The road less traveled

My wife and I were out for a short drive to a local store when I noticed the billowing clouds gathering along the hills in the eastern part of San Benito County. "How about we drive out to the country?" I asked. "We haven't done that in a while." Our teenage boys were at home, lounging as teens do on a lazy Saturday, so it gave my wife and I rare opportunity for spontaneity. We left the store and headed east, toward the hills and the clouds. San Benito County has miles and miles of rural roads that wind through oak-studded hills. We chose a road that snakes through the Santa Ana Valley, past sprawling ranches and cow pastures. It traces the winding route of creeks, filled at last with runoff from a week's worth of rain. It curls left and right and up and down, taking us nowhere fast. Squirrels darted across the two-lane road in front of us, playing a silly game of chicken. Elsewhere along the road, the not-so-lucky creatures that didn't miss the tires of another vehicle were lunch for birds, who were quick enough to avoid us as we drove past. Up another hill and four deer were surprised by our car. We stopped and tried to get a picture as they ambled up the hill and out of sight. A couple of miles later, the road ended at a locked farm gate, just past a small bridge over a gurgling creek. We turned around, a bit disappointed that we ran out of pavement but glad that we made the trip. A phone call to our sons assured us that they were fine and assured them that we were the same. Our trip cost nothing other than a little gas and a little time; both reasonable expenses for a little quality time on a mid-winter Saturday. It was a reminder of how getting away from it all is sometimes as easy as heading for the hills and following the clouds. (photo courtesy of MHedin's Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/23660854@N07/3405619985/)

I want the real thing

It has become a running joke in my family that every time I decide to order a Coke at a restaurant the waiter or waitress says, "Is Pepsi alright?" In my younger, less discerning days, I would either say "that's fine" or "yeah, sure." As I've gotten older, however, I've realized that if I feel like drinking a Coke and ordering a Coke, I want a Coke. When I order orange juice, I don't want to hear, "Would apple juice be OK?" When I order a steak, don't tell me, "The chicken's really good tonight. Will that work?" In this week's column, I address my drink ordering issue in more depth. I also mention how my dad, being the nice guy that he is, prefers to reverse to server-servee roles and put the decision in the hand of the wait-person. If he wants a cola, he'll now ask for "Coke/Pepsi." If he's in the mood for a clear soda, the list gets longer. "Sprite/7Up/Sierra Mist." He gives the list and lets the waiter or waitress pick the beverage. It's ingenious, and a bit of a cop out at the same time. But hey, I'll drink to that. (photo courtesy of Orin Zebest's Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/1054035018/)

Shaking things up

Residents of San Benito County are fond of saying, "Ooh, it's earthquake weather today." This either means: A. It's kind of muggy with high cirrus clouds; B. It's not muggy and there are no clouds; C. People just make stuff up because they remember that we haven't had an earthquake in a while. The United States Geological Survey says "there is no connection between weather and earthquakes," and I believe it. I also believe there IS a connection between me being in a deep sleep and the occurrence of earthquakes. Our most recent good-sized temblor occurred at 2:47 a.m. on Sept. 6. At a magnitude of 3.9, it was one of those shakers that felt like a sonic boom -- at least that's how I remembered it when it rattled me awake. As soon as it hit, I sat up, thought about jumping over my wife and running to my youngest son's room, then announced, "It's OK" as my wife was startled awake. I felt like the man of the house, telling everyone that everything would be fine in this time of danger. In fact, I laid back down with my heart pounding through my chest as I tried to fall back asleep. I couldn't, of course, so I checked on my son, who said "What was that?" and immediately fell back asleep when I said, "It was an earthquake, but it's over now." Why couldn't the quake have happened at 2:47 p.m. when I would have been at work ... and awake? My heart might have pounded just as hard after a daytime temblor, but the fear factor of the middle-of-the-night, wake-you-from-a-deep-sleep quake makes a relatively minor quake like that feel like the beginning of the end of the world. Being rustled by quakes is part of the cost of living in the earthquake capital of the world. I just hope the next one has the courtesy of shaking things up during waking hours. (photo courtesy of Brooke Anderson's Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooke_anderson/303718236/)

The night the lights went out in San Benito

Power outages aren't that uncommon of an occurrence. In the most extreme cases, when the lights go out in a section of town, we wait half an hour or so, and the power pops back on -- with every electronic device that has a clock flashing a reminder that it needs to be reset. Tonight's power outage was different. Apparently caused by a wildfire in neighboring Monterey County, this outage plunged the entire county of San Benito into darkness, from what I could tell. It was a surreal scene. In my nearly 30 years of living in Hollister, I have never seen the entire town fall into darkness like this. Families on my street gathered outside as the sun fell. It was sort of a step back in time before there were televisions and computers and other such distractions. In my house, candles and flashlights illuminated our living room during homework time. When we realized that our sons and I were really hungry and we had no way to prepare food, I had the bright idea to drive to Gilroy for some Panda Express. The ride also gave my boys a chance to finish their homework by the inside light of the car. Nearly every business that had been open when the power went out had to close. A few traffic signals remained on, but the streetlights were out, making for hazardous driving conditions. As we pulled out of town and headed north on Highway 25, the view to the south over town was something I thought I'd never see. The only lights were the headlights of people either heading home from work or heading out to see if the rest of town was in the same predicament. After eating dinner in Gilroy we noticed the lights in Hollister pop back on, once again throwing off the familiar glow in our valley. The outage was inconvenient, but also an interesting occurrence. My kids thought it was cool and the four of us spent a nice night together, not staring at a television, but having a nice talk and dinner together in the car. In the end, the blackout was an illuminating reminder of how my family brightens my life. (photo courtesy of Crystl's Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/people/crystalflickr/)

Where am I? Fresno?

"I love Fresno" is a phrase not many people who haven't lived in the Central Valley metropolis will ever utter. I spent my college years there; I proposed to my girlfriend there; my family goes back there a few times a year to play miniature golf and eat at one of our favorite restaurants. I'm a fan of Fresno. Trouble is, Fresno is foggy most of the winter and smoggy most of the summer. Days are gray when it's cold and brown when it's hot. There are a few in-between days, but the town is a place of extremes. I was reminded of the good old days in Fresno today as smoke from the 5,000-acre-plus Lockheed Fire blew into San Benito County on strong westerly winds. Within the span of an hour, a blue sky day became brown and miserable. My eyes were irritated and my throat burned. Football conditioning at San Benito High School was cancelled because coaches didn't want athletes breathing in the unhealthy air and dozens of calls to local authorities asked if there was a fire in our area. Driving home from school, I couldn't even see the Diablo Range. It was like being in Fresno again, where residents tend to forget they live at the foot of the Sierra Nevada range because its so often shrouded in fog or blurred by smog. The predictable afternoon westerly breezes off the ocean are nature's air conditioner for Hollister, but today those breezes became a smoke machine. (photo courtesy of Richard Flink's Photostream)

Saturday's not alright for the library

As an update to a recent post, I learned today that the San Benito County Free Library is expected to soon stop offering Saturday hours as it tries to cope with a reduction in staffing mandated by a county-wide furlough edict. The irony is that the library is as strong and popular as ever, having added nearly 600 card holders this year and offering a place of refuge and resource to job-seekers and knowledge-seekers alike. Check out my story in this Friday's edition of The Pinnacle for the full story. Also in Friday's edition, I write about how the county courthouse will follow the state Judicial Council's mandate and close every third Wednesday of the month in order to deal with the state's budget crisis. Judge Steve Sanders says this means that a few unfortunate arrestees will likely spend an extra day in jail instead of having a preliminary hearing that could have bailed them out of jail or set bail.

Lunch steals a pizza my heart

An easy way to get me to open an e-mail is to include the words "best pizza" in the subject line. That's what happened last week when a Pinnacle newspaper reader sent me a message with the title "Best pizza in San Benito County." Since I live in San Benito County and I love pizza, the e-mailer had me at "best..." The messenger may have a financial or familial interest in getting me to visit La Pizza Bella/Mama Cass's Kitchen in the tiny hamlet of Tres Pinos, south of Hollister on Highway 25. I didn't ask; and frankly, I didn't care. He took a gamble by recommending it to me, knowing that I could "pan" the thin crust pizza or give a "thin" criticism of the pan crust pizza in the newspaper or on this blog. Well, after bringing my parents, wife and oldest son to the joint on Friday, the e-mailer's gamble paid off. It was a unanimous five-for-five endorsement of the hole-in-the-wall joint, which I actually passed up on my first time through town because I missed the A-frame sandwich board that announces its presence. Owner Cass Spencer's menu features the standard pizza options -- Hawaiian, combination, vegetarian -- along with some unique varieties: Pinwheel (made-to-order with a choice of three specialty combinations on one pie); and taco, which features three cheeses, refried beans, seasoned ground beef, red and green onions, olives, red and green bell peppers, grated cheddar cheese, and diced Roma tomatoes. The menu also features sandwiches and hamburgers and create-your-own combos. Our choice on this day was the Pizza Lunch Special, which at a mere $5.99 included a very large side salad, unlimited beverage and a one-topping pizza that was closer to a medium than the standard personal size. After we finished our salads at our outdoor table (it was a little too warm inside), we sampled the deep-fried chicken raviolis, which, along with the marinara dipping sauce, were a crispy, warm, tasty treat. My wife, who often eschews garlic in her meals, loved the flavor the garlic bits gave to the raviolis. Then, when our pizzas arrived, we were surprised to see that each pie was encircled my more garlic bits. The hot pizza with the melting cheese and the aromatic garlic combined to a create a taste sensation that if it is not the best in the county, is right near the top. Mama Cass's Kitchen is located at 6851 Airline Hwy., Unit D in Tres Pinos (it's on the left side of the road just past the gas station). For details, call 628-3900. For another review of the menu, check out the Melissa Good Taste blog at http://melissagoodtaste.blogspot.com/. (photo courtesy of www.flickr.com/people/techfun/)

Balancing the library's books

In a town with no bookstore, if you don't count the local Target, the San Benito County Free Library serves an immensely important role in Hollister. More than just a place to check out books, it is an education center, a community gathering place, a computer lab for residents who don't have such access at home. Like many other public entities, however, the local library is bracing for harsh cuts brought on by the trickle-down effect of the state's budget woes. In the most recent issue of the Friends of the Library newsletter, Librarian Nora Conte warns patrons of "the probability of cuts" as county supervisors discuss next year's spending plan. Conte encouraged library advocates to attend this week's county budget meetings to encourage elected representatives to spare what they can. "We may have to cut programs and days open to cope with cuts," Conte said, adding that ideas such as raising book fines "will have no significant impact" and employee furloughs have already taken a toll. Every department needs to bear its share of budget cuts in tough financial times like these, but let's hope the progress the library has made under Conte doesn't get shelved. Check out the Aug. 14 issue of The Pinnacle for an update on how budget talks may affect the library's services in the coming year. (photo courtesy of Colby Gutierrez-Kraybill)