Zannee’s Blog at BargainsLA.com

Okay animal lovers, now your chance to get a pet on the cheap.

According to Mark and Steve over at Blogging LA.com:

“…Whenever the economy takes a dip, dogs and cats get treated as ballast on the sinking ship of a family on the brink of financial ruin. L.A. shelters are overfull and the list of innocent animals marked for the big sleep is getting bigger and bigger.

All six La City Animal Service Centers will be participating in this Adoption event. There are over 1000 dogs and 700 adoptable cats that need homes.”

I wouldn’t hesitate. The best pet I ever had, I found at city shelters. If you’ve been considering getting a pet and think you are ready, now’s the time to jump. Save a life and add to the quality of yours.

The only way to stay on top of my busy life is too keep my cell phone on while I am driving. With the new law of the land being hands free driving, I tried a Blue Tooth ear set. Nope didn’t work. I couldn’t get it to fit properly in my puny ear. It’s also too small and easy to lose. Plus it’s tacky and a major inconvenience when it keeps falling out of your ear.

Technology challenges are fun for my hubby, so I sent him out to find something I could use at a reasonable price. He did some online research and came back with a BlueAnt Supertooth Light Hands Free Speakerphone that clips on to your visor. Perfect.

Hands free and I can hold real clear conversations without messing with my hearing. With our Blackberry’s you’re suppose to be able to use voice commands to dial out. But that hasn’t worked out for me. So I still have to hand dial, which I find very dangerous when driving. I still pull over or do that at a red light. But the BlueAnt Supertooth light is convenient, cheaper than most and gives reasonably good reception.

Hubby got a black one and I got a white so we didn’t mix them up. Its easy to configure and I leave it in the car, just taking out it to charge once every couple of months. It has 800 standby hours. I also don’t worry about it being stolen cause it folds up on the visor so it is not easily seen when not in use.

You can check out other BlueAnt products and where you can buy it here http://www.myblueant.com/index.htm I found the cheapest price at Amazon for $69.
I am sure they are coming out with even better products all the time.

Crescent City is dull and cold. A total bore. I had heard so many amazing stories about the scenic country side and towns on the Northern California Coast, that I had a vision of a city that didn’t exist.

Onward we drove thru spectacular Redwood forests and ocean scenery. The redwoods never cease to amaze and we took our time before ending up in Eureka. Again I had heard many stories of the amazing Victorian mansions and homes. I expected to see something unlike anywhere else.

Nope. Totally dull and underwhelming. Though a few spectacular Victorian do exist, one is a private club, most are poorly kept, subdivided into apartments with streets in need of maintenance and upkeep. Okay it’s a working community. I get it. But couldn’t somebody please mow the lawn or paint the exteriors occasionally?

We split pretty quick from the dull and dreary Northern California Coast scene. Sadly, we had to pass on some historical and scenic areas in North Central California because of the fires and ended up in San Jose, specifically at the weird Winchester House.

Okay, if you haven’t been there, you haven’t witnessed what happens to a women possessed. Stairs that lead to nowhere, obsession with the number thirteen, unfinished rooms…. That poor woman was a whack job. But the home has a lot of Victorian architectural details that I enjoyed.

From there we decided to head down to Paso Robles so we could see Hearst Castle. Paso Robles is another cool town that has its share of wine tasting, fine and funky restaurants along with fun shops to peruse. A neat launching point for a weekend away.

Hearst Castle was, as always, terrific. We haven’t been in 13 years and there are always new pieces of information to latch on to. But it is over so commercialized now that it diminishes the experience. However the indoor mosaic pool never disappoints. The coastline is stellar and the view even better.

After Hearst Castle, we headed into Solvang to see their July 4th Parade. Arriving late July 3rd, we scoped out the town for the usual Danish faire, but settled on dinner at the Chefs Touch. Part cooking school, part restaurant, you get to watch your meal being prepared on two large screen monitors or you can walk up to the open kitchen.

Honestly, I had the best pasta I have ever had anywhere. Really! Great wine selection, happy service. It was a delightful surprise. I never would have thought an innovative California style restaurant would be found in Solvang. This is such a great food and a great concept in a restaurant that I begged the chef to open one down here.

The July 4th parade was fun. A different sensibility is needed to appreciate it. I have never seen so many members of the Rotary Club or Kiwanis Club honored before. Tractors, horses, vintage cars, motorcycles, hay rides…. A terrific small town parade. Good fun all around.

After stuffing ourselves with pastry from Olsen Danish Bakery and marzipan chocolates from Ingeborg’s  www.ingeborgs.com we sauntered around the town, checking out shops for awhile.

We made it home just in time to catch the local fireworks at La Crescenta High School.  I day of laundry and answering emails proved finally I get more emails than anyone I know. I got so many that an e-mail box that is suppose to handle thousands was completely overloaded  and many of you got bounce backs. Sorry.

That will probably be our very last road trip until the price of gas comes down or we get an electric car. But it was worth every penny.