Upcoming Dates as of 3/11/10:

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Visit www.rgcshows.com or call 323.560.SHOW (7469) for more information.

Restaurants include Claim Jumper, P.F Changs, California Pizza Kitchen and Nate 'n Al Deli (opened in Fall 2009).  There is also Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. (Sadly, Ben & Jerry's closed in early 2010.)

There is a kids club that meets every Wednesday morning and in 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.

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the Museum features other exhibits of interest.  In Fall 2008 the Museum had an exhibit entitled "Giants - African Dinosaurs" that featured life size replicas of African dinosaurs and actual dinosaur bones.

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, Santa Barbara. More information at www.sbnature.org or 805.682.4711.

Personnel with no military or government affiliation not normally authorized unescorted access to NBVC Port Hueneme may access the installation for the purpose of visiting the Seabee Museum. There are two categories of Seabee Museum visits: Walk-In Visits and Scheduled Tours. For more information, please visit the NBVC website at www.cnic.navy.mil/ventura/Programs/ForceProtection/MuseumTours/index.htm.

The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum is also the main repository of the U.S. Navy Seabee’s operational history. The Seabee Archive maintains a select group of operational records, battalion histories, manuscripts, oral histories, biographies, and personal papers dealing with the Seabees since their creation in 1942.

This is a great place to buy fruits, vegetables, plants, eggs, nuts, honey and flowers from local California farmers.And purchase delicacies like fresh tamales and other goodies from local vendors. Well worth a visit.

Visit the VCCFM website at www.vccfarmersmarkets.com for details.

FOR MUCH MORE INFO ABOUT VENTURA COUNTY FARMERS' MARKETS, CLICK HERE

There are over 500 animals at this zoo and my family's favorites include the giraffes and the penguins.  You've gotta go up and feed the giraffes, where you are situated face to face with these friendly looking characters.  You practically feel like you're at Toys r Us at this exhibit.  We sat mesmerized at the penguin exhibit, where you are treated to happy go lucky penguins frolicking and up to their shenanigans in the water.

There are plenty of other animals, exhibits and places in the park to just hang out and have a picnic lunch.  And our young fellers certainly enjoyed the train ride around the park.

So drive the 45 miles up the coast, take the kids to the zoo, grab a bite, feel the sand, do some shopping and you've got yourself a nice day out.  Better yet, buy a tax-deductible zoo membership and visit the zoo several times per year with the kids.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is located at 500 Niños Drive, Santa Barbara.  For more information, visit www.sbzoo.org or call 805.962.5339 or 805.962.6310.

Roughly a mile easy hike from Wendy/Potrero gets you to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center where you can check out some native Chumash items. This is a nice little hike to take the kids on. There are restrooms and water at the center, which is open from 9 to 5 on weekends.  You can get easier access to the center by parking in the adjacent National Park Service parking lot via Lynn Road to the access road at Via Goleta in Newbury Park.

Another few miles of hiking gets you to a neat waterfall, which is fun to check out with the kids but somewhat more strenuous of a hike.

Click here for a pdf file describing these and other local trails or go to the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/samo.  Visit www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/rsvsatwiwa.htm for a map and site information on the National Park Service website.

View of Boney:

Pacific Festival Ballet is the resident ballet company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Bank of America Performing Arts Plaza.  California Dance Theatre has been training dancers in the Conejo Valley for 25 years. California Dance Theater / Pacific Festival Ballet is located at 5863 Kanan Road, Agoura Hills.  More information and tickets available at www.californiadancetheatre.com or 805.707.3267 (tickets at 805.449.2787).

The popular Mama Rita's Mexican Cantina has indoor/outdoor seating and serves up great food and drinks.  There is a dry cleaners, a personal training studio, the Paraiso Deli (closed in 8/09) and other shops.

My wife asked me to plug Paraiso Cleaners (805.376.2400) and Paraiso Nail Spa (uh oh, they closed in 1/10).  She loves both of these businesses visits them all the time.  Paraiso Cleaners uses "green" cleaning solutions and the owner is very nice.  The clothes are always ready on time and looking good. My wife feels pampered at Paraiso Nail Spa, to the point that this is the only place she goes to have her nails done. 

Paraiso hosts the kids' "Lil' Critters Club" from March through October and in the summer, fall and holidays there is frequently live music and special events.  Though geographically most convenient for residents of Dos Vientos, Paraiso is worth checking out for the rest of us too!

More information at www.paraiso.com** or call 805.376.8300.**

**Note: As of 11/16 this website and phone number has not been functional for several weeks as Paraiso is going through an ownership transition.  I've spoken with the property managers and they say the site will be back up soon. WELL AS OF 2/6/10 THE SITE IS STILL DOWN :<