ENCINITAS - Encinitas Fall Festival. Held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Downtown Encinitas. Cost: Free. Contact Downtown Encinitas Mainstreet Association (DEMA) at 760-943-1950.

EUREKA - Mushroom Fair - The Humboldt Bay Mycological Society presents the annual Mushroom Fair at the Redwood Acres Fairgrounds. HBMS is a non-profit organization devoted to the appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of fungi. Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, 3750 Harris St., Eureka, CA. Call: (707) 822-8856

FALLBROOK - Holiday Art Faire - Join the wonderful holiday experience on the grounds of Pala Mesa Resort at an upscale local Artists and Artisans event that includes ceramics, pottery, sculptures, oil, acrylic, watercolor, pen & ink, fiber art, photography, digital art, jewelry, murals, hand painted ornaments. Aqua Terra Restaurant will be selling food and beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, within the Art Faire. Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Cost is $10 for tickets in advance, $15at the door. Location: Pala Mesa Golf Resort, 2001 Old Highway 395, Fallbrook, CA 92028. Stay at the Pala Mesa Resort

LAGUNA BEACH - Saw Dust Festival Winter Fantasy Art Show Opens, Community Tree Light Ceremony. 4 weekends only, this annual event features art gifts for sale for the holidays. Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cost: $6 adult. Location: Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA. Info: (949)494-3030. sawdustartfestival.org

NAPA - Gifts ‘n Tyme Holiday Faire - This popular event, the Holiday Faire, features 82 booths of fine crafts, art, and gourmet foods. This is a great time to get your Christmas shopping done early – with the personal touch! Special orders are accepted and delivered by Christmas by most vendors. The Greater Napa Valley Lion’s Club again features the home-baked goodies annual sale, plus a full kitchen serving excellent homemade lunches and dinner. Time: Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Cost: Admission and parking are free, and the Downtown Shuttle makes stops in front of the Expo every 20 minutes.  Location: Napa Valley Exposition’s Chardonnay Hall at 575 Third Street, Napa, CA. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call Kim or Mark at 925/372-8961, or e-mail: afterthegoldrush@sbcglobal.net

ORANGE - Irvine Park Railroad Holiday Train. Time: Daily. Cost: Parking Fee. Free admission, fees charged for train rides and activities.

REDONDO BEACH - Seaside Ice Rink is open for outdoor beach ice skating next to the sunshine and sand. seasideice.com

SAN BERNARDINO - Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony. Carolers, cookies, hot chocolate, and a visit from Santa Claus transforms the National Orange Show Events Center’s scenic Lagoon into a glowing, enchanted wonderland with the annual lighting of a 70-foot holiday tree. Time: 5 p.m. Cost: Free. Location: National Orange Show Grounds, San Bernardino, CA. nationalorangeshow.com

SAN FRANCISCO - Pier 39 Tree Lighting Ceremony. Time: 1 to 6 p.m. Performers, entertainment and a host of activities on this special day. Tree Lighting begins at 5:30 p.m. Location: Beach Street at Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA. pier39.com

SAN JOSE - Ballet San Jose Pirates of Penzance! Gilbert and Sullivan’s PIRATES OF PENZANCE explodes onto the ballet stage with swashbuckling pirates and damsels in distress. It’s a show you won’t want to miss. Event runs only through November 22! Read the details

SAN JOSE - Downtown Ice - San Jose’s outdoor rink opens to Public for season. Cost: $13-15. Location: Circle of Palms, 170 S. Market St. between San Jose Museum of Art and Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California. Call: (408) 279-1775 ext. 45 or sjdowntown.com

SANTA ANA - Head to Toe: All About Your Body. Explore the science under your skin with Taco Bell Discovery Science Center’s exhibit that includes five interesting body topics– skeletons, organs, the senses, keeping healthy and general body facts. Hours: 10am – 5pm. Cost: $9.95 Age 2 to Teen; $12.95 Adult . Location: 2500 North Main St., Santa Ana, CA 92705. Call: (714) 542-2823. discoverycube.org

SANTA CRUZ - Monarch Butterfly Tour. Visitors can take Monarch Butterfly Tours at Natural Bridges State Beach. These walks take place during the winter months, when migrating monarchs come to Santa Cruz.  Since Monarch Migrations vary, call the park to find out about the butterfly populations.   Time: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Location: West Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, CA. Call: (831) 423-4609.

SAUSALITO - Vintage Jewelry Show. Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $6. Location: Sausalito Events Place, Idesst Hall, 511 Caledonia St., Sausalito, CA. goldengateshows.com

VALLEJO - Return to Mare Island’ Touro University’s Walk/Run. 4th Annual ‘Walk/Run will start on the Touro University campus and take many scenic routes through the area and eventually ending up back at the campus where food will be served. Everyone who registers for the walk/run will receive a t-shirt, refreshments, snacks, and more. Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. MareIslandRun.com/

I was going to take a picture of my food at Johnny Reb’s but I forgot.  It’s so smokin’ hot, you just gobble it down when it arrives at your table. It’s the only restaurant where NOBODY’s on a cell phone. Their mouths are too busy–eating.

When you order BBQ chicken or ribs at Johnny Reb’s, they are cooked so slow and long in wood smoke that the chicken bones turn red, and smokey flavor stays on your hands hours later, even after you wash them.

Sweet potato fries…these are the finest. Everyone who tastes Johnny Reb’s sweet potato fries leaves their own golden fries behind and bee-hives their way to my plate for more, which is fine.

Tea? Sweetened ice tea comes in big, Ball jars. It is so satisfying that you can drink a couple jar-fulls, then by-pass the peach cobbler desert in favor of this candy-flavored beverage. Other sweet drinks include peach, cherry, or mint julep lemonade.

Bitty salad…ice cold, crispy, with a slice of dill pickle on top. And it’s “all you can eat.”

Hush puppies… hot, crunchy crust, smooth inside these flavorful, buttery balls.  Mighty fine.

Birthday? Kiss the pig and stomp on peanut shells, then yell “yee-haw” with the crowd.

The Elvis Shrine Photo- -he’s smiling and looking at you, no matter where you sit. He’s alive!

Bathroom? Grab the spoon handle on the door and step into a cozy room with the noise of clucking chickens, cows mooing, and pigs oinking.There’s something so comforting about farm animal sounds and bathrooms!

Before you get a bill, the friendly folks ask you if you “jaunt smo” (want some more).

“Addle doot” (that will do it,) you answer back.

“Smat ju, jeet nuf?” (What’s the matter with you, did you eat enough?) your friends ask as you wear that painful grin of over-indulgence.

Don’t undo the pants or belt buckle just yet. Pay the bill and leave a tip.

Grab a toothpick heading out the door, where the bathtub filled with flowers at the foot of the stairs reminds you that it’s time to go home to relax.

As you drive away, you notice an Indiana license plate on the car in front of yours and you ask, “Isn’t that where  Ball jars that they use in Johnny Reb’s come from?” Recalling the license plates from various states hung on the walls inside the roadhouse, you turn on the country music and and slide your tongue across your teeth to dig out that piece of meat caught between them.

It is just one more reminder that it’s good to be in California, where you can get a real Southern meal at Johnny Reb’s restaurant, located in Orange, Long Beach, Bellflower and Victorville.

Cost: $8 - 25 per person. johnnyrebs.com

“I want Surf City businesses to succeed and our residents to save,” said MacDonald, who came up with the idea of   www.huntingtonbeachcoupon.com.  He has more than 50 businesses on the website, and over a dozen more coming soon on a website where anyone can print a coupon and save at local stores.

Surf Photographer John Lyman said he uses the coupons to eat at Coach’s Deli in downtown HB and for other things.

“The coupons are helping us and we get them regularly,” said an appreciative Abdo Zeidan, owner of Coach’s Deli.

Armand Balian, owner of ARCO Smog Pro, said he has been getting coupons for smog tests and auto repair. “I think it’s terrific that Chris is helping stimulate the local economy,” Balian said.

MacDonald, a Mayor’s Award recipient for his volunteer work throughout the city, doesn’t charge the businesses anything and even designs coupons for free. “It’s my way of giving back to the community and helping people where it matters the most–in the pocketbook,” said the HB native.

“I want to encourage people to spend and save locally. This will provide HB with a more vibrant economy.”

Businesses wishing to receive a free ad on www.huntingtonbeachcoupon.com can contact Chris at justlisted@yahoo.com. He’ll even design the coupon for you free of charge!

Southern California Travel –Are you hitting the skies like 1.49 million passengers passing through Los Angeles / Ontario International Airports this Thanksgiving 2009? The busiest days at each airport are expected to be Friday, Nov. 20; Wednesday, Nov. 25; and Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009, with airlines forecasting passenger load factors approaching 80 percent on most flights and some flights fully booked. Airport officials suggest passengers departing LAX during the daily peak travel periods — from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.; from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; or from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — to be in their airline’s ticketing lobbies two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.

A number of airlines have changed terminal locations since last year. Midwest Airlines now operates from Terminal 6, while Aeromexico operates at Terminal 2. Mexicana Airlines is now located on the Upper/Departures Level at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Passengers should check with their airline for their location or visit lawa.org.

reLAX public lounge in TBIT at LAX is the only lounge located before passenger security screening offering the public a comfortable and relaxing waiting area with refreshments and business services such as wireless internet access, faxing, photocopying and printing. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to midnight daily. relaxloungelax.com.

• Travelers can pay $10 for a one-hour period
• $25 for three-hours
• 35 for five-hours
• $50 for all day

Look for some new dining amenities to make your trip a little brighter. lawa.org/flyaway

New concessions at LAX include:

• Pinkberry at Terminal 1
• Gladstone’s 4 Fish at Terminal 3
• Petals are now open, meet and greet area of TBIT

New services at Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) airports this year include:

• LAX FlyAway® bus service expanded to Irvine, its fourth location, at  Irvine Station at 15215 Barranca Parkway.  $25 each way, adult
• Van Nuys’ terminal at 7610 Woodley  Avenue (intersection of Woodley and Saticoy) $7 each way, adult
• Union Station East Portal at Berth 9 in Patsaouras Transit Plaza, $7 each way, adult
• Westwood on Kinross Avenue west of Gayley, adjacent to UCLA Parking Structure 32, $5 each way, adult

Painting above features beach girls themes by Bill Anderson of Anderson Art Gallery, Sunset Beach, CA. This original is not the “Beach Girls” painting by Gregory Kondos that recently sold at auction, but is part of a series of themed paintings that portray the beach lifestyle by another renown California artist.

Los Angeles, CA– It’s nice to see that world appreciates not only California’s great painters and artists, but also its prominent themes such as the painting of a Beach Girl by artist Gregory Kondos, who painted an oil on canvas original in 1975. It is not shown in this blog post, but is a beautiful painting that would be cherished by any one who appreciates fine art.   “Made in California” art auction featuring modern and contemporary artists from around the state recently saw bids on paintings and art sell beyond expected prices as bidding was strong, thanks to a desire for the themes that are lively and fresh, even 30 years after they hit the canvas. Record prices were established for California artists such as Kondos, in an event that included a simulcast in L.A. and San Francisco showrooms. When his Beach Girl painting hit close to $52,000, even during a recession it proved that art as an investment is on the rise.

Many artists have faced challenges during the recession and news coverage of their financial difficulties has received extensive news coverage. For Kondos, a prolific painter with a long career teaching art in the university setting, the retired teacher keeps a sketch book a his best friend everywhere he goes. His giclees can be purchased for around $500, and some of his original art sells for as low as $2500 through Elliot Fouts Gallery, efgallery.com

Art auctions are scheduled  through Bonhams & Butterfields,  a company grown from the roots of Bonhams, established in 1793 as one of the world’s oldest auctioneers of fine arts.  bonhams.com. Made in California auctions will continue in May 2010.

While we only can dream of having the talent to turn our beach girl images into collectible, timeless paintings, we do love the beaches and themes that are honored by California artists. One artist who captures the Southern California beach lifestyle with his original paintings is Bill Anderson, owner of Anderson Art Gallery in Sunset Beach.

Throughout California migrations have dwindled over the past decade, but there are places and people working hard to help preserve the habitats of the Monarch. From Surf City Santa Cruz south 384 miles to Surf City Huntington Beach, the goals to protect the Monarch are the same (read about an HB park where they are trying to bring the butterflies back). If you visit or live in Santa Cruz County, be sure to make a date for a tour of the Monarchs at Natural Bridges State Park, where the unique ocean rocks form what appear to be bridges in the water.

Each Saturday and Sunday  through February 13, 2010 guests can take Monarch Butterfly Tours at Natural Bridges State Beach. These walks take place during the winter months, when migrating monarchs come to Santa Cruz.  Since Monarch Migrations vary, call the park to find out about the butterfly populations. Call: (831) 423-4609.  Time: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., except for Dec. 26 when walk is at 2pm only.

Additional places to visit and see Monarchs include Pacific Gove and Pismo Beach.

Newport Beach, Calif. — The annual Newport Beach tree lighting event that lights up the sky in Fashion Island occurs annually in November, and greets customers, shoppers, kids, adults and curious folks to the Tree Lighting Ceremony of what’s claimed to be the nation’s tallest tree. How this tree is constructed is a story unto itself. If you have a chance to visit Fashion Island this holiday season, do head for the courtyard and study the tree. Do you notice all the plastic needles on the tree? The claim of being the tallest or biggest comes from the size of the trunk which is shipped into the mall.  Stripped of most its needles in transport, the tree is re-created to look lifelike by adding many artificial leaves and branches.  Yet when they see it, most people never realize its branches and leaves are mostly man made. It’s a beautiful site, even though it lacks the authentic scent of a wooded forest that you’d expect when you stand close to such a large specimen.  The tree lighting ceremony is held two nights– Nov. 20 & 21, 2009. Admission to this outdoor event is free.

Pasadena is celebrating the holidays beginning Friday November 27th through Sunday November 29th.  The arrival of Santa, a magical tree-lighting ceremony,  spectacular performances, a Holiday Open House with special in-store events, exclusive savings and giveaways,  are free and open to the public.

The fun begins the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 27th at 6pm with Pasadena’s biggest tree-lighting ceremony and Santa’s arrival in the Courtyard at One Colorado.  The event kicks-off the season with the 92nd Rose Queen…read more

When I was a kid in the Midwest, I only had access to cheap, rubber flip flops. I wore them during the summer months, but couldn’t wear them to school, or in the winter cold and snow. For someone with feet that didn’t fit the mold, this open shoe provided so much relief for my feet that I dreaded winter’s return.

At California’s beaches, people wear their flip flops all year long. It is one more thing we love about living in an amazing climate that changes only a few degrees throughout the seasons. I alternate my favorite flip flop shoes with tennis shoes–and my preferred flip flops are made by Crocs. They were built well , which may attribute to the company’s financial woes. The shoes are comfortable, amazingly sturdy, and I’ve worn them daily for several years–the same pair! When Crocs sponsored the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball tournaments held at California’s beaches, they introduced a bright yellow Crocs flip flop shoe to match the logo design of the event.

With mellow weather and casual attire in the workplace, at weddings, churches and nearly every place you go, flip flops have been stylized to fit those many occasions that require an extra buckle or sequin. At Nordstroms you can buy flip flops for evening dress up, or you can purchase affordable flip flops for the kids at Walmart, KMart and Target where you can pay as low as a few dollars.

When you pack your belongings to visit Southern California beaches, bring your flips flops.  You can’t go wrong with a shoe that fits in your luggage, and is acceptable most anywhere you go. If you need new threads, put flip flop sandals on your list of items to shop for in California. Nearly every beach store has them.

Here is a summary of current beach water quality conditions during November 2009:

While only one or two California beaches dropped off the “F” list for water quality this past week, the closure of Alameda beaches due to an oil spill from Dubai Star oil tanker was an additional set back.

ALAMEDA COUNTY BEACH CLOSURES:

• Crown Beach 2001 Shoreline Dr.
• Crown Beach Bath House
• Crown Beach Bird Sanctuary
• Crown Beach Sunset Rd.
• Crown Beach Windsurfer Corner
• Encinal Beach north
• Encinal Beach south

F grades came to 30 California beaches this week with a warning that you should not swim in these waters. Doing so could make you sick. If you should not heed warnings, do be sure not to get water into your eyes, ears, and any open wounds or sores. Wash off thorougly after exposing yourself to these beach water sources below:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Avalon Beach- btw. Pier & Busy Bee (1/3 distance)
• Avalon Beach- btw. Pier & Busy Bee Rest (2/3 distance)
• Colorado Lagoon, south
• Marina del Rey, Mothers’ Beach - playground area
• Redondo Municipal Pier - south side
• Santa Monica Municipal Pier
• Solstice Canyon at Dan Blocker County Beach
• Venice Beach at Windward Ave. drain

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY “F” GRADES

• Cowell Beach west edge of Dream Inn
• Cowell Beach, west of the wharf
• Main Beach Lifeguard Tower 2
• Rio Del Mar Beach
• Santa Cruz Main Beach at the Wharf

ORANGE COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Dana Point- Doheny Beach, north of San Juan Creek
• Dana Point- San Juan Creek, ocean interface
• Doheny Beach - 3000′ south of outfall
• San Clemente - Poche Beach

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Cabrillo Beach - harborside at restrooms
• Candlestick Point, Sunnydale Cove
• Candlestick Point, Windsurfer Circle

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Gaviota State Beach at Canada de las Cruces
• Jalama Beach at Jalama Creek

MONTEREY COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Monterey Municipal Beach (at the commercial wharf)
• Stillwater Cove, at Beach and Tennis Club

MENDOCINO COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Hare Creek

SAN DIEGO COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Mission Bay, Visitor’s Center - proj. of Clairemont

MARIN COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Stinson Beach, South

HUMBOLDT COUNTY BEACHES “F” GRADES

• Moonstone County Park (Little River State Beach)

SAN MATEO COUNTY “F” GRADES

• Rockaway Beach at Calera Creek