ESCONDIDO IS A GREAT PLACE, THAT'S WHY PEOPLE COME HERE.

When I first came to Escondido I found so much to love about the city. The incredible vegetation, wonderful mountain views and a downtown that was like ones I'd see on TV shows in the 50s. I get the same opinion when I talk to visitors to Escondido. When I talk to people who have moved here by choice--from nice places in and out of the US--I hear great things too. But talk to some—the ones that write nasty comments at nctimes.com are a particularly vicious bunch—and you’d think this was one of the worst places on Earth. The last town I lived in in New England seemed to suffer from the same malady. Lots of visitors loved the place, newcomers did too, but some who’d lived there for decades thought it was pretty close to a living hell. And just like here, the battle raged between those who saw the city as having a great future—onward and upward—and those who thought it could only be ordinary.

For a city to grow, it needs to take some risks, and not all of them will succeed. But I believe there is a time when an opportunity can't be ignored, can't be talked away, can't be obscured by side issues. I hope the City Council has the nerve to take that risk because I believe there are many people who would love to spend some time in downtown Escondido. Let's make sure they have a nice place to stay. See you tomorrow after pancakes and papers.

ESCONDIDO IN SUMMER: SUNSETS AND SITTING OUTSIDE.

No matter how hot it gets during the day, it usually cools off enough so you can sit outside for the evening. But unless you’ve lived someplace where the mosquitoes come out to eat as soon as the summer sun begins to set, you may never truly appreciate the joy of evenings in Escondido. In New England, you have to spray or rub on a good layer of bug repellent—and a lot of them don’t smell or feel great—before you’d even think of stepping outside at dusk. And then you have to light the citronella candles and hope they stay lit and do their job. But usually you find yourself scratching at your ankles, slapping your upper arms, and then feeling a tingle and burn as a mosquito hits its mark. If there’s a good breeze you might be lucky and avoid the onslaught, but usually not, so you either head for a screened in porch or stay inside. So when you’re sitting outside with a glass of wine or a bottle of beer--even better, imagine "Dancing in the Streets" on Friday night--be glad you’re in Escondido. In many other cities, you’d already be scratching. See you tomorrow. (I took this sunset photo, I think it's one of my best.)

WILL WE LET THE HOTEL SLIP THROUGH OUR FINGERS?

I've been to the site set up by the developer for the Marriott Hotel project. There is not too much information there, but it is certainly helpful to have it all in one place. I hope it will continue to provide us with information on the project until it either begins or leaves town. Putting up this site makes me think the project still has a fighting chance, and if Abed's comments about the redevelopment money are true, someone now opposed to the project will probably change their mind. I do believe Escondido has an inferiority complex about itself that visitors do not understand. Take a walk downtown, have a coffee or a cocktail, imagine how nice Grand will look with more people walking along and the storefronts busy. Let yourself think lovely thoughts. See you tomorrow.

FROM ESCONDIDO TO SAN DIEGO, IT'S ONLY HALF AN HOUR.

Just a short post because I've been away all day and have some things to take care of. I had to be in San Deigo at a decent hour this morning and I was worried when I didn't get out the door until 45 minutes before my appointment. I always figure I'm going to hit bad traffic so I get up earlier and give myself extra time...and I am always early, somethimes very early. But the last few times I've headed down the 15 and then over 163, there has been virtually no problem (KNOCK ON WOOD). My husband says traffic is down 10% since the recession, but I've had the same experience for years. So I think I'm going to start thinking that it is half an hour OR LESS to San Diego, and that is another reason I LOVE ESCONDIDO. (Now the ride back is a whole other story and getting through Rancho Bernardo can still me a nightmare but that's the trip back, not the morning when you would have to get up earlier.) See you tomorrow.

KEEPING COOL WHEN ESCONDIDO SIZZLES. (FARMER'S MARKET TODAY 3:30-7)

I lived in Riverside for awhile so I've dealt with hot. When I moved to New England I fell in love with winter and found out just how unpleasant a humid summer could be. So here I am at the beginning of my 10th Escondido summer and I will once again look for ways to keep cool. Fans and shade can do the trick many days. A one minute shower can be lovely, as can a quick misting with the hose. And of course, there's always escaping to air conditioning, at home, at the mall, at the movies. But I've found the best way for me to deal with summer is to escape into winter. So I go to the library--which is airconditioned--and begin to look for books based in Scandanavia, Alaska, the Arctic. I have some favorites: Smilla's Sense of Snow, The Cage, Sue Henry's Alaskan mysteries, Soldier of the Great War. So I think this morning, before it gets too hot, I'll wander over the library and find the chilliest books on the shelf. This afternoon I'll sit down with a pitcher of iced tea in front of a fan and hopefully find my way to a shiver or two. See you tomorrow.

WHAT WOULD IT COST FOR A NIGHT OF "DANCING IN THE STREETS?"

Dancing in the Streets has expenses Cruisin' does not. [I do not have the Cruisin' budget so again this is all supositions based upon what I've gleaned from newspaper/online articles etc] The two main ones are dance floors and instructors. I spent some time online trying to get an idea of prices. Here are some guestimates for the basics.
1. Portable Dance Floor Rental--I think we would pay at most $1/square foot if we signed an ongoing contract, maybe we could even get it for less. So, 1500 sq. ft of dance space----$1500
2. Dance Instructors--I see rates of around $10/person for group dance classes. Let's guess we would have 200 people actually "learning" the dance. That would seem to mean $2000 for the night. Hopefully we could get 4 teachers for that price, which would allow us to break up into smaller groups. And then we might have a group of amateurs who want to come and show off for a bit. That could be fun.
So, how do we begin to defray those costs? We go looking for sponsors. Some are such naturals it would be hard to ignore them. Tango night? Tango on Grand of course. Salsa night? La Tapatia. Square dancing? Champions seem right to me. We'll have to think more about who might be willing to sponsor other dance nights like swing, jitterbug, hip hop and whatever else is going on out there. If you have a dance style you'd like to learn, drop me an email.
As for location. If we had it on Grand we'd need to block/reroute traffic, but if we picked a side street, like Maple, it wouldn't be so disruptive. That's something we could work out I'm sure.
Of course there are other costs for the event, but most if not all of those would be the same regardless--police, portapotties, clean up etc. So cost wise I do think Dancing in the Streets could happen on a budget similar to Cruisin' Grand. But it's not the only alternative. If you have ideas, send them along. I'll be thinking about it too and will post as the summer progresses. See you tomorrow.

MY RESPONSE TO JEFF FRANK'S COLUMN..HOW ABOUT A LITTLE "DANCING IN THE STREETS?"

I don't know Jeff, though we had a nice conversation when he interviewed me for a piece about this blog in his column and I certainly appreciate his writing about this blog. But when I read today's column "Time for Escondido to shift direction?" I knew I'd be spending some time on this posting. I don't know which upset me more, his disparaging of all major activities that have changed the look of this city or his idea that seniors want "budget restaurants...an old-fashioned ice cream parlor" and other ideas that are the opposite of why I moved to Escondido. If I had wanted an old-timey town, I would have moved to Julian. I'm part of a group of people, middle-aged and older, who chose Escondido because they were looking for a small town feeling and reasonable real estate prices. We have money to spend on culture, art and good food. We like museums and we like downtown. Sometimes we go out to the Vietnamese place on Mission, another times dinner at Tango.

When Jeff talks about the success of Cruisin' Grand, it's important to remember--as I discussed in my last post--that over the course of 10 years that event has been paid for by at least a million, if not two million dollars of taxpayer money. (I'm still working to find the actual cost of the event, if anyone wants to email me that info I would be thrilled.) Why it has held sway for 10 years, taking up every Friday night for 26 weeks, still baffles me, though obviously the City Council has been one source of support.

Once again, I will say I would love for us to find a second event--I'm dubbing my personal choice for now "Dancing in the Streets." I've pasted some lyrics below and you can click here to get to a You Tube video of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas performing on Soul Train...if it doesn't get you moving, well are you sure you have a heart beat? I'm going to continue to create a plan for "Dancing in the Streets" including a budget and possible sponsors. See you tomorrow,

Callin' out around the world
Are you ready for a brand new beat?
Summer's here and the time is right
For dancin' in the streets