Visit Agoura Hills

I must admit, when the rain began to pour, I was so grateful.  Our beautiful green mountainsides had begun to turn shades of brown and the surcharges from the water department due to a shortage of water (nevermind the endless suplly in the Pacific Ocean 10 minutes away) was costing us nearly twice as much as we'd paid in the past.  The water bill is absolutely out of control, at home and at the hotel.  So, this rain was appreciated.  That was until it decided to rain five days in a row.

 Maybe I've lived in Southern California too long and need to get out of our city more often but my goodness, raining for an entire week, that's just too much.  It's bad enough California drivers have no clue how to drive in the rain (I'm a California driver so I can say this) but something about the downpour seems to cause them to rev up the speed of their cars.  Maybe it's like sky diving, these daring drivers just want to take life into their own hands.  Well, good luck with that as I have stayed off the freeway the entire week.

In spite of this unusual downpour of rain, all those around me have maintained the most cheery spirits.  Is it because we know when the rain lets up, we're going to have the most beautiful grass, trees, flowers and plants we've seen in recent years?  Or maybe it's our one chance this year to go out and twirl our umbrellas while singing a tune from a classic movie.  Whatever it is, I have a hotel of staff absolutely giddy about the rain.  Our guests who have traveled long and far to come to sunny Southern California are a bit disappointed, but our team's infectious attitude seems to bring out the best in everyone.  My family is the same way.  The rain is not going to get us down.

So rain, rain go away -- but we won't mind if you stay just one more day.

I'm an absolute sucker for a great Farmers Market.  For a while, I went to Calabasas every Saturday morning after yoga to pick up fruits, vegetables, flowers and the best almond butter I've ever tasted (D's Nuts).  Then D's Nuts stopped displaying there and I began looking for a Farmers Market closer to home.  That was more than 6 months ago and I still hadn't found a Farmers Market to call "home." 

Well, that has all changed.  Now, with Farmers Markets cropping up (no pun intended) everywhere.  Today, I went to the Farmers Market in Oak Park which was small but had great produce, desserts and a pretty gnarly singer who went from Johnny Cash impersonations and songs to Elvis Presley to anything country.  It was great -- I even thought about buying his CD.  The Oak Park Farmers Market is every Saturday morning and is right next to one of my favorite local restaurants, Nico's (try their blueberry crepes, umm umm good!). 

One of the vendors was a rambunctious young lady (probably in her late teens or early twenties) who proudly bakes with her Mom.  Their bakery, Dreamy Creations, specialized in mostly wholesome (yet wonderfully tasting) desserts.  They offer a healthy version of everything they make that's not healthy (i.e. red velvet cake made with either food coloring or a healthier "earth cake" made with beet juice for coloring).  Most of their items use wheat flour and you can choose options with brown sugar instead of white.

Next week, I'm as excited as a cowgirl at a BBQ cookout as Agoura Hills will again launch its very own Farmers Market.  Coming to the Agoura Hills City Mall on Sunday, August 23rd, this Farmers Market should be fantastic!  The space is rather large and shares a shopping center with one of the best frozen yogurt places in the area, Golden Spoon.  I'll update you next week on the inaugural Agoura Hills Farmers Market but it should be a blast.  I'll also try to make it by the Westlake Village Farmers Market which kicks off tomorrow, August 16th.

There are now 6 or 7 Farmers Markets in the area and you can find out more information about all of them on this site.  Click Here

Mega-band Linkin Park is from Agoura Hills, CA

I seem to learn something new about our wonderful city on a daily basis.  For instance, until a month or so ago, I had no idea Antique Row existed.  Imagine living here for years before ever discovering such wonderful shops.  Well, I recently learned in the mid 90s, Agoura Hills was known as a music mecca.  The city regularly hosted music competitions and concerts at the local parks (something they recently began doing again).  These events led to the take off of bands such as Hoobastank and Linkin Park.  Since performing at this Agoura Hills events, Linkin Park has gone on to sell more than 50 million records and Hoobastank has sold 10 million records.  Good things happen in Agoura Hills, CA.  This summer, the Concerts in the Park series should be a blast.  It kicks off on Father's Day, June 21st and features The Hodads (I don't know who these guys are but they call themselves a party band).  Come and enjoy Agoura Hills all summer long.

The oddest thing happened to me today.  I was returning from a meeting in Malibu and going through the hills into Calabasas.  As we approached a large piece of unused land with a run down shack, I wondered (as I always do), "Why don't they tear that thing down and do something with this land?"  It's located along the beautiful drive of Malibu Canyon Road.  My colleague in the car suggested I turn there as he'd previously told me about a multi-hundred acre ranch right off that road.  So we made a right -- and in doing that an amazing discovery.

I've lived here since the mid-90s and never knew about the King Gillette Ranch.  Apparently, the inventor of the safety razor (yes, think Gillette razors) owned 535 acres of land right here on this corner.  Once we pulled into the land (which in 07' was purchased by the Mountain conservatory and many other organizations in order to keep it open space) we were greeted by ponds, green grass and a stunning mansion.  We parked and got out of the car to discover the buildings were closed.  A friendly guard approached us wearing a jacket that said, "Biggest Loser Crew."  We learned not only the history of this amazing man and this land (see Wikipedia article) but also that the popular reality show, The Biggest Loser, is filmed here.  At the time we arrived, they were gearing up for the new season, building the set and crew was scurrying about.

This place was quite the find.  And I must admit, the crew of the television show were incredibly warm and treated us kindly.  I've personally never watched the show but after "visiting the set," I'll now make sure to catch it on NBC (my plug for the show).

King Gillette Ranch -- when you're in the area, make sure to stop by and have a picnic or walk around the grounds.  I'm told by my sales coordinator, Kayla, that there are amazing hiking trails at the ranch (at least 25 trails according to her estimation).

This morning, my husband and I had the pleasure of dining at a place minutes outside Agoura Hills in the city of Cornell, "The Rock Store."  Cornell was at one time its own city but now is a part of Agoura Hills (zip code 91301).  Our GPS couldn't find the restaurant so we decided to find it on our own.  We drove north on Kanan Rd. to Mulholland and made a left.  We drove until we hit Malibou Lake which let us know we'd gone the wrong way.  We still weren't sure how to find the restaurant but saw an onslaught of bikers coming down the road headed in the opposite direction.  We decided to turn around and see if they'd lead us to The Rock Store.  Sure enough, that's exactly where they were all headed. 

As we pulled up to Ed & Vern's infamous The Rock Store, our mouths hung wide open.  Hundreds of bikes lined the street in front of the restaurant.  Men with jeans, boots and leather jackets walked around looking at the various bikes and speaking with their owners.  It looked like the scene out of a movie -- I'm just not certain which movie.  Once we were able to get our heads around the enormity of bikers standing and sitting in front of the restaurant, we went inside.  Vern manned the cash register in the small downstairs portion of the restaurant.  No one offered any help but we could tell they were busy so we headed upstairs where we were told by the waitress there would be a wait unless we wanted to sit outside.  Once outside, we found the patio area where most of their seating is located.  We grabbed a table and chair and then waited.  And waited some more.  And waited even longer.  The servers were running around like busy bees but no one ever stopped.  Ed stood near the bar and didn't seem too eager to speak to anyone outside of 15 feet of the bar (which is understandable considering his age).  The restaurant was so interesting, we decided not to let the lack of service bother us.  So we continued to wait.

While waiting, we watched all the bikers coming and going.  They usually headed for the bar -- although it was 10 am -- to grab a few beers, some peanuts and pretzels.  We sat back and listened to Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar" play over and over.  Even when Ed put on another album, it somehow always looped back to this song.  But I must admit, the song fit the setting so perfectly, we didn't mind hearing it 4 or 5 times.   And each time, I sang along.   After 30 minutes of waiting, I finally got up to let the servers know that no one had visited our table and by this time, Keith and I were starving.  They apologized profusely and then came over right away.

Pancakes, french toast, eggs and country potatoes were our selections.  I'd heard so many people rave about the pancakes I was expecting them to be the best ever.  They were okay.  The food overall was just okay.  But the atmosphere and the people, you cannot duplicate.  The relaxed Texas feel where Sunday seems to last 7 days out of the week, you won't find anywhere else in Los Angeles.  As the commercial goes: Pancakes: $9. Country potatoes and eggs: $6.  Sitting in the midst of hundreds of bikers drinking beer at 10am while listening to Toby Keith -- in the middle of Los Angeles: Priceless.