Do Something! Blog

Stagecoach Inn Museum - Newbury Park

2012-02-03T06:23:32Z

The Stagecoach Inn Museum is a replica of a Monterey style inn, the 1876 Grand Union Hotel. The complex also includes a Chumash Indian village, an early California adobe, a pioneer house and a few other buildings. There is a nice park adjoining the property along with nature trails and a stream that make this a nice place to bring the entire family.

The Inn is a State Historical Landmark (#659). The original structure was destroyed by fire in April 1970 but has been rebuilt and relocated. It was originally located at the corner of what is now Ventu Park Road and the 101 Freeway, where a historical marker has been placed.

The Stagecoach Inn is located at 51 South Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park. Call 805.498.9441 or visit www.stagecoachmuseum.org for more information! The Conejo Valley Historical Society is also based out of this location.

Clean Up Comedy in Newbury Park

2012-02-03T00:16:57Z

Clean Up Comedy is Ventura County's newest Improv group focusing on clean comedy that is both adult and family-friendly.

Clean Up Comedy is a 90-minute improv show that will leave audiences doubling over with laughter. The show is based around audience suggestions, and the actors are making up everything you see on the spot. Audience participation is key, so be prepared to make suggestions and perhaps even find yourself on stage! Come experience the show that delivers the most laughs in one night without foul language or crude jokes. The cast of Clean Up Comedy honor a higher power which sets them apart.

Tickets are now only $5 per person with our low, beat the recession pricing. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting info@cleanupcomedy.com

Clean Up Comedy performs at Newbury Park First Christian Church, 801 Knollwood Drive on the 3rd Friday of the month.

Upcoming shows as of February 2012 include Feb. 17, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15 and July 20. Shows at start at 7:30 pm.

Learn more at www.cleanupcomedy.com.

The Village at Dos Vientos Ranch

2012-02-01T17:34:42Z

The Village at Dos Vientos Ranch (formerly known as Paraiso at Dos Vientos Ranch), located at 350 Via Las Brisas, Thousand Oaks ("Dos Vientos" community of Newbury Park) is a beautiful 50,000 square foot community retail shopping center. Tenants currently include Red Coral Restaurant (Sushi), Boney Mountain Coffee, Fitness Together, The Art Box Atelier, Paraiso Cleaners, Paraiso Family Dental, ETF Portfolio Management and most recently, La Cucina di Venti.

And the center recently announced a lease with Village Trader, which will bring a 6,400 sq ft market to The Village in Spring 2012.

Visit www.paraisotowncenter.com for more information.

Conejo Recreation & Park District - Thousand Oaks

2012-01-24T06:11:23Z

The Conejo Recreation and Park District has served the Conejo Valley since 1963 and covers 65 square miles with a population of over 130,000 people in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and the Ventura County portion of Westlake Village.

The Recreation Division conducts over 3,000 organized recreation and leisure programs each year. The Parks Division maintains 28 neighborhood parks, six sports playfields, five community parks and one district-wide park as formal facilities with a variety of recreation amenities. The Parks and Planning Division, through the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, maintains 15,000 acres of open space and a 140 mile multi-use trail system.

CRPD releases its Recreation Program Guide four times a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) and has hundreds if not thousands of activities for adults, seniors, kids and teens. Something for everyone and the price is right!

Visit the CRPD website at www.crpd.org or call 805.495.6471 for more information or to access community class schedules, park listings, facilities, sports and other information about local Conejo Valley events and activities.

Conejo Recreation and Park District is located at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.

Ojai Trolley Service

2012-01-09T17:39:33Z

The City of Ojai has run the Ojai Trolley Service since 1989. It provide transportion service on a fixed route schedule throughout Ojai, Meiners Oaks and Mira Monte via about 45 stops (though typically they only stop at about a third of the stops on a given route, based on if there are people waiting at each stop). Roughly 5 mile route one way (eastbound or westbound).

It costs 50 cents to ride the trolley (as of January 2012), 25 cents for 65+ and ages 2 to 5 and is free to ADA, Medicare cardholders and kids under age 2.

The trolley runs 7 days a week, every day of the year except Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.

For more information and a detailed schedule, visit www.ojaitrolley.com. Or call 805.646.5581 x207.

Universal Citywalk

2012-01-09T05:34:30Z

Universal Citywalk is a 23 acre entertainment and retail area adjacent to Universal Studios. It is a popular destination for entertainment, dining, shopping and getting out and about. Always lively, festive and colorful, and easy to get to, to me, Citywalk is a no-brainer destination when you have out of town guests or just want to get out and about from Ventura County.

Other than walking around and gazing at the people and interesting sites, there are plenty of things to do at Citywalk, including movie theaters, IMAX theater, a comedy club, the Gibson Amphitheatre, Jillian's (which has food, billiards and a large arcade), iFly Hollywood indoor skydiving and much more.

My kids absolutely love the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co so we usually eat there when we go. But there's a lot of other choices, like Buca di Beppo, Karl Strauss Brewery, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Saddle Ranch Chop House among others.

We also usually stop by Sparky's for a little sugar fix after our meal. They have chocolate covered Twinkies, s'mores, Rice Krispie treats, pretzels, bacon, jalapeno, you name it. Their candied apples look mouth watering too.

I've barely scratched the surface in this post, so visit www.citywalkhollywood.com to learn more. Click here for directions.

Oh, there's another thing. As of January 2012, parking is $15. While I kind of expect that when I visit an amusement park, it is harder for me to part with that kind of cash if I'm going mainly to have a meal and walk around for an hour. So let me impart some wisdom on you:

If you are planning on going to the movies, the box office will give you a rebate of $8 if you park before 3pm and $5 if you park after 3pm. That reduces your parking cost quite a bit.

If you are planning to stop for a few hours to have lunch/dinner and walk around (like we usually do), consider the valet parking (follow the signs. I discovered that this saves me a lot of $$! The cost is currently (again, Jan 2012), with validation from a restaurant, $2 for up to 60 minutes, another $7 for up another 30 minutes, and $3 for each 30 minutes after that. So if you plan to be there 2 hours to dine and walk around, valet parking is only $9 vs $15 for general parking.

Over 150 Movie Theater Screens Around Ventura County!

2012-01-06T07:28:54Z

Here's a handy list of 18 movie theaters with over 150 screens throughout Ventura County and and adjacent areas.

Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura

Janss Marketplace 9, 255 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks (805.374.9656)

Mann Westlake Village 8, 180 Promenade Way, Suite R, Westlake Village THEATER CLOSED ON 12/27/11 - NEW CINEPOLIS THEATER TO OPEN IN SPRING 2012

Muvico 14 Theaters Thousand Oaks , 166 West Hillcrest Drive. Tickets online at www.muvico.com/default.asp?t=65. Also see this post. (805.496.5487)

Regency Agoura Hills 8, 29045 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills (818.707.9966)

Regency Westlake Village Twin, 4711 Lakeview Canyon Road, Westlake Village (818.889.8061)

Camarillo/Oxnard/Ventura

Century Downtown 10, 555 East Main Street, Ventura (800.326.3264)

Century Stadium 16, 2875 Elba Street, Ventura (800.326.3264)

Edwards Camarillo Palace 12 and IMAX, 680 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo (805.383.8879) (Located right between the main Camarillo Premium Outlets and The Promenade section of the outlets.

Plaza Stadium Cinemas 14, 255 West Fifth Street, Oxnard (805.487.8380)

Regency Buenaventura 6, 1440 Eastman Avenue, Ventura (805.658.6544)

Regency Paseo Camarillo Cinemas (3 theaters), 390 North Lantana Street, Camarillo (805.383.2267)

Roxy Stadium 11, 5001 Verdugo Way, Camarillo (805.388.0532)

Roxy Stadium 11 theaters on Verdugo Way in Camarillo

Simi Valley/Moorpark

Moorpark Cinema 3, 543 West Los Angeles Avenue, Moorpark (805.552.9154)

Regal Civic Center Plaza 16 & IMAX, 2751 Tapo Canyon Road, Simi Valley (805.526.0232)

Simi Valley 10 Cinemas, 1457 E. Los Angeles Avenue (805.526.4329) Facebook Page

Other Local Theaters

Edwards Grand Palace Stadium 6, 4767 Commons Way, Calabasas (818.223.0223)

Regency Santa Paula 7, 550 West Main Street, Santa Paula (805.933.6707)

Fillmore Town Theater, located at 338 Central Avenue, Fillmore, is a single screen movie theater originally built in 1916. After 2 fires, an earthquake and numerous owners and name changes through the decades, the theater was renovated in 1994 and now shows films Friday through Sunday. 325 seats, including 45 on the balcony. Call 805.524.3456 for the lineup.

Strathearn Historical Park and Museum in Simi Valley

2012-01-06T06:23:00Z

Strathearn Historical Park and Museum, located at 137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley (off of Tierra Rejada Road, just east of Madera), is owned and maintained by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. The Park is operated jointly by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District and the Simi Valley Historical Society.

This is a large site that houses a substantial number of historical artifacts and structures from Simi Valley. The namesake of this location is Robert P. and Mary Gray Lamb Strathearn. Originally from Scotland, they purchased 15,000 acres of the old Spanish Rancho and built their Victorian-style farmhouse onto the front of the Simi Adobe. The Strathearns were cattle ranchers and raised 7 children.

There is really a LOT to see at this place. You'll be amazed. With good intentions, I visited with my young boys and since there's no playground for kids, wasn't able to see nearly as much as I'd like to. For more information, visit www.simihistory.com or call 805.526.6543. Park hours and docent led tour times vary.

The Strathearn HouseThe precursor to Simi Valley Town Center :>El Rancho Simi rocks!

Santa Barbara Audubon Aviary

2012-01-05T22:14:33Z

Eyes in the Sky (EITS) is an education program with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society (SBAS) that brings a variety of programs to children and adults in the Santa Barbara area. EITS features wildlife messengers - birds of prey native to the area that are no longer capable of surviving in the wild. As of December 2011, EITS's rescued raptors include Max the Great Horned Owl, Ivan the Red-Tailed Hawk, Puku the Western Screech Owl, Kachina the American Kestrel and Kisa the Peregrine Falcon.

The SBAS has teamed with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara) to build the Santa Barbara Audubon Aviary, a physical structure located in the "backyard" area of the Museum. The Aviary is open every afternoon between 2 and 4PM. During this time, volunteers bring the birds out for exercise, sunshine, misting/baths and close up encounters with visitors. We have seen these animals up close and they are quite impressive!

For more information, visit www.santabarbaraaudubon.org/EITS.html or call 805.898.0347.

Max the Owl. (I kind of liked the red eye look on him so I left it.)We met Kisa the Peregrine Falcon when her caretaker was taking her out for some fresh air. This is one stunning bird to look at. Wouldn't want to mess with her though with those claws!

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks

2012-01-05T21:03:36Z

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is a 7 1/2 acre, 50,000 square foot development next to the Civic Arts Plaza where you can relax and enjoy park-like landscaping, two lakes, fountains, waterfalls and a childrens' play area, while shopping at high-end stores and grabbing a bite. It opened in 2005.

Restaurants include Claim Jumper, P.F Changs, California Pizza Kitchen and soon (as of Jan 2012, Umami Burger). Recently Nate n Al Deli closed its doors there.

There is a kids club that meets every Wednesday morning usually starting in the Spring through Fall. from mid-November through early January The Lakes hosts a very popular outdoor ice skating rink. The kids always enjoy it here because there is a lot of room to run around, run across the bridge, around the lake, etc.

The Lakes is located at 2200 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Visit www.shoplakes.com or call 805.497.9861 for more information.