First 5 Ventura County Invests in the Future of Young Children

Because the first 5 years impact a lifetime, First 5 Ventura County is making sound investments in the future of children. Early brain research tells us that ages 0-5 are critical years for developing lifelong social, emotional and learning skills. By working with parents, school districts, community leaders, social service and healthcare agencies, First 5 Ventura County helps to design and fund a network of essential services for young children and their families.

Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Act, was approved by voters in 1998, giving rise to First 5. Through a 50 cent tax on tobacco, First 5 develops locally designed systems of support for children 0-5 and their families in 58 counties across the state.

By building an integrated network of early childhood development services, and 11 model Neighborhoods for Learning (NfL), First 5 Ventura County enhances the emotional, physical and intellectual foundation for every child during the years when a majority of all learning and behavior development takes place. First 5 works to help children enter school healthy, supported, prepared to learn and ready to greet their full potential.

Local NfL locations in Ventura County are in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark/Simi Valley, Oak Park, Oxnard (3), Ojai, Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula and Ventura.

Programs provided by local area NfLs include family education and training, preschool programs, infants and pre-K programs, health services, enrichment programs, community events and more.

To learn more about First 5 Ventura County, visit www.first5ventura.org.

What are You Looking Forward to Doing at Conejo Valley Days? Readers Respond

The 59th Annual Conejo Valley Days is coming Thursday, May 7th though Sunday, May 10th, 2015. The event will feature a carnival, exciting rides for all ages, outhouse races, Kids' Korral stage, live musical entertainment, numerous vendors, exhibitors and community organizations and great food.

What are you looking forward to at this year's Conejo Valley Days? We recently asked CVG Facebook followers this question. Some of the responses are below.  It seems funnel cakes, Ferris wheel, food, family and fun are some of the most common responses.

• Spending a fun day with my 5 year old who enjoys getting on the same rides over and over and over again. While he does that I need to enjoy a funnel cake

• Spending the day with my son! We haven't been before!

• Looking forward to the food and trying to win a goldfish!

• Taking my boys for the first time!

• I look forward to hearing the music and rides playing at night after we get home from the fair.

• Spending some fun time with the family!

• Taking my daughter on the rides (she's finally old enough!) and of course... fair food!!

• Enjoying family time with my husband and 2 girls!

• Elephant Ears and Fried Zucchini

• Looking forward to taking my grandkids like I do every year! They love the kid friendly stuff to do!

• The ribs... I hope the Elks have their beef ribs!

• What I really look forward to this year is seeing all my family friends with our kids enjoying the great food and rides and have a big smile from cheek to cheek!

• Riding the rides!!

• Trying the chili and seeing friends

• All the super unhealthy but delicious food

• I can't wait to volunteer with the Special Kids Day event. To be a part of that makes my year!

• Seeing friends and eating junk.

• Seeing all the goodies under the tent. Eating lots of good food

• Taking my son in for the rides.

• Seeking out a funnel cake

• Eating food and seeing all of the families out enjoying the event.

• Smoked turkey legs

• Games, rides, food and a great time!!!!!!

• We look forward to watching people scream upside down

• Drooling over the food I can't have because I'm on Weight Watchers.

• We go almost every year. Always a lot of fun and good food.

• I look forward to some good ole community fun!!! Love it ALL!

• I look forward to riding the Ferris wheel again and for my younger son to participate in more rides!

• Funnel cakes and hopefully some awesome Fedora in the tent

• The Ferris wheel

• Yummy food and lively music

• Eating funnel cake and going on all the awesome rides with my daughter!????

• Chocolate covered strawberries and the goldfish game!!!!!

• Watching my kids laugh and smile.

• Going with 3 generations that have been going since the beginning…and funnel cakes.

• Taking my little man with me and watching his adorable face light up as he goes on kiddie rides and tries cotton candy for the first time!

• Looking forward to taking my 18 month old this year...our first year going as a family.

• Going on the ferris wheel with the boyfriend and his kids. Making more memories to come!

• Deep fried zucchini and winning a gold fish

• Enjoy the corn dogs!

• Every Year for 35 years! Family and Friends Getting Together!

• I have been going to CVD since I was in elementary school...in the 70's. I still love to go because the smells remind me of being a kid, and being there with my friends. Each year, I run into friends from my childhood, and I love that! I have to eat corn dogs and cotton candy, and spy on my teenage kids!

• Too many things to list but nostaligic foods like...Elks Lodge BBQ babyback ribs and roasted corn!

• Eating things that aren't meant to be fried.

• Looking forward to taking my daughter on the ferris wheel

• Spending time with my son on the same grounds I spent time with my family on

• I look forward to taking my boys to the same fair I used to go to at their age!

• Spending the day with my family and taking my little one on the rides.

• Riding the rides with my kid and all the food!! Yummmmmy funnel cake ??

• Eating chocolate covered strawberries as I watch my daughter perform on stage Mother's Day!!!

• Great event and hoping to share it with my family

• Annual funnel cake to be shared with my parents!

• Taking the kids and winning them prizes!!

• Funnel Cakes yum!

• I go with my daughter ever year - this year she is 7 and said she can't wait to try out a new ride!

• Looking forward to all the laughter and smiles from my son (and all the other kids enjoying the fair!)!

• Carnival rides for the kids and live music for me! And it never fails... Always end up running into old friends

• Cotton candy, the Zipper, and the look on my kids' faces when we pull up!

Learn more about Conejo Valley Days at www.conejovalleydays.us.

Storage Wars Got You Hooked? Stop by a Storage Auction in Ventura County!

Storage Wars is a popular reality TV show on A&E that premiered in December 2010. It is amusing to watch as the main "characters" try to outsmart and outbid each other for the potential of finding value and treasure in abandoned storage units.

Checking out a large storage unit at an auction at Hollywood Storage in Newbury Park

The "California Self-Service Storage Facility Act" gives storage facility owners the right to auction off storage units that have gone unpaid for several months.  Auction proceeds exceeding the cost of unpaid rent, penalties and auctioneer fees can be claimed by the previous owner of the property.

Storage units can contain pretty much anything, from the contents of a closed book store, an apartment, old furniture, mattresses, household items, a coin collection, you name it. While are convinced that episodes of the show are "staged" to include unbelievably unique and valuable items in some of the lockers, it is fun to watch and dream as the mystery of what is contained in these lockers unfolds.

The show's auctioneer is Dan Dotson of American Auctioneers, based in Riverside. Upcoming auctions are listed on his site at www.americanauctioneers.com/calendar.php. There was a Simi Valley storage unit auction highlighted on the show. There is a Simi Valley auction in July and plenty of auctions throughout Los Angeles County.

J. Michael's Auction, Inc. does a number of storage unit auctions here in Ventura County and other counties. If you're looking to participate in some real-life local storage wars, visit their site at www.jmichaelsauction.com.

The rules are, bring CASH to the auctions (checks, credit cards not accepted) and bid no more than what you have...they will NOT let you leave to visit the ATM. The auctioneer gives the crowd five minutes or so to view the contents of the unit. You may not step into the locker or touch anything inside. Then, the bidding begins. Winning bidders must bring their own lock to secure the unit. They give you a day or so to clear it out...no, you can't pick through the locker and take what you want....you must take everything. If you don't have a reseller certificate, plan to pay applicable sales taxes.

I experienced a storage unit auction at Hollywood Storage in Newbury Park. This is one spectacularly large, clean facility! J. Michael also had auctions in Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks that day. They give you estimated start times for each auction the day before, but timing varies as the auctioneer must complete each auction and drive to the next one. Often, the anticipated number of units varies, as I suppose owners come forward last minute to pay their past due rents.

There were 50 or 60 people at Hollywood Storage for a total of 5 units (10 originally anticipated). The first was an indoor unit that looked to have a bunch of household and miscellaneous items. I noticed there was a container with photos in it...I thought, if I bought that unit, I'd try to get those back to the owner. The unit went for about $600.

The 2nd unit was outdoors and contained old, junky wooden furniture. No hands went up. Finally, the auctioneer was able to get a $1 bid from a woman who quickly realized she'd have to get her son to lug the stuff out. The 3rd unit was filled with used power tools and other construction items that someone nabbed for about $700.

The 4th unit was the double unit pictured above, which went for around $700. It contained what looked to be costumes and set materials for some production, plus a pile of what looked to be over 500 clothes hangers. The final unit appeared to be the hastily piled up contents of someone's house. Mostly a bunch of used junk worthy of a lawn sale, but the washer and dryer in the unit was easily worth about $250 or $300 to the winning bidder.

Beach Scene in McFarland, U.S.A. Filmed at Sycamore Cove Beach, Point Mugu State Park

McFarland U.S.A. is a great "feel good" movie about a coach who leads the cross country team from McFarland High School to win the inaugural California state championship in 1987. The film, starring Kevin Costner as coach Jim White, is based on a true story. The film premiered on February 20th. My kids and I saw the movie today in Thousand Oaks and we unanimously agreed it was outstanding.

McFarland is a small town in Kern County, 25 miles north of Bakersfield (and 145 miles north of the Conejo Valley). There is a scene in the film where Coach White surprises the kids by diverting them to a beach after a successful cross country meet. This was a special moment for the kids, because none of them had ever seen the ocean. The first several minutes of the following video shows some behind the scenes footage from that scene.

If the beach scene looks familiar, it should be. It was filmed at Sycamore Cove Beach at Point Mugu State Park. The Sycamore Cove PCH bridge crossing seen in the background made this quite clear. Sycamore Cove is only an eight mile walk, ride or hike from Newbury Park via Sycamore Canyon. According to this website, the actual beach visited by the team was near Morro Bay.

Sycamore Cove Beach looking west towards PCH and the bridge

The PCH bridge that connects Sycamore Cove Beach with Sycamore Canyon Campground

The Pacific Ocean, seen from Sycamore Cove Beach

Learn more about McFarland, U.S.A. at movies.disney.com/mcfarland-usa.

The First and Only Netball Court in Thousand Oaks at Oakbrook Neighborhood Park

On the recent Mother's Day Sunday I was out and about with the kids giving their mother the ultimate present - peace and quiet. We ate breakfast and explored, but of course, the Conejo Valley. One park I hadn't seen for some time was the recently renovated Oakbrook Neighborhood Park at the corner of Erbes and Pederson Roads in Thousand Oaks.

This 14 acre park more than doubled in usable size last year with the addition of a jogging/bike path, grassy areas, basketball court, expanded playground area, restroom and even several horseshoe pits. I was thoroughly impressed at the upgrades.

Then we noticed something odd. The backboards were missing on one of the basketball courts! Wait a second...how could this happen?? 

As my kids were laughing I noticed the large sign explaining the game of netball, a sport I'd never heard of in my nearly half century on this earth. Well, now I know a little bit about netball. With a little investigating on the Conejo Recreation & Park District website I learned that this is the first (and as of May 2013) the only netball court in Thousand Oaks.

CRPD has placed this sign explaining some netball basics to clueless folk like myself.

The seven minute video below proved extremely useful in providing the basics of netball, a sport consisting of two teams of seven players looking to score goals in the baskets while holding the ball for no more than three seconds at a time. Looks fun! Also visit www.wikihow.com/Play-Netball.

Original Posting Date: 5/22/13

Whales, Seals, Birds and Wildflowers on Display at Point Dume in Malibu

Suzy Demeter of Suzy Demeter Photography shared these photos of her recent outing at Point Dume Natural Preserve headlands and Westward Beach in Malibu. Whales, seals and flowering coreopsis are out in force. Learn more about local beaches ranging from Malibu through Oxnard at this link.

Breaching whales near Westward Beach

Seals sunning themselves at Point Dume State Beach

An egret without regret on this beautiful, sunny day

Iconic Ed Lawrence Photo on Display at the New Mendocino Farms Westlake Village

Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market opened on Monday, February 2nd in The Westlake Plaza at 966 S. Westlake Boulevard.

This is the 9th location of Mendocino Farms and its first in Ventura County. They have certainly made a special effort to capture the heart of the Conejo Valley crowd in several ways.

Photographer Ed Lawrence with his iconic 1965 photo of Moorpark Road at Thousand Oaks Blvd

A iconic photo taken by well known Conejo Valley photographer Ed Lawrence is prominently displayed on the back wall of the restaurant. Look up as you walk in the door and you can't miss this 1965 shot of a flock of sheep crossing Moorpark Road near Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

Mendocino Farms is located in the former home of Jack's Deli, which opened in 1977 and operated for over 30 years before closing its doors on November 20, 2011. 

An oak tree that fell ill was used as a prominent table in the eatery, adding another nice localized touch.

The restaurant is open and airy, uniquely appointed and fun. There's a kids area that has a Foosball table (I lost the game to a 9 year old) and coloring table.  The kids menu had $3.95 pricing on it, which looked pretty good to me too. And, oh yes, the food that I sampled was outstanding. There's also a nice outdoor seating area.