A Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Train Ride to Santa Barbara

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This Thanksgiving my wife decided we would do something different with our young boys.  Forget about cooking and gorging ourselves in the comfort of our own home.  Forget about the relatives and the cleaning.  Forget about football games and carving.  We took the train to Santa Barbara!

Now taking the train from Camarillo to Santa Barbara is not exactly cheap.  For a family of 4, reserved coach seats put me out $108 round trip.  But this was about the experience of riding the train, not saving money.  (That said, it was definitely nice not worrying about parking and paying for parking in Santa Barbara!)

The Camarillo train station is at 30 Lewis Road. Parking was free. Taking the train was an adventure for us clueless suburbanite autobots used to our cars. We nearly missed the train because we didn't know which side of the train tracks to wait at.  Thinking our train would be on the east track, a more savvy individual informed us the other side was closed. So we literally ran up the path back to the other side with one gal who also had been waiting for the train. The train came a few minutes later and we hopped on.

We sat down near the gal who had run with us. Minutes later the ticket collector came by and it quickly became apparent she had no ticket for the train. My wife and I looked over and without discussion, we whipped out $20 to pay for her ticket. A small Thanksgiving good deed.

The train ride went by quickly. It was definitely a fun experience as we rode through Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria and took in sights of the Pacific Ocean.  In about an hour we were in Santa Barbara.

So this is what we did the rest of the day, leading up to a 7 pm return train ride:

  • Rented a quad bike at Wheel Fun Rentals on State Street

  • Rode the quad through Chase Palm Park up Cabrillo Boulevard past the lagoon to Stella Mare's Restaurant for a 1pm Thanksgiving feast.  Let me tell you, my wife and I were READY to eat after burning off calories on that bike!

  • Enjoyed a 3 course Thanksgiving meal.  The main course options were (of course) turkey, prime rib and salmon.  I had the salmon and it melted in my mouth.  The rest of the crew had turkey and it was delicious.

  • We burned some calories in the 70 degree weather by riding the quad back, stopping by Chase Palm Park, running around at the playground and visiting the carousel.

  • Hung out by the beach near the pier, dipped our toes in the water, walked onto the pier for ice cream and headed back up State Street.

  • Walked up State Street and had a snack at Baja Sharkeez, walked back to the train station, played Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says, Tag and other games until the train arrived.

What an unbelievably beautiful day it was!  There was not a cloud in the sky. The temperature was in the low 70s.  There were NO CROWDS in Santa Barbara!  I have to thank my wife for starting what may well be a new tradition for us!

And I ended the day tired...and HUNGRY! Yes, believe it or not, I think we actually burned off more calories than we consumed! What a great feeling!

Local Nonprofit Fuzzy Dog and Cat Rescue Saves Animals' Lives

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Santa Monica based nonprofit Fuzzy Dog and Cat Rescue, Inc. has rescued, rehabilitated and placed nearly 200 animals since 2005.

Scooby-Roo's Story

Credit: Bark Pet PhotographyScooby-Roo was found covered in scrapes and wounds on his chest.  He was cowering in fear and fighting to live.  Poor little Scooby-Roo was found missing limbs and he was thumping around to get by.  He was most likely born without his front two legs and that’s why his people no longer wanted Scooby-Roo.  He is only 7 months of age and a bundle of joy.  Last week he was custom-fitted for his wheels with the donations that came in from Michael Jackson Fans, and celebrities like Alyssa Milano and Shannon Elizabeth. ABC News recently covered the story:

Angel's Story

"Angel" (Credit Fuzzy Rescue)A volunteer was at a local vet’s office getting monthly antigen shots for her personal dog with allergies. There was a woman sobbing in the lobby and we asked her why she was crying.  She regularly feeds her dogs chicken and steak bones, and one of her dog had gotten a steak bone lodged in her esophagus near the larynx (see the x-ray below).  She didn’t want to pay money for the dog’s surgery, and/or refused to take the dog to the emergency for this matter.  She propped the dog on the treatment table, and opted to put her down.  This dog, whose name is Angel, was wagging her tail and licking the owner’s hands waiting to be killed.  Her teeth were covered in tartar and she was unspayed.

Angel's X-Ray (Fuzzy Rescue)They could not see this dog die, so they asked for Angel.  She is sweet and extremely mellow, 7 years young.  The owner signed a relinquishment form and Angel was rushed to Advanced Critical Care and Internal Medicine in Tustin.  The entire treatment cost Fuzzy Dog and Cat $6,500 because it involved oxygen, nearly a week of hospitalization, peg tube, tracheotomy, IV fluids, 8 medication and endoscopy to have the steak-bone removed.

Would you like to help? The organization is seeking donations to help pay for Angel's treatment.  And they are seeking a new home for Angel!

Fuzzy Rescue is a no-kill 501(c)3 nonprofit animal welfare organization.  All donations are tax deductible.  For more information, visit www.fuzzyrescue.org.

Camarillo Artist Chuck Trunks Selected as One of 12 Essential Artists by 1800® Tequila

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Chuck Trunks, whose work has been prominently featured throughout Conejo Valley Guide, has outdone himself again as one of only 12 artists selected for special limited edition 1800® Tequila bottles.  One of Chucks' originals, "You Got a Problem?" will be featured, in color, on a limited quantity of bottles of 100% Agave Silver Tequila! 

Congratulations Chuck!  Visit Chuck's website at www.trunksart.com and the 1800® Essential Artists website at www.1800tequila.com/essential.

Lifelong Conejo Valley Resident Helps Animals Through Her Art

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It was through Twitter that I recently came into contact with Stella Violano, a lifelong resident of Newbury Park.  Stella is a professional artist who has a distinct passion for painting animals.  In fact, she has dedicated thousands of hour of time to an organization she founded called Art Helping Animals (www.arthelpinganimals.com). AHA raises funds for non-profits that help animals in need.

Take a look at this amazing montage of some of the over 200 paintings of homeless animals that Violano painted between 2000 and 2006. All of the animals shown found loving homes.

And I love this touching video of Brigette, a homeless senior dachshund who found a home through Old Dog Haven, a charity supported by AHA. Violano's work transforming the aging pooch into Queen Elizabeth is magical. 

Given the Conejo Valley is named after a rabbit, I asked her if she had any bunny art to share with us.  Oh she certainly does!  I selected 3 of the 6 pieces she sent my way. If you like these, let me know and maybe I'll post more at a later date!

For more of Violano's work, visit http://smvstudio.com and http://paintingaday.blogspot.com.

Teletubbies Dance Video: Walk it Out

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I sat my 3 year old on the computer to check out some Spongebob videos when all of a sudden this loud hip-hop music comes outta nowhere.  I look down and see Teletubbies moving and grooving in front of him. We got a good laugh out of it. Then I notice the video has over 10 MILLION views!  Wow, is it the Teletubbies or the music!!??  Hmmm...

Classic Humor With Debbie Downer on Saturday Night Live - 5/1/04

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I caught this from Saturday Night Live rerun last night and had to share it.  This initial appearance of Rachel Dratch as "Debbie Downer" is classic because the actors couldn't stop laughing through the skit, which also features Linday Lohan.  According to a Wikipedia article about Debbie Downer (gotta love Wikipedia), part of the reason for uncontrollable laughter was that the actors hadn't rehearsed with the "wah wah" sounds heard after Debbie's cynical, depressing lines.