Thursday, October 2, 2008

The San Benito County Fair



The San Benito County Fair will be this weekend. I’m ready to go!

It’s not an annual thing for me, but I like to go now and then. I enjoy wandering around the commercial exhibits and picking up freebies, as well as Ooh-ing and Wow!-ing as I gaze at the arts, crafts, food, and plant entries. Checking out the goats, chickens, pigs, and cows in the livestock pens is fun, too. I would love to raise a few chickens and a goat or two. To check out the Fair schedule, click here.

The last time we went to the fair, Dick and I each paid a buck to see The Strange Thing. It was a creepy, shriveled looking thing called the Chupacabra. Yuk! The buck was well worth it though. Not because we saw something strange and mysterious, but because we got to travel through a time warp and feel like kids again waiting to be surprised and coming out of the tent cracking up at ourselves for giving up our dollars so easily.

This year, I’ve entered something in the fair. Actually three things in the novice division of the photography category. Hee-hee. First time I've ever entered something in a county fair, and I've always wanted to do so. (Thanks Linda B. “Lady in Red” for inspiring me!) For all I know, there may be an honorable mention ribbon hanging from at least of ‘em right now. That’s what I hope.

Tuesday evening, Dick and I drove over to Bolado Park so I could drop off my entries. We had no idea where to go, but fortunately a couple walked by carrying artsy-looking stuff. So we followed them. They were delivering their kids’ entries. The mom was lugging a ceramic rendering of a stack of pancakes, while the dad held a firm grip on several photographs. We passed by people who were setting up their booths and tables. We heard (and smelled) livestock as we made our way to the appropriate building.

It was a wonderful joyous, and determined, feeling in the air. So much sparking and sparkle of energy as people flitted here, flitted there to make sure everything and everyone was where it, he, or she needed to be. That is what I missed all these years of not entering something into the fair. I’m glad had a chance to experience it.

I can hardly wait to go to the Fair. Maybe, there’ll be a new strange thing to see. Maybe I will have won an honorable-mention ribbon. Maybe I will see you there!

Monday, September 29, 2008

An Art Museum? A Vista Point? It's Both and More!



We have million-dollar art to check out for free in Hollister. Head over to the Briggs Building, which is near the corner of San Benito Street & Fourth Street. That’s the parking garage.

That’s right, I wrote parking garage. You can't miss it. It’s a four-story structure, the tallest one in town. It was built in the 1990s for about $6 million with RDA funds. At full capacity, it can hold about 140 vehicles, so I’ve read. I know, that’s a lot of taxpayers' pennies.


Few people use the parking garage. Maybe the building is just too beautiful to park in. Seriously, the building itself is a piece of art. If I didn’t know it was a parking lot, I would say it was a school (Gavilan College does hold classes on the first floor). Maybe a government building or a fancy department store. Maybe even an art museum, which brings me back to the topic of seeing some fine art there.

Start your tour by the stairway next to the elevator on the southeast corner of the building. First, admire the aesthetics of the stairway design.

Now, start walking up the stairs. Sure, you can take the elevator but there’s more joy in suddenly coming upon each piece of art as you gaspingly reach the top of a floor.

Pause at the top of each floor for your breath. Also, take note of the beauty of the art piece telling you what floor you’re on.

On the rooftop, I noticed a few more of these art pieces telling me I’m on the fourth floor. So I assume that’s the case on the other floors.

To tell you the truth, I no longer was interested in seeing and viewing man-made art when I came out on the rooftop. I was immediately astounded by the view of Hollister and the mountain ranges that surround it. The almost 360-degree view of Hollister is worth an occasional trip to the top of the roof of Hollister’s multi-million dollar parking garage.


There you go. A parking garage that's both a free fine arts museum and a vista point. Plus, you can park there.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Happy Birthday to Time!


I could be in my car, on my bicycle, or shuffling along on my own two feet. If I’m anywhere near Fourth and San Benito Street, I look up to see what time it is. I don’t really care to know what time it is. I just like gazing at our town’s mini dome that houses time.

That's right. Hollister has its own clock tower. Not as big as the one in the Back to the Future movies, but impressive to me nonetheless. The clock tower is part of the Masonic Temple Building. And, today that building (and clock) is 100 years old. Happy birthday, edifice-dude!

The thing that makes the clock run is 20 years older. Amazing, I say. A few years ago, someone repaired the mechanism so that the clock would tell time accurately. It was about 15 minutes off.

Some locals see the timepiece as a symbol. The clock tower is part of the city government's logo after all. With some of the financial problems that Hollister currently has, the time must still be off. I can't say for sure. I don’t carry a watch.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Steeple to Steeple 5-Mile Family Fun Run/Walk


On Saturday, October 4th, expect to see families and individuals, children and adults, tots and the elderly, make their way west through the streets of Hollister for the “Steeple to Steeple” event. This is a fundraiser for the Sacred Heart/St. Benedict’s parish.

The steeples, of course, refer to those of the two churches.


You start at the newer church, St Benedict’s, on Fairview Road, between Sunnyslope Road & John Smith Road. (Rather nice-looking setting, doncha think? One of these days, I'll check out a mass.)

You then run or walk 5 miles northwesterly to Sacred Heart Church (at Fifth Street & College). That's the original (at least I think it is) parish church, which is a few blocks west of the center of town.

Sacred Heart is a lovely example of a traditional Roman Catholic church with stained-glass windows and an altar full of statues of saints. I remember Latin masses there when I was a kid. I also recall my dad telling us, as he was driving us home, to stop fighting cause we just came out of church.

You can pre-register or sign in at 8 a.m. on the day of the event. And no, you don't have to be of the denomination to join in on the fun. At least, no one has told me differently.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Pinnacles National Monument


My mom loves to visit the Pinnacles. It reminds her of the Philippines. I don’t know if it’s the starkness of the mountains, the smell of the air, the feel of the breeze, or the way the sun warms your body as you trample along the trails. She’s never said. I just know that besides her gardens, the Pinnacles National Monument provides her with a sense of calm.

The Pinnacles is about 30 miles south of Hollister. It generally takes us (hubby Dick and I) about 45 minutes, but that’s because we are old farts who like to rubberneck the scenery. Not to worry. The traffic is sparse, but you do need to pay attention to curves the nearer you get to the park. You head south out of town on Highway 25. Depending on the time of day, we may stop at Flapjack's Country CafĂ© in Tres Pinos for breakfast. That’ll be a story for another day.

According to the scientists, the Pinnacles is actually part of the Neenach Volcano that erupted waaaaay down south near Lancaster, California. The volcano was split by, yes, the San Andreas Fault. Over 23 million years, more or less, the Pinnacles was slowwwwwwwwly carried northwesterly to where it stands today. At the same time that it was inching up, wind and water carved out the spires and crags that someone in modern-day history decided to call the Pinnacles. Then President Theodore Roosevelt came along and established it as a national monument.

This year, the U.S. National Park Service celebrated the monument’s 100th anniversary. Since 1908, it has grown from 5,000 acres to approximately 26,000 acres. (Thank you ranchers and rancher descendents.) The park service is currently developing a general management plan for the next 15 to 20 years. Public input is appreciated. If you’re interested in being heard, you have until October 31, 2008.

You can do a lot of things at the Pinnacles. Depending on the time of year, you can scramble through talus caves, which are home to Townsend’s big-eared bats. But you can't go through 'em if the bats are there. You can bring your ropes and things and climb on the spires themselves. And of course you can hike easy paths and not-so-easy ones, which may make your hands sweat at certain HIGH points. If you’re lucky, you can see a California Condor or two circling above you. You can also hang out at a picnic table and enjoy the day, while the rest of your party are getting sweaty and tired.

There are actually two entrances to the Pinnacles National Monument. The west gate is off Highway 101, near Soledad. You can’t drive west to east through the park. But you can easily hike through it. Camping is on the Hollister side only.

Hmm, I think it's time to take out the hiking shoes.

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