Tourists Think Escondido is Cool, Except for our Lack of Nice Hotels

I work in retail so I talk to many people. One couple in there early 30s came in and told me how surprised they were by Escondido. They had come for the weekend to see the Wild Animal Park but they were blown away by what they saw in town. Cruisin' Grand was cool, the Mingei yurt exhbition was awesome and they'd had great meals at Vincents and Tango. They thought that Grand had a great mid-century feel and everyone was friendly and helpful---they said the town felt "arty." They would come back again and would recommend it to friends, but they wished there was a nice place to stay in town rather than just bargain motels. What if we figured out a way to create a boutique hotel downtown? Maybe a dozen rooms or so? Is there a buidling that could be retrofitted rather than starting from scratch? I have no doubt it could flourish, we just need to find a way to make it happen. Can we start small and work our way up? [The above image of a fancy bathroom comes from nestgiftbaskets.com. I figured since I used their photo they should get a link from me.]

NEIGHBORS CREATE NEIGHBORHOODS How to make our City even more beautiful

Today we have a guest blogger who has been involved with the city's neighborhood program.

The other night I attended a neighborhood meeting in my part of town, an event sponsored by the City. There are an amazing number of programs the City of Escondido offers from neighborhood clean-up to requesting road repairs, shopping cart pick up or graffiti removal, new or additional street lights, you name it. Since the City itself cannot know about all the needs, these neighborhood groups jump in. It is not only about the commitment to clean up or create an attractive City, it is also a social enterprise, bringing neighbors together in the good old American way where people look out for each other thus building a tighter community.

This group I belong to, for example, sponsors a clean-up every year – the City provides a huge dumpster on a specific date and time, the group advertises it to encourage neighbors to bring their old tires, broken chairs, tree trunks, etc. The goal obviously is a tidy front yard, but it can lead to much more. While cleaning up you might get inspired to try to plant some drought resistant plants and get rid of the dead front lawn – which might inspire your neighbor to follow your example. I have experienced it myself – it can have a snowball effect. However, ‘my’ group’s clean-up is only one of our undertakings. At a later date, there will be a block party for the neighbors to gather. We will have a potluck and games for the children

You see, these all are issues concerning the whole city – and us, the citizens. A Neighborhood group thus closes a gap by getting involved in learning about what is available to them and the City, learning of the needs of their citizens. Should any of you be interested in forming a neighborhood group, I would suggest to contact The Neighborhood Liaison at City Hall Phone Number 760 839-4579. I highly recommend the idea. The City coined the phrase “NEIGHBORS CREATE NEIGHBORHOODS,” and that goes very well with “WE LOVE ESCONDIDO.”

What will you be doing Friday, Saturday, Sunday?

I will be working tomorrow so will miss be missing the 10 am formal dedication of The David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge. Click here for a picture of it at nctimes.com As soon as I have a chance I will take a walk across that bridge--it is for pedestrians I hope--to get an interesting view of the lake. The first time I saw that lake I felt like I was looking at a small Lake Como and was enraptured. So the weekend lies ahead and what will you be doing? I'm planning a small barbeque--Asian chicken thighs wrapped up in flour tortillas smeared with hoisin sauce--on Friday night and work around the house on Saturday. Sunday brings the Street Faire--what's with the "e", did this used to be a Renaissance Faire?--where tens of thousands decend upon our fair city. This year it doesn't start until 11, execpt for the pancake breakfast from 8-11, where exactly I do not know. (I must admit the website information, no matter where you look, is not too clear on the event. Why should I have to call someplace 2 days before the event to find out what's going on?) But this year there will be a beer garden and a grill that can cook thousands of bratwursts at once. Now that might be worth checking out, though I would love to see fewer "informational" booths--I mean how much do I need to know about bottled water, water filtration systems, replacement windows and emu oil? So I have an appointment out of town Sunday, but should be back at 5 in time to wander Grand for a good hour and will do so, reporting back to all here. Will you be going to the street faire? If so, let us know what you experienced. If not, why not? Have fun. Claire. PS I finally figured out how to make URLs actual links. I thought it involved code. It didn't. Sorry for my slowness.

So we all start out as babies

And then we go through those awful teenage years, become adults. get married or not, have kids or not and then that day comes when we get our first letter from AARP. And from that point on, Joslyn Senior Center on Broadway in Escondido--funded by the city, county and private donations--is ready to help. (Info is at the city site: click here to see more info.) I stopped by there Wednesday at about noon and things seemed quiet. That's because it was lunch time and lots of people were there for what might be the most social meal of their day--$3 for seniors if you can afford it, but no one gets turned away. Library, pool tables, indoor shuffleboard, both gift and thrift shops,meetings for AA, Alzheimer's caregivers, Parkinson's and much more. I also met a woman who helps seniors who have difficulty making their pensions/Social Security stretch to meet their expenses. She confided that she keeps a "private pantry" to help people when they run out. I asked her if she could use donations. She said "Yes, but not money." "What then?" I asked. "Two things. Canned food and....adult diapers." There you have it folks. If you know, like I do, that any one of us could be coming to that pantry some day, I hope you make a donation--there's a Food 4 Less right next door if that helps. I'm sure if you just take your grocery bag to the front desk and say, "This is for Char" it will get to the right place.

Yesterday was my No Car Day

I live downtown so it's pretty easy for me to get around without the car. But I do it not for "green" reasons but because it's great exercise and the best way to talk to people and see what's going on.(If you don't live downtown, you might consider driving down and then parking the car in a neighborhood off Juniper and having your own "no car" experience. I guarantee you'll do it more than once,)
So yesterday, I knew I wanted to go to the farmer's market and decided to catch a matinee of the new Star Trek movie first. The weather was perfect and along the way I tried unsuccessfully to help a man find a government office (something having to do with unemployment on 2nd), dropped off a couple books at the library, stopped and talked to Blackjack (the grey parrot outside the barber shop next to Pounders) and made it to the movies in about half an hour. Had to choose between regular movie and IMAX. Glad I chose regular, think the IMAX would have made my head explode. Loved the movie and if you watched the original series you will love the back stories though it is great fun for anyone, though of course time warp continum always gets me confused. Out at five which gave me plenty of time to make a quick stop at Old Navy (camisole for $5), hit the farmer's market (one of those cauliflowers will be roasted with olive oil tonight), photograph dogs, and say hi to a few vendors. All in all a great day and one of the reasons I Love Escondido. PS I will be out for most of the day so no comments will be posted until about 5pm since I need to ok them first.

The Farmer's Market was today 3:30 to 7. These dogs were there, were you?

The city website has those as the summer hours that begin May 1st. I really like walking around and just seeing who is there and what they're buying, eating, wearing. I especially like the dogs. Maybe I will take my camera today and see what pics I can snap and post them back. (I know I said the same about flower pics from my morning walk last month, but I took those with my camera phone and discovered I can't just download them but have to send them at 25 cents a pop. Will use the camera from now on.)HERE ARE THE PICS OF THE 3 DOGS I SAW TODAY. As you can see in comments, the dog at the bottom left is YOSHI from the East County, who had a very nice time at our Farmer's Market..
So go to the market, have a crepe or a juicy orange, try a new vegetable and have fun.
[ a digression: Over at the Escondido Experience website the posting says "New Winter Hours! 2:30PM - 6:00P." I have to comment about this alternate city site. It's beautiful, it keeps a decent calendar of events, but it is really understaffed. From what I understand, there is basically one city person scrambling to keep it updated and accurate but it is hard because this is just one of the many hats she wears. Is there a better way to handle this site? Is there some way other people could help?]

How about a permanent farmer's market?

I've lived in Escondido for 10 years, and that big low building on the north side of Grand Avenue a couple doors east of the Korean restaurant has been empty most of that time. (Can someone tell me what it used to be?) Except for a short stint as a quasi art gallery it's just been this dark hulking spot. Well, imagine if it was turned into a farmer's market like they did at Fanueil Hall in Boston? http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/ (I looked up how to make these links active but it involves code, which I am not willing to tackle today, so you'll have to cut and paste to go to its website.) Okay, we're not New England with an amazing old building but then again we don't have ice, snow and bitter cold. So we open both sides, cut a whole or two in the roof and pop in sliding glass panels and we could have a wonderful market with great produce, fresh breads, incredible foodstalls. Well, you get the idea. Could this be done? Who owns the buidling and how much are the asking for it? We have the potential for a great downtown. Let's make it happen.

Happy Mother's Day

I understand there is a tour of old houses today. It started at 11 and runs until 4. Details are at:http://oldescondido.org/5152/index.html. (I have not yet figured out how to make links active in posts but will do so this week.)

Yesterday turned out to be pretty busy on Grand with live music, a little chalk art and lots of people enjoying themselves in the warm and breezy weather. At the same time, it frustrates me so to see businesses that are open during the week closed on Saturday. Why can't Champions stay open an extra hour or two? Why does the Downtown Deli not open at all? Is it really not worth it? I'm in retail so there are always people asking where they can get lunch a little later in the afternoon and the pickings are slim. If you want lunch at 2:30 on Saturday-forget Sunday virtually any time--where do you go? Is there anything we can do to make more businesses stay open on Saturday? All ideas are welcome.