Chuck E. Cheese's Was Founded in 1977 by the Guy Who Turned Down One Third of Apple

Chuck E. Cheese's was founded by Nolan Bushnell in 1977, the same year he sold his company, Atari (makers of Pong) for $28 million. The previous year, Steve Jobs, who worked briefly for Bushnell at Atari, offered Bushnell a 1/3rd interest in the newly founded Apple Computer, for $50,000. Bushnell said no...ugghh!!

Chuck E. Cheese’s is now 45 years old, with over 600 worldwide locations, including Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

www.chuckecheese.com

City of Fillmore Neon-Lighted Sign From Pre-World War II

You don't see many signs around town like the Fillmore sign at the northeast corner of Highway 126 (E. Telegraph Road) and Central Avenue.

Fillmore sign photo taken as I was waiting at the stoplight driving south on Central Avenue.

The sign was originally constructed in 1940, making it 80 years old. It is designated a historical landmark by the City of Fillmore.

The Fillmore sign is a cool green neon lit up at night

It's not exactly easy getting to Fillmore from the Conejo Valley as you either have to take the winding path of the 23/Grimes Canyon Road via Moorpark or drive out to Ventura via the 101 and take the 126 to Fillmore by way of Santa Paula. Kind of a haul but certainly fun to do every now and then.

At a total area of only 2.8 square miles, Fillmore is the smallest of Ventura County's 10 cities, and its population of roughly 16,000 places it 9th (roughly double the population of Ojai). Fillmore was not named after Millard Fillmore; it was named after Jerome Fillmore, General Superintendent of the Southern Pacific Railroad when they built the line connecting Santa Paula, Fillmore and Castaic.

Quite a quaint little place that is certainly fun to visit, with highlights such as numerous themed train rides at Fillmore & Western Railway, State Fish Hatchery and Railroad Visitor Center, along with an old town feel along Central Avenue.

Fillmore sign as of July 2022

Portrait of Ronald Reagan Made Out of 10,000 Jelly Beans at Reagan Library

Artist Peter Rocha passed away at age 65 in 2004 from Lou Gehrig's Disease but his work lives on at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Rocha was famous for creating portraits out of jelly beans, including this amazing portrait of Ronald Reagan made out of approximately 10,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans.

Ronald Reagan once said, "You can tell a lot about a fella's character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful." explaining why he liked to have a jar of jelly beans on hand for important meetings. His love for jelly beans makes this quite a wonderful tribute to the down to earth Reagan.

Here's a close up of a portion of his face, including Reagan's right eye. Looking at this up close one might think, hey, I could do this! But the positioning and coloring required to get those jelly beans to look so much like Ronald Reagan was a skill unique to Mr. Rocha!

Conejo Valley Guide Social Media Followers Highlight Something Fun They Did Over the Weekend

What did I do this weekend? Spent some time the Channel Islands Harbor, enjoyed Silverstrand Beach and the CI Harbor Farmers’ Market, spent some time in Downtown Ventura, Shopped at The Oaks and the Camarillo Premium Outlets, spent some time on local trails, had a boba, ate some sushi, did errands around the house, replaced the battery in my watch….the list goes on!

We asked Conejo Valley Guide social media followers in Facebook and Instagram to tell us something they did that was fun this past warm June weekend, as part of a drawing for tickets to the 66th Annual Conejo Valley Days coming up June 16 to 26. The response was great and we thought it would be fun to share some of the responses here.

• Attended “Summer is Here” parties

• Baby shower

• Baseball team party

• Birthday parties

• Went to a free concert in the park

• Baby’s first trip to the beach

• Baseball tournament

• Beach walk and lunch at the Ventura Harbor

• Universal Studios

• Estate sale shopping

• Graduation parties

• Pool parties

• Watched a movie (Jurassic World, Top Gun: Maverick)

• Went on a hike

• Dodger game

• Got a kitten, got a puppy

• Indulged in ice cream

• Romantic dinner

• Went to the park

• Went to a splash pad

• Day in Santa Barbara

• Swimming and pool time (probably the most mentioned activity)

• Family time

• Went camping

• Underwood Family Farms

• Hung out with friends at a local taproom

• America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College

• Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm

• Stagecoach Inn in Newbury Park

• Mountain biking

• Relaxed at home

• Went to a farmers’ market

• Lots of graduation parties

• Annual kids and adults kickball game

• Trip to San Diego

• Cornell Winery

• Went on a run in a local park or trail

• Did some gardening

• Bike ride with the kids

• Water gun fun with the kids

• Backyard movie night

• Reagan Presidential Library

• Went to a local beach

Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark

The Roadrunners R/C Club Brings R/C Racing to Freedom Park in Camarillo

The Roadrunners R/C Club manages a facility at Freedom Park near the Camarillo Airport that has several tracks sanctioned for national R/C events. There are off-road and paved tracks that are fun for R/C enthusiasts of all ages, as well as onlookers. The facility is open to the public during the week.

Freedom Park is located at 528 Freedom Park Drive, Camarillo, on 30 acres featuring soccer and softball fields, BMX track and inline-hockey rink. Learn more about the Roadrunners R/C Club at www.roadrunnersrc.com.

Stop by and check it out! It's a lot of fun to watch!

Sweeten Your Day with a Visit to Bennett's Honey Tasting Room in Fillmore

We were in the Santa Clarita area ready to head back home to the Conejo Valley, when I decided, how about if we take Highway 126 for once. So we did.

It was a leisurely drive on a late Sunday morning, when we came across a sign that caught my interest.

After passing the sign, I asked my son if he would like to do some honey tasting, to which he replied, "SURE!" So we turned back!

Bennett's Honey Tasting Room is located just north of Highway 126 at 3176 Honey Lane in Fillmore. It feels really off the beaten path, but is just 5 miles east of central Fillmore.

There's a small parking lot in front of the retail store. We walked up the steps, opened the door, and found ourselves in a small, one room shop, where we were greeted by smiling staff and stacks of honey jars and products.

But what really caught our eye, the reason for our stopping by on this mild, Sunday morning, was the honey tasting kiosk in the middle of the room. We treated ourselves to samples of honey derived from orange blossoms, sage, wildflowers, buckwheat, avocado, clover, eucalyptus and cactus. Honey heaven!

How is honey made? Worker bees suck nectar from a blossom and carry it back to the hive in their honey sacs (i.e. stomachs). On its way home, acid secretions in the sacs start changing the nectar to honey. In the hive, the honey is passed to a receiving bee where it is processed and concentrated for storage in empty honeycomb cells. 70,000 nectar "loads" become one pound of honey. Housekeeping bees "dry" the honey by fanning their wings in unison, then the cells are sealed for beeswax. Honey will keep for years.

My top choice was the cactus flavored honey as well as the "creamed" honey. We inquired about a honey that would be best for combating pollen allergies, and were told the wildflower honey was the best bet. And then we asked about the raw honeycomb shown above.

We were immediately offered a sample of the honeycomb. Heck, why not! Are we supposed to eat the wax comb? Some people do, but most swallow the tasty honey and spit out the wax.  The honeycomb was a delicious treat and we bought one of those too!

Bennett's Honey Farm was founded by Red and Ann Bennett and is currently owned by Chip and Taydee Vannoy. They produce their own honey right here in Ventura County under brands "Topanga Quality Honey" (found at Whole Foods and other specialty markets) and "Piru Canyon Honey" found at farmers' market and fruit stands in local counties.

To learn more, visit www.bennetthoney.com or call 805.521.1375.

The Ventura County Classical Guitar Society Meets Monthly and is Open to the Public

What a small world it is. A Ventura County resident named Peter contacted us regarding making some additions to the local Live Music and Other Nightlife Options compilation.

Not more than a week or two later, while harvesting produce for local charity Food Forward, I struck up a conversation with another volunteer. His name was Peter. After a bit of bantering for over an hour, I mentioned Conejo Valley Guide® to him, to which he replied, "Oh, I know that website!" After a few more back and forths, I discovered that this was the same Peter that had recently emailed the site. Small world!

Peter told me that the Ventura County Classical Guitar Society is a hidden gem. The group of classical guitar enthusiasts meets generally the last Wednesday of the month at the Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District Senior Center (1605 Burnley Street, Camarillo).

He said that it is a fun session to attend is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6PM. Members of the group as well as guests perform for the group starting at 7PM (guest performers start at 8PM). Donations are accepted for guest performers.

So if you're up for an enjoyable evening of live classical guitar performances, visit www.vccgs.com and check out upcoming performances.

Upcoming planned performances:

• 2/22/23: Rodrigo & Niccole

• 3/29/23: Hugo Nogueira