Mexico surrounds all those growing up in Southern California and is an integral part of our identities. It was in my blood—from the Spanish names of the streets I frequented with friends, to the names of cities we called our own—Santa Barbara, Hermosa Beach and San Juan Capistrano. Even the songs I learned as a child, such as the famous Eagles’ song Hotel California, my first taco, and my favorite restaurant all drew their heritage from Mexico. (I used to beg my parents to take me to “The Tijuana Inn.”) Then there was my first real surfing trip and my first beer—at Hussongs Cantina in Ensenada, Baja California.
Don’t listen to the news—listen to your heart. We welcome you to our world here in La Paz, the City Of Peace, where you’ll live better, you’ll sleep better, you’ll feel better, and most of all, you’ll live longer. Welcome!
How it all started:
My uncle Carl Knudsen was my inspiration. At the turn of the century
Uncle Carl, my Aunt Elizabeth and Grandmother Helga embarked on a journey
across the Atlantic Ocean from Denmark to a new life, bringing with them
the dream of opening a dairy that would utilize dairy by-products wasted
by existing American dairies—buttermilk, cottage cheese—and later—yogurt.
The slogan “The Very Best” became synonymous with their Knudsen Creamery.
Uncle Carl passed away before I was able to know him but Aunt Elizabeth spent
many hours at my side encouraging me to become who I am today. She instilled in me the belief that I could also be successful.
Beginning in the early 80s I enjoyed a successful run in the real estate lending and development business and then, in 1995, opened the first and only brewery/restaurant in Newport Beach, California—Newport Beach Brewing Co—now a landmark restaurant.
Even though it still exists today, I felt it was time to enjoy life a little more.
In the year 2000, after two years of searching in all of Mexico, I fell in love with La Paz.
The rest is history. Along with my brother Hugh—and Aunt Elizabeth’s encouragement
in my heart—I headed south of the border to Baja California. I started with “Las Brisas Villas,”
a vacation rental complex, and recently purchased “SeaScape Charters,” a Baja California
bareboat charter operation created to showcase what Jaques Coustou called
“the World’s Aquarium”—The Sea of Cortez.