Vacations Blog

The view of Flagstaff from the top of Mars Hill.

Last weekend my husband had to work up in Flagstaff, AZ, about two and a half hours north of our home in Chandler. I availed myself of the opportunity for a free hotel room, and drove up to join him on Friday night.

Saturday I set out to explore the lovely city of Flagstaff. I wanted to enjoy the wonderful fall weather to its fullest, so I decided a bit of hiking was in order. After perusing the area map provided to me by the hotel, I found one of the entrances to the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS, pronounced “foots”).

Read More »

My regular readers reader knows that I’ve written once or twice about my home town of Clayton.  Well, I would be dreadfully remiss in my “representin” duties if I did not blog about our annual Oktoberfest.

This year’s Oktoberfest was held on the weekend of September 26-27. Yea, I know. Don’t ask me. I guess all the weekends in October were spoken for. Whatever. In fairness though, that other Oktoberfest actually begins mid-late September, and ends in early October, so I guess we Claytonites just decided to jump right into the middle of the whole brew-ha-ha.  Get it??

*crickets*

Read More »

The kids are all wet at Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada, is a great getaway for everyone. Seriously, how fun does this look?

Let’s go with very.

(Photo by Lisa Romano)

The Cody Nite Rodeo Arena

Of all the places we visited during our Epic Summer Road Trip, one of our favorite towns was Cody, Wyoming. Cody is located 53 miles from the East Entrance into Yellowstone National Park, making it an ideal jumping-off point for day trips into the park. But there are plenty of interesting things to do in the town itself, making it a great vacation destination in its own right.

A cowboy at the Cody Nite Rodeo, hanging on!

The second night we were in town, we attended the Cody Nite Rodeo. Since Cody is appropriately named “The Rodeo Capital of the World”, we figured this was one event we couldn’t miss. This rodeo is performed every single evening from June 1st through August 31st, every year since 1938.

Read More »

As previously mentioned, the family spent a little time in Tennessee earlier this month. Admittedly, most of the time was spent taking full advantage of my in-laws lake front home. I couldn’t find much to complain about, what with the gourmet meals, nightly karaoke (Much to my surprise I discovered that I’m a mic hog) and instant access to all variety of lake activities. The boy learned how to bait a hook and spent many an hour paddling around trying to land a biggin, while the girl morphed into a mermaid, coming out only for meals and to text her friends back home.

But in an effort to get acquainted with our southern surroundings, we did venture out to explore one of the local sites. In the city of Crossville stands what some of the locals refer to as God’s tree house.

Read More »

Have you ever found yourself in a place or predicament of sorts and wondered…”Self!  What in the Wide-wide World of Sports is a-goin’ on with your good senses?!”  Well, I have.  On countless occasions.

But his particular occasion was on the Rockcastle River.  Set deep in the lush, humid, Kudzu infested hills of, Rockcastle County, Kentucky.  One of those places so beautiful and peaceful, a fella could stay there for days and days and days.  Until the Banjo music starts playing too close for comfort, that is.  When that happens, one must take to the River.  And even then……all bets are off.

The phone rang very early in the a.m., and my friend Towley said “You ready for this?”.  To which I responded, in my best John Wayne voice, “Let’s saddle up, Pilgrim.”  And off we went.  South.  The wind whistling over the boats anchored, hopefully securely, to the tops of the automobiles and no Idea what was in store for us.

The Rockcastle River is a Kentucky State protected river

A false sense of Calm

so access to a put in is few and far between.  My copy of “A Canoe and Kayaking Guide to Kentucky“, says that if one so desires, to shorten the trip, one has access via “the old Howard Place”.  This put-in allows quick access to the class III, VI, and sometimes V rapids that we had no business being on.  We wanted no part of that though.  We wanted the Long, 20 mile trip.  What fools we were.  It would have been better to take our beatings early and be gone.  Like ripping off a Band-Aid.  But no.  We had to paddle, after putting in at the Rockcastle Adventure Canoe Livery, the eight miles of slack, sometimes (but very seldom) Class I chutes.  Fools, I tell you brothers and sister.  Fools.

I have to take pause here to mention the fine People at

No banjo music at all, oddly enough

Rockcastle Adventure Canoe Livery.  Nice folks.  And informative.  John, the owner, took us in the “shed” and gave us a look via an old USGS map, of what we had to look forward to.  John grinned as we took in the Canoe outside that had been twisted around a tree down stream where we would find ourselves in a few short hours.  “We found that’un there just last week,” he remarked.  Awesome.

We said our goodbyes to John, donned our helmets (you will need helmets.  steak tastes so much better when you don’t have to pulse it in a Blender first) dressed in our PFDs (this equipment, too, is a must.  unless you can hold your breath a very, very long time) and shot out into the calm, olive waters.

The rest, well, was just Highballs with the Devil.

This is the part when you get Wet

Note: This river is foul tempered, friends and neighbors.  Do not make the mistake of being ill-prepared here.  Please, please, pretty-please wear a helmet and a proper PFD (personal flotation device).  After the first “wet exit”, you’ll thank me. Also, there are many blind turns along the way.  Scouting is advisable.  And portaging is always acceptable.

All photos by Charles A. Downs III

I spent the better part of last Tuesday’s lunch hour checking out the Concord Farmers’ Market in Todos Santos Plaza.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you’ve probably noticed these outdoor grocery stores popping up all over the place.  In addition to Concord you can hit Farmers’ Markets in Clayton, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and dozens of other Bay Area cities.

Read More »

(photo courtesy of Clayton.com- All other photos by Joe Romano)

I recently introduced you to Clayton, CA, a small town in the shadow of Mt. Diablo. 

After many years of political wrangling, Clayton finally managed to move forward with its plans for The Grove Park, which is now a focal point for many of Clayton’s downtown activities. 

Situated between Main St., Center St. and old Marsh Creek Rd, the park is home to what was once a huge orchard of Eucalyptus trees, referred to by locals simply as “the grove.” As a kid I spent many a 4^th of July in the grove. Residents would gather there after the traditional 4^thof July parade to enjoy barbequed corn-on-the-cob, hot dogs and watermelon. There were greased pole climbing contests and other great activities. Nowadays the grove is home to a local farmers market and some fabulous evening concerts. Saturday night Lisa and I took in local act, Mamaluke. 

Billed as one of “the Bay Area’s premier classic rock dance bands,” Mamaluke was also one of two finalists in KFOX radio’s “Last Band Standing” competition. Adding to their local roots, two members, lead singer Kenny Byers and guitarist Chris Rossi, graduated from Clayton Valley High School. And, to drill-down even further on the local slant, I was in Mr. Almond’s 5^thgrade class with Chris Rossi, and worked at Skipolini’s Pizza with Kenny Byars. Did any of this earn me a guest vocal during last night’s show?  Performance fail! 

Nevertheless, take one warm summer night, mix in a pitcher of sangrias and one of Skipolini’s famous pies, and top off with some great rock and roll; result - a guaranteed great time. All of Clayton’s local eateries literally surround The Grove, and all of them offer food to go. Or you can even save a few bucks and bring your own picnic.

There’s also the Clayton Store on the south end of the park for those last minute snack and beverage purchases. I’d suggest arriving a little early to stake out a nice spot on the lawn. Throw out a blank, have a beverage and a snack, read and enjoy the sunshine before show time. 

The Grove Park also has a playground and plenty of room to run, so Concerts in the Grove is definitely a kid-friendly event.

To check out upcoming concerts, click here –>  Concerts in the Grove – 2009  <— there.

The Grove Park
Main St. and Marsh Creek Rd.
Clayton, CA, 94517