Grass Valley and Nevada City (which are equidistant to us and whose downtowns are similar and very near each other--say, 5 miles) host separate summer street fairs once a week in the evenings. In Grass Valley, it's every Thursday evening all summer and includes a Certified Growers Market and one main musical act that plays all evening. In Nevada City, they close down the streets to vehicle traffic only during Wednesday nights in July, and have 5 or more musical groups performing in different areas. Otherwise, they're quite similar, including the
vendors and organizations' booths and the random jugglers, musicians, yo yo virtuosos, and classic car displays. Who knew everybody and their uncles were making fancy soaps and/or jewelry?! They're well-attended by all age groups and it gives us, the Newbies, another chance to get the gist of things, here (home of fancy soaps!). The food is interesting, the music is high quality and there's a festive atmosphere. Tom took this opportunity in Grass Valley to unveil his new look: "another buzzed guy". First time since high school. Of course, if he was really going to fit in, here, he'd have left a little bit to put into a tiny pony tail. We like it. Our next purchase will be some clippers so that we can coif at home. Otherwise, it seems one has to run to the barber every few days, or one runs the
risk to looking too much like "electrocuted guy".We've been going into town on Wednesday nights, anyway, because we dubbed it "burrito night" almost as soon as we moved up here. In San Diego, on the way to choir every Wed.eve., we'd each grab a burrito from a Mexican food place on the way. Every week. There are a few places to get them, here, too, of course, but they're not the same, somehow. How hard can it be? Must be the secret sauce, or something. I do like some of the "healthier" ones they sell here, alright (whole wheat tortilla, cheese, veggies), but there's no good grab 'n' go drippy fish burrito, like, say, Rubio's or Sombrero's. Tom hasn't found a satisfying carnitas burrito, either. So, we're working on making them at home.
Not bad, so far. Mexican food, here, generally, isn't quite up to standards, We haven't tried them all, yet, but it's looking dim. Thai, sushi, Chinese, Indian, Swiss, Chilean, even Nepalese ("Anapurna"), are well-represented. Our favorite bagel sandwich place, called "Bubba's", is run by a Vietnamese family, and is wonderful, every time. The English fish 'n' chips place, also good, is run by a Chinese family. Decor is right out of Picadilly Circus.The Nevada County Fair starts tomorrow. We're fair junkies. It only runs five days, but I'm really looking forward to checking it out. The fairgrounds are beautiful! Will it be just a small San Diego County Fair? More animals? More jam? (more soap?) Who knows? We'll find out. One thing's for sure, we won't have to ponder again over whether or not to buy the VitaMix for the 25th time this year. We finally bought one last year. Kind of our parting shot to the Del Mar event.
Well, that's it, for now. I'll try to post shorter entries.--Sandy
