Carpinteria Magazine Winter 2024

WINTER 2024

livingcommunityartshoppingdining

WINTER2024

MAGAZINE

CARPINTERIA

CARPINTERIA MAGAZINE

COAST SUPPLY

Quality since 1945

PICTURED HERE: SPANISH OAK HARDWOOD FLOOR WITH CUSTOM HAND MADE CURVED STAIR TREADS TO MATCH

CARPINTERIA (805)684-6565 | SANTA BARBARA (805)470-9776 COASTSUPPLYCO.COM

Your Local Carpinteria Real Estate Experts

Unparalleled Local Knowledge | Exceptional Service “I cannot find the words to say how impressed I am with Jon-Ryan and Sarah. I’ve bought and sold a few homes in California over the years, and it’s not new to me. I never imagined an agent that would go to such extreme lengths as Jon-Ryan and Sarah did.” “Jon-Ryan & Sarah are incredible. Hire them!”

-David S.

Jon-Ryan Schlobohm REALTOR® 805.450.3307 jr@jon-ryan.com DRE 01876237

Sarah Aresco Smith REALTORS® 805.252.3868 sarah@lovecarpinteria.com DRE 01882574

www.schlobohmteam.com

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. ll material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified.

Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. ll measurements and square footages are approximate.

V4_Final_2023 4-21 Schlobohm Real Estate Team - Brand & Listing Full-Page Ad V6.indd 2

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home

IS EVERYTHING

LORI CLARIDGE BOWLES 805.452.3884 lori@loribowles.com | loribowles.com | CalRE #01961570

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Not intended as a solicitation if your property is already listed by another broker. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved.

Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act

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Majestic CARPINTERIA

LET US HELP YOU NAVIGATE THROUGH YOUR NEXT REAL ESTATE JOURNEY

LORI CLARIDGE BOWLES 805.452.3884 lori@loribowles.com | loribowles.com | CalRE #01961570

DANA ZERTUCHE 805.403.5220 dana@danazertuche.com | danazertuche.com | CalRE #01465425 Not intended as a solicitation if your property is already listed by another broker. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2022 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved.

Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act

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Here to help with what matters most to you Michelle Perry, CFP® First Vice President Wealth Management Advisor

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management 1424 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101

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Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value The Bull Symbol and Merrill are registered trademarks of Bank of America Corporation.

CFP Board owns the marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the U.S. © 2023 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

MAP5272720 | AD-09-23-0006 | 470944PM-0123 | 09/2023

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Ne e d a R e a l E s t a t e E x p e r t o n Yo u r S i d e ?

Over $1,000,000,0 00 Sold in Career Sales

Selling real estate in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria, Goleta & Ventura

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Winter days are shorter and the temperatures cooler, save water and money by: • Reducing irrigation days and watering times.

• Turning irrigation controller OFF when it rains and keeping OFF until soil dries out.

• Using the weekly updated weather-based Watering % Adjust at WaterWiseSB.org Visit CVWD.net for information on making conservation a way of life, water use regulations and available rebates.

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10/19/2023 10:37:07 AM

It’s all about you, Carpinteria!

Daily Updates Every Thursday

Vol. 30, No. 7

November 2 - 8, 2023

coastalview.com

Michael Ramirez chosen as new city manager

5

Carpinteria kids trick-or-treat

16

Jimmy Metyko’s lens captures ‘80s Rincon revolution

24

Warriors medal at county championship

26

Warrior spirit

At right, Carpinteria High School football player Troy Zimmerman, #10, shares a moment with his sister, cheerleader Lacey, and his mom, Stephanie, after the school’s Senior Night football game on Friday, Oct. 27. Although the team closed out the 2023 season 2-8, friends and family showed up in full Warrior spirit to celebrate its outgoing senior class last week; see more about this year’s Senior Night on page 25.

home

IS EVERYTHING

KARLSSON

LORI CLARIDGE BOWLES 805.452.3884 lori@loribowles.com | loribowles.com | CalRE #01961570

DANA ZERTUCHE 805.403.5220 dana@danazertuche.com | danazertuche.com | CalRE #01465425

LET US HELP YOU NAVIGATE THROUGH YOUR NEXT REAL ESTATE JOURNEY

MAGAZINE

CARPINTERIA

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WINTER2024

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CARPINTERIA

Summer & Winter

Published with pride by RMG Ventures, LLC since 1994

4180 Via Real, Suite F • (805) 684-4428 • www.coastalview.com 6 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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Buying or selling a home with us is like a walk on the beach!

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The Local Carpinteria Valley Team Hard working, Knowledgeable, Ethical and over 45 years experience

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Decorative Arts &Vintage Show & Sale At the Earl Warren Showgrounds with FREE PARKING 3400 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, California

NOV 17, 18, & 19, 2023 ~ and ~ FEB 23, 24, & 25, 2024

Fri 11-6 , SAT 11-6, Sun 11-4 From 17th Century to Mid-Century....

Over 60 Quality Dealers from around the country offer a wide array of furniture, paintings, jewelry, silver, china, textiles, Asian, & much more! $6 Adults w/ this ad•$5 Senior (62+)•Child (Under 12 Free) Admission is good for all 3 days.

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THIS LIFESTYLE WILL MOVE YOU HOMES

•

VIEWS

•

LIFESTYLES

Carpinteria’s most celebrated Real Estate Advocate for both Buyers and Sellers.

Call Yo and Ask her why!

YO L A N DA VA N W IN G E RD E N 805.570.4965 • Yolanda @AskYo.com DRE: 01308141

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WINTER 2024

CARP MAG

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50

27 16 EDITOR’S LETTER

50 SUNBURST SHINES

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56 FRANKLIN TRAIL TURNS 10

27 THREE NEW EATERIES

66 REAL ESTATE REVIEW

36 THE PUSH PROJECT

70 CONTRIBUTORS

44 RAY GABALDÓN

72 FINAL FRAME

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CARPINTERIA MAGAZINE WINTER2024 EDITOR: Lea Boyd PRODUCTION & DESIGN: Kristyn Whittenton WRITERS Peter Dugré • Chuck Graham • Keith Hamm Amy Marie Orozco • Leslie Andrea Westbrook PHOTOGRAPHERS Ingrid Bostrom • Matt Dayka Chuck Graham • Emily Merrill PRODUCTION SUPPORT Carpinteria Valley Museum of History Rockwell Printing ADVERTISING Karina Villarreal karina@coastalview.com (805) 684-4428 GET SOCIAL WITH US CarpinteriaMagazine.com Instagram and Facebook @CarpinteriaMagazine All articles, photographs and artwork appearing in this publication are the copyrighted intellectual property of RMG Ventures, LLC. RMG Ventures, LLC aggressively protects its intellectual property rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. ©2024 RMG Ventures, LLC.

ON TH E COVER Sixth-grader Holyn Vega shows off some of the new skills acquired through the Push Project, an after school program of the Carpinteria Skate Foundation. Holyn and her Carpinteria Middle School peers spend afternoons skating, as well as

practicing

art,

design

and

skateboard building in a clubhouse atmosphere. Read all about it on pages 36-42. ~ Photo by Ingrid Bostrom Published by RMG Ventures, LLC Michael VanStry, President Gary L. Dobbins, Vice President 4180 Via Real, Suite F, Carpinteria, California 93013 Tel: (805) 684-4428 Email: info@carpinteriamagazine.com

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OPEN DAILY 6:30AM - 2:30PM 5100 A Carpinteria Ave. Luckyllamacoffee.com Instagram @Luckyllamacoffee

SUNBURST WINE BAR BEER & WINE HAPPY HOUR

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FOOD BY DANG BURGER 5080 Carpinteria Ave • Carpinteria Check our Instagram for current hours and updates Instagram @Sunburst_wine

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944 Linden Ave. • Carpinteria • pacifichealthfoods.com • 805-684-2115

SUPPORTING LOCAL BRANDS FOR OVER 30 YEARS

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Follow us on Instagram @pacifichealthfoods and check out our menu online at www.pacifichealthfoods.com Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

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ENJOY

Dear readers, This edition of Carpinteria Magazine feels particularly personal to me. See that radical 11-yearold girl on the cover? She’s mine, and I’m so proud of her for being among the brave young women who are carving out a space for themselves in a sport dominated by boys for decades.

My daughter and my stepson are both part of the Push Project, which is beautifully reported on by Keith Hamm and photographed by Ingrid Bostrom on pages 36-42. This program takes the best of skateboarding—art, creativity, exercise, community—and puts it in a space where middle schoolers work through challenges under the positive guidance of adult and teen mentors.

Carpinteria Skate Park may be our town’s shiniest new addition, but the Push Project is less about the concrete and more about the heart and soul of skating.

We also celebrate Franklin Trail’s 10th anniversary in this edition. This is my trail. I don’t know how to thank Jane Murray, Bud Girard and the dozens and dozens of hardworking, committed individuals, nonprofits and local governments for funding and fighting to build that trail. I’ve watched sunsets and sunrises on that trail. I’ve forged friendships, talked through tough times and sweat my ass off on that trail. And more importantly, HUNDREDS of our community members have done the same. Franklin Trail users come in all shapes, sizes and colors. One thing they have in common is gratitude for a trail in their backyard.

You might roll your eyes and decide that concentrating all these topics and people that I love in this magazine is the height of nepotism and favoritism. Maybe you’re right. But I also think it comes with the territory of producing a magazine in the small town where you grew up and where you’re raising your kids.

And I feel incredibly fortunate for that opportunity. I hope you’ll agree that this edition of Carpinteria Magazine has something for everyone who loves this town. These are a few of my favorite things, and I think you’ll like them, too.

Cheers,

Lea Boyd, Editor

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Farm to to Table Table •• Chef’s Farm Chef’s Seasonal Seasonal Specials Specials Sustainable Meats Sustainable Meats & & Seafood Seafood Extensive Wine Extensive Wine List List •• Patio Patio Dining Dining

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Farm to Table • Chef’s Seasonal Specials Farm to Table • Chef’s Seasonal Specials Sustainable Meats & Seafood Sustainable Meats & Seafood Extensive Wine List • Patio Dining Extensive Wine List • Patio Dining

Cheese & Bread Cheese & Bread Specialty Grocery Specialty Grocery Wine & More Wine & More

Pasture-Raised • Sustainable Organic • Local Pasture-Raised • Sustainable Organic • Local

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93013

PLOTTING FOR A NEW POOL

BY PE T E R DUGRÉ

On a bright-as-can-be Thursday afternoon in September, about a dozen tweens tossed water polo balls over the grassy front lawn of Carpinteria MIddle School. These youth water polo-ers were fish-out-of-water with no pool in which to practice. Simultaneous to this “dry land” water polo practice for the youth Carpinteria Aquatics Club on the lawn, Carpinteria Community Pool was occupied by the Warrior high school boys water polo team which was making quick work of visiting Foothill Tech High School. Meanwhile, adult lap swimmers had to wait until the final whistle on the water polo match to fit in their workouts. It was a classic log jam.

“We live in this coastal community, and have a proud aquatic sports program, but we have a supply problem,” says Sarah Aresco Smith, a founding board member of the newly organized Warrior Pool Foundation, whose mission is to build a pool at Carpinteria High School. “There is plenty of demand for aquatic sports, but the limitation for our community and our kids comes from lack of pool availability.”

Smith should know. She’s spent an inordinate amount of her motherhood on pool decks — all over California and beyond. Her son, Asher, led Warrior boys water polo to its first CIF Championship in 2021. The recent success of Carpinteria aquatics sports has led to a surge in participation and interest, but there’s nowhere to channel it.

The Warrior Pool Foundation incorporated as a nonprofit in the fall of 2023, thus formalizing the grassroots effort to fund and build a dedicated pool at the high school. This cause is akin to the effort that produced the Carpinteria Skate Park and has pulled in some of the movers and shakers who played prominently in that successful effort.

Julia Mayer, a Carpinteria Skate Foundation board member

and founding board member of the Warrior Pool Foundation, is a true believer. She believes that Carpinteria is a worldclass place with top-notch people who deserve the best amenities of any community anywhere, and her zeal has been infectious. Pivoting from the skate foundation, she has been all-in on the Warrior Pool Foundation, recently evidenced by a public pitch for a new pool at an October 2023 Carpinteria Unified School District board meeting.

“If there’s any money left over from Measure U (the school site rehabilitation bond), we could really use a pool at the high school,” Mayer informed the school board. In her comments, she enumerated the benefits students would reap from a new pool, including improved mental and physical health and ocean and water safety skills, in addition to the potential for offering career tech courses at Carpinteria High School to prepare students for the “blue economy” — meaning high paying marine jobs like underwater welding.

No official price tag has been placed on the project, but early visioning places the new pool between the high school tennis courts and gym. It would have to have a deeper deep end to accommodate scuba training, which could establish a blue jobs program and attract rentals for scuba certification courses. Also, the added pool capacity could be a big draw for area aquatics sports competitions, helping Carpinteria level up its presence in the water sports arena.

“This is Carpinteria; our kids need the same opportunities that they would have in other places,” Mayer says. “It’s time for another pool to guarantee that we have enough space to include everyone and provide adequate opportunities to learn and grow. The community deserves it.”

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FROM THE BOW:

Chuck Graham releases new adventure conservation book Nearly 25 years of kayaking, thousands of miles paddled, hundreds of wildlife encounters and countless conversations with field researchers are woven into Carpinterian Chuck Graham’s new book “Paddling into a Natural Balance: Stories of Kayaking and Conservation Around Channel Islands National Park.”

Complementing the book’s 10 stories of adventure and wildlife conservation are 170 photos by Graham that put the reader in the nests of eagles, the haunting depths of sea caves, among the wildflowers and playing with island foxes.

“Paddling into a Natural Balance,” which includes a forward by retired Chief of Natural Resources Kate Roney Faulkner, was released in early November and soon will be available at bookstores, museums and botanical gardens between Ventura and San Luis Obispo. Graham is available for presentations and book signings and can be contacted by e-mail at info@chuckgrahamphoto.com.

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93013

1

EYE LOVE PUBLIC ART CONTEST

2

Carpinteria wears its love of art on its sleeve. Public murals and mosaics have proliferated in the last decade, and they represent our cultural history, our love of nature and our economy. You’ve seen Carpinteria’s public art pieces, but Carpinteria Magazine wants you to look more closely.

To challenge your knowledge of the art all around you, we have partnered with Carpinteria Beach Company at 873 Linden Ave. to offer a Carpinteria pullover hoodie sweatshirt to the first two people who identify the correct locations of the art pictured here. The ONLY way to qualify is to email your answers to lea@two-trumpets.com. Go forth and find art! ♦

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VOCAB LESSON:

Don’t be shoal, brah GLOSSARY BY LILLI NE M E T Z & JACKSON MELTON If you have teenagers living in your house, there’s a good chance you don’t speak their language. You understand some words, while others are familiar and many are completely foreign. There’s no Duolingo for this predicament, but fortunately for you, there is Carpinteria Magazine. We asked Carpinteria High School seniors Lilli Nemetz and Jackson Melton to help us crack the code. Now it’s your turn to study hard, practice and maybe some day you’ll be conversational in teen, too.

SHOAL:

(adj.) gross, disgusting Example: “The moldy food we found was so shoal.”

MOB: (v.) to go, to travel to

Example: “Are you gonna mob the bonfire?”

WACK:

(adj.) not normal, strange Example: “That creepy guy was acting wack.”

BET: (v.) okay, to confirm

Example: “You want to come to my house?” Response, “Yeah, bet!”

AUX: (noun) short for auxiliary, refers to source of music

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Example: “Hey this music sucks, let me get aux!”

SCRUT: (noun) food or (v.) to eat; to devour quickly

Example: (n) “I’m starving, where’s the scrut?” (v) “I haven’t eaten all day I’m ready to scrut!”

SHACK:

(noun) the curl or barrel of a wave Example: “Did you see him pull into that shack at Carp Point?”

MID: (adj.) mediocre, not special

Example: “I’m not impressed, that food was pretty mid.”

SUS:

(adj.) short for suspicious, weird or questionable Example: “That guy was snooping around acting pretty sus.”

NEER: (noun) obviously, clearly, plain to see

Example: “Carpinteria is the best!” Response: “Neer!”

HAIR: (exclamation) meaning whoa, wow, awesome, cool

Example: “Hair! That was crazy!”

BUSSIN: (adj.) bomb, really good

Example: “This Beach Liquor burrito is bussin! It’s so good!”

Example: “Hey give me that john.” (referring to an object)

SLAY: (adj.) impressive, did a good job at something

Example: “That was so slay!”

BURNT:

(adj.) stupid or not thinking Example: “I was being burnt when I accidentally called you the wrong name.” ♦

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JOHN/JONATHAN: (noun) an object or a task

www.pacwestblooms.com • events@pacwestblooms.com

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Since the Summer of ’58…Carpinteria’s Favorite Burger!

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–LA Times

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Burgers • Fries • Chili • Hot Dogs Rings • Shakes • Cones Yummy Mexican Food, too!

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…simply fine wines at great prices!

Wines for all occasions

NEW ARRIVALS WEEKLY Stop in and shop our expansive selection!

4193-1 Carpinteria Ave.

684-7440 M-F 10-6pm Sat 10-5pm www.carpinteriawineco.com Take the Carpinteria Avenue exit from 101 South - 4th building on the right

Tempting your taste buds… Truffles, Bon Bons, Single Origin Chocolates

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CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS Best Bagels Since 1996 • Delicious Salads Gourmet Sandwiches • Grand Parties Hors D’oeuvres • Social & Corporate Catering 5050 Carpinteria Avenue • To Go 805.566.1558 Monday-Friday 6:30am-2pm • Weekends 6:30am-3pm 53 S. Milpas St. • 805.564.4331 Daily 6am-2pm

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YUM YUM YUM YUM

Three new eateries set the table W ORDS BY A M Y M A RI E OROZ CO PH OT OS BY I N GRI D BOS T ROM

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emember when Carpinteria’s great eateries could be counted on one hand? Gone are those days. In 2023, you need all your fingers and some toes, too. Three of the newest and most delicious menus to pop up in town might be in the last places you’re looking. On the following pages, you’ll get a taste of how Zookers Meat and Seafood Shoppe, Mollie’s Italian Deli and Santa Barbara Hives are proving that you don’t need the biggest dining room or even an address on the beaten path to keep the door swinging on happy customers.

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Roll with it: Mollie’s Italian Deli

o one tell the diet police, but there’s a chef in town specializing in handmade bread, pasta and sauce with a nonstop line of customers spilling out of her Shepard Place Shops location. Mollie Ahlstrand — yes, that Mollie, as in loved by Oprah, posing with presidents, gracing the cover of many magazines, ranking as a “Ten Best Destination & Special Restaurants in the World”— got the concept for her new Mollie’s Italian Deli from a friend in Rome, whose establishment serves only three pastas and three sauces. “I’m not Italian, but I have Italian blood and heart,” says Mollie, a native of Mekele, Ethiopia.

Saying “arrivederci” to her past life of managing a staff of 25, astronomical rent and tens of thousands of dollars in monthly expenses, Mollie took over the former Domino’s location and loves the face-to-face contact with customers, cooking in front of them and giving verbal instructions on how to put the pasta and sauce together at home. The focus is on to-go orders. Limited seating is available and reservations are needed for dinner.

“I want to give everyone the same quality. Now I can without all the expenses,” says diminutive in build and dynamic in spirit Mollie. Her day begins at 5 a.m. with prepping the menu for the day and baking bread. “I would never buy from a store, and I cannot not eat bread.”

Smelling of basil, the restaurant’s small footprint still allows room for grocery shelves. “I sell what I use. I sell

what I eat,” clarifies Mollie, calling herself a “control freak who needs to be in the kitchen.” Her all high-grade, evolving inventory includes extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegars, Cento canned tomatoes, De Cecco pasta and fresh produce such as citrus, peaches, onions, tomatoes and shallots. Not surprisingly, her cooking credo is to use the best ingredients available and to keep it simple.

The unpretentious menu offers soup, vegetables, salads and sandwiches, in addition to its core of pasta, bread and sauces. Thursday is gnocchi day, and Friday and Saturday are lasagna days. Otherwise, check for the pasta of the day and always look for the soup and sandwiches of the day.

Ask about special orders, e.g., steak, halibut, branzino, at least two days in advance.

The restaurant has been a hit with new customers and old, many driving a fair distance to pick up dinner and extra jars of sauce for strategic reserves. The move to Carpinteria also has been a hit with Mollie, who describes the town as, “Nice, laid back. Everyone is famous because everyone knows everyone. I didn’t know that before. I wish I had.”

When asked about her celebrity chef status, she answers, “Famous? I didn’t feel like it. I feel like Mollie. I just want to enjoy my fresh pasta, soup and bread.”

Mollie’s Italian Deli hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 to 8 p.m.; and closed on Sundays.

MolliesItalianDeli.com, 805-452-2692, 1090 Casitas Pass Road.

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Mollie Ahlstrand at her slice of Italy in Carpinteria.

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Brent Monsour, the friendly face and talented chef behind Zookers Meat & Seafood Shoppe.

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Carve it: Zookers Meat & Seafood Shoppe

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pinch past its first birthday, Zookers Meat & Seafood Shoppe has just scratched the surface, says Brent Monsour, Zookers Restaurant chef and co-owner with his mother Jeanne Sykes. “For me, this year has been a learning process. There’s a lot more to it than cutting meat. Pricing is different, it’s pounds and ounces versus portions on a menu ...”

Thanks to COVID, shipping delays and other unforeseen circumstances stalled the Shoppe’s opening, leaving customers’ mouths watering and spirits excited. “It’d been on my mind to have a neighborhood meat shop. A place where you know the people and the people know you,” Brent says. “To help develop a personal relationship between people and their food.”

Attached to its namesake restaurant at Casitas Plaza, Zookers Meat & Seafood Shoppe is sparkling clean. Two brightly lit butcher cases filled with meat and seafood take center stage; the curated grocery shelves, a wine selection, cheeses and other refrigerated items play supporting roles.

Prices and daily specials handwritten on chalkboards give the corner market vibe that Brent was after.

Chicken and salmon are the market’s bestsellers.

Customer favorite red meats include ground beef, rib eyes and tri-tip. Filet mignon, pork chops and sometimes hanger and flank steaks are popular cuts too. Brent does the butchering but makes clear he’d be at a loss if a whole cow was delivered. “I only do whole lambs,” he clarifies.

Steaks are dry aged three weeks and Zookers’ own brand of bacon is in the near future. Trying other meats on the menu to see what customers enjoy is part of his learning process, too. Complementing the meat cases, grocery items include cheeses, olives, crackers, anchovy filets, vinegars, a variety of spreads, dried beans, an expanded selection of wines (bigger than the restaurant’s) and soft drinks. And a variety of breads. The focaccia sourdough is baked inhouse from a starter Brent made eight years ago.

More in the mood for something already prepared? The Italian and pastrami sandwiches are customer favorites.

Items from the restaurant that are available include soups, curry chicken, orzo salad, salad dressing and pita chips.

The inventory rotates daily.

“This place, just like the restaurant, we did it for Carpinteria,” sums up Brent, whose first job was making sandwiches on Linden Avenue at the Deli House, where Giannfranco’s Trattoria now stands.

It’s closed on Sunday and Monday. However, if you’re feeling lucky, swing by on a Monday; there’s a good chance Brent will be there. He’ll help you choose the best meat and guide you on how to prepare it.

The Shoppe hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ZookersRestaurant.com 805-684-8893, 5404 Carpinteria Ave.

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Buzz it: Santa Barbara Hives

hen life gives you honey, make items from the beeswax and honey. Then open a store with a café and bakery with a focus on sustainability while making products that are better for you and better for the planet.

Such is the case of Santa Barbara Hives, the creation of apiarists and business partners Barnaby Draper and Ashley Farrell. The original plan for their near-the-campground Palm Avenue site was for honey processing. Realizing that wasn’t monetarily feasible, they began creating products from the beeswax and honey. “We are beekeepers first. A lot of companies don’t do their own beekeeping,” reports Barnaby. “We are beekeepers who make products.” Those include organic lip balms, soaps, candles and bath bombs all hand-poured in house.

Some of the popular items from the café and bakery side of the business are the organic coffee with housemade cashew milk to complement the daily baked scones, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and zucchini, pumpkin and banana breads. “Our Bliss Balls and brownies, made from sweet potato, taste sinful, but they are full of nutrients. We have great gluten free and vegan options,” says Barnaby, who also is a professional photographer. Salads, sandwiches, cakes and vegan cheesecake are on the menu, too.

Work is split up in a divide-and-conquer manner.

“Barnaby is front of the house, and I’m production,” explains Ashley, whose also works as a landscaper.

They are ramping up their baking with an emphasis on

naturally leavened breads. Many Americans have gluten intolerances, but when they travel to Europe and eat bread, they often don’t have the same reactions, according to Barnaby. Apparently, the use of commercial yeast creates a shorter gluten strain that is harder for our bodies to process. “Europeans, largely, make naturally leavened breads, with a longer gluten strain, which is easier for us to process,” says Barnaby. “Yeast allows you to bake faster.

Natural leavens must ferment longer and contain beneficial bacteria, considered pre-biotics. We would rather do it slowly and better and make great bread.”

The wide variety of grocery items lining the shelves are honeys, jams, jellies, salts, cashew milk, oils, vinegars, cheeses, and other specialty foods and picnic basket accoutrements. Future plans for Santa Barbara Hives include the return of their pop-up dinners and launching a lunch program in spring. Gift cards are available, and yes, they can be used to purchase bees. There is a Santa Barbara Hives location on upper State Street in Santa Barbara but no café and bakery.

When not minding the Palm Avenue store, beekeeping, making products or performing their other jobs of photography and landscaping, Barnaby and Ashley introduce others to beekeeping, about 30 to 50 new apiarists a year. ♦ Santa Barbara Hives hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed on Monday and Tuesday. Santabarbarahives.com, 805-318-9049, 516 Palm Ave.

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Ashley Farrell and Barnaby Draper invite Carpinteria to get sweet on bees.

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Friends of the Carpinteria Library Used Bookstore

“Always good for an armload.

Kids books, too!”

5103 Carpinteria Avenue (Next to the Carpinteria Library) Donations welcomed.

805-566-0033

Discover Carpinteria’s Rich & Colorful Past at the

Carpinteria Valley MuseuM of History Featured Exhibits: Native American Chumash Summerland Spanish & Mexican Ranchos World War I Carpinteria Pioneers Victorian Homes Agriculture & Tools

684.3112 956 Maple Ave. Carpinteria Exhibits Hours: Tues.-Sat. 1-4 p.m.

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MOORHOUSE FINANCIAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT GROUP A team specializing in multi-generational Financial Planning and Wealth Preservation Strategies for Professionals and their Families.

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977 Linden Ave. 805-318-55O6 • Open Daily 10am

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Moorhouse Financial is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

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Culture Skate Factory, 1041 Casitas Pass Road.

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Peter Bonning of Carpinteria Skate Foundation teaches CMS students how to prep a skateboard deck for pressing.

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ike in many small towns and big cities across the country, skateboarding in Carpinteria has come a long way. Diminished are the days of disenfranchised skater kids and young adults getting ticketed and run off their favorite spots by cops and security guards. These days, skateboarding has a home.

In Carpinteria, that home is much bigger than the newly sculpted concrete skatepark next door to City Hall. Even when the park was just a seed of an idea, one of its main aims was to serve as a community center of sorts, a safe and public spot where skaters can get creative, build confidence and self-esteem, and hang out and have fun.

Same goes for the Push Project, an afterschool program launched in partnership between Carpinteria Unified School District and the nonprofit Carpinteria

Skate Foundation, headed up by Peter Bonning. The Push Project’s curriculum is designed to engage middle schoolers and create space for Carpinteria High School students to earn community service hours as mentors.

“One of the things that’s great about skateboarding is that there’s a low barrier to entry,” says Peter, who taught middle and high school for 15 years before helping establish Push Project full time. “It’s an inclusive activity that doesn’t require teams or an organization to run it, and skateboards and safety gear are relatively inexpensive. We want to lower that barrier even more by providing the kids in the program with a free skateboard and helmet.”

Here’s the drill: When school lets out for the day, middle schoolers enrolled in the Push Project head across the street to the Culture Skate Factory, a full-blown art studio WINTER2024 37

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Peter Bonning at Carpinteria Skate Park.

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Ozzy Dugré, CMS sixth grader.

Peter Bonning shows students how to press a skate deck.

with a small retail skateshop counter up front. They dump their backpacks and unwind for a bit, then grab sketchbooks, pencils, pens and markers as Bonning guides them through various design concepts through the lens of skateboard art and culture. These exercises help the kids noodle through concepts and drafts as they dream up their very own skateboard graphic, which, by semester ’s end, they will apply to their very own custom-built skate deck, crafted with thin veneers of maple, glued, pressed, shaped and sanded by hand.

In the meantime, they’re also applying graphic design principles and original art to the screenprinting process in the creation of custom clothing. Along the WINTER2024 39

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Students glue veneers for deck making.

Sofia Rodriguez practices art.

Hugo Goodfield lines up his deck for pressing.

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way, they have time to catch up on homework, mess around with paints and stencils, find inspiration by flipping through the shop’s sizable collection of art books and magazines or just plop down on a couch to decompress from one of those long days in the life of an adolescent.

The skateshop side of the space, with essential gear and apparel, generates income for Push Project and Carpinteria Skate Park. “We’re always in fundraising mode,” Peter says.

After about an hour at the studio, the kids pull on helmets and roll out for the half-mile warmup ride along Carpinteria Avenue to the skatepark, where they meet up with other friends and — depending on where they’re at — practice some tricks or simply get the feel of staying upright on a rolling wooden plank with no brakes.

“By going to the park five days a week, the program helps lower those mental and physical barriers,” he adds. “We get them motivated to ride and to understand they’re part of the scene.

We want them to feel at home.” ♦

Phoenix Leef and Holyn Vega at the skate park.

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PA R K P R I D E The dedicated push to build a public skatepark in Carpinteria dates back to the mid-1990s, when a small crew of skaters and builders crafted a pint-sized plaza of wooden ramps in the train station parking lot.

That City officials green-lit the effort was a good sign of bigger and better terrain to come. But the toughest questions remained: location and cost.

Fast forward a decade-plus: Diehards launched the Carpinteria Skate Foundation in 2009 to start fundraising, spearheaded by Peter Bonning, Jason Campbell and Jason Lesh. Above and beyond a fun place to ride, they wanted the park to be a “communal multigenerational space that could keep kids from falling through the cracks,” Peter remembers.

Fast forward another decade: With money in the bank, design plans in the works and a blessing from the city to take over the roller hockey rink, Carpinteria skaters could almost smell the earthy permanence of freshly poured concrete. Under blue skies and a cool breeze, at long last came that morning of August 26, 2023, when the ribbon was cut and hundreds of community members cheered.

“Sometimes when I go to the park, it feels like I’m on vacation in another town,” says Peter. “After all these years — it’s still sinking in.”

Carpinteria Skate Park is free and open to the public every day until 10 p.m. ♦ — Keith Hamm

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The Food of the People

THARIO’s Kitchen OPEN Wed. & Thurs. 3-8 pm Fri. & Sat. & Sun. 12-8 pm HAPPY HOUR Wed. thru Fri. 3-5 pm

Book your table today!

805-684-2209

3807 Santa Claus Lane, Carpinteria

DESIGN PRINT BIND DELIVER

805-684-0013 rockprint.com …EXCELLENT, BEAUTIFUL, AND FANTASTIC…ON TIME, AS PROMISED

4850A Carpinteria Avenue Carpinteria, CA 93013 WINTER2024 43

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INSPIRATION COMES FROM MANY PLACES. THE PRINTING COMES FROM US.

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Ray Gabaldón pays his respect with art.

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Gabaldón’s “little people” represent the victims who perished in the 2018 Montecito debris flow.

The Missing R AY G ABALDÓN’ S LOS T AND FOUND

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ong, thin and scarred, the nameless sculpted figures fashioned from burnt and tumbled pieces of driftwood and wood scraps that washed down to the sea after the Thomas Fire debris flows have been lovingly fashioned into holy figures by soft-spoken artist Ray Gabaldón. Each “little person” has been crafted in remembrance and in honor of the 23 people who lost their lives in the tragic event that took place on Jan. 9, 2018.

Shortly after the debris flow, Ray went to check on the damaged house of a friend in Montecito. The 74-yearold Carpinterian walked the beach on the 5-mile return

trip and found himself navigating through “furniture, clothes, shoes” that had washed out to the sea and were strewn on the sand. He discovered something powerful in the bits of flotsam and jetsam as he tried to make sense of the devastating events. A piece of wood that “looked like a head” caught his eye, and he put it in his back pocket as he made his way along the coast from Montecito to Carpinteria.

The next day Ray returned to find other pieces that had washed down to the beach that became elements for his first sculptures: a torso, an arm, a leg. His search mirrored WINTER2024 45

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that of the emergency personnel looking for the remains of the Montecito residents lost on that fateful day. Since then, he has returned regularly to the shore to collect pieces for his creations, and he doesn’t see an end to his search.

Ray, a retired printing press operator and proud “union man,” was born in a trailer in Albuquerque, New Mexico near the Rio Grande River. He moved to Los Angeles as a young child with his family. Years later, as a teen, he was involved in an accident that had lifelong impacts on his reading and writing skills. He and a friend were riding bikes when a head-on collision with a car put him in a coma for two weeks. “I worked hard all my life to cope—and worked my way through life,” he says. His wife of 42 years, Tona Wakefield also helped him with his reading writing and spelling skills. The couple purchased their woodsy 1931 home in 2003, after originally moving to Carpinteria to be closer to Tona’s parents on their 12-acre ranch.

Navajo and Mexican American, Ray credits his native ancestry to his spiritual connection to the figures he creates. (The Hopi are long known to infuse ancestor spirits in their Kachina dolls.) The thoughtful artist calls his figures “The Missing” and creates them in memory of, and in homage to, those lost. They range from 18 inches to 5 feet in height, and he’s crafted dogs to accompany some of his larger figures.

Bits of wrapped and pounded wire copper gleaned from Ray’s friend’s Gobernador Canyon house that burned down are added as adornment to some figures; others have other unique embellishments like twine 46 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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and prickly pods. Some figures take a day and a half to make while others take longer.

The introspective artist, whose maplined face greets everyone warmly, “senses” when they are finished: “They talk to me,” he says. “I feel it in my heart.”

Ray is currently working on larger 10and 12-foot pieces for an exhibition at The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts in Ojai that will run from May 4 to June 17, 2024.

Ray’s wife is also an artist who often works with him in their home studio, a converted garage. Their work is currently under consideration for the American Museum of Visionary Art in Baltimore.

“I also found a dozen shoes and want to make a memorial to the victims with those,” says Ray. The big-hearted artist has donated some of his pieces to auctions that have benefitted the Montecito Fire Department and the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center.

On Ray’s Instagram account, his figures are posed on the beach with the accompanying sounds of the waves and music tracks. They stand in pairs accompanied by Bobby Darin crooning “Dream Lover” and alone with “I Won’t Tell You I’m Lonely” sung by Alesia Carr.

Re-formed and staged in the place from whence they came, the worn pieces of wood are imbued with new life and give the viewer a deeper appreciation for what was lost as well as what has been found.

The Missing can be purchased at domencil in Victoria Court in Santa Barbara and Porch in Summerland. ♦ WINTER2024 49

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Ryan and Ashley Moore, owners of Sunburst Winery and Lucky Llama Coffee House.

Night and Day SUNBURST SHI NES I N CARPI NTERIA STORY B Y PE T E R DUGRÉ • PH OT OS BY E M I LY M E RRI LL

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elcome to Ryan and Ashley Moore’s front porch on the avenue. You can order a crisp American lager or a biodynamic Austrian Grüner, wear your blazer straight from the office or your fringed Kentuxedo, all while watching Carpinteria life flow like a lazy river.

Sunburst Wine Bar was conceived as a place that appeals to barefoot Carpinteria weekends. The Moores, having established nearby Lucky Llama Coffee House in 2012 and Heritage Goods and Supply in 2017, created Sunburst in 2021 in what has been a Carpinteriaconscious transformation of three businesses all within half a block.

“Ashley and I wanted to create a space that held the community in the same way as The Llama,” says Ryan, seated at a Sunburst picnic table, a comfortable occupant of his own skin with shoulder-length broom-straw hair and

matching beard under a bold blue-and-red, short-brimmed ball cap.

The name Sunburst and revamped signage and logo are holdovers from Sunburst Printers, which had occupied the building since the 1970s as a Carpinteria institution in the era of ink on paper. Ashley’s stepfather Scott Smigel owns the buildings that house all three businesses, a key opportunity in the Moores’ quest to reinvent the strip between Eugenia Way and Lucky Llama, a stretch that envelopes the unaffiliated Teddy’s by the Sea restaurant and its popular patio.

“With Sunburst, we wanted to preserve something in Carpinteria. We love the quirkiness and randomness of Carpinteria’s storefronts and architecture, so we wanted to create something new but keep the legacy intact,” says Ryan. “We also thought (the sign) was retro and cool.”

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OP ENI NG I NTERRU PT E D Recall that 2021 was an off year for gathering spaces like wine bars. The Moores had been prepping to open Sunburst for years and construction was completed. But their new business was classified as a bar and not allowed to open under COVID orders.

“We were frustrated. Everything was there, but we couldn’t open and just sat idle for months,” Ryan says.

Ryan still has night sweats from the early days in 2012 of opening the Llama, their original foray into business ownership — and coffee shops, for that matter. Lift off for the Llama was a seat-of-the-pants exercise that required days and nights of hands-on tending at a time when the couple had three young children at home.

They hopped into it with exuberance, got kicked around for a few months, course corrected on the fly and never looked back. After a couple of years, they found room to breathe, escaped on a hard-earned family vacation, and took a step back to

Erik Price pours a cold one.

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Erik Manfred shares his wisdom and wit.

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reflect on how the coffee house had gained a life of its own.

In 2021, with Sunburst lined up and ready to go and experience under their belts, the Moores knew what it was going to take to open, but an unrelenting pandemic stood in the way.

“We stubbornly moved forward despite barrier after barrier, and then, for my sanity, we went a little rogue and opened before we were supposed to,” says Ryan.

He recalls the first staff meeting. The directive for opening in such an unsure way was to simplify. “We basically said, ‘Put beer or wine in a glass and smile.’” Customers showed up and appreciated the new opportunity for fine wines and handcrafted brews curated into a casual indoor/outdoor space. “We wanted to make people feel halfway normal,” says Ryan.

C O M E FO R T H E W I N E, Y O UR B OY FRI END W I LL S TAY F O R T H E B EER When deciding on the Sunburst concept, the Moores asked the fundamental question, “What does Carp need?”

“We looked for a void to fill and to create something that has synergy with the rest of downtown,” Ryan says.

While wine enthusiasts, the Moores avoid falling into the wine snob category. Sure, they appreciate small-batch labels and on-trend offerings, and they look for long held European family vineyards where biodynamic farming was a way of life before it was a marketable thing. In addition to popular Ojai syrah by Chief Peak Vineyards and other standard selections, customers at Sunburst will find varietals they haven’t heard of and can’t pronounce.

They serve flights for wine tasters, and Sunburst bartenders know their way around a wine cellar along with the stories

on winemaking and terroir that contextualize how one experiences wine.

“It’s fun to nerd out on it and go deep on wine. We can do that and not be exclusive,” Ryan says. “We like the ag side and low intervention wines, but we’re casual and explore the wine world along with everyone else. It’s a huge topic.”

In particular, they don’t want to exclude the side of Carpinteria that prefers a cold IPA. “We wanted a place where the ladies can have an experience like the guys do at the breweries,” Ryan says. “Then their guy walks in and is like ‘Whoa, I’ll stay. You’ve got this beer I love.’”

H I TTI NG I TS STRI DE In summer 2022, Sunburst found its lane. Independent local bands, pop-up restaurant nights and carefully selected wine and beer lists began to draw in the crowds under the hazy strings of white patio lights. Bands playing on the corner — from bluegrass strings, to reggae beats and soulful jam sessions — enlivened Carpinteria Avenue.

Thursday happy hour and Friday meet ups captured the early crowd, and coupled with Rincon Brewery across the street and Teddy’s next door, the block has become a nexus of nightlife, pulling a share of the social scene around the corner from Linden Avenue.

“With all of our businesses, the vibe is super important to us,” Ryan says. The Moores borrowed inspiration from wine bars in the Santa Barbara Funk Zone and tap rooms in Ojai to dial in an atmosphere inviting enough for anyone to drop in. “We want a vibe where you’re going to find your aunt and uncle and old friends all in the same place like a melting pot of Carpinteria.” ♦

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DA N G BURGER B E LO N G S

From left, Gill Craddock and Emery Hickenbotham, the Dang Burger masterminds.

INGRID BOSTROM

Sunburst Wine Bar included a full kitchen from day one, but it wasn’t intended as a restaurant. In addition to a wine bar and taproom celebrating unique global wines and California craft brews, the kitchen was intended as a pop-up space to house chefs who love serving up their A game but lack a permanent restaurant. In its earliest days, Sunburst experimented with house-made grilled cheese, prosciutto and other lowkey pairings to share over a glass of wine and conversation.

Of all the pop-up-restaurant nights hosted at Sunburst, Dang Burger stood out for its crowd-pleasing, compatible vibe and hungry local following. In early 2023, Sunburst quietly underwent a backof-house upgrade in order to make a permanent restaurant-grade kitchen for Dang Burger to move in as the resident restaurant. There’ll be an interior window to order from Dang Burger, separate from the wine and beer bar. The simply delicious Dang Burger menu of three burger options and fries will be regularly served, and Dang Burger chef/owner/ operators Gill Craddock and Emery Hickenbotham will have a space to sling smash burgers with more opportunities to riff on their staple selections.

In addition to finding an in-house partner, Sunburst also plans to update its beer and wine license so the under 21 crowd is permitted on the premises. ♦

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Frank’s Bench at sunrise.

Ash-throated flycatcher.

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Franklin Trail Turns 10 W ORDS & PH OT OS BY CH UCK GRA H A M

The man-made landscape disappears a few miles back on Franklin Trail.

B

ack in 1971, long-time Carpinterian and U.S. military vet Bill Waltrip was on horseback patrolling the upper reaches of the Santa Ynez Mountains where the Franklin Trail converged with the craggy, rolling ridgetop.

In his post-military life, the highly decorated Marine worked for the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) from 1963 to 1983. Patrolling by truck or horseback in dense chaparral was Bill’s “dream job” after serving gallantly in World War II and the Korean War. Among many other things, Bill was responsible for capturing arsonist Pat Russ, wanted for starting the 1971 Romero Fire.

One of the trails Bill accessed while patrolling the LPNF was the Franklin Trail. He was arguably the last person to use the trail before it was washed out, then reclaimed by thick coastal sage scrub and as time went on, private land ownership. It wasn’t until 2010 that long-time Carpinterians Jane Murray and Bud Girard partnered to

create the nonprofit Friends of the Franklin Trail with the goal of reopening the once popular front-country route.

For three years Jane, Bud and several other committed volunteers fundraised, acquired easements with landowners, and organized trail crews for breaking ground, building new routes and reestablishing an overgrown trail.

The Franklin Trail opened in 2013.

“Raising the money was a big challenge,” recalls Jane when asked about the obstacles they faced. “It seemed that every time I reached a goal, there was another need, and the price went higher.”

Another challenge? “… climbing through the dense brush to find the best line for the trail on the single track,” Jane says.

As 2023 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Franklin Trail, Jane didn’t mince words when asked what comes to mind when she considers her history with Franklin. “Bud WINTER2024 57

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Jane Murray, who led the charge with Bud Girard to build Franklin Trail, enjoys the spoils of her hard work.

Fire crews work to extinguish hot spots after the Thomas Fire burned through Franklin Canyon and all the surrounding foothills.

Girard, and the vision we shared to open the historic trail for all to enjoy,” she says. “And we did it! The beautiful view of the coast, ocean, islands and Carpinteria Valley. It is awesome.”

As with any trail, Franklin will always be a work in progress. In its short 10 years, the route from Carpinteria to the ridge of the Santa Ynez Mountains has faced immense trials, some manmade and others caused by nature’s heavy blow.

First, it was the devastating Thomas Fire in December of 2017, quickly followed by the tragic debris flow in January of 2018. After that disaster, powerline reconstruction commenced. After a couple years of relative calm, the winter of 2022-2023 hammered away at the trail again.

Large swaths of Phase II and III suffered sweeping landslides and multiple downed trees.

“Franklin has been a huge success for the local trail community and especially the community of Carpinteria,” says Bryan Conant, executive director of the Los Padres Forest Association. “It’s an amazing accomplishment for Carp to resurrect that historic trail and then embrace and steward the trail over the past 10 years. The community success should be applauded and shared for other communities to emulate and replicate.”

Franklin Trail’s list of supporters is robust. Besides the steadfast Friends of the Franklin Trail, other groups and people of note include the Los Padres Forest Association, Franklin Trail Stewards, Montecito Trails Foundation, Santa Barbara County Trails Council, U.S. Forest Service Fire Crew, Rincon Riders, Green Thumb Familia, Ray Ford,

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Bear territory.

Franklin Trail turns single track and steep in its approach to the ridge of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

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T E N WAYS TO S H OW YO U R LOV E F O R F RA N K L I N T RA I L 1. KNOW YOUR PLACE. Horses and mules have the right of way. Bicycles yield to everyone. Downhill hikers and runners yield to uphill hikers and runners. Faster users yield to slower users.

2. DON’T RIDE OR HIKE WHEN TRAILS ARE MUDDY; it causes severe damage.

Wet ground, turn around.

3. DON’T TAKE SHORTCUTS. Erosion is the enemy of the trail. Shortcuts cause erosion and destroy native plant habitat.

4. BIKE WITH A BELL. Go slowly and say hello when passing.

5. DONATE TO THE TRAIL AND GET THE COOL BANDANA PICTURED ABOVE. Visit sbtrails.org/our-work/trail-projects/franklin trail/ to donate.

BANDANA ART: SANTA BARBARA COUNTY TRAILS COUNCIL

6. BE AWARE THAT YOU ARE SHARING THE TRAIL WITH WILDLIFE. Bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, rattlesnakes and ticks are all residents of the Carpinteria foothills and Santa Ynez Mountains.

7. RESPECT TRAIL NEIGHBORS. Franklin Trail borders Carpinteria High School and passes through multiple private properties.

Walk and ride only on designated trails.

8. THANK A TRAIL STEWARD. If you see someone working on the trail, let them know you appreciate their efforts.

9. DONATE TO TRAIL MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS with a gift to Santa Barbara County Trails Council or Montecito Trails Foundation.

10. PARTICIPATE IN FUN TRAIL EVENTS like the annual Franklin Trail Turkey Trot & Tread and the Island View Trail Run. ♦

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Coast live oak seedlings along mile 2 of the trail are sponsored by care-taking community members.

The bench at mile 2 offers another set of sweeping valley views.

Kim Fly, Bill Harz, Roger Brand, Rick Shade, Carl Stucky, Bill Horton, Marcell Persoon, Southern California Edison, Henckles and McCoy, Santa Barbara County Fire Heavy Equipment Division and Franklin Trailblazers. There have also been many hikers, mountain bikers and trail runners who have lent a helping hand along the trail.

“When one looks back at the last 10 years on the Franklin Trail, one thing stands out,” says Carpinterian John Culbertson, a retired firefighter, fire captain and manager, who has been integral to organizing volunteers and working to keep the Franklin Trail open. “More community members and groups have carried out the work than can be counted. It is truly a community trail.”

Some of the most difficult portions of the Franklin Trail to maintain are the upper region of Phase III, which is also part of the LPNF. Long traversing switchbacks lead to steep, south-facing mountain faces and gritty sandstone rock outcroppings. Following major weather events, just reaching parts of the trail in distress is a mission.

“Phase III of Franklin is not easy to maintain,” says Bryan. “It’s three miles of very steep and exposed southernfacing trail with difficult access from all directions. When it’s hot, you don’t want to be up there; it can be deadly.

When it’s wet, you can’t access Phase III without a long multi-hour hike in and out each day which is not efficient or practical. The ideal window for working Franklin is quite small compared to other trails, and as a result, it’s a beast to maintain for sure.”

Beastly as the Franklin Trail can be, it’s also arguably the most beautiful front-country route in Santa Barbara County, possessing stunning panoramas of the backcountry, Santa Barbara Channel, California’s Channel Islands and Carpinteria Valley. The native flora is rich, and the birdlife is abundant.

“The upper reaches of Franklin are some of the most beautiful trail in the Los Padres, and it has such a rich history of connecting with the backcountry,” continues Bryan. “A gem.” ♦ WINTER2024 61

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In the early 1900s, Franklin Canyon served as a popular picnic spot for Carpinterians.

F RA N K L I N T RA I L A L S O T U R N S 1 1 0 Carpinterians anticipated the opening of Franklin Trail with great excitement. Finally they would have an official route to hike and ride up from the valley along the chaparral-covered hillsides to the crest of the Santa Ynez Mountains and into the backcountry.

Public funding as well as private donations were necessary to design, plan and construct the trail and grant access to sweeping views of Carpinteria Valley, the sparkling Pacific and the Channel Islands.

Do you recall the thrill of the opening of Franklin Trail?

You couldn’t! It was 1913.

That’s right, the first Franklin Trail opened in 1913, after

a community campaign that closely resembled the one many contemporary Carpinterians participated in 100 years later.

The original Franklin Trail was among the initial trail building projects undertaken after the Santa Ynez Forest Reserve (which would later become Los Padres National Forest) was created in 1899. On March 7, 1913, The Carpinteria Valley News reported: “The new Franklin Trail is being pushed rapidly toward the top of the range. The construction crew has already passed the crest of the first range and the expectation is to have the work completed by April 1.”

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While the official trail’s history spans 110 years, Franklin Canyon’s history as a community gathering place stretches even further back in time.

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Franklin family generously welcomed friends and family to picnic, hike, camp and swim in the canyon creeks. Grown siblings Columbus, Gideon and Mildred Franklin had arrived in Carpinteria from North Carolina in 1876 and purchased properties in and around what would come to be known as Franklin Canyon.

Fourth of July picnics, school plays and other public events were held in the shaded canyon. The Woman’s Club, founded by a Franklin, installed picnic tables and benches. Children splashed in the creek, climbed the oaks, and scaled a large rock at the base of the canyon dubbed “Lovers’ Leap.”

In 1913, the opening of the official trail provided access up and over the ridge. For years, it was used by Carpinteria families camping, hiking and horseback riding. Most trail users in that era launched from Franklin Canyon, which was still private property. But in the late 1930s, the Franklin family closed access to community members after a fire broke out in the canyon that may have been ignited by picnickers. In the years that followed, the public reached the Franklin Trail via the nearby Edison road.

The U.S.’s involvement in World War II led to

backcountry closures, and later the Forest Service implemented fire season closures. In the mid-1900s, Cate School ended its horseback riding program, which had an impact on the trail’s upkeep. By the late 1970s, some of the landowners whose property was crossed by the trail closed public access due to concerns that a damaging soil disease would be tracked into their avocado groves by hikers and horses.

Carpinterians spent the next few decades mourning their lack of access to the foothills and mountains standing in their backyard. Then, in the early 2000s, three key property owners—the Hortons, the Persoons and the owners of Rancho Monte Alegre—all agreed to grant easements across their properties. This opened the door for a 21st century Franklin Trail, the one that has welcomed scores of hikers, cyclists and horseback riders every day for the last decade. ♦ - Lea Boyd In 2011, Roxie Grant Lapidus wrote a three-part series about the history of Franklin Trail in the Carpinteria Valley Historical Society’s newsletter, “The Grapevine.” The short history above is a much-abbreviated version of her extensively researched and highly detailed essays. If you’re interested in this type of local history, please consider becoming a member of the Carpinteria Valley Historical Society by visiting carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org

The Senteney family enjoys a leisurely outing in Franklin Canyon in the early 20th Century.

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FRANK’S OFFERS THE BEST VIEWS IN TOWN After the last of the grueling switchbacks that zig zag up mile 2 of Franklin Trail, a small plateau awaits hikers and bikers. Perched above the plateau to the west, alongside a coast live oak, is Frank’s Bench, a popular spot to catch your breath and take in the view to the edge of the world.

Longtime trail users may call this First Bench, though now it’s actually the third bench you pass on your way up. It’s a great destination for kiddos who are just realizing how strong their hiking legs are, or for anyone who wants to cool down and relax for a few moments after climbing nearly 700 vertical feet from the valley below.

And that’s why Frank Louda’s family decided to place a bench in his honor in that spot.

Frank, a well loved local contractor, passed away while surfing in 2008. A few years later, in the midst of the final fundraising push for Franklin Trail, his family sponsored a bench to support the trail-building effort and commemorate Frank, who had loved the outdoors. Frank’s son, Josh, remembers scouting the trail for the right spot, “We saw that oak and thought, that’s a really nice place; he would’ve loved that.”

The bench weighs in at several hundred pounds and was built by cutting a V-shaped slice out of a solid section of Monterey Cypress. After being sanded and sealed, it was placed in the back of Josh’s truck, driven up the fire road and hoisted next to the small oak that would become its lifelong companion.

But a few years later, Frank’s Bench and its oak tree nearly met their end when the Thomas Fire burned Franklin Trail to a crisp, leaving almost nothing but black embers between the avocado orchards and ridge.

Standing in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, Josh watched the fire crawl down the hillside and burn through the place where his dad’s bench sat. There was no way a wooden structure would survive that marching wall of fire.

It did though. Josh later learned that one of the last fire trucks to come down ahead of the flames had stopped at Frank’s Bench and covered the area in all its remaining fire retardant. That thoughtful act saved the bench, which was later found safe under the oak in the midst of a completely blackened, burned landscape.

Josh sands and reseals his dad’s bench periodically. He mountain bikes Franklin Trail regularly, and he knows that it would make his dad happy to be remembered by trail users, one in particular. ♦ - Lea Boyd

All but Frank’s bench burned in the Thomas Fire.

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From Frank's bench, Holly Lohuis takes in the Carpinteria Valley panorama.

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

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As Carpinteria natives and seasoned real estate professionals, Jon-Ryan and Sarah recognize and value the trust their clients place in them, and they work hard every day to exceed expectations.

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Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate.

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

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All information provided is deemed reliable but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it. We recommend that buyers make their own inquiries. Village Properties is an exclusive member of Forbes Global Properties. Forbes® is a registered trademark used under license.

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CON T RI B U T ORS I N GR I D B OST R OM

Ingrid Bostrom is perpetually squinting through her lens at faces and happenings throughout Santa Barbara County.

Bostrom has developed an affinity for photojournalism and the community connectedness it fosters. She freelances with Santa Barbara Independent, has a column named “Bosses by Bostrom” in Coastal View News, and jumps on opportunities to contribute to Carpinteria Magazine and other publications. She tends to emphasize light, levity, and open space as a beacon for a brighter and more hopeful world. Instagram: @ingridbostromphotography

MATT DAYKA

Matt Dayka is a Santa Barbara based travel and advertising photographer whose work has taken him around the globe. When he’s not behind a lens, he’s often found working underneath an old VW, hiking up a mountain or sleeping beneath the stars.

Website: mattdayka.com

A M Y M A R I E OR OZ C O

Writer Amy Marie Orozco often finds herself in the enviable position of taking a deeper dive into Carpinteria’s many restaurants. “Hands down, I prefer eating at them over writing about them,” she shares, “but what’s not to love about getting a behind-the-scenes look at where all these great meals come from?” Another enviable thing about Amy is she lives in the heart of town within walking distance of most eateries and drinkeries.

Email: amymarie@amymarieorozco.com

EMIL Y M ER R I L L

Emily Merrill is a commercial photographer based in Santa Barbara who photographs a wide array of advertising, corporate and fine art work. Her studio and environmental portraiture, along with her lifestyle campaign work, complement the fine art and experimental still life photography she brings to her clientele. When she’s not shooting, she’s a road tripper, cocktail enthusiast, perfume fanatic, hiker, voracious reader and animal lover.

Website: emilymerrill.com

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CON T RI B U T ORS

K EI T H HA M M

Keith Hamm is a writer in the Office of Public Affairs & Communications at (his alma mater) U.C. Santa Barbara, a former news reporter and editor for the Santa Barbara Independent, and the author of “Scarred for Life: Eleven Stories About Skateboarders” (Chronicle Books, 2004).

Instagram: @hamm_nation

L ESL I E A N D R EA W EST B R O O K

Award-winning freelance writer, author and California native Leslie Andrea Westbrook is also a fine art and antiques auction broker who assists private clients and trustees with the selling of individual items and entire estates. Recently, Leslie is happiest about the realization of her six-year long dream for a Latinx-themed mural in Carpinteria that she worked tirelessly to see manifest. This cheerful, celebratory mural, painted by M.B. Hanrahan was inaugurated this year on the front of Aliso Elementary School. Website: auctionliaison.com

PET ER D UGR É

Peter Dugré loves a strong cup of coffee, a good glass of wine and the opportunity to write about both in his second favorite town, Carpinteria. He reserves the number one spot for La Conchita, where he lives with his family.

Most days he can be found in his Carpinteria Avenue office writing, problem-solving and distilling ideas on behalf of his Two Trumpets Communications clients.

Email: peter@two-trumpets.com

C HUC K GR A HA M

Carpinteria has been a fantastic base for freelance writer and photographer Chuck Graham for 30 years. During those three decades he’s also been a beach lifeguard on the City Beach and leads kayak tours at the Channel Islands National Park. His third book hit the streets in November 2023, entitled “Paddling into a Natural Balance, Stories of Kayaking and Conservation around Channel Islands National Park.”

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FINAL FRAME

S PI N CYCL E The first Ferris wheel was constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. for Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. Most Carpinterians will take one look at this photo

and know immediately that this Ferris wheel was constructed on Linden Avenue for the 37th

Annual California Avocado Festival. That’s where photographer Ingrid Bostrom pointed her lens above the crowd to capture a sherbet-tinged spin in the sunset. 

PHO T O BY I N GR I D B OSTROM

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