THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
Free things to do with children in the Antelope Valley was the theme of my guest appearance on the local Time/Warner cable show. Lori Brown, the host, was a kind, professional television reporter. She and I chuckled over the picture of the cabbit I brought, but then time ran out and we didn’t get to show it. If you want to see what a cabbit looks like, go back to the picture page on my website.
For places to visit, I mentioned Apollo Park, Milestones of Flight Museum and Fox Field, all on the west side of Lancaster.
But, I added, there’s so much more including the twilight walk at my favorite place, the Prime Desert Woodland, in Lancaster.
When asked how to get to Randsburg, I had a menopause moment because I couldn’t think of the route immediately. I recovered by saying, “It’s in the book!” As our the hundreds of other free things to do with your children this holiday season. Explore and enjoy!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
NOW THERE’S MORE TO WINE ABOUT
We can never have too many tasting rooms in the Antelope Valley. We may not have the appeal of the Napa region, but with the opening of the Leona Valley Winery tasting room, we are coming one place closer.
The tasting room, open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 am until 6 pm, is locate inside of Zuma's Italian Restaurant at 2701 Sierra Highway in Rosamond, just three blocks south of Rosamond Boulevard.
The tasting room will offer a variety of selections including wine tastings, bottles for sale as well as a specialized menu of delicious foods to pair with your wines.
Help to support your local winegrowers!
We can never have too many tasting rooms in the Antelope Valley. We may not have the appeal of the Napa region, but with the opening of the Leona Valley Winery tasting room, we are coming one place closer.
The tasting room, open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 am until 6 pm, is locate inside of Zuma's Italian Restaurant at 2701 Sierra Highway in Rosamond, just three blocks south of Rosamond Boulevard.
The tasting room will offer a variety of selections including wine tastings, bottles for sale as well as a specialized menu of delicious foods to pair with your wines.
Help to support your local winegrowers!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
We're not a pretty place
“We’re not a pretty place,” I told members of the Valencia Newcomers’ Club. “You pass through the Antelope Valley to get to the other tourist destinations. But next trip make time to see all we have to offer.”
Among the sights mentioned were the petroglyphs – the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the Western Hemisphere. They’re still intact because they’re on a military base. If you are interested I gave them the source for all the information they’ll need -- San Andreas Ain’t No Fault of Mine.
When it came to pictures, they were enthralled at the variety of places within the Antelope Valley. The only thing that gave them pause? The cabbit. “Of course it’s real,” I insisted. “It was captured by Chris at Sunset Design.”
My husband bravely sat through all the chatter at our table, even when one of the women said, quite solemnly, “ I took an oath before God never to cook again.” That’s my kind of woman. Will you mentor me, I asked. Husband only rolled his eyes. It was such a great day.
Among the sights mentioned were the petroglyphs – the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the Western Hemisphere. They’re still intact because they’re on a military base. If you are interested I gave them the source for all the information they’ll need -- San Andreas Ain’t No Fault of Mine.
When it came to pictures, they were enthralled at the variety of places within the Antelope Valley. The only thing that gave them pause? The cabbit. “Of course it’s real,” I insisted. “It was captured by Chris at Sunset Design.”
My husband bravely sat through all the chatter at our table, even when one of the women said, quite solemnly, “ I took an oath before God never to cook again.” That’s my kind of woman. Will you mentor me, I asked. Husband only rolled his eyes. It was such a great day.
Monday, November 12, 2007
BOOK SIGNING AT THE
Antelope Valley Winery
Holiday Open House, Music Festival & Sale
Saturday, November 17th, 12 to 3 PM
20th Street West & Avenue M
Most book signings are ordinary events, but not at the Antelope Valley Winery.
For the past three years I’ve been privileged to be invited to set up a table and tell people about all there is to see and do in the Antelope Valley.
While I’m selling and signing SAN ANDREAS AIN’T NO FAULT OF MINE, I’m being serenaded by the dulcet tones of Marc Macisso who also plays a wonderful sax. This year he’ll be joined by Joan Enguita.
Try to keep your mind focused while they’re barbecuing because the luscious aroma of buffalo burgers, buffalo dogs or wild boar sausage sandwiches with a side of buffalo chile wafts our way. Yummy. Lunch is only $5.
And since we’re at a winery, do join me in tasting the new release of 2005 vintage wines. The wine tasting is a bargin at $5 which includes a free 16 oz logo glass.
If meeting me was not enough to brighten your day, Cecil McLester, winemaker will be there as will my favorite clown, Riki-Tiki.
Do come by and say hello.
Bonnie Stone
Antelope Valley Winery
Holiday Open House, Music Festival & Sale
Saturday, November 17th, 12 to 3 PM
20th Street West & Avenue M
Most book signings are ordinary events, but not at the Antelope Valley Winery.
For the past three years I’ve been privileged to be invited to set up a table and tell people about all there is to see and do in the Antelope Valley.
While I’m selling and signing SAN ANDREAS AIN’T NO FAULT OF MINE, I’m being serenaded by the dulcet tones of Marc Macisso who also plays a wonderful sax. This year he’ll be joined by Joan Enguita.
Try to keep your mind focused while they’re barbecuing because the luscious aroma of buffalo burgers, buffalo dogs or wild boar sausage sandwiches with a side of buffalo chile wafts our way. Yummy. Lunch is only $5.
And since we’re at a winery, do join me in tasting the new release of 2005 vintage wines. The wine tasting is a bargin at $5 which includes a free 16 oz logo glass.
If meeting me was not enough to brighten your day, Cecil McLester, winemaker will be there as will my favorite clown, Riki-Tiki.
Do come by and say hello.
Bonnie Stone
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Finding Beauty in Boron, CA
I never thought I'd enjoy visiting Boron, CA. After all, the first time I was there was in the hottest summer on record when the one main street sizzled and the air seemed coated with beige dust.
But all that changed when we went for the 50th anniversary of the 20 Mule Team Days on October 6, 2007. It was a cool autum day. The mules were hitched to a wagon that dated back to the 1880s.
More than a century ago, 20-mule teams labored across Death Valley hauling borax over the steep Panamint Mountains to Mojave, the nearest railroad terminal, 165 miles away. Most older Americans remember Death Valley Days a weekly television show that ran from 1952 to 1970 with hosts such as Ronald Reagan, who went on to be Governor of California and then President of the United States, and entertainers Robert Taylor, Dale Robertson and Merle Haggart.
Bobby Tanner of Bishop trained the mules to pull one of the original wagons built in 1882 to carry ten tons of borax. When not in parades, the Mojave-built wagon is on display behind the plexiglass replicas of the team across the road at the Borax Visitor Center for Rio Tinto Minerals. www.borax.com
The parade, which began at 10 a.m., was definitely small town. It was a delight to see the home-made floats, vintage cars and high school band. It only lasted about an hour. About the time it got warm, members of the local Baptist Church showed up handing out bottles of water.
Randy Smith, event chairman, told us to get there early to find a place to park. Instead we went to view the hitching of the mules and then backtracked into town. There was no problem finding a place to park. The parade started at Boron High School and then traveled down Twenty Mule Team Road.
While we were in Boron, we visited two rather quaint museums. The Twenty Mule Team Museum, at 26962 Twenty Mule Team Road, displays a collection of historic items from the hey-day of mining. Do not expect a museum like the Getty. This is a small house that holds relics from the past. www.20muleteammuseum.org
Next door is the Colonel Vernon P. Saxon jr. Aerospace Museum. www.saxonaerospacemuseum.org We found displays on the history of flight at Edwards AF Base, Pancho Barnes photos, and Boeing and Lockheed Martin displays. Both museums have gift shops.
After the parade, there was a fair at Boron Park located at the corner of Boron Avenue and John Street where we were treated to a wild west show, bands, food booths, vendors, rides and poker runs for cars and motorcycles.
We stopped for a tasty lunch -- all right, to be honest, for the frosty margaritas -- at Domingos. www.domingos.com Marvelous Mexican food at a great price. It took me a few sips to realize that we were sitting in what had been a garage!
Before we left the area, we made time to see the Borax Visitor Center for Rio Tinto Minerals. www.borax.com The view into the largest open pit mine in California is awesome. There’s a short film on history, global mining and extensive uses of borax.
Directions: From Los Angeles take the 14 north to Mojave, then 58 east (Barstow). Drive east about 31 miles to exit 193 or Twenty Mule Team Road. Continue east six miles on 20 Mule Team Road to downtown Boron. For a complete list of motels and restaurants in Boron go to www.bonniedstone.com
Bonnie D. Stone is the author of San Andreas Ain’t No Fault of Mine, a fun and fact-filled guide to the Antelope Valley.
But all that changed when we went for the 50th anniversary of the 20 Mule Team Days on October 6, 2007. It was a cool autum day. The mules were hitched to a wagon that dated back to the 1880s.
More than a century ago, 20-mule teams labored across Death Valley hauling borax over the steep Panamint Mountains to Mojave, the nearest railroad terminal, 165 miles away. Most older Americans remember Death Valley Days a weekly television show that ran from 1952 to 1970 with hosts such as Ronald Reagan, who went on to be Governor of California and then President of the United States, and entertainers Robert Taylor, Dale Robertson and Merle Haggart.
Bobby Tanner of Bishop trained the mules to pull one of the original wagons built in 1882 to carry ten tons of borax. When not in parades, the Mojave-built wagon is on display behind the plexiglass replicas of the team across the road at the Borax Visitor Center for Rio Tinto Minerals. www.borax.com
The parade, which began at 10 a.m., was definitely small town. It was a delight to see the home-made floats, vintage cars and high school band. It only lasted about an hour. About the time it got warm, members of the local Baptist Church showed up handing out bottles of water.
Randy Smith, event chairman, told us to get there early to find a place to park. Instead we went to view the hitching of the mules and then backtracked into town. There was no problem finding a place to park. The parade started at Boron High School and then traveled down Twenty Mule Team Road.
While we were in Boron, we visited two rather quaint museums. The Twenty Mule Team Museum, at 26962 Twenty Mule Team Road, displays a collection of historic items from the hey-day of mining. Do not expect a museum like the Getty. This is a small house that holds relics from the past. www.20muleteammuseum.org
Next door is the Colonel Vernon P. Saxon jr. Aerospace Museum. www.saxonaerospacemuseum.org We found displays on the history of flight at Edwards AF Base, Pancho Barnes photos, and Boeing and Lockheed Martin displays. Both museums have gift shops.
After the parade, there was a fair at Boron Park located at the corner of Boron Avenue and John Street where we were treated to a wild west show, bands, food booths, vendors, rides and poker runs for cars and motorcycles.
We stopped for a tasty lunch -- all right, to be honest, for the frosty margaritas -- at Domingos. www.domingos.com Marvelous Mexican food at a great price. It took me a few sips to realize that we were sitting in what had been a garage!
Before we left the area, we made time to see the Borax Visitor Center for Rio Tinto Minerals. www.borax.com The view into the largest open pit mine in California is awesome. There’s a short film on history, global mining and extensive uses of borax.
Directions: From Los Angeles take the 14 north to Mojave, then 58 east (Barstow). Drive east about 31 miles to exit 193 or Twenty Mule Team Road. Continue east six miles on 20 Mule Team Road to downtown Boron. For a complete list of motels and restaurants in Boron go to www.bonniedstone.com
Bonnie D. Stone is the author of San Andreas Ain’t No Fault of Mine, a fun and fact-filled guide to the Antelope Valley.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)