The Painted Cabernet in Oxnard

The Painted Cabernet at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard offers guests an opportunity to show off their artistic side under the watchful eyes of a trained instructor, while having a glass of wine in the process, offering an upscale urban studio, in a friendly, hip and creative environment for an evening on the town, a bachelorette party, a bit of “me” time or an out-of-the-ordinary date night.

The classes are a stress-free group setting where an artist instructor will guide you step-by-step replicating the featured painting, while giving you the time to sip a little wine, visit with your neighbor, listen to some great music and have a fun night out. Guests will be sure to go home with a painting that is uniquely their own.

Painted Cabernet also is available for private events, perfect for bridal showers, birthday parties, baby showers, corporate events, church groups and more.

An online calendar is up at paintedcabernet.com and reservations can be made by calling 805-963-9979.

Paintball Places in Ventura County

Click the image below for a link to paintball venues in the Ventura County area!

Dozens and Dozens of Kid-Friendly Parks in Ventura County and Surrounding Areas

There's a method to the madness. You'll find some parks listed here in the Do Something section of CVG, but dozens more are profiled in the Kid Fun section. But those parks are also great for non-kids, so click the picture below to see that list. Most of the listings include photos and/or video to help you scope thing out.

Conejo Mountain Edison Road Trail in Newbury Park

The Conejo Mountain Edison Road Trail (also referred to as the Powerline Trail) in Newbury Park runs adjacent to the Dos Vientos community (trailhead on Via Ricardo gets you to it) and takes you up about 1,000 feet in a few miles of hiking/running.

You'll be treated to beautiful views of the entire valley stretching towards Boney Mountain in the distance, then off towards Camarillo and the Oxnard Plain. In the video below, I ran to the top of the mountain; you can also run down the other side, all the way down to Old Conejo Road...but there's a locked gate there. However, the Ventura County Trails website provides some alternative routes that may come in handy at www.venturacountytrails.org/TrailMaps/DosVientos/AreaTrails.htm

That said, you don't have to go very far on this trail for great views of the Oxnard Plain.

The Powerline Trail trailhead is on Via Ricardo in Newbury Park, just west of Via Pisa. You can extend the hike by half a mile (each way) by parking at Dos Vientos Community Park and taking the Park View Trail to Via Ricardo, where you will cross the street (there's a crosswalk) to the Powerline/Edison Trail.

The Conejo Open Space Foundation has a simple map of the trail and additional comments at www.cosf.org/website/html/conejo-mountain.html

This shot was taken in late January 2015, when it was actually green up there!

Serrano Canyon Hike in Pt Mugu State Park

Serrano Canyon is quite an attractive destination in Point Mugu State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains.  It is quickest to get to Serrano Canyon from Malibu but trekkers, runners and cyclists certainly can make their way from the Newbury Park side at Satwiwa/Rancho Sierra Vista.

To get down to Serrano Canyon from the Conejo Valley side, you must meander your way down the steep Sycamore Canyon Fire Road seen above. Have fun and don't think about the challenge of making your way back up this hill later in the day, when the sun is beating down on you!

Continue on down Sycamore Canyon Road, pass through the Danielson Multi-Use area, the National Park Service house and the old barn-like structure seen above. You can actually get to Serrano via the Blue Canyon Trail entrance point just east of the Danielson Multi-Use area.

You might catch a deer or two, or three eating breakfast near the trail.

Onward down Sycamore Canyon, one is this porta-a-john, situated in a serene setting next to several picnic benches under a beautiful tree on the right.

Sign signaling the transition into Serrano Valley

A little farther down is the Serrano Canyon Trail trailhead. Two or three miles into this trail and you'll be in Serrano Canyon. Warning...this trail has had some fairly well overgrown sections in my times in there, so definitely be aware and consider long pants. I ran through there and survived in shorts but the poison oak on the sides of the trail were nervewracking enough to make me consider turning back.

There are several pieces of old farm equipment in the canyon. Makes you wonder about the history...There are several ways out of Serrano Canyon but my choice was to follow a trail that loops back around to Sycamore Canyon again, about a mile or so north of the entry point and south of the Danielson Multi-Use area. 

Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles

The Griffith Observatory opened to the public in 1935 and is a Los Angeles icon. After 67 years of operation, it was closed for renovation in 2002 and reopened in Fall 2006. The original art deco 27,000 sq ft building built during the Great Depression was expanded by an additional 40,000 sq ft of public space. 

The Observatory is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood, 1,134 feet above sea level, with expansive views of the surrounding city, mountains and Hollywood sign. Other than the spectacular views outside, the inside of the Observatory features the 300 seat Samuel Oschlin Planetarium, 200 seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon, public telescopes, dozens of exhibits and a cafe/gift shop.

Parking and entrance into the Observatory are FREE! Even if you're not into astronomy, you'll love the scenic views up there. It is located at 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles. More information at www.griffithobservatory.org or call 213.473.0800.

The Observatory is owned and staffed by the City of Los Angeles Dept of Recreation and Parks. As of May 2015, hours are noon to 10pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 10pm Saturday/Sunday. Closed Mondays. Free public telescopes are available each evening the Observatory is open and skies are clear.

Patriot Airsoft in Newbury Park (Closed)

Patriot Airsoft was a 12,000 sq ft indoor airsoft field located at 1260 Rancho Conejo Blvd, #1 in Newbury Park. IT CLOSED IN EARLY 2016

Visit www.patriotcqb.com or "like" Patriot's Facebook page.

Airsoft involves shooting round, plastic BBs from replica firearms. Games last from 6-15 minutes each and people can join at any time during the day.  There are referees on the field who orchestrate the games and ensure all players' safety.

Players are welcome to come in and learn about the sport, take a tour, listen to a safety briefing and then begin playing!  Anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear a full fask mask, which can be brought or rented there.  Players can bring their own guns, that will be chronographed to determine that they are within the 350 fps (feet per second) limit of our indoor field. 

Ventura County Trails Website

For maps, descriptions, photos, videos and news about local Ventura County trails, check out www.VenturaCountyTrails.org.

If you are looking for extremely detailed information, like trailhead locations, trail distances, ascents and descents, this is the site for you.  A great resource for local hikers, bikers and runners.

FOR DETAILS ON LOCAL HIKES HERE ON CONEJO VALLEY GUIDE, CLICK HERE

Dance and Gymnastics Studios In and Around Ventura County

Click image for dozens of gymnastics and dance studios around Ventura County

And for dozens more dance studios geared towards both kids and adults click THIS LINK!

Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard

Herzog Wine Cellars is located at 3201 Camino Del Sol, Oxnard. The 77,000 square foot winery, designed with Herzog Special Reserve wines and small-lot winemaking in mind, combines state-of-the-art winemaking technology with a hands-on approach to artisanal winemaking.

Also at the winery is Tierra Sur Restaurant, serving modern and inspired "New American" cuisine for both lunch and dinner.

Herzog's wine tasting room offers selected offerings of red, white and rose varietal wines. They have two different wine tasting options each day. There is a tasting fee but it is waived with any purchase from the Tasting Room. Adjacent to the tasting bar is a unique collection of gift items not usually found in winery shops or anywhere else, stocked with a wide variety of stylish servingware, decorative accents and glassware.

Self-guided tours of the winery are available anytime Herzog is open. The Tasting Room is open Sunday through Thursday from 10:30am to 9pm and Friday 10:30am to 4pm.

For more information, visit www.herzogwinecellars.com or call 805.983.1560.

Huge wine tasting bar at Herzog Wine Cellars

City of Ventura Community Programs and Classes

The City of Ventura publishes a guide to city news, services, community events, classes and activities in January, May and October each year. Visit www.cityofventura.net/resident_resources/myventura to download electronic copies of this guide or visit www.ci.ventura.ca.us/erecreation to sign up for classes online. Or call 805.658.4726.

City of Calabasas Community Programs

The City of Calabasas offers a wide variety of community classes and programs year-round.  Includes aquatics, senior programs, sports, camps, mommy and me programs, tot classes, adult programs, workshops, etc.  Visit www.cityofcalabasas.com/recreation.html for more information and for winter and spring/summer and year-round schedules.

Malibu Wines Tasting Room

Malibu Wines Tasting Room is an outdoor tasting room open to guests ages 21 and older, 7 days a week from 11am-6pm. Malibu Wines has live music year round on Saturday and Sunday from 1-3 (weather permitting) and in the summer through September, also has Thursday movie showings and live music from 7-9 on Fridays and Saturdays through October. There is never an entrance fee, but there is a one bottle minimum purchase per group of 4 (most bottles range from $20-$35). Guests are welcome to bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages. Reservations are not necessary unless you have a group of 10 or more.

Malibu Wines is located at 31740 Mulholland Drive in Malibu. Visit www.malibuwines.com or call 818.865.0605 to learn more.