Between the Humboldt Redwoods and Portland, we drove over to Ferndale. We saw it on our family vacation last year, when I added it to our must-see list, solely on the fact that it’s reproduced both in Disneyland’s California Adventure and Legoland California. According to the parks, Ferndale is famed for its well-preserved Victorian buildings….
Month: November 2007
Camping in the Humboldt Redwoods
We all love camping, but Kelly especially loves it. When we told her our getaway would include camping, she talked about it for days, and constantly asked, “are we going camping now?” So there’s no way we could skip out on camping, even though it was nearly 8 pm by the time we arrived at…
The Place Where Grunge Never Left
As you drive further north, the 101 freeway turns into a main street as it passes through the towns on route, and for whatever reason, economic, social, or otherwise, it gives me a chance to notice how Northern California remains in a sort of place of its own time and place, an odd confluence of…
The Snoopy Museum
We started our northwestern adventure with a visit to the Charles Schulz Museum. It’s a small museum in Santa Rosa dedicated to Charles Schulz and his creations, namely the Peanuts characters. Kelly, in particular, loves Snoopy and carries a Snoopy blanket around with her, so there’s an added element of charm in it for us…
Death to All Termites
A few weeks ago, we found out our house (or at least one part of it) was being eaten by termites. Year after year, we’ve seen various houses in our neighborhood go under huge circus-like tents for fumigation, but I somehow hoped, that by some magic, we would escape the inevitable termite infestation. So it…
The Next Great American Band
As you can tell from the multiple postings below, my family and I are huge fans of the new television show The Next Great American Band. It’s a natural fit for our interests. We all love music, and Peter and I love live music, as well as discovering new worthwhile bands. Neil’s taken up guitar,…
Desperately Seeking Self-Absorbed British Judge
American Idol has set a standard for musical competition shows, and we expected the same of the judges on The Next Great American Band. To a certain extent, the American judges exceed the standard. I used to dread Sheila E. so much I was in a state of consternation when I found out she was…
Light of Doom Must Go
Light of Doom is the freaky young teen heavy metal band on The Next Great American Band. For some people, they’re the token heavy metal act, not a novelty show, but it’s beginning to be obvious they’re being judged on a different level that any of the adult bands (other than Rocket, the token feminist…
Rocket Must Go
From their unimpressive audition in which they barely managed to muddle through a cover of the Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop, one of the simplest tunes ever, we’ve been filled with contempt for the all-girl band Rocket. Peter and I dread all-girl bands from experience. It’s not that an all-girl band is has to be bad: there…
An Ungracious Exit
Given our low opinion of Rocket and Light of Doom, we were disappointed to see them go through to torture our ears and aesthetics for another week at the cost of The Likes of You and Hatch. On the other hand, I lost some of that disappointment when Hatch was given an exiting word and…