Central Coast Communities « Andee’s Blog

Archive for the ‘Central Coast Communities’ Category

Paso Robles D’Anbino Family Rocks!!

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

If you are looking for some amazing music, nice people, and great wine, check out the D’Anbino Tasting Room in Paso Robles. Located right next to the Paso train/bus depot.

I had the fortunate opportunity to be invited to a No-Zin Dinner event at the winery. And I have to tell you - the food was delicious, the wine was very good but the highlight of the evening was meeting the D’Anbino family and listening to the family band play. They are UNBELIEVABLE! Unfortunately, they only play every so often. It’s worth joining their wine club just to have the opportunity to hear them or at least befriend a current wine club member…

The family band members have won all kinds of music awards, many of which are hung around the tasting room. And you definitely have to hear Sharon sing - she has an amazing sultry sound and her voice is so clear. WOW!!! You can check out their current event schedule here: http://www.danbino.com/events.html

If you want to enjoy a beautiful tasting room with some super nice and hospital people, you just have to check out this winery! Guaranteed it will be a highlight of your week!!

Tags: D'Anbino, Paso, Paso Robles, tasting room, winery
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

Paso Robles Mid State Fair - JAZZ Night

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

Talk about FUN! Oh my gosh! We had the most wonderful time at the California Mid-State Fair Jazz Night.

This was my first time and I will guarantee you it won’t be the last. I’ll also guarantee you that if you haven’t gone and sat at a table, you seriously have to do it - but only if you want to have a great time with friends, food, music, and new acquaintences!

Here’s the funny part, I am not even a real JAZZ lover. I like it but for me it is one of those things that I can take or leave. The funnier part is, I’m pretty sure the music was awesome - I do like Peabo Bryson a lot but the evening was really more about interacting with your friends than the music - well at least for me. I remember stopping talking a time or two to listen to the music but that really was secondary.

So if you haven’t gone to the Mid-State Fair Jazz night in Paso Robles, here is how it works - there are 3 options - purchase a table, sit in the bleachers, or sit in the chairs up front. Do it right and get a table! With a table, you get to decorate it and bring your own food. Some tables are very elaborate, some are whimsical, some are plain, and some are very elegant (we went for the plain look). It’s a blast just walking around and looking at the creativity of all the people that come. Amazing what some of them come up with! I only wish I had some of that creativity!!

We are definitely doing it next year! Come join us!

Tags: Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

MOONSTONE BEACH DRIVE OPENS!!

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Moonstone Beach Drive in Cambria should finally be open this week either by Thursday or Friday after being closed for a little more than a year while they replaced the old 1932 bridge. With the new, wider roadbed walkers and bicyclists can now walk or ride on either side. The new bridge has concrete stone piers holding gently rising arches - a great improvement over the old bridge!

In case you aren’t familar, Moonstone Beach is located on the north end of Cambria and is absolutely GORGEOUS! Moonstone Beach State Parklands incompass 30 acres of rugged, scenic beaches, hiking trails and boardwalks.

The best way to enjoy it is to drive up for lunch. Stop at one of the little restaurants along Moonstone Drive and have a leisurely lunch watching the birds, seals, whales, and whatever else appears on the horizon. Then take a nice stroll along the board walk or down on the beach. Enjoy the sounds, smells and ambiance of the Central Coast while you look for ‘moonstones’. Keep your eyes open as you may just find a nice piece of jade, sand dollar or driftwood.

Tags: Add new tag, Cambria, Central Coast, Moonstone Beach
Posted in Central Coast Communities | 3 Comments »

4th of July - Cayucos Style

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

Cayucos has the absolute best 4th of July celebration!! It is one of the last small town celebrations

where everyone gets in on the action.

The small town parade starts at 10 and hosts usually around 65 entries - everything from ‘true’ small town floats to families riding bikes to people walking. This is such a popular event that people start setting their chairs up on the main drag the Tuesday before the 4th to make sure they get the ‘ideal’ spot.

The fireworks are shot from the pier and are amazing considering that Cayucos only has about 3,500 full time residents. You can watch from one of the boats from Morro Bay that anchor on the water just down from the Cayucos peir. The beach is always a favorite spot for family and friends to gather to dig bon fire pits and wait for the firework.

Then if you are really lucky, you know someone who owns one of the beach houses where you can sit on the deck, BBQ, watch people, watch the ocean and then view the fireworks up close and personal.

Seriously, next year you need to come!! But make your hotel reservations early cuz Cayucos does fill up quickly!

Tags: Cayucos, Morro Bay
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

Atascadero’s First Relay for Life - BIG Success!

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

I had a fabulous time at Atascadero’s American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life last night. The luminaries that lined the pathway around the Sunken Garden were a beautiful tribute to those who have cancer, are cancer survivors or have succumed cancer. It was so emotional to take the silent memorial walk, remember and see how cancer has and does touch so many lives from infant to the elderly. I am so fortunate to be able to take part in this fund raiser with so many others from my community. Actually I am truly fortunate to live in such a great community on the central Coast.

My beautiful 15 year old daughter stepped up and did her part between 1 am am and 3 am so the rest of us could relax a little.

Then about 3:30 am my friend, organizer, and business owner (Earth Tones) had a huge hankering for pizza. So being the good friend that I am, drove to the only store open 24 hours,bought a pizza and raced home to cook it. There we were at about 4 am eating peperoni pizza. Thank goodness we walked a lot.

I was partcularl impressed with all the teenagers that were particpating. It was fun and uplifting to walk with a few of them and hear why they were walking. One of the girls I talked to was frustrated because she hadn’t raised as much money as she wanted to. She has a grandmother in the hospital with cancer and is concerned about a spot on her mother’s face that she fears is cancer. Yet, with all that she has a wonderful upbeat personality! Here’s to our youth!!

Next year I’m going to take copious amounts of pictures to show you all how fun it is!

Tags: Atascadero, Central Coast, Relay for life
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

Atascadero’s First Relay for Life

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

sunken My beautiful town of Atascadero is hosting their very first Relay for Life. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is where we walk for 24 hours to raise money to help fight cancer for American Cancer Society.

My children and I got involved a few years ago when my brother was diagnosed and consequently died of lung cancer. Everyday, I seem to meet more and more people or know more people that have one form of cancer or the other. My hope is that through our donations, focus and attention we can stop this disease in its tracks. To me, the Relay for Life is a very rewarding, emotional and inspirational event. My goal this year is to raise $500. If you can help, that would be AWESOME. If not, send your prayers for a successful event! atascadero-sign

There are a couple of ways to contribute:

Donate money directly at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/andeenast

Purchase a luminary for someone you know who is a cancer survivor, has cancer or has died from cancer.

3. Come to the event and purchase the little items each booth has available – varies by booth but you typically see – food, water, pins, hats, etc.

4. Go to one of the fundraiser events posted on the website http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=18970

5. Join our team!

My daughter, son and I will all be walking – we usually are the ones that walk through the late (or early) morning hours.

If you are in Atascadero, please come by and walk a lap with us, join in the activities and see the luminaries. It is truly a moving experience.

See you there!

P.S. If you call me early on Sunday, I will probably not answer - I will be sleeping…. zzzzz

Tags: Atascadero, Relay for life
Posted in Central Coast Communities | 2 Comments »

$1,500 Tax Credit for Home Improvements.

Monday, May 11th, 2009

If you are planning on doing any upgrades to your SLO County home in 2009 or 2010, check out the new tax credits for energy efficient home improvements. You can get up to a $1,500 tax credit for:

Heating/Air,
Windows,
Doors,
Insulation,
Water Heaters,
Biomass Stoves (what the heck is that?) and
Roofing projects.

Geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and small wind energy systesm receive 30% of the cost and have no maximum limit.

Who doesn’t want to save that kind of money in this kind of economy?

To be sure you maximize the amount, check out the details at www.energystar.gov BEFORE you start your project.

Tags: San Luis Obispo County, SLO
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

Santa Barbara Fires

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Santa Barbara impacted by this latest wildfire. The devastation is impossible to even imagine especially for us not living with it each day. Santa Barbara has sure had more than its share of wildfires lately. I hope this one will be the end of it for years to come!

For those who have been concerned and calling, San Luis Obispo County has not been impacted. The fire has not come as far north as Morro Bay. You can see smoke in the air in Santa Maria area but not much north of there.

For those who live in San Luis Obispo County, please make sure to protect your homes by trimming the native brush, grasses, etc that grow close to your homes. Our area is dry and we have been very fortunate that we have not had any major forest fires for quite a number of years. Let’s do our part to do what we can to prevent them!

Which means - I need to go weed whack my hill….. Off I go! Practicing what I’m preaching!

Tags: fire, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, santa Barbara, Santa Maria
Posted in Central Coast Communities | 1 Comment »

Central Coast Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers!

If you are looking for something fun and a little different to do - Morro Bay is hosting it’s Best of the Bay Dog Show from 3 - 5 pm. It’s beautiful, warm, and sunny so take the family, pack a picnic and go enjoy the dog show, the Embaradaro and the beach with the majestic rock. Perfect day for kayaking or sailing.

ENJOY!!

Tags: kayak, Morro Bay
Posted in Central Coast Communities | No Comments »

Perfect Massage - Earthtones in Paso Robles

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Spring has finally sprung in San Luis Obispo County. The wild flowers and bulbs are blooming, the grass is growing, the birds are chirping in the tree and the chipmunks are grabbing acorns. Time for new personal growth, for interior spring cleaning, exterior yard work and garden planting. Lots of stooping, digging, hauling, carrying, moving, walking, pushing and many other ‘ing’ words as well. All these additional activities while maintaining your normal work load

If you are like a lot of us, this time of year you are sore in places where you didn’t know you could be sore. The internal stress goes up a bit and because of the additional load, you feel more tired. For me, the muscle soreness almost always shows up on the left side of my body - in my back and hip. As a result I am aways on the hunt for the perfect massage in SLO County. One that works out all my muscles - especially the problem areas - puts me into a deep sleep in the middle of it and moves the energy around so that leaves me feeling serene, relaxed and at peace for the rest of the day. Now that is what a massage is all about.

Fortuanately for me, a couple of years ago I stumbled onto just that perfect massage or massage therapists. At the time this therapist was in the lovely little town of Atascadero but has since moved their business to the bustling mecca of Paso Robles, just short 10 minute drive away.

EarthTones Center for Healing
Phone: (805) 238-4413
Email: Earthtoneswb@aol.com
Location: 1319 Park Street, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo

Here’s how to experience this amazing, perfect massage… Call Earthtones at (805) 238-4413. If a guy answers - that would most likely be Greg - tell him you want to book a massage with his lovely wife Mary. If a lady answers, it is probably Mary so she can book you. Tell them that you read about them on my website….

Then on the day of your appointment, drive to 1319 Park Street. Now make sure to leave a little time either before or after your appointment so you can browse the local art work and very cool items in the gallery. Make sure to drink lots of water afterward! Then let me know if that wasn’t one of the best massages you have ever gotten.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is the Mary does but I can tell you that whatever it is, you will walk out a different person than when you walked in. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to tell you that this perfect massage will cost you LESS than $100.

Tags: Atascadero, massage, Paso, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, SLO
Posted in Central Coast Communities | 2 Comments »