Berkeley Kite Festival

As I was planning things for us to do here in California, I came across a website called Everfest that lets you look up the festivals in your area and will even send you reminders when those events are coming up. I had fond memories of attending the Avodcado Festival with the Newcamps years ago and thought we could check some out.

Dan has recently received a kite as a gift, and has been wanting to better learn how to use it (it's fancy, don't ask me), so I thought he might like this kite festival in Berkeley. It turns out everyone likes the kite festival in Berkeley, and it's FREE (except for parking). It was seriously crowded. I wish we could have ridden bikes from near-by because the parking was far away and the lines for the shuttle were long!

We didn't arrive until about 3pm on Sunday but the events were in full swing. There were tons of kites in the sky, from a little kid's plastic CVS kite, to giant squid kites. The event is in a big field overlooking the city with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge from some directions. I unfortunately, brought a camera with no memory card (face-palm) so iPhone photos is all we've got. We brought our folding Mayfly chairs which were perfect, but a blanket would have been good too. There was plenty of space to plop down and watch the main events, and eat some festival food. The did have a tent that sold mangos and other fruit that was cut up right in front of you. It was a nice change from the usual fried food.

We only stayed for about two hours, but honestly, it was enough for us to enjoy it. This is a great event for kids, make sure you bring them a kite to fly. You can bring an all-terrain stroller, but you might be happier with backpacks for little kiddos.

Next year,  I would be there when it opens on Saturday and leave around lunch time, head to Berkeley Bowl to get lunch and check out their famously large produce section, and then combine with one of the museums on the Blue Star Museums pass this summer (there are three, go here to check it out) or a walk around the UC Berkeley campus which I hear is very nice.

P. S. It's hard to communicate the number of kites with a simple iPhone photo, so don't be turned off by these pictures. The sky was literally full of kites. It was very cool. We watched some kite dancing which was also impressive.

Happy Exploring!

Bethany

Palm Springs

The first weekend in December we joined my mom at a conference just outside Palm Springs at the La Quinta Resort & Club.

It proved to be a wonderfully relaxing weekend. The resort features 200 some pools and hot tubs that were all set at the perfect temperature for the chilly weather the Santa Anna Winds had blown into Palm Springs.

Friday we checked out the resort making good use of the gym and walking trails, the pools and the small basketball court just behind the waterfall. The afternoon found us all in a rousing croquet match (which I won!). We stuck to the property for dinner trying out Twenty6. Twenty6 features a menu reminiscent of a dinner - they even have a meal that comes out on a divided TV tray. Don't be confused this place produces gourmet food. They also offered a wide selection of specialty non-alcoholic drinks such as the no-hijto - which somehow tasted just like the real thing!


Saturday I started the day at the Spa La Quinta for a pre-natal massage. It was one of the most relaxing places ever with a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces to be enjoyed between treatments.

After grabbing lunch at Louise's Pantry, a little cafe just outside the LaQuinta Resorts gates we headed into downtown Palm Springs for a performance of the Nutcracker at the Palm Springs Art Museum. The Desert Dance Company has been perofrming the Nutcracker in Palm Springs for 15 years. It is a strange mix of professional ballet and dance recital. There were several stunning performances and several equally as disastrous ones. There is also the introduction of a new "french maid" character in the opening scene which just got everything off on the wrong note. Regardless, it was a fun holiday activity.

The 3pm show ended just in time for us to catch the start of the Palm Springs Festival of Lights Parade. The parade is three hours of Christmas lit cars, balloons and local bands marching the mile long main drag. We were fortunate enough to have dinner reservations at a place we could see the parade from - by the time desert arrived the final lit snow plow was making its way down the road.


Sunday we went to early chuch at St Francis of Assisi Church, grabbed coffee and a bagel at Panera and then drove my mom to the Ontario airport.

Just after dropping her off, we stopped for gas and our car battery died. Fortunately there was an auto-zone across the street and a Cronic Taco in the plaza. Before the tow truck could arrive we had the battery replaced, we were fed and back on our way home. Just another road trip adventure I suppose!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Oxnard Strawberry Festival

Every May Oxnard hosts their annual Strawberry Festival. It always seems to fall on my birthday weekend and since our arrival at Edwards we've always had plans preventing us from attending. So you could say it was on our proverbial Edwards bucket list. This year, although it was tightly sandwiched between business trips, we were able to attend. On top of that, in the last six months our friends from Dayton, OH have moved out to Point Mugu enabling us to combine the Strawberry Festival with a much overdue visit to Mr. & Mrs. M and their two adorable children.

I'm not going to lie, the Strawberry Festival was a bit of a let down. (As was the Avacado Festival in Carpenteria and the Poppy Festival in Lancaster.) I suspect it is because I have high standards for "festivals." In Georgia the Vidilia Onion Festival, for example, shuts down the whole town. Streets are closed and filled with every type of handmade craft, kids ride and Onion treat that you can imagine. When your at the Vidilia festival you know there are lots of people around, but you never feel crowded. The Strawberry Festival, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. The park and surrounding streets were cordoned off, but then the booths were arranged into a labyrinth - we frequently found ourselves in a dead end with hundreds of other people trying to turn around. Food booths were randomly grouped so that lines ran into the entertainment seating area. Although they have been holding the festival for a long time, it doesn't feel like they have their act together.

It is not all bad though, the fair has a great shuttle system that utilizes the school buses and several shopping center parking lots. We used the free shuttle, instead of paying $10 to park right at the fairgrounds, and found it convenient and quite fun. The shuttles were always there and drop off right at the gate. We were revealed not to be sitting in traffic.

The festival is held smack dab in the middle of the strawberry harvest - everywhere you look there are strawberries being picked. We were able to stop at some road side stands and pick up fresh berries - or you can buy them from the growers right at the festival.

The highlight of our trip was the Kashi/Burts Bees booth where after tasting a variety of products and learning about "7 whole grains on a mission" we were given a gift bag with all sorts of goodies from Kashi and Burts Bees. It was well worth our stop at the fair.

If Strawberries were your main reason for attending the fair - you would not be disappointed. There were strawberry nachos (pictured above), strawberry pizza, strawberry shortcake and strawberry parfaits .. if you could find them. It was hard to find the strawberry treats as they weren't labeled particularly well, but once you found them you were sure to enjoy them.

We stayed for about 2 hours - if we had kids with us we probably could have managed another hour with all the free kids activities. Bottom-line - its worth checking out if your already in the area. My advice would be to combine this trip with another activity in the area or with a visit to friends. You can overnight at Point Mugu and head out to the Channel Islands in the morning, go hiking in the hills or head to the beach.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cherry Picking in the Leona Valley

June is Cherry Picking Time!

Two weekends ago I was looking for a family friendly activity. My parents and sister were visiting and we could not decide what to do with the day until we discovered that it was Cherry season.

The Leona Valley is only an hour from Edwards (Take CA-14 to exit 35 for CA-138 and keep right at the fork toward Lake Hughes.) There are at least 12 cherry orchards to pick from (no pun intended.) A complete list can be found through the Leona Valley Cherry Grower's Association.

We decided to visit Amber's Cherries. Amber's Cherries had a vairety of cherry trees including my sisters favorite, rainier cherries. Each tree was marked on the trunk to tell you what type of cherry was growing - unfortuantly we never fully figured out the system. Regardless, we spent an hour filling our baskets with cherries and hatching a plan to make cherry pie when we got home.

Not to stray to far from family tradition, we stumbled upon the Leona Valley Winery. They were technally closed, having just had their Rock the Fault Line Vineyard Celebration the night before, but they served us anyway. The tasting room was a little barn set up on the far side of the property where we enjoyed the company of the vineyards golden retriever while we sampled the wines.

The hour drive home was punctuated with a search for a cherry pitter and pie-crust. Unfortuantly Target was completly sold-out, Albertsons' does not carry cherry-pitters and no one on base could track theirs down. So.. Jeff and My mom hand pitted the cherries for the pie. At the end of the day there is nothing quite as tasty as a pie you picked the cherries for yourself.

My mother sent us a cherry pitter as soon as she got home.. so when you go cherry picking next season you are welcome to borrow ours!

Thursday Nights on the Square

One of the perks of working at NASA is I find out about lots of fun community events that NASA will be participating in. This summer Palmdale, CA is again hosting Thursday Nights on the Square. From 5:30 - 9pm on July 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and August 6, 13 & 20 you can enjoy an open-air market, live entertainment, arts & crafts and free activities for children. NASA's education department will also be there with the discovery dome!

For more information please visit The City of Palmdale's webpage.