If you're not looking for it, Carpinteria, an hour and a half north of Los Angeles, is the kind of place you'd fly right by. Tucked between marquee names like Ventura and Santa Barbara, this quiet little beach town is, well, a quiet little beach town. And when you pull off the 101 freeway onto Casitas Pass Road, the first thing you see is McDonald's. Then a strip mall. Then the Chase Bank. Carpinteria, in other words, keeps its charms tucked away.