of Turn Key Design, this two bedroom cottage is so darn cute that everyone who sees it says the same thing: “It’s adorable!”

(In fact, this happened so many times we gave up trying to name it. It named itself.)

This property is located in that sweet spot in the “Avenues” between town and the beach, and for those of you familiar with Pacific Grove, you know this is “the place” to be.

The ocean is just a few blocks in one direction, and you can walk to the Red House Cafe for your morning java quicker than you can brew a pot at home.

Looking for the perfect Valentine gift? How about a romantic getaway?

Contact debra@montereyrentals.com

You are invited to First Night Monterey 2013 – Celebrating its 20th Year!!!

Celebrate Monday, December 31, 2012 from 3 PM through Midnight. In Historic Downtown Monterey – Over 22 performance sites, most venues are indoors. First Night Monterey goes on “Rain or Shine”!

This year’s theme is “Celebrate Monterey!” and you are invited to a very special party as they transform the streetscapes, buildings, theaters, churches and concert halls throughout Historic Downtown Monterey into a fun, informative and unique way for the community to experience multiple forms of art on an evening where we celebrate our uniqueness, our commonness and the coming of the New Year!

Red Beans & Rice

Activities begin at 3:00PM with the Opening Ceremony staged on Colton Lawn stage on Pacific Street. Kids Night Out! begins at 3:30PM with interactive art activities face painting, henna tattoo artists, puppet art theater, folk music and magic show will entertain children of all ages. Grand Finale starts at 11:15PM.

Join everyone  for the Twilight Procession at 5:30 as we process down Alvarado Street. Commit your New Year’s resolution at the interactive resolution sculpture.

From Classical to Hip Hop, Jazz to Reggae, Dance Venues to the Written Word and a whole lot of art! First Night Monterey brings in musical heavy hitters to ring in the New Year’s Eve 2013.

 Monterey Bay Property Management
Wishes You A Very Happy New Year!!!


 For More Info Visit – FirstNightMonterey.org | Buy your button today!


First Night Monterey is a non-profit 501c3 dedicated to providing Monterey Peninsula with a free, inter-generationally programmed, family-friendly, alcohol-free, public celebration, showcasing the unique culture of Monterey County through expressive, creative traditions of performing and visual arts. First Night Monterey 2013 in partnership with the City of Monterey, offers artists opportunity to use Monterey’s historic downtown as a broad canvas. First Night Monterey is a public celebration of the arts that revives the ancient tradition of marking the passage of time with art, ritual and festivity. It is an annual family-friendly, inter-generationally programmed, non-alcoholic New Year’s Eve celebration in Historic Downtown Monterey.