Cat Town Cafe, Oakland

10/26/14

I love my little rescued kitties and I'm glad to know that many others will find loving homes thanks to shelters like this one.  The open-room atmosphere is great for getting a better look at a






cat's personality outside of a metal cage.





The café was busy because yesterday was their grand opening.  I had a 3 pm appointment with my husband and a friend who volunteers as a foster mom for this group. I ordered a tea while we waited. ($2.50 for a small cup). It was served scalding hot so I had a hard time drinking it (even holding it was difficult). I didn't put a lid on it (trying not to be wasteful of plastic) so I just tossed most of it when it was time to go into the room with the cats. You can take your drink in with you, but only with a lid, and it needs to be set on trays while you interact with the cats.

The decorations are wonderful and the cats seemed lazy and stress-free, like they should be. There were lots of nooks for sleeping, playing, and hiding.  Hopefully the loving people running this place will find permanent homes for lots of pretty kitties.

Garbati-Bottega, Fine Men's Clothing, Peppermill Casino, Reno, NV

10/12/14

Since I would only expect an overpriced men's clothing venue inside a Reno casino, this store both meets and exceeds my expectations.


















My father-in-law forgot to pack swim trucks this weekend. Since $100 for a pair wasn't worth it, he swam in his fitness shorts.

Aside from men's swimwear, they do have a good selection of men's clothing, from casual to dressy. Be prepared to pay a little extra, but based on the brands they have, you'll probably get what you pay for (in a good way).

Isleton Brannan-Andrus Historical Museum, Isleton

6/17/13


A LESSON IN HISTORY

Our favorite stop in Isleton, aside from the food vending area, was the museum. There was a lot to look at and we learned about the history of this little town. We saw historical art pieces, read about the first major fire, and lots more.  Did you know there have been three movies filmed on Main Street, Isleton? None as famous as Petaluma's American Graffiti, but still it's cool knowledge.

The Asian-influence on the culture and art in this small community is outstanding. Some of the carving and sewn displays were magnificent pieces. I wish the museum were bigger! Definitely worth checking out if youre in town.

Wagon Wheel Burlyard, Orick

6/14/13


REDWOOD CASTLE

I get super excited when I'm in a car and I see something worth pulling over for. I have a bad habit of yelling out "STOP!" and this makes my driver (aka my husband) pretty angry.  He also doesn't approve of me putting little toe marks on the inside of his windshield, but he tolerates this most of the time.

So while driving on 101 through Orick I spot a castle made of redwood. "STOP!" I scream, and he's still glaring at me while he pulls over. This was definitely worth pulling over for. We didn't need any wooden furniture for our home, so we didn't go check out the place, but their carvings out front, including this one were soooo cool! I tried to find more information about the company when I reached home, but didn't find much. Although, I did find another picture of the castle that dated it back to 1998! So cool!!

Guacamole Authentic Mexican Grill, Concord

10/9/14

This restaurant recently took over a Thai place that had been here for the last few years.  The customer service was awesome and I loved hearing it's a family owned and run place, but the food was just kind of average.













With all the local taquerias a mile away, I'm surprised that this place would dare shell out tiny 1-2 oz plastic containers of salsa to go with the chips.  How wasteful is that. Plus, the tiny bit of salsa didn't go very far.  With our chips and guacamole  ($5) we had three containers of salsa, which were then thrown in the trash. I hate this kind of wastefulness.  Also, I asked for a hot salsa, but was given the same mild, or perhaps that was their hot, and it wasn't hot.  On another request for hot I received a bottle of Tapatio. Okay...

I had a carnitas taco and a crispy potato taco (which they specially made me even though it wasn't on the menu). Both were okay. The crispy taco had almost no lettuce but the potato was good.  My husband had a breakfast burrito but he really disliked the amount of chorizo and the lack of eggs.



Fresh flowers on the tables are a nice touch, but I'd rather see a roasted jalapeno and radishes on my plate.  For authentic, cheap Mexican food, Monument Blvd. has a lot of great choices. This place is going to have to make a few changes to keep up with all that awesomeness.

Evelyn's Crawdad Clothing and Souveniers, Isleton

6/18/13


SMALL TOWN GIFT SHOP - 45 Main Street

You know how when youre on vacation and you drive through the small little towns you often see a gift shop with cute trinkets? That's what this store reminded me of. Our day-vacation to the Delta town of Isleton not surprising turns up lots of crawdad themed items. This store in particular had cute American flag colored napkins on display, and awesome crawdad wear, such as aprons and oven mitts.  Wide-brimmed hats and purses and wall decorations were also on display.

A woman running the place (Evelyn) sat by the window near the entrance, probably the best view for people watching as the Cajun Festival took place outside. I asked if she had any headbands with crawdad claws attached, but she did not. She did have some necklaces and visors though. Bummer. I really wanted some claw ears to wear!  Lots of cute stuff to look at but not sure how much business can be drummed up year-round in such a themed store. Worth checking out if you're in Crawdad Country!

Arepas Bululu, Santa Clarita

6/18/13
TRADITIONAL VENEZUELAN CUISINE (Food Truck)

I love when I'm at a festival and see a mobile restaurant with a non-traditional food for sale. Don't get me wrong, I love a good, crispy corn dog and a soft serve when I am at the fair, but I also like trying new things.

Arepas Bululu is a newer company and their third event was catering at the Cajun Festival in Isleton (2013). I hope they did well competing with the crawdad sales for business (we had already eaten a giant turkey leg, and unfortunately weren't hungry enough to order the Venezuelan food). I stood in their line for a lemonade and was happily surprised with the refreshing blend of flavors in my $2 cup.  One of the ladies working came around and asked if I'd like more ice in it. She happily added some which was really appreciated on the hot day.

Their food looked outstanding, and hopefully I'll see them around at other local events.

AirBART, Oakland

10/2/14


AirBART takes you from the Oakland Airport BART Station to the Oakland Airport.  I've never had to wait for a shuttle, which makes this a pretty convenient way to get from BART to Oakland airport. I've been lucky to have exact change every time too. $3 each way for each traveler.

On our last trip I put all the bills in at once ($6 total for my husband's and me), not realizing they're to be inserted one at a time. The driver was displeased. I've actually never had a driver that I thought was very friendly.

If I drove a shuttle I'd make people high-five me as they boarded.

Family Spa, 2598 Treat, Concord

10/1/14




I was happy to hear that this location is a sister-store to the Family Spa business located at 4475 Treat and Clayton. I've really enjoyed service there and thus had high expectations for the new spot.



We came in on Friday night and I saw a woman in the front room reading a magazine; I feared we'd have to wait for a couple's massage. Thankfully there was no wait and my husband and I were taken immediately back into a dark room together where we soaked our feet in warm water, before two ladies cleaned and dried them, and then began an amazing 30 minute foot and leg rub.  After that we were directed to a room together where we undressed and crawled onto massage tables covered in the softest blankets I've ever touched. The 30 minute back massage was awesome. I enjoyed mine more than my husband enjoyed his, but he wasn't unhappy.



The place was clean and smelled nice. Towels and blankets were soft. My masseuse was gentle (but not too soft) as she rubbed my back. It was a nice amount of pressure. Her name was Cessy and my husband was massaged by Michelle.



It was only $37 each for the one-hour massage ($35 with cash). We'll totally be back to support the new location!