Man from Reno

Yesterday, Hollister got a treat with a big-screen showing of Man from Reno, a neo-noir, cross-cultural, mystery movie, of which some of the scenes were set in Hollister, San Juan Bautista, and other parts of San Benito County.  Whoo-hoo!

The award-winning Man from Reno came out in 2014. It was co-written and directed by Dave Boyle who was at the showing and did a Q&A after the movie. An extra treat for us, movie-goers.

The movie opens with Sheriff Paul Del Moral of San Marco County (think San Benito County) coming across an abandoned car on a dark and very foggy night. After a few minutes of investigating, he gets back into his car, drives several feet, and bang! A running man collides into his car.  This unknown Japanese man is taken to the hospital (set in Hazel Hawkins Hospital), but, after recouping, walks away without anyone noticing. And, so begins the mystery.

Meanwhile, 100 miles to the north, popular mystery author Aki Akahora has arrived in San Francisco. She has run away on a whim, no longer able to take all the adoration from fans in her home country of Japan. She's depressed and looks to be suicidal, but she breaks out of her funk when she meets a man who makes her feel like living again. He quickly moves into her hotel room, then, just as quickly, disappears leaving his suitcase behind. And, so begins another mystery.

The movie moves forward between the two suspenseful stories. The only thing I predicted correctly was that the two tales would eventually intertwine. Everything else about the plot—surprise!

Another enjoyable aspect of Man from Reno for me was recognizing settings in Hollister, San Juan Bautista, San Francisco, and Sausalito. As you read previously, the hospital scenes in the fictitious San Marco County were set inside Hazel Hawkins Hospital. I'll only tell you about one other setting. The sheriff's office was actually the Red Cross office on Fifth Street.

Missed Man from Reno yesterday or want to see it again? The movie is now available at Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, DIRECTV, and other online sites. Want to learn more about the movie, check the Man from Reno website.

Halloween Fun

Halloween decorations around Hollister are quite chilling for chickens like me. Bwak, bwak, bwak.  Be safe and enjoy your All Hallow's Eve!

Talented High School Thespians

On Friday evening, the Husband and I enjoyed watching No Signs of Intelligent Life, a comedy performed by the San Benito High School Drama 3 class at the Baler auditorium.

The play was about extraterrestrials from the far distant planet of Gilroy pretending to be humans so as to study them more closely. The space aliens are hilariously confused and dumbfounded with the ways of the humans as they relate to them in such situations as gossiping around the workplace water cooler, substitute teaching, dating, survival camping, and purchasing a fast food hamburger.

The young men and women totally delivered the funny. Their passion and joy for the craft of acting was so infectious that I wanted to suddenly audition for a play.

The drama department has several other performances scheduled for the rest of the year. No doubt, they'll be as entertaining as the one we saw.

• November 13: ComedySportz (competitive improvisational comedy)
• January 15: ComedySportz
• March 17, 18, 19, 24, and 25: Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
• April 8: Variety Show/Faculty Follies
• April 22: ComedySportz
• May 12 and 13: Student-directed One-Act Festival

Nano's Caribbean Restaurant

Nano's Caribbean Restaurant is something different for Hollister. It's a wonderful difference, too. Jamaican jerk chicken, coconut prawns with a mango dip, fried plantains, black beans, and more.

The restaurant opened several months ago in the former site of Ella's near Ace Hardware on Airline Highway (aka Highway 25).

The Husband, the Godmother, and I had dinner there earlier this week for the first time. We all ordered dinner plates—jerk chicken for the Husband, coconut prawns for the Godmother, and pulled pork fajitas for myself. Each plate had generous portions of the entree, grilled vegetables, black beans, rice topped with a bit of slaw and pineapple, and a slice of fried plantain.

I not only had a delicious dinner, but lunch as well the next day.

Final Free Fall Concert

This Saturday, October 24, 2015, will be the last concert of the Music in the Park series in Dunne Park on Seventh Street in Downtown Hollister. The concert will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Bring your own blankets or low-back chairs, as well as snacks and drinks. No alcoholic beverages are allowed in the park.

Performing from 4 to 5 p.m.  will be Folklorico Juvenil de Lucy Rodriguez, a dance troupe composed of girls and boys, ages 3 to 15. The dance group performs traditional folkloric dances from Mexico.

Closing out the concert will be The Flashbacks, which will perform from 5 to 6 p.m. The local group, with its smooth voices, is popular for singing 1950s doo-wop songs.

Music in the Park is a monthly concert sponsored by Mr. O's Academy of the Arts, which began this past August. The free concert series will return in Spring 2016. Thanks, Mr. O!

Floating Downward in Tres Pinos

"What's that noise?"

Last Sunday afternoon, the Husband and I looked upward for the source of the fluttering sound. We saw a bunch of solo and tandem skydivers floating towards their drop spot in the field across from the Immaculate Conception Church in Tres Pinos. 

I remember my own downward journey through the sky several years ago quite well, thank you very much. It was amazing way up there in the sky. Definitely, though, skydiving is not for everyone. But, if you're interested, Skydive Hollister is located at the Hollister Airport.

See Dar Tree?

Okay, a bad pun. Seriously, have you ever noticed this very, very tall and beautiful cedar tree on Fifth Street?

Bertha Briggs (as in the Bertha Briggs Memorial Youth Center on Memorial Drive) planted the tree as a sapling in her front yard in the 1900s.  Sharlene of the San Benito County Historical Society said Mrs. Briggs brought the cedar sapling back from a trip to Lake Tahoe.

A Hollister native, Mrs. Briggs lived from April 3, 1874 to August 13, 1962. Her parents were Hollister pioneers William and Delia Johnson. Mrs. Briggs was known for her many wonderful community deeds, including donating generously to Hazel Hawkins Hospital and organizing the Girl Scouts and Women's Club in Hollister. You can read a bit more about Mrs. Bertha Briggs in the book Hollister by Joseph M. McMahon and Peter Sonne.

This is a Western Red Cedar tree, which is indigenous to Western North America. Experts say that this species can live over a thousand years old. Mrs. Briggs' tree is a baby. Wowza!

Train from Hollister

Yesterday afternoon, we waited for a train to cross Bolsa Road (aka Highway 25) on the track near the county line. Usually I see a train leave or enter Hollister by Burger Factory on San Benito Street. I can't recall the last time I saw a train anywhere else on that track to and from Hollister. What a treat!

Our Own Foodie Festival

Gilroy has the Garlic Festival, Castroville, the Artichoke Festival, and Half Moon Bay, the Pumpkin Festival. 

And, in our backyard, is the San Benito Olive Festival! Whooo-hooo! It's this Saturday, October 17, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Bolado Park in Tres Pinos.

In its third year, this gourmet event celebrates the agricultural bounty and natural beauty of Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Tres Pinos, Aromas, and all that make up San Benito County. It features many of the award-winning olive oils, wines, and other artisanal foods made by farmers, growers, and food companies of San Benito County, as well as from other parts of California. 

All net proceeds earned by the San Benito Olive Festival, a non-profit organization, are donated to community and service organizations. One of the coolest things about the festival, in my book. 

The olive festival offers visitors samplings of olives, olive oils, Blenheim apricots, chocolates, and other foods. A variety of food trucks and restaurants shall be on hand, as well be various wineries and breweries. In addition, patrons can purchase a VIP admission ticket to access a wine and craft beer tasting area.

Scheduled are cooking demonstrations by culinary instructors and professional chefs, featuring dishes using, of course, olives and/or olive oil. Two of the guest chefs are Chef Dorothy McNett, popular culinary instructor of the Central Coast, and Executive Chef Cal Stamenov of the Bernardus Lodge and Spa in Carmel Valley.

Like every foodie event, festival-goers can peruse the merchants' booths for jewelry, fine art and crafts, green plants, packaged food, and other items.  This year, the olive festival offers hands-on activities for the young and old, including a morning and an afternoon paint party hosted by artist Paul Loughridge.

This gourmet celebration has a line-up of live entertainment for the whole day. It begins with the singing of the National Anthem by young singer Joe Fata, who recently competed on La Voz Kids, and ends with the ever popular Mr. O's Jazz Band. Also scheduled to perform are Change in the Weather, Shiloh, The Flashbacks, Folklorico Juvenil, Kaleb Askew, and Zack Freitas.

To learn more about the participants, schedule of festivities, and other information about the San Benito Olive Festival, go to its website or Facebook page.

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The Soon-to-Be Memory of a Fair View

The first of the 1,100 houses are going up in the Santana Ranch above Fairview Road, between Hillcrest and Sunnyslope. Enjoy the open-space view while you can.

See You Next Year!

Last Wednesday was the last day of the Downtown Hollister Farmers Market. Until next year, at least two places to find local, fresh fruits and vegetables are Bertuccio's–The Farm at the corner of Highway 25 and Union Road and the Pinnacles Farmstand in San Juan Valley on Saturday mornings.

Beautiful Clouds

Yesterday afternoon the clouds were very impressive and much expressive in the brilliant blue sky. They gave us quite a show.  This view is of the hill above Enterprise Road.

To see more cloud photos from yesterday, check out my "Clouds over Hollister" album at the Take 25 to Hollister Facebook page. You won't need to log on or even have an account to see it. 

Until tomorrow. 

Folklorico Juvenil de Lucy Rodriguez

Folklorico Juvenil de Lucy Rodriguez of Hollister is a dance troupe made up of girls and boys between the ages of 3 and 15. The dancers perform a variety of traditional Mexican folk dances, under the guidance and instruction of Lucy Rodriguez.

The group performs at various local events. The pictures here show them at last Saturday's Music in the Park at Dunne Park. They're slated to perform at the San Benito Olive Festival at Bolado Park on Saturday, October 17, 2015.

Ms. Rodriguez invites any child interested in becoming part of the dance troupe to come to its practice on Tuesday, from 4 to 5 p.m., at Mr. O's Academy of the Arts.

September Music in the Park

This afternoon is another Music in the Park concert in Dunne Park, at the corner of Seventh and West Streets. The free event, sponsored by Mr. O's Academy of Music, is from 4 to 6 p.m. Bring your own low-back chairs or blankets. Snacks, too. No alcohol is permitted in the park.

The Moondance Band, a 60s rock & roll band featuring Rich Haggett, performs from 4 to 5 p.m. Folklorico Juvenil,  a children’s mariachi dance group featuring Lucy Rodriguez, performs from 5 to 6 p.m.

Pietra Santa

This is tasting room for the Pietra Santa Winery in the Cienega Valley above Hollister. I always forget how beautiful and magical it is up by the winery.

Pietra Santa is Italian for Sacred Stone. The sacred stone in this case is the amazing soil from which grape vines and olive trees grow to produce crops for award winning wines and olive oils. To learn more about Pietra Santa, check out its website or Facebook page.

A Hitching Post

On the north side of Hawkins Street, between Monterey and San Benito Streets, is this concrete hitching post from a long time ago. Perhaps as far back as the early 1900s. If anyone knows more about this hitching post, please leave a comment.

Brewery Twenty Five

Yesterday morning, the Husband and I read on Facebook that Brewery Twenty Five delivered a freshly brewed keg of stout beer in Hollister. Our quest was on to get a taste of the beer handcrafted by local brewers Sean and Fran Fitzharris. We knew it could only be deliciously out of this world. And, if we didn't act fast, we would miss out yet again on tasting their brew.

Although the young couple established Brewery Twenty Five a couple of years ago, it has only been in the last few months that they have started selling their beer to retail outlets. Because the beer is brewed in small amounts, Brewery Twenty Five is not at the point yet to have a regular delivery schedule. When you hear that so-and-so has it on tap, be sure to get there tout de suite. It won't be available for long.

So, where can you find Brewery Twenty Five on tap from time to time? Running Rooster in Hollister and Bear's Hideaway in San Juan Bautista. And, soon, Vertigo Coffee in San Juan Bautista will be serving it.

Yesterday evening, the Husband and I did end up drinking a pint of the brewery's Many Moons Stout. It was absolutely amazing and very smooth. After a couple of sips, I was no longer in a grouchy mood. I think it tastes better than Guinness, and at one point the stout reminded me of Courvesier.

The delightful Sean and Fran happened to be at the Running Rooster bar last night. They told us that beer was made with an expresso blend from Vertigo Coffee and cacao nibs from TCHO, a chocolate company in the SF Bay area. I can imagine making an ice cream float with Many Moons Stout. Yummm!

Here Comes the Bus

Yesterday afternoon, the Husband and I opted to take the bus to Downtown to pick up our car from the shop. We had enough exercise from walking home earlier, after a yummy breakfast at Cozy Cup Cafe. The walk under the trees on Monterey and San Benito Streets was delightful, passing by a lot of cute old houses. We couldn't get over how big some of the lots were.

This was our fifth bus ride on the San Benito County Express. The other times were taking the bus to and from the county fair the last two years. For free, too. I keep digressing, don't I? The bus ride to downtown was short and sweet. And, because it our first time, we made it a fun adventure. Not that were rubes about taking buses. Both the Husband and I used the public transportation system regularly when we lived up in the Bay Area for many years, once upon a time.

The Blue Line runs about 35 minutes apart so it was important we got to the bus stop on time. An elementary school kid was doing his math homework when we got there. The sweet kid was obviously a regular bus rider. He took us old people under his wing. He assured us that we hadn't missed the bus. "It'll be here at 2:55." He also told us that without a discount, the fare is a dollar.

As we rode along, I wondered if more people will take to the buses as Hollister gets even more bigger.

Enjoy the Day!

Hope you're all having a great three days off from work! You deserve it.

See you tomorrow.

Another Interesting Sky

This was late afternoon while walking in the neighborhood across from Sunnyslope School. Amazing sky, don't you think?