Temecula balloon and wine festival

Any one going? I'll be there tomorrow for the music. Let me know and we'll meet up. It's 20.00 for the whole day and there's so much to do. Hope to see a DG'er or 2 there.

OOOHHH, sounds like a lot of fun, but we won't be able to make it this weekend. We are going to DD's house to babysit my grandson for the weekend, while mom and dad have a nice R&R in Palm Springs for a few days.

Have fun though. :-)

Donna

I looked at the lineup to see what music there was. I only recognized 10,000 Maniacs and Fight for Fighting. Who did you see and who was wonderful. Always looking for new music.

Collective Soul sang "Heaven let your light shine down." I think that's the name of the song. Cherry Poppin Daddies sing "Zoot Suit Riot" which I missed, was at the wrong stage...Survivor sang "Eye of the Tiger" that's the song from Rocky. It was absolutely wonderful. Got to see the balloon glow, sat right underneath the balloons. The wine was great, the beer was great, the food was great. Took us 45 minutes just to get out of the parking lot but well worth it. I am camping there next year for sure.

hiya guys,

You came to Temecula and didn't stop by?.......boy are you in the dog house....lol. The balloonists spent most of their mornings taking passengers right over the top of our horses and gardens. It was very busy around here screaming at wayward hot air balloon pilots who'd decided that they should get paid for scaring our horses and annually interrupting our collective serenity.....lol. Serenity......here?.....boy that's a joke.

This festival is very good for our area as it brings thousands of drunks from all over for a weekend of debauchery and liver poisoning. Good music, lots of wine, hot air, and the wonderful community spirit of a town with a cumulative IQ of 9.....lol.

One should never miss this event as it is truly an opportunity for almost anyone that doesn't already live here to be the smartest person in the crowd....lol.

Glad you had a good time,
don

Gee....is that a little 'sour grapes' about the wine festival?
edited to add that we've lived in Fallbrook 24 years or so and never go to the 'Avocado Festival' either.

This message was edited Jun 5, 2007 9:55 PM

hiya Sherry,

Not sour grapes at all, it's good for the local economy, but the traffic is a killer.....literally a killer. In the four years I've witnessed this thing at least one auto accident with a fatality occurs. The roads aren't meant to handle that kind of traffic. We're used to all of the drunks on the roads in our area on weekends, but the festival multiplies that by a factor of 20. I only get angry because we inevitably have at least two horse emergencies where a head needs stitching up because one of our animals got spooked by a low flying balloon. It's really a well done show, but we're not the only local ranch that ends up paying a vet while tourists ask the pilots to get closer to those horses so they can send a picture of them running around in terror to their cousin Clem in the Ozarks....lol.

best to you,
don

We supposedly get upwards of 70, 000 people here for theAvocado Festival on unfamiliar winding roads with bicyclists coming through on the same day (on unfamiliar winding roads that quite often don't have room for a bike lane.) I don't know if the bike thing still goes on now...we make sure we don't go near town on that day. The traffic in Temecula is bad enough on regular days...throw in that many more cars and wine AND balloons and yes, there's a problem. I often think the Chamber of Commerce does not necessarily have the good of all residents at heart. I'm so sorry that it's a problem for the horses...how terrifying for them.
Sherry

The traffic was bad, took us 45 minutes just to get out of Lake Skinner. People are so rude too, they don't let you in and get angry if you try.
Gee Don, I think I was the smartest person in the crowd! There were drunks all over the place, pot smoking was going on and of course what festival wouldn't be complete without a fight. Aye Aye Aye.
Arf Arf Don! I couldn't just stop by unannounced now could I?
All in all the music, the wine and the beer was good. Food was a little overpriced but hey, I was hungry...6.00 for a polish dog?!!?? Who cares!

We accidentally went to the Avocado Festival this year. DH likes to go to a local cafe for breakfast and we weren't aware of the festival. Had a nice after breakfast walk around before the crowds got *too* heavy and skedaddled home after a visit to the hardware store (a must when we go into "town"). :-)

Awwww, c'mon, Don...you missed it. Sour grapes?? Sour grapes....wine?

Worst part is Renaissance Day in Glen Helen Park few year back also Bands,too! I never forget about that day! lol...

Everyone seems to love the festivals except for the people who live in the towns having them.

hiya Sherry,

I got the sour grapes thing.....lol, I just couldn't bring myself to comment.....lol.

I agree with you. When we lived in Laguna Beach, it was a nightmare during the Pageant of the Masters and the Sawdust Festival for locals. As I said, this balloon and wine thing is great for the local economy......six dollar polish dogs indeed!

weegy!, you can stop by here unannounced anytime. You're our friend. And here's a tidbit about Temecula......It is not a nice place, it just looks like a nice place. Rudeness and short tempers are the flavor of the day here.....every day. I'd rather live in the Ozarks with neighbors who are their own grandparents, but we're kind of dug in here.

best to you guys,
don

We lived in Laguna also and felt the same way about the Sawdust. Though we miss it there, I know I could not stand to be there now with the traffic. I don't know if Temecula is the only place with the problem of 3-4 cars running the red lights in front of you or it's happening everywhere and is indicative of what's happening when people are too crowded by traffic for too long.
Gee, I thought my sour grapes thing was good.....I can't do 'silly' very often. smile.
Sherry

I think everywhere in So Cal has the same problems Don. I just kill em with a smile and shake my head at the red light runners. I'm guilty of running red lights at times although not since I smiled for the police cam! That was an expensive little ticket.
The Grape Harvest Festival here should be coming up soon but they hold it at Quakes Stadium so the traffic on the west side where we live isn't too bad.
Temeucla is very nice, love those rolling hills. You are very blessed Don. And Sherry to live in Fallbrook is only a dream for us. We did look for property there a few years ago but when oldest dd made the comment that she wanted to always come back to where she grew up, we remodeled instead and I'm glad we stayed. Gone are the vineyards of Cucamonga but I grew up here and wouldn't live anywhere else.

True about vineyard in Cucamonga way back I was kid as I remember! Now see more shopping or big Mall and homes! On Foothill where the freeway and there is old church there and building so huge now and torn some old buildings down.... I just hate see all the old history is gone! way GONE!

We would and probably will leave Fallbrook, but our son has been here since third grade and it's home. I thoroughly understand that feeling. It's good to be in a place that has good memories and where everything you pass can bring back good thoughts and where we feel 'community' as we get older. It makes it hard when that place has changed so much that you just can't stay there. I just wish the place where I grew up was a place that I wanted to go back to.

I wouldn't mind going back to the place where I grew up, but it doesn't exist. Oh, the town is still there, but by the time I had grown up and moved away, it had changed so much it was a different place altogether. I hate to say, my dad was right, as he predicted what would happen.

We hope to stay where we are as long as we can, but there are big changes on the horizon and I'm a little worried. For now, though, we're grateful and happy to be where we are.

Key words for today...."grateful and happy to be where we are"

:-)

I've been thinking all afternoon about how from my perspective I like the growth in Temecula. I have all these good associations that override the traffic, etc. and I don't have to interact with the people. I enjoy the Rainbow Canyon drive to get there, I love it since it's developed out Hwy 79 and all of my runs over there are enjoyable...Trader Joes, Henry's, A drive-thru Starbuck's, Stater Bros., Home Goods, Round Table Pizza to take to the duck pond.For me, these are all really good things! lol...... We used to have to go the other way for shopping and I hate the traffic on 76 so I never go to Vista and If I go that way to Carlsbad or whatever, we take the long way around on Sleeping Indian and enjoy the ride instead of waiting in traffic. It enriches my life to enjoy the back roads instead of freeways and waiting in stop and go traffic. Makes me want to go get a pizza.

Wait until the construction starts on 76, Sherry. I think we'll probably have to buy noise canceling headphones, plus the water bill will go up trying to keep the dust off the plants! OTOH, the highway will move slightly to the south, so when it's over, it will be less of a death trap getting into our street from the west. I find myself on Gopher Canyon Rd. more and more - going to Escondido - and only go to Carlsbad/Encinitas when I really need to (basically, for a haircut!).

Speaking of Gopher Canyon, last week driving there I saw a sign "Plumeria" at Jungle Jack's, so now I have a multi-branched plumie called California Sunset that I'm watching for inflos. Hey, Weegy - I got one!

Sceaming over here. Kathleen, will you pick me up some? I'll pay you. Anything but the usual whites and pinks. I want my collection to be huge someday. Please, pretty please.

The location close to me had the standard white and yellow, plus the California Sunset, which I think is quite pretty and really does look like its name. He has a wider variety at his place in Oceanside (I haven't been there yet) where he says he has a lot more colors, some new varieties and some "collector" plants, whatever that means. He has several sizes - I think the CS came in 3, 5, and up (he has some that are quite large for $125). I found it odd that the ones that were blooming were just the main trunk, while the multi-branched ones were not blooming yet. He said the one I got "should" bloom this year, but no promises. He lost a lot of his stock in January. Though the business is mainly palms, he seems to be going into plumies in a big way and is going online soon. I'm glad to pick up a California Sunrise for you, but what size? Multi-branched or blooming more important? Dmail me your cell phone and I can call you when I get over there and tell you what's available. I can bring it with me next month, unless you want to pick it up sooner.

I go to Escondido to take Del Dios Hwy to the coast now...through Rancho Santa Fe so I can stop at the library branch there and get the magazines that Fallbrook doesn't get. Plus their Friends of the Library book store is good ( I take boxes of books up to my dad to keep him reading) and if you go on Tues, Wed or Sat the Garden Club's thrift store across the street is open til 1 in the afternoon. But the booming of Temecula is a great gift to us. They get all my shopping bucks.