The Sacramento Bee reported today that after tonight’s dinner the Melting Pot in Rocklin will be closing for good.  Last night I went to Pei Wei in Natomas to pick up dinner to go and found the door locked and a sign that said “Sorry We’re Closed”. 16th Street Plaza Cafe, 55 Degrees, Masque, The Rusty Duck, Angel’s Fresh Mex, Shakey Jake’s, Z’s Wine Bar and Bistro, JimBoy’s Tacos on Truxel Road, and the list goes on.  All these and more restaurants have closed in the Sacramento area.  It’s sad to see these memory making icons falling by the wayside.  But some of them have other locations; for instance there is a Melting Pot Restraunt at 814 15th Street, Sacramento, CA, still melting all sorts of things for your dipping pleasure.  And even though the JimBoy’s Tacos on Truxel Road closed Jim Boy is still serving up tacos in several other locations here in Sacramento. 

We will miss these restaurants, but even with all the economic woes in our area the news isn’t all doom and gloom.  The restaurant pool may be shrinking but it isn’t closed, there are still lots of great places to go out to eat when we have a reason to celebrate.  Eating at home has its up side too.  When we eat at home to save money there are benefits besides monetary.  We can actually talk to each other because we don’t have all the noise and distractions of a restaurant.  Our kids can learn that all food doesn’t always come from a restaurant or a drive thru and come wrapped in styrofoam.  Some of my best memories as a kid were all the great family meals and special occasions at Grandma’s house for big dinners with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins.  So drag out Grandma’s recipe book and learn to cook.  It will save money and help you make some memories too.  Then when you are ready to go out on the town and spend some of that “dough” you’ve been saving I’m pretty sure there are some great places left for going out to eat in Sacramento.  I will do my best to convince my husband that it is my civic duty to check them out and tell you about them.  More to come…….

CLOSED - Out of Business

I have already wished all of Sacramento a “Happy Halloween!”, but I just had to share this Halloween pet video with everybody.  So courtesy of YouTube here is Chumbawamba and Scary Pet Video (not really scary).

I just want to wish all of Sacramento a safe and fun Halloween.

I hope you all found a pumpkin patch that had your perfect pumpkin waiting for you.  I also hope when you checked the Halloween Super Store or even you local Walmart for a scary or maybe just a fun costume, that you found the best one ever.  If you are going to a haunted house be sure to take your flashlight to scare away ghosts, and I think a cross and some garlic is supposed to ward off vampires.  If you’re driving, especially in a neighborhood, be sure to watch for all the trick-or-treaters because they get excited and sometimes don’t pay attention to cars.  And last but not least be sure you stocked up enough treats for all the little spooks tonight so they won’t have to trick you.

Just for tonight let’s all forget about the economy, the stock market, the housing crises, and the election and have some fun. 

TGIF and Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Sounds like the plot of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, “Giant Red Rabbit Takes over Airport”!  Time to take cover, it’s not a movie or a fairy tale; there really is a giant red rabbit coming to the Sacramento Airport.  Everybody has been talking about it so you have probably heard by now; it’s been in the paper, in the news, and causing quite a buzz around town.  So what’s all the stir about?

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has approved a 56 foot high sculpture of a red rabbit to be one of the artistic displays at the new Sacramento International Airport Terminal B.  The airport expansion will be funded through airport generated revenue and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.  By county ordinance a percentage of the construction must be spent on public art.  So by law we have to have some art in this new public structure, but the controversy seems to be just what kind of art.  Does it have to be a rabbit?   Why not a frog (Kermit is kind of cute), or a bear (We have one on our state flag).  You see what I mean, just how did we settle on a rabbit, especially a red one?  Some say it’s outrageous, some say it’s whimsical, but everybody seems to have an opinion. 

The second part of all this hubbub is the cost of our giant, non-furry, red metal, leaping rabbit.  It comes with a price tag of $767,000.  That’s right, you heard me, over three quarters of a million dollars.  I don’t have anything against rabbits, but it seems to me we could get a lot more than just one giant red rabbit for that much money.  I’ll bet if we checked on eBay we could get a bunch of rabbits, maybe even a blue one and a yellow one too, and have money left over.  We would probably have enough to paint red bunny signs all the way from downtown to the airport.

Big Red Sacramento Airport Rabbit

 All kidding aside, I understand that art that will make a statement in a large space must also be large, which accounts for a portion of the large price tag.  Although I don’t think we got the most value for our dollars, my main problem with the whole project is not the fact that we chose a rabbit, or that it’s red instead of blue, or whether it is outrageous or whimsical.  I take issue with the fact that the art project was designed by an artist and professor at Denver University.  Especially considering the state of our economy why didn’t we search for someone local to design and produce the art we are going to display for travelers from all over the country to see.  I believe we have a strong pool of talent here in Sacramento.  If we couldn’t possibly find someone capable of producing worthy art in Sacramento, at least we should have broadened our search to the State of California before we looked elsewhere.  Let’s hear some comments on this; surely I’m not the only one that thinks we could find an artist closer to home that needs a job.

Rebuild Fort Natomas is happening November 4th through 9th.  It’s not too late to lend a hand in this worthwhile community project by volunteering your time, tools or donating cash to help the cause.

The original Fort Natomas was built in Jefferson Park in 1991 by volunteers from the community with $110,000 in donations that were raised to turn 12,000 square foot of dirt into a wonderful playground with mazes and slides.  The walls were covered with tiles created and decorated by families and children from the community making it uniquely personal.

Fort Natomas

 On June 26, 2006, a devastating fire destroyed our beloved Fort Natomas.  Before the fire was even extinguished Natomas residents began rallying to rebuild Fort Natomas, which they did in November 2006.  During a 6 day period 2500 volunteers including some teenagers that grew up playing in the park gave time and money to build the new park.  The new play park was even better and more colorful with a custom painted tree mural on the climbing wall and the tile wall restored as well.

Just 23 months later in May 2008 due to arson the entire play structure went up in flames again.  A person has been arrested and has pled guilty to the felony fire.  The local citizens and business community are again pulling together to rebuild this special park, but in a more visible location.  The city recently approved a proposal that Fort Natomas be relocated at Truxel Road and Bannon Creek Dr. at the South Natomas Library and Community Center.  Volunteers and tools are still needed; so even if you don’t feel comfortable swinging a hammer we need people for food preparation and serving, child care, or just help spread the word and tell others about the rebuild effort.  Click on this link for all the details.

Time to take back that hour that we lost in the spring on the second Sunday in March.  Daylight Saving Time officially ends the first Sunday in November, which means at 2:00AM this Sunday it will be 1:00AM.  This prime example of how time flies proves without a doubt that this phenomena has nothing to do with fun as we have so often heard.  It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of a party or fast asleep, time is going to fly back an hour on Sunday, November 2, except in Hawaii and parts of Arizona because they have elected not to participate in this game of flying time.  The point of this is not to talk about flying time or whether it is caused by having fun, but to remind you to set your clock back one hour this Sunday.  So consider yourself officially reminded!

Time Flies

If you haven’t found enough spooky things to do in Sacramento, one of the most famous haunted houses in the U.S. is only a couple hours drive.  The Winchester Mansion is located at 525 S. Winchester Blvd, San Jose, CA 95120.  So if you are looking for some ghostly fun they are having flashlight tours on Friday, October 31, Halloween night.  The tours of the 160 room mansion are conducted with only moonlight and the flashlight each person will receive at the beginning of the tour.  Tickets are $43 and you can buy them online; it is probably a good idea to do that before you make the drive because I hear they sometimes sell out on spooky occasions like this.  Click on this link for ticket info. 

Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA

This house had its beginnings as an 8 room farmhouse purchased in 1884 and expanded to 160 rooms by a stream of carpenters scheduled to work on a 24 hour basis by Sarah Winchester the widow of William Winchester who made his fortune with the Winchester Rifle Company.  Legend has it that she was depressed after the death of her daughter Annie in 1866 and her husband in 1881, so she sought the advice of a medium who told her she had to leave her home in New Haven and move west.  She believed that the ghosts of all the people killed with Winchester Rifles haunted her and the medium convinced her she must keep building or she would die.  Construction stopped when she died in 1922 and is estimated to have cost $5.5 million which would translate to about $70 million in 2008 dollars.  Although I’m not sure about the truth of this, some say she slept in a different room every night to confuse the ghosts.  Maybe she just couldn’t find the way back to her bedroom because the house has 40 bedrooms and as many stair cases (some that lead to nowhere), and many of the rooms have secret passages and rooms attached. 

If you are an amateur architect or design buff like I am, you may agree with me that this sounds like lots more fun than staying home with HGTV and designing on a dime.  I can’t think of a better way to spend Halloween than exploring all the nooks and crannies of this quirky sprawling Victorian Mansion.  But if you are taking the kids trick-or-treating and can’t come on Halloween, or if you are just faint-of-heart and afraid of the dark, the Winchester Mystery House has daytime tours too so keep it on your list of fun things to do for future reference.

I enjoyed the privilege of being an airport shuttle for friends this weekend.  I didn’t have a snappy uniform or an official hat, but I may have found my new calling.  The Sacramento Airport is easy to maneuver and parking for the first half hour is free.  So if you call or check online to see if the flight is on schedule and you time it right you can park and meet your party at the bottom of the escalator with their name on a sign so they will feel important.  It won’t even cost for parking since the first half hour is free.  If you plan to use this trick be sure to tell them to call your cell phone as soon as they land before they get off the plane so you will have time to stow the car and get there before they get downstairs, otherwise you will use that first half hour waiting for them to land.  Then so you won’t go over and have to pay, just volunteer to get the car and meet them out front by the baggage claim while they wait for their luggage. 

Sacramento Airport Escalator

If you’ve ever been to LAX or other large airports you will know what I mean about Sacramento Airport being easy to maneuver.  There are only two terminals (A & B), so I can truthfully say it’s easier than ABC.  Sacramento International Airport may not be as big as some of those crazy airports, but you will find all the creature comforts the “big guys” have, just more compact.  There’s all the normal food offerings as well as a shop where you can find a great selection of California wines, bookstores, gift shops, of course the ever present Starbucks, a shoe shine stand, a place where the weary traveler can relax with a neck and back massage, and free wifi for those of you who might want to check in with the office or maybe find a great website (sacramentoscoop.com) with things to do while you’re in Sacramento.  Besides all that, it is conveniently located and easy to find, just head north of Sacramento on I-5 and follow the signs, you can’t miss it. (Or just click here for directions)  If all my other employment opportunities fail this airport shuttle thing just might have some possibilities.

Airplane

On Wednesday, October 29, 2008, Mickey, Minnie and all their friends with the Disney on Ice show will slide across the ice at Arco Arena straight to your heart.  We all grew up with Mickey and the gang and it’s always a welcome treat to take a walk down “Memory Lane”, or in this case a singalong skating adventure.  What could be better than a visit with old friends and the thrill of swooshing around on ice skates combined.  That’s almost like discovering that ice cream is really good for you!

Disney on Ice 100 Years of Magic

This Disney fun on ice production will be at Arco Arena from Wednesday, October 29 thru Sunday, November 2.  Ticket prices range from $13 to $55 and for more ticket info click on this link.