Happy 4th everyone!

I plan on being by the beach, enjoying barbeque and some quality time with friends and family.  I hope your day is just as productive.  You know, because I’m just one of those people who thinks that hanging around and having a good time is mighty productive indeed.

Keep it safe, and try your best to stay sane. 

On Tuesday, while carpooling with a coworker to the Irvine Spectrum Center we noticed that a crew had a top of the Fox Sports Grill sign down. Jokingly I said “Another one bites the dust.”

Well, accordingly to the Orange County Register I wasn’t wrong. In addition to Fox, it looks as if the Fish Market is going/gone also.

It looks like Fox will need to update their website now with a picture of a location that is actually open.

It is kind of ironic due to the fact that last month I made a post in my personal blog when I notice a lot of bigger chain stores closing, while the little ones seemed to be able to stay open.

In the wake of the recent Starbucks announcement that they will be closing around 600 under performing company operated locations (this does not include locations inside grocery stores or book stores), many Orange County residents may be wondering how they will survive. Where will we go to get our Venti non fat soy 4 pump vanilla half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon?
Luckily for us, in addition to the 1300 Starbucks the that will remain open, there are many local coffee shops that may have been overlooked since Starbucks started popping up on every corner. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Kéan Coffee: Kéan Coffee is the brainchild of Coffeehouse pioneer Martin Diedrich (yes, the Diedrich’s Coffee Diedrich) and his wife Karen. The Diedrich Family has been involved with coffee for many decades and it shows. Not only do they roast their own coffee, in a roaster built by another of the Diedrich clan, but they believe in the whole coffee ritual, and it shows. The popularity of the location is growing. In addition to coffee and tea, one can get a variety of baked goods to go with their beverage. Kéan is becoming a popular location to meet up and chat, stop during a walk, or just grab a cup and go. Another thing that impresses me is the “community values” and environmental awareness Kéan sticks to, even before it became popular to do so.
  -Location and Hours: Kéan Coffee 2043 Westcliff Drive in Newport Beach, is open from 6 AM to 9 PM Sunday through Thursday and 6 AM to 10 PM on Friday and Saturday.

• Alta Coffee Warehouse: Hidden of 31st street in the Cannery district of Newport Beach, Alta coffee is another hidden jewel in orange county. Located in an old warehouse, Alta provides fresh coffee, tea, and food as well as atmosphere. Just inside the door to the right is the shelves of mugs that the “regulars” keep for their daily brew. Adorning the walls is an ever changing collection of art, showcasing a theme or particular artist for the length of the current engagement. Whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, on can get a variety of beverages and atmosphere. Alta also has an tranquil outside patio that K-9’s and their owners can use to enjoy together, or one can keep an eye on their bike while reading the paper, etc… Alta also provides Acoustic, open mike, and folk nighttime entertainment.
  -Location and Hours: Alta Coffee Warehouse & Roasting Co. 506 31st St., Newport Beach, CA, 92659 (949) 675-0233 Mon-Thurs 6am-11pm Fri-Sat 6am-midnight Sun 7am-11pm.

• The Gypsy Den: One of the original tenants of The L.A.B. in Costa Mesa, The Gypsy Den is best described by Zagat’s Restaurant Survey as “If your aging hippie aunt opened her sitting room to strangers, it would resemble these two hangouts in Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, offbeat venues complete with early attic decor and arty habitues; the homespun soups, salads and sandwiches have a healthy bent, going way beyond the tofu-bean sprouts archetype.” I could not describe it better. The Gypsy Den has great, healty food, a warm environment, and excellent coffee and tea.
  -Location and Hours: The Gypsy Den Cafe @ the L.A.B. 2930 Bristol St. Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 549-7012 Monday - Thursday 7:30 am to 11 pm Friday 7:30 am to Midnight Saturday 8:00 am to Midnight Sunday 8:00 am to 11 pm

These are just the local shops that I have frequented. I would love to hear your reviews and recommendations for Coffee shops in your neighborhoods. If by some smiting of the powers that be, your local Starbucks is closed down, be strong. Together we will survive the tragedy that Starbucks has handed to us to be caffeinated another day.

A Message to all Orange County Theme Park Guests: I don’t know how you do things where you come from, but here in OC, saving spots in line is considered rude. It’s considered cutting in line and if the signs at Knott’s Berry Farm are to be believed, it’s also considered illegal.

Yes I know it’s one thing to save someone’s place in line because they have been waiting to ride The Submarine Voyage for the last three hours and that person makes a point of telling you they have a bathroom need and will be right back. However saving a place in line for your family of six while they run off and ride The Matterhorn and get corn-dogs is another thing altogether.

Jeebus people, how hard is it to gather your entire party, walk to the entrance of the queue and get in line and wait like a normal human being? Here is a no brainer: If you’re separated from your party, advise them to let people in the queue pass them until you catch up. There is nothing people hate more than watching you jump the line and use the excuse of shared DNA to justify your douchey actions.

Do people really have that hard of a time understanding the subtle nuances of queue etiquette? Or is the selfish overexcitement about being at their favorite theme park enough to cause a social brain fart? I can’t be the only one annoyed by this. What do you think?

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I know things are bad when I am excited to see gas at $4.53 a gallon. Luckily I have been working on my “Carectomy.” Living in Orange County my whole life, I’ve known people who don’t have cars, but never thought I could live without one. That was until a few months age when I decided to see if I could go a whole week without driving my car. The primer was when I found out that my work pays for public transportation, and that there was a bus stop right outside my complex. I was able to get to and from work in about forty minutes, only twenty minutes longer than if I drove. Next, thanks to reading quite a few articles in LA Metblogs: Biking in LA I came to realize that biking to work was doable for me. Thanks to “W” and the economic stimulus check, I promptly bought a bike, and after a few weeks of getting some legs under me, I started the 5.7 mile trip (each way) to and from work. While tiring, I realized that it benefited economically, physically, and environmentally. Most of all, I found out that it is possible to go “car-less” in Orange County if one plans properly.

Here are some tips I have found useful:

Bus:

• Plan the route. I personally use Google Transit when I need to plan out my route or check bus times. One can also go to OCTA and route the trip, or download the schedules for the buses that are used regularly.
• It is good to know the schedule, and try not to cut things too short. Especially if one is going to work. Buses can sometimes have a +/- of a couple minutes, so it is better to be earlier than late.
• Be prepared if one has a bike, and the rack is full, one will have to wait for the next bus.
• If bus riding will be a regular occurrence, I would suggest to purchase a monthly pass from OCTA

Bike:

• Wear a helmet
• Know the rules of the road. A bike has the same rights and responsibilities as an automobile.
• Make sure the bike is in good working condition.
• Scout/plan the route. OCTA and the city of Irvine both provide downloadable maps of the bike lanes and trails. Get a feel of the terrain and plan the appropriate route taking into consideration the hills, etc… Bike Metro is a great site to plan a trp and see the terrain when it is working.
• Give yourself time to cool down/ change if needed.

Metrolink:

• Plan trip accordingly. See the Metrolink Train site for schedules and fares.
• Get to station early, especially if you have not purchased tickets. The trains won’t wait.
• Much like the bus, know the previous and next trains to and from the destination.

I know that on most days, I don’t have to drive my car. That does not mean that I don’t drive my car on occasion. It is nice to only have to fill the tank every couple weeks is a wonderful alternative. There are always extenuating circumstances that require the car, but after so many years of thinking that it wouldn’t work for me, I found out I was wrong.

edited to add Bike Metro link

Yes it’s true. I am originally from the great state of Oregon and we were all taught at a young age that we should hate Californians because they are buying up all our real estate and driving around town in their fancy cars like maniacs on a rampage. Today, more than ever, I hate California drivers.

You wanna know why? I’ll tell you why: I was driving through the streets of the The District at Tustin Legacy and the car in front of me (a lovely Accord hybrid) was driving down the parkway, minding her own business when out of nowhere a New Beetle slammed into her car. Both vehicles spun around. I stopped the car, put on my hazards and got out to see if the driver was okay. She was visibly shaken and the entire driver’s side was smashed in - poor lady was crying and couldn’t even get out of the Accord because the doors wouldn’t open.

Once me and some other random citizen were assured of the driver’s safety (we called 911) I decided it was time to leave. I got back in my car and began to try and back out. This was no easy task, because the streets there are of the divided parkway variety with gaps every few hundred feet. Anyway, here’s the part the just enraged me: my fellow citizens felt the best way to assist me with moving off the street was to honk their horns incessantly and refuse to stop, slow down or make room for me to leave. Apparently they felt, you know, that I needed to be punished for checking on the well being a fellow human. Really? Is that what we’ve come to? This isn’t New York. This isn’t even LA. We’re supposed to better than this. Bunch of brain dead monkey f@#kers - why I aughtta…

So I ask you this, why are you honking at me and flipping me off and refusing to be kind? Am I slowing down your breakneck dash to Starbucks? Am I making you late to a life saving surgery? Am I making you turn off your cruise control? Or are you just a dick, plain and simple?

Last month I accompanied my wife while she was tending to her horse in it’s new location, I decided to take a bike ride around Santiago/ Modjeska Canyon. Besides being in awe of the devastation the wildfires had created, I found a little jewel that I did not know even existed.
Run by Cal State Fullerton, the Tucker WIldlife Sanctuary houses a small natural history museum with preserved specimens of the local wildlife. Across the way from the museum is a wildlife sanctuary houses tortoises, turtles, a couple ponds, and of course birds. The bird porch is a great place to sit, take pictures of the birds, or just daydream. On top of the peacefulness and nature, the staff (I spoke with Kirk) is bright and enthusiastic about what they do. If you are a hiker, there are trails leading up from here. More information can be found on their site.

Check out the Metblogs Flickr Pool for photos took of the sanctuary.

If you have children or just want to see what wildlife Orange County has/ used to have, then I highly recommend you check it out.

Today I saw this plate on my way home:

OCFLVRS

Any guesses?

Mine is that they own at least one Baskin Robbins franchise in Orange County.

Merriam-Webster defines “smocking” as follows: noun - a decorative embroidery or shirring made by gathering cloth in regularly spaced round tucks

So yeah. Don’t let me catch you doing any intricate needlework but please, feel free to smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Greetings my friends. Behold the 10 Commandments of Orange County!

1. Thou shalt never ever ever ever take public transportation. Never. Ever.
2. Thou shalt wear fake eyelashes, get fake boobs and sport fake tans - “fake” is the new “real”.
3. Thou shalt always refer to our baseball team as the Anaheim Angeles no matter what their retarded brain dead owner renames them.
4. Thou shalt knock down old strip malls and replace them with new and less exciting strip malls - for no apparent reason.
5. Thou shalt always drive thy Hummer to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Mother’s Market.
6. Thou shalt embrace Disneyland in all of its glory!
7. Thou shalt reserve the right to endlessly bitch and moan about Disneyland in spite of commandment number six. It’s our park and it’s a love/hate relationship.
8. Thou shalt deny the existence of The Real Housewives of Orange County as something that actually exists in the universe. You can’t make me watch it… you can’t you can’t you can’t!!!
9. Thou shalt not lie cheat and steal - unless it’s for a really good reason, like getting better grades.

And last but not least…

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s McMasnion.

The idea for this post was ripped off, er, I mean inspired by, a similar post over at the LA Metroblog

Don’t like the commandments I came up with? Want to add your own? Feel free to leave them in the comments.