Sunset Vista Park

Sunset Vista Park is located in the Bridgeway Island area of West Sacramento, on Oakland Bay Dr. at Golden Gate Dr. The park features include a playground, jogging path, turf area athletic field and picnic area. Click here for a full list of City of West Sacramento Parks showing the locations and features available. Our City of West Sacramento Parks staff should be be complimented for their diligence in maintaining all our park facilities!

April Showers--hail showers??

If April shower brings May flowers what does hail bring? This storm literally came from out of the blue!! The sky opened up to deliver a horrific downpour of hail and rain yesterday just as school was letting out. Most kids only had sweaters or sweatshirts and were drenched.

Robynn Goodell Memorial Blood Drive & Bake Sale

In honor of Robynn's kindness and generosity of helping others; friends and family will host a fund raiser bake sale. All proceed will be donated to a cause that was dear to Robynn. Photo below are samples from Robynn's first bake sale in 2008.

Recycle Bin--Fail!

I had to take a picture last week of a recycle bin near our house==when I returned from my errands Waste Managment had been by, but the boxes were still piled high in the gutter. It always amazes me how naive and ignorant people can be about their responsibilities as a citizen of the world.

Family Food Distribution in Need of Volunteers

The weekly food give is away this Friday from 11:am -12:30 at Alyce Norman School (1200 Anna Street) in Broderick. Come and give back to your community by helping with sorting and distributing the food items. For more information contact Katie Villegas with the Yolo County Children's Alliance.

Joe's Giant Orange--Shasta Lake, CA

Thank you Ken Jourdan for sharing these photos of Joe's Giant Orange in Lake Shasta, CA. Joe's is one of the few remaining Giant Orange Stands in California. Per Ken: "The part behind the front door was added a number of years ago and remodeled when Joe bought it. You can see the openings in the Orange where they used to serve out of when it was built. I don't think they have been used since the freeway was put in and it was moved from the corner. (Less that 100yds.) We were told that this was the last one since the one near Chowchilla was hit by the truck; but the web site Weird California shows some others."

Colton loves BBQ ribs!

As evidenced by the sauce on his cheeks and chin, Colton thoroughly enjoyed the BBQ Rib dinner at the Moose last weekend. Thanks D'Niece Garcia Hall for sharing this great photo.

DIY Network brings Turf Wars to West Sacramento

Jamie McCall and friends volunteered to work on the recent DIY Network's Turf Wars episode featuring the competition of the Bacon's (Jim Corbett Construction) vs the Braden's (Doug Tolson Construction) backyard remodel on Spruce Way in West Sacramento. Lower photo-Ahmed Hassan from the show was there moving dirt and giving direction to all the film crew! See more photos here.

Celebrating Earth Day-new life!

Yvette Ernst sends this photo for our Earth Day post. Per Yvette "This is a picture of a mourning dove nest in the oleander tree in our backyard over in the"state streets" P.S. Love your site and thanks for all the work you put into it -- I really enjoy it." Thanks Yvette--- We love it too!!

Cottonwood Blanket at Sam Combs Park

For those of you that are plagued by seasonal allergies..you might want to steer clear of Sam Combs Park....the ground is blanketed in a heavy layer of cottonwood pollen..

Peacock Parade on Partridge

Thank you Danny Luna for sharing this shot of the wild peacocks parading along Partridge Avenue. You never know what you might see in the rural neighborhoods of West Sacramento...last week there were reports of a band of wild turkeys running around town.

How about a test drive?

Our favorite guys at Lowe's had the riding lawnmowers out for test drives last weekend. I had to hold Tom back ...he has always wanted one of these--not to mow our grass but to ride around the neighborhood...his inspiration.. a movie titled The Strait Story... based on the true story of Alvin Straight's journey across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawnmower.

Levee Vista by Keith Slagerman

Thank you Keith for sharing your spectacular scenic photos of West Sacramento. You can find more of Keith Slagerman's work at http://www.slagermanphoto.com/

K9 Cancer Walk, April 24 at Elk Grove Park

Brenna, a beautiful, much loved rottweiler, died of bone cancer in 2007. Sadly, according to current statistics, one in four dogs will die of cancer as well. To help end this disease, join the second annual Morris Animal Foundation K9 Cancer Walk at Elk Grove Regional Park on April 24. Register on-site or online and learn more. Fee: $35 for adults; $20 for children 10 or younger. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The Walk begins at 10:00 a.m.

Club Pheasant: Warmer weather means lunch on the Patio

This photo of the Club Pheasant patio dining area was taken in the early AM before they were open for business--Our family loves meeting at "the club" and many special occasions have been celebrated there over the years including weddings, reunions, birthdays, anniversaries and funerals! The patio is a great addition and we have a special memory there as it was the night of our planning to travel to Guatemala to meet our special girl! (Repost)

April 15th--"T-Day"

April 15 means long lines at the Post Office for foks who waited to mail in their tax returns until the last minute. Hope you all get all the tax breaks your preparer can find!

Our New Ross is Open

The new Ross Dress For Less at River Pointe Circle is now open. We made our first trip there to check it out and although there are far too many items to choose from for me, I'm sure most folks in West Sacramento will enjoy shopping the great buys!

Luna loves Curious George

Absolute devotion...Miss Luna was a rescue lab and has been in the Johnson family for a couple of years now...we think she still misses her lost pups as she adopts and mothers Maya's stuffed animals regularly.

Señor Frog---just visiting

Debbie said "we could hear him...croaking and calling out..but we couldn't find him...finally he was spotted on the floor in the bathroom". We usually have a few of these wee fellows take up residence in the flower bed by the fountain..and we enjoy their nightly serenade.

Flower of the Month: California Poppy

West Sacramento is enjoying the California Golden Poppies in bloom this year in the landscaping along Jefferson Boulevard. The blooming period for this poppy generally is April- August and each night or in overcast weather these brilliant flowers close waiting for the sun to show their full glory.
Trivia: California poppy leaves were used medicinally by Native Americans, and the pollen was used cosmetically. The seeds are used in cooking.

Dark Clouds over Cal STRS

A view of the CalSTRS Building from Jibboom Street. The cloud above looks so ominous..in the calm before the storm. Hoping our rainy season is almost done for this year.

A Southport Serengeti Sunset

Thank you to West Sacramento photographer Jim Leash for sharing this beautiful photo of the sun setting from his balcony last week in Southport. To me, this photo looks like very much like a Serengeti sunset. You can see more of Jim's work at his website:
Sharp-Eye Images

Children's Tumor Foundation Fundraiser

Many thanks to Marla Clayton and her hard working team at the West Sacramento Moose Family Center for hosting a very successful Casino Night Fundraiser to benefit the Children's Tumor Foundation. The special guest for the evening was Miss Sierra Miller of West Sacramento.

April Showers

West Sacramentan's Chris and Jennifer enjoyed their recent visit to Las Vegas. Here they are at the Venetian Hotel. We thought the current theme of "April Showers" to be quite creative!

Goodbye to an old friend-Karen Wilkerson Laughlin

Karen Lyn LAUGHLIN, Sept. 21, 1946 - March 30, 2010
James Marshall High School Class of 1964
Following a fearless, two-year-long battle with cancer, Karen took her final breath in her own home, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her husband of 33 years, Pat Laughlin, son, Andy Laughlin, daughter, Lynne Laughlin-Blee, (Todd) and his children, step son Kreg Laughlin (Idalia) and his children, brother, Jerry Wilkerson (Sue), niece, Keri Davidson (Ben) and her children, nephew, John Wilkerson (Cindy) and his children, uncles John (Ethel) and Thomas Wilkerson, aunts, Libby Burnell and Nell Trundle, cousin, Pat Saye, and countless friends, students and former coworkers. In addition to her main caregiver, her daughter, Lynne, Karen was lovingly assisted by Andy's fiancee', Alexas, and her daughters. Her parents, Mari and Fred Wilkerson, preceded her in death. A 1964 graduate of James Marshall High School, Karen spent most of her life in the community of West Sacramento, achieving several teaching credentials from CSU Sacramento and retiring after a 37-year career as a classroom teacher, special education teacher and reading specialist with the Washington Unified School District. Additionally, Karen was a 33-year member of the East Yolo Fellowship. She enjoyed frequent family escapes to the coast and adored the beaches at Santa Cruz. Karen imparted great wisdom and love on the lives of all she came to know and will be remembered for her ''teacher voice,'' warm heart and quick wit, which she held through her final days. Services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 6, at River Cities Funeral Chapel, 910 Soule St., in West Sacramento, with reception to follow. A viewing will be held from 3-8 p.m. Monday. All are welcome to attend.
Published by Sacbee.com

The Smile Makers!

Dr. Kelly Giannetti at Giannetti Orthodontics is the best smile maker in town! Thanks to Dr. Kelly and all the staff for making my 3 1/2 years in braces so worth it! I love my results! Giannetti Orthodontics treats all ages. They are also supportive of the local community and are sponsors of the West Sacramento Little League River Cats team this year!

He and She Body Art

We met this couple in Costco last week and admired their tattoos.. We always like to hear about what inspires a persons particular body art. He: has traveled all over the world and has designs inspired by temple art in Thailand, Saint Stephens Cathedral in Vienna.. and then there is the logo "sine metu" (the motto of of John Jameson founder of the Jameson Distillery in Dublin Ireland) on his wrist. She: works for a Tattoo artist in old Sacramento and has designs inspired by a local female artist.

Sun setting over West Sacramento

Thank you photographer Keith Slagerman for sharing the beautiful shot of the sun setting over West Sacramento. You can find more of Keith's beautiful works of art at this website: http://www.slagermanphoto.com/

Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby Contest

The top photo shows 8 year old Hal Jourdan working on his third place winner for the Pinewood Derby Car contest by Cub Scout Pack 49. The very first pinewood derby race was held in 1953 at the Scout House in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Art +o+mat at the Crocker Art Gallery

Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend original works of art. There are 82 active machines in various locations throughout the country and this one is located at the Crocker Gallery in Sacramento.