Stampede Saturday - Klondike Days

K days is what they call it now, all I remember was that when my father was alive the family would travel from Yellowknife, NWT to Edmonton, Alberta to attend a few days of this very popular event.  It usually happens after the week of the Calgary Stampede (I think we also attended this some years).  But I remember my father prefers this and it was part of their summer holiday.  This year it is from July 18 to 27.  My sister and I were contemplating on attending but due to the unpredictable weather, we might not be able to make it.  It would be nice after many years that I have not checked it out.  Although they have a great line up of artists, it would be fun to see The Village People (nostalgic) and of course Tim McGraw (if you are a true country fan).  As we are not into rides (due to the height phobia), this part will not be very exciting for us.  Their food and crafts booth will be what we will check out, that is if we are going.  I did a little searching and I believe they are not serving Beaver Tails which would be the deal breaker for me.  

Mountain Monday - Arts and Wine Festival

It was the Arts and Wine Festival in Mountain View, CA this past weekend.  We were able to get there last Saturday for a couple of hours.  Since my friend for the golf course was working at one of the booth, we also stop by and check out their display - very colorful classic cars.  I also wanted to make sure that I check out to see if they have the Essense of O (soaps that makes you feel good).  I was able to get my favorites because they do feel great on your skin and they have pretty smell.

 

Lemongrass, Gardenia, Milk & honey, Lavander

The photos of the cars are not as great because of their location but you can have an idea of what they are if you know your classic cars.  

1930 Hot Road

This is my golf buddy Bruce's 1965 Corvair

Of course I had to take a photo of the special scrap metal statues that the artists welded together.

 

Semana Sunday - Cinco de Mayo

Hoy celebramos cinco de Mayo.  Vamos a comer tacos con salsa y beber margarita.  OK that's all I can say.  This past Thursday we went for dinner with one of Jeff's friend and his girlfriend who is from Colombia. I was able to practice a little bit of what I learned from my Spanish class a couple of years ago.  But of course when I can't remember the word, I would just use my translator app on my phone and be able to start a conversation with her.  I know it's cheating but it was fun.  We were suppose to try and teach her English instead of us trying to speak in Spanish.  Today there are going to be a lot of different celebrations around the bay area.  For us it will be just having dinner at home with Jeff and my MIL.  But we are sort of having our own celebration by having Mexican theme for dinner.  If you understood the first part of my post then you know that we will be having tacos (pork) with my home made salsa, mexican rice, refried beans, tortilla chips and frozen margarita.  For dessert, it is a bit boring - watermelon - but it fits the color of today's celebration - red, white and green.

Festival Friday - That's how you know summer is here

My MIL gave me a clipping from a news paper about the upcoming festival and then while on the bus to the Casino, I noticed an ad for the the Arts and Wine Festival on Berryessa Rd. somewhere in San Jose.  That's how I know that summer is really around the corner.  If I remember it correctly I had featured all the different festivals we have and today I just want to go by where we have been in the past year and where we might go this year.

• Mushroom Mardi Gras Festival in Morgan Hill - May 25 &  26
• Garlic Festival in Gilroy - July 26 to 28
• A la carte and Wine Festival in Mountain View - May 4
• Rivers of Chocolate in Saratoga - April 28   
• Sausalito Art Festival - August 31
• Artichoke Festival in Watsonville - May 18 & 19
• Strawberry Festival in Roseville - May 11 & 12
• Maker Faire Festival in San Mateo - May 18 & 19
• Taco Festival in San Jose - May 25
• Campbell Boogie on the Bayou - May 18 & 19 

Of course if you are up to listening to live bands, getting together with friends, having a bite or two and maybe even a drink, then you will enjoy the free Music in the park/street.

• Sunnyvale summer music series - Every Wednesday from June 19 to Aug 28     
• Mountain View music downtown - Every Thursday also from June to August
• Los Gatos music in the park - Every Sunday from June 16 to August 25   

Some of the dates have not been posted for other festivals in the bay area as well as other surrounding community.  As you can see, you could go almost every weekend but then, who is going to do the house chores and the yard work.  That's why we would only pick one or two that we really like to check out.  Since my sister will be here in May, I am sure she will be interested in going to at least a couple.  Let me guess - Mushroom and Artichoke Festival.

 

Simply Saturday - Festivals Begin

One of the many things that I love about living in the Bay Area is all the different Festivals during the summer months.  We have attended one when my BFF was here and last weekend we took our grandson to the Bayou Festival in Campbell.  This weekend is the Mushroom Festival in Morgan Hill.  I seem to recall going to this one a few years ago when I was just visiting Jeff.  They had all kinds of mushroom dishes to taste.  I remember that the entertainment was great.  Lots of different cover bands.  From now until the end of September, there would be a festival almost every weekend.  We have to actually just pick the ones that we have not been because sometimes, they have almost the same vendors for food and same artisan/crafts.  I usually check them out to see which bands will be featured in each of the festivals.

Mushroom Festival - Morgan Hill - May 26-27

Strawberry Festival - Arroyo Grande - May 26-27

Arts and Wine Festival - Sunnyvale - June 2-3

Oyster and Beer Festival - San Francisco - June 30

Garlic Festival - Gilroy - July 27-29

During the months of July and August, it will the different Music in the park series.  There's one in downtown Sunnyvale on Wednesdays, downtown San Jose on Thursdays and downtown Los Gatos on Sundays.  It all depends on what band will be performing.  The people who attend these series usually have their routine and spots each week.  They all have their comfy chairs, maybe a little table for snacks and drinks.  Everyone is dancing to the music of the band who usually plays Top 40's, oldies and even latest dance music.  It will be a fun summer and hope to lose some weight walking, dancing, tennis and of course golf.  What do you love about your summer?