Destinations

Vintage 3 Faces Toothpick Holder

EPEngineer By EPEngineer2 min read1K views

Excited and anxious for a relaxed and fun afternoon; we took a trip up into the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains. We had planned a trip to Crestline, CA and today was that day, rain or shine. Regardless of the winding roads and the motion sickness, Crestline is a city we fell in love with four years ago. Crestline is a small town. It’s charming, welcoming and it feels like a World of its own. The sights are breath-taking, the locals are friendly, helpful and the shops are full of little treasures. When it comes to buying Vintage/Antique pieces, this is one of the places we trust and go to. We’ve been in luck so far.

Our first stop was at the Garden Shed & Co. Shop. The kids instantly fell in love with a Cowboy Screw Sculpture which we ended up buying. Myself on the other hand, who is into rare Vintage Wrenches, added a new tool to my collection: a Vintage Garden Pruner. From there we proceeded to My Favorite Things, where we met shop owner Yolanda and stayed a while admiring her huge selection of treasures. Read about her shop here.

Cowboy Screw Sculpture.

At the Crest Forest Senior Citizens Thrift Shop, I bought a Nautical Wooden Decorative Anchor as well as a Three Faces  Toothpick Holder for our collection (this piece is also known as Three Graces, Three Sisters and Three Fates). It is from the 1960’s and it is a reproduction by L.G. Wright. The original was produced by Duncan Miller in the Late 1880’s. What fascinates Joan the most is the history behind the art work.

1960’s Three Faces Toothpick Holder by L.G. Wright.

After remembering taking some courses in Philosophy and learning about “Three Graces and Fates” in High School; my wife did some research to refresh her memory (knowledge does not update itself). She finally stumbled upon an article while searching for additional information on this Toothpick Holder. The article was written by Zsuzsanna E. Budapest on The Fates and Destiny. While recounting a life changing incident that happened to her and to which she now sees as fate; she proceeded by giving us a bigger picture of the Mythological Goddesses. They are Females portrayed as Fates and Sisters. It is said that when they are in good spirits, they become the Three Graces and when angered, they are called the Furies.

Silverwood Lake SRA & the beautiful Mountains of San Bernardino National Forest.
Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area.

What a beautiful way to start the weekend.

Mother’s Day at A Botanic Garden

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read619 views

Mothers are irreplaceable and life would never be the same without them. I know for sure that mine wouldn’t. I love being a Mom and more importantly, I’m blessed to have a wonderful Mom.

We spent part of our afternoon at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, CA. This event was sponsored by Rain Bird Corporation and we received four free tickets provided by the company as well. The purpose of this event was to raise awareness of America’s Public Gardens and their important role in promoting environmental stewardship, Education, plant conservation and water conservation in Communities nationwide.

It’s impossible for one to see all the beauties this botanic garden has to offer as it is spread across 86 acres. We walked for almost two hours, admiring the native Californian plants, learning a little bit about each one and of course, taking pictures and videos. We will have to come back to see more areas of this amazing garden.

Ticket Booth.
Ticket Booth.
 Flags.

Garden Flags/Signs.
Re-creation of a Tongva family complex and dance arena.
Re-creation of a Tongva family complex and dance arena.
Gazebo.
Gazebo.
Giant Sculpture.
Giant Sculpture.
Mother's Day 2009 (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden).
Mother’s Day 2009 (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden).

Our day wouldn’t have been complete without stopping by Mix Bowl Café, our favorite Thai Restaurant in Pomona, CA.  I highly recommend this Thai Restaurant for its high quality authentic Thai food, the great customer service it provides as well as the warm and welcoming environment.

To all of you, beautiful and strong Women, I wish you a blessed day filled with love and appreciation.

Weekend In Maryland

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read777 views

We returned home yesterday from a three day vacation in Maryland. It was the first flight we took together as a family. At first, I was worried about flying with a one year old; but it actually turned out great. He was calm, well behaved and slept almost through the entire flight. For me, those were signs of a wonderful weekend.

The White House by night.
Partial view of the White House by night.

One of my brothers picked us up from the airport along with my dear Mother and dropped us off at the residence of my other brother. As soon as I got a chance to close my eyes, I slept almost half a day. My brothers got to meet their nephew for the first time and we met their significant others. Despite everyone’s busy schedule, we had a great time and we created beautiful memories that will last forever.

On the morning of our last stay, my brother surprised us by driving down to Chesapeake Beach Veterans’ Memorial Park (one of the major attractions). It turned out to be a lovely day and we quietly walked along the Chesapeake Bay. While visiting a shop on North Beach, my Son had his eyes on what appears to be a Vintage replica of a Leviton Truck by Branch Electric Supply Company. After making some purchases, the shop owner decided to gift him the truck. Oh, boy, was he happy.

Beach Sign & Decorative Paddle with Lighthouse Scene.
Beach Sign & Decorative Oar with Lighthouse Scene.

Of course, the trip wouldn’t have been complete without seeing my friend and sister in Christ, Emilienne, who drove all the way from Virginia on our last night with her sister and daughter to see us.

Joan and Emilienne.

As much as we enjoyed being around those beautiful individuals, we are very happy to be home and grateful for a safe trip, to and fro.

High Desert Life: What To Expect

JM Perez By JM Perez3 min read1.4K views

How is life in the High Desert of California? Some of you might ask. We moved here without knowing what to expect, except the fact that up here there’s less noise and pollution as opposed to life in bigger cities.

Well, we’ve only been here a month and the heat is exhausting (keep in mind that I am almost a month away from bringing my first child into the World). I have gone days at a time without stepping outside for fear of fainting or something. Other than the inconveniences cited above, the High Desert is quite a beautiful place to live. We’ve been blessed with high winds (though it feel more like a curse when they are gusty) to compensate for the heat waves and extremely high temperatures.

Adjusting

In just a few days of being here, I found myself drinking a lot more water than ever before to fight dehydration and tiredness. Drinking water has so many benefits amongst which healthy skin, healthy heart, weight loss, help with digestive problems and so much more. Click here for more information.
Within the first few weeks you will experience some degree of dryness, especially of the heel (cracked heels/heel fissures). One thing you could do to help prevent this is to constantly moisturize and wear socks. Click here to learn about some Home Remedies to help you deal with this problem.

High Desert People

The first time we drove here to view the house, we were greeted by a neighbor across the street who wished us good luck in getting the house. Once we finally settled in, a next door neighbor came over with a large basket of food and fruits. A few days later, another neighbor across the street stopped by to offer some gardening tools to get us started on weeding (things we didn’t have to worry about in our apartment). It was all overwhelming to say the least. High Desert people are welcoming and friendly.

Nature/Environment

We are home to Weeds and lots of them; they are faithful, they do not discriminate and they give a dirty appearance to the area (thanks to the wind, which carries the seeds from one location to another). Due to the amount of weeds, most homeowners tend to choose gravel over grass for their landscape design and drought resistant, low maintenance plants are prominent as they cut down on water costs. Keep in mind that regardless of your choice of landscape, weeds will always make their presence known. The bottom line is that you will constantly have to work at it to keep your yard looking beautiful.

The Air is fresh and pollution is kept to a minimum. We have some of the most stunning Sunrises and Sunsets. The view of the Mountains are a delight to wake up every morning. We also get snow here at least once a year every year which is an experience on its own. Our home area is close to the path of the Santa Ana winds, which cool you down in the summer and keep us cold in the winter.

High Desert Sunset.
Beautiful High Desert Sunset.

Destinations/Attractions

Roy Rogers’ Apple Valley Inn
Victor Valley Museum & Art Gallery (Discover your own backyard through programs and exhibits about the cultural and natural heritage of the High Desert).
Concrete Dinosaurs, a 1970 mini-golf park featuring concrete Dinosaurs now deteriorating.
All Saints Lunatic Asylum– Haunted Attraction
Blackbird Airpark Museum
Cal-Earth Inc., The California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture.
Amargosa Opera House and Hotel
Scandia Family Fun Center
Chuck E Cheese’s Fun Center
Route 66 and California Route 66 Museum.
Old Town Victorville
Lake Arrowhead, a scenic mountain resort in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary, a non-profit, educational organization, founded in 1980 to save and protect the wolf in the wild and in captivity.

For more Destinations and Attractions in the High Desert of California, please visit the High Desert Insider, a guide and directory to High Desert Entertainment, Events, and Recreation. For local breaking news, visit the Victor Valley News.

Father’s Day at Huntington Beach

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read582 views

What a wonderful time we spent today at Huntington Beach! We spent our afternoon celebrating Father’s Day at our friend’s parents beach condo, where we had lunch. The long walk on the beach and the Pier was relaxing.

Awesome Day at Huntington Beach.
Awesome Day at Huntington Beach.

Happy Father’s Day to all the awesome Fathers out there, who work hard to give their families the best life possible.