Local Boy Clint Eastwood Scores Big at the Box Office with Gran Torino.

When you live in Carmel, you expect ex-Mayor and exemplary Carmelite Clint Eastwood to perpetually raise the bar with every new project. He, along with dazzling yet down-to-earth wife Dina. does it in our podunk paradise of a community with his generous financial and emotional support for worthy causes. He does it creatively in a myriad of intriguing ways, from his business acumen to jazz musicianship. And now, this weekend’s boffo box office set a new personal best at the North American box office on Sunday as ” Gran Torino “ raced to No. 1.

Hint: Oscar nomination ballots are due shortly.

The quirky drama, in which the 78-year-old actor/director plays a grumpy old man who takes on some neighborhood thugs Dirty Harry-style, earned $29 million during the three days beginning Friday, Warner Bros . Pictures said, beating out the Kate Hudson/Anne Hathaway bridezilla chick-flick Bride Wars.

The Top Destinations in the US: Did Your Town Make the List?

For the past 21 years, Conde Nast Traveler has asked its travel-savvy readers to weigh in on the best destinations, lodgings and transportation in the world. The 2008 Readers Choice Awards have just been announced.

I am proud to say that my hometown, the eco-paradise of Carmel, California, ranks #6 on the list of Top Cities in the U.S., behind San Francisco, Charleston, S.C., New York City, Santa Fe, and Chicago.

Here’s the word from Conde Nast Traveler: The 21st annual Readers’ Choice Awards is really a double celebration: It is not only an award for the destinations, lodgings, and modes of transportation that manage to exceed our expectations, it is also a credit to the worldly expertise of Condé Nast Traveler readers—passionate travelers for whom no island is too remote, no city too challenging, no hotel too untested. Winners all! Guru’s Note: An astonishing 32,633 readers participated in the annual survey, with more than 1,000 travel experiences rated and ranked.

Click here for more information on travel to the Monterey Peninsula from Conde Nast’s concierge.com.

Guru’s Note: I invite you to visit one of the most droolworthy places in the world. Stay at our eco-luxe hotels in Big Sur; gawk at the white wave views from the Highlands Inn; tuck yourself in under a quilt at one of the adorable cottage-y B & B’s in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Romp on our white sand beach with your soon-to-soggy pup and afterwards, the two of you can take tea and treats at Doris Day’s dog-friendly Cypress Inn. Stop by Mission Ranch for dinner, where you might spot owner Clint Eastwood hanging around the sing-along piano bar. True to his legendary movie hero style, the former mayor rescued the historic property from the condominium developer’s wrecking ball back in 1986.

Next day, leave the fog behind and meander out in your rented convertible to laze away an afternoon on sunny Carmel Valley Road. Marvel at the grace of the horses galloping by and sample a glass of prized, organic wine at Heller Estates Tasting Room, domain of talented winemaker, Rich Tanguay. The next day, golf at legendary Pebble Beach and genuflect to the memory of the masters, present and future. Stay at one of Pacific Grove’s gingerbread Victorians and fall asleep to the sound of seals barking. Get your hands wet in the Splash Zone at the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

But then please, mosey on home. We natives love that the Peninsula is podunk. We love that much of what passes for civilization, especially strip malls and traffic jams, is 60 miles to the north. We love that Carmel Valley Road is littered not with cans or wrappers but rather with homemade cardboard signs that say ‘Happy Birthday, Sweetie, We Love You” and “Carmel Fire Fighters Rock.” We love that you love our little award-winning town. Now go home.

The Big Sur Basin Wildfires: Update from the Land of Soot, Smoke and Red Sun.

We came home last night to discover soot all over the deck and a bright red sun sending mad, shimmery beams of crimson down below. As we watched this fiery freak show, the thick brown fog rose, swirled and swallowed the sinking sun in one smoky gulp. Very Sci-Fi Channel. Like Mars over the Monterey Peninsula.

So far the Basin Fires in neighboring Big Sur have burned 39,606 acres and 16 homes, with 1200 more being threatened. More than 700 firefighters, 6 helicopters, two air tankers and 46 engines are hard at work fighting the blaze. This part of the world –Carmel and Big Sur, especially, is very six degrees: we’re a small, close-knit community where everybody knows someone who is a firefighter or someone who lives on Partington Ridge or Palo Colorado.

Funny how the maps they show on the evening news always seem so distant — until the roads they’re pointing to are the roads that lead to your home.

Photographs courtesy of Katie Carroll