Christmas 2013 Residential Holiday Light Display on Gemini/Waverly in Camarillo

As in years past, many homes on Gemini Street and Waverly Avenue south of Dunnigan Street in Camarillo are lit up and decorated with cartoon characters, trains, Santa, snowmen, and plenty of lights and other decorations this holiday season. Drive the route or park and walk. It is worth going out of your way for! From the the 101, take Arneill north past Ponderosa to Dunnigan. Turn right on Dunnigan and Gemini is the 4th street on your right.

Here are some scenes from this display in prior years.

Thousands Enjoy Annual Christmas Tree Lane Display in Oxnard Historic District

We stopped by the 2013 Annual Christmas Tree Lane Display on F and G streets between 5th and Palm in the Oxnard Historic District and had a great time, along with thousands of other local residents. This is the biggest residential display in Ventura County and makes for a great family evening. And the music and light show at nearby Plaza Park is another thing you want to check out. More information at www.oxnardhistoricdistrict.com. Video below provides some snippets of what's in store.

Spectacular Views From Chumash Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park, Malibu

Suzy Demeter of Suzy Demeter Photography and her nephew hiked the steep Chumash Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park yesterday and captured these spectacular shots looking towards the wetlands below on the north and the great sand dune above Thornhill Broome Beach on the south. Beautiful! The Chumash Trail trailhead is accessible off of PCH at this link.

Quite an interesting perspective on the gigantic sand dune below to the south.

Post-Thanksgiving Midnight Madness Sales Around Ventura County

After a long day of cooking, football games, eating, drinking, eating more and enjoying time with our families, most of us, well, me at least, just wants to sleep. But for others, post-Thanksgiving nighttime activities commence with Midnight Madness...looking for bargains around town while others snooze.

Here's what's going in the wee hours of the night when the leftovers are safely wrapped in the fridge at the start of the 2013 shopping season. Note that a number of stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day, while others are holding out for midnight on Black Friday.

Camarillo Premium Outlets: The Outlets are getting a jump on Midnight Madness as nearly 40 stores open at 6pm Thanksgiving Day, another 10 at 8pm, 5 more at 9pm, 4 at 10pm and the final 2 at 11pm. Then on Friday, stores will be open from midnight until 10pm. Visit www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=20 for details.

The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks: Select stores are opening late on Thanksgiving Day, including nearly 20 stores at 8pm, including JCPenney and Macy's, then another few open at 10pm. When the clock strikes midnight on Friday morning, another 32 stores and eateries open (hey, how cool would it be to order a Hot Dog on a Stick at 3am...well, now's your chance). Then there are some stragglers, including Swimspot at 5am, another 7 stores (including Paciugo Gelato...yum!) at 6am, then not but not least Nordstrom opens at sleep-friendly 8am along with 7 other stores. Details at shoptheoaksmall.com/Events/Details/188700.

Most Toys“R”Us stores nationwide will open at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day, and will remain open until 10pm on Friday. Local area Toys"R"Us stores in Thousand Oaks (Janss Marketplace), Calabasas, Oxnard, Simi Valley (Simi Valley Town Center), Ventura and Woodland Hills.

The Pacific View Mall in Ventura follows suit on Thanksgiving Day with 18 stores opening at 8pm, including Macy's, Target, JCPenney and Sears and a handful of others at 9pm to 10pm. Then all stores open at midnight. I want to know...who's going to be chowing down at Panda Express at 9pm after a big turkey dinner!? Well, I guess the good thing is that they don't serve turkey there! More details at shoppacificview.com/events/BlackFriday_2013.

Most Macy's stores across the country open at 8pm on Thanksgiving Day until 10pm on Friday. Imagine spending 14 hours straight in a Macy's! Now's your chance! There are Macy's at The Oaks in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley Town Center, as well as in Woodland Hills. More at www.macys.com/index.ognc.

At The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard, Century Theaters are open from 10am to 10:30pm on Thanksgiving Day and Target and ULTA open at 9pm. Then at midnight, several more stores open for business.

Best Buy Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Woodland Hills and Simi Valley Town Center locations open at 6pm on Thanksgiving night and stay open until 10pm on Friday. The Oaks Mall Best Buy hours are 8pm on Thursday to 9pm on Friday.

Walmart has Black Friday specials starting at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day news.walmart.com/news-archive/2013/11/12/walmart-announces-plans-for-black-friday-2013.

That should be enough to start your holiday spending sprees early in the game!

The Coast Was Clear on Saturday From the Rancho Potrero Open Space in Newbury Park

The Rancho Potrero Open Space area is located in Newbury Park off of Lynn Road, just east of the intersection with Rancho Dos Vientos. A short walk up the hill on a clear day like this past Saturday gets you stunning views looking towards Camarillo, Oxnard Plain and the Channel Islands. Bring your lunch, sit on this bench and enjoy the view.

The Pumpkin Chucker at the Pumpkin Patch at Faulkner Farm in Santa Paula

A trebuchet is a catapult that works by using the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. It was popular in medieval times for hurling large stones and missiles. It became obsolete in the 15th century with the introduction of gunpowder.

However, in recent years, the Pumpkin Chucker at the Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patch in Santa Paula has brought this ancient projectile thrower back into the spotlight!

For $5 (or 3 for $10), visitors to the pumpkin patch can select a small pumpkin that is carefully placed into a launch position on the Pumpkin Chucker, ring the Pumpkin Chucker bell, then pull the rope that triggers a 500 lb counterweight that projects the pumpkin 200 feet away towards a target.

In our recent visit, I was surprised to experience about a 45 minute wait for the Pumpkin Chucker! But that didn't seem to bother anyone, as everyone enjoyed watching the airborne pumpkins and cheering as they came close to the target. It was so popular in fact that I think this could be a great year-round business opportunity...flinging pumpkins, watermelons, canteloupes and other worthy produce!

Pumpkin commencing its 200 foot flight from the Pumpkin Chucker

The Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patch, run by the Rotary Club of Santa Paula since 2007, is typically open on weekends in October each year. Learn more at www.faulknerfarmpumpkinpatch.com.

Pumpkin Chucker target area and post-flight remnants of pumpkins at Faulkner Farm

New LEGO Store is Now Open at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park

Please, don't tell my kids that there's a new LEGO Store at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park! I've lost track but I believe my house contains a college education's worth of LEGOs!

Yes, for several weeks now, the newest and now closest LEGO Store to Ventura County has been open. It is located on the first floor of the Topanga Mall near Target and across from the Baby Gap store. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m on Sunday. Call 818.884.8597 or visit stores.lego.com/en-us/stores/us/topanga for more information. The mall is located at 6800 Topanga Canyon Road.

Previously, the closest LEGO Store to us here in the Conejo Valley / Greater Ventura County area was at the Glendale Galleria. My kids have an insatiable appetite for LEGO sets and nearly every room in the house shows signs of LEGOS.

Roughly 1% of the LEGOs in my house.

But wait...you can celebrate the grand opening of the LEGO Store at Westfield Topanga on September 27-29, 2013 with a huge LEGO Master Build event!

Join in and help a real LEGO® Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall model of Yoda™ completely out of LEGO bricks! You'll receive a free Certificate of Achievement for participating! This event will take place on Friday, the 27th from 11am-7pm, Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sunday from 11am-7pm.

Be one of the first 300 people each day to make a qualifying purchase at the LEGO Store and you will receive one of the following giveaways:

• Friday, September 27: Free Collectible LEGO T-Shirt with a $50 Purchase!*
• Saturday, September 28: Free Limited-Edition LEGO Store Set with a $75 Purchase!
• Sunday, September 29: Free Exclusive LEGO Minifigure Set with a $50 Purchase!

Offers valid while supplies last only. *T-shirts are available in child sizes only.

Interesting and Amazing Facts and Tidbits About LEGO® Blocks