It's one of those small towns (clustered with many other small towns) most people haven't even…read moreheard of. Located about half hour or so north of Oakland, it boasts that "sleepy town" aura. And that's because it is. Hubbers and I were coming through from a gig at Concord and we thought, as many times as we've driven by, why haven't we actually stopped by? It became a no-brainer to find a spot here for lunch. We parked on Main and decided to walk around and figure out lunch once we see a menu we liked. It was pretty laid back on a late lunch-ish afternoon. There were a few interesting eateries offering various plates (Thai, Mexican, Italian, etc.) There was even a brewery. And then there's Market and Main (we would've grubbed here, but the place we wanted to try wasn't open yet.) There are shops as well including an art gallery. Interesting. So if you're in the mood to explore a small town on a slow pace, this might be a good place to do it. TIP: Parking was free for 2 hours on the weekend. Score!

I don't regret moving here, though sometimes I'm tempted to move a bit closer to Oakland/work…read moreagain, but Martinez is a lovely town and it would be hard to lose some of the benefits for convenience. The only real con besides comparing it to my old commute from Alameda, is the heat. The summer is tough for me but it's not nearly as hot as my year in Sac, and THAT commute was brutal. I chose to relocate two summers ago to a place closer to my work again, but still on the Amtrak trainline, so that I could still hop on the train to work towards Richmond/Oakland or to visit my daughter in Sac. My train (Sac to Oak) stopped at the Martinez station every day for a year and it had really good vibes there so I wanted to check it out more one weekend once i realized how exhausting and impossible to continue long-term my commute was. Martinez was kind of love at first sight & felt like the best option at the time, I'm pretty happy here.Breaking it down... Cons - Too hot in summer (although not many bugs..Sac had a TON). Can only really go out mornings/late evenings. - A little far to work (I don't want to drive-traffic, parking etc so I take 2 trains: Amtrak then Bart) - Not quite as diverse as other parts of the bay from what I've seen. Someone keyed/scratched out my BLM and Biden/Harris bumper stickers early on. That's never happened to me anywhere else. - A large homeless population, far more than you'd expect for a small town, many at the Amtrak station. Really sad, the desperation & suffering. Some stay there after being released from the jail down the street/nowhere to go (Our gov/society needs to do better as a whole but that could be its own blog) Pros - Cost: Cheaper rent than rest of East Bay. I rent a small cottage w/a washer/dryer (having those is huge to me, i've always had to go to a laundromat or shared laundry room) & super quiet (halleelujah-Sac was super noisy/non-stop bass) so i get much better sleep here. All for less $$ than any 1 bdrm elsewhere in the bay. - Friendly people/neighbors who really keep an eye out. And most are really considerate/quiet. - Close to Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, lots of great restaurants/shopping - Fall weather is perfect. I wish it stayed like this year-round. - Beautiful downtown on par with Alameda (but neither is as nice as Davis tbh, thats hard to top) - the historical preservation/look of beautiful old buildings, outdoor dining, lights, nice restaurants, weekly farmers market, lots of boutiques and salons - A nice newly renovated Amtrak station, fairly safe and several train options both directions. Free parking with pass for window from office. I often see trotting or grazing deer at the station in the mornings (fall/winter mostly) and raccoons. - North Concord/Martinez BART station is here, it's gorgeous & one of the safest/nicest/cleanest in the system. Lots of parking. (I'd just take Bart to work ideally, but Amtrak is so much closer to me) - Library programs (lots) & quarterly $5 bag of book sales (if you like to read/collect books) - A lot of nature, large parks, and extensive hiking trails + the bay/water beautiful views -great location I haven't been here too long and wasn't born here, so I'm sure I left out a lot - but the pros far outweigh the cons IMHO. This is def. one of the nicest cities in the bay. A hidden gem that is easy to overlook because it sits on the outskirts.

Finally! My husband has tried to get us into a National Park Service tour of Port Chicago Naval…read moreMagazine Memorial since Summer of 2021. We had bought plane tickets and hotel rooms to visit in December 2021, but because it's a working military base, if the military's schedule changes, you're SOL. This is not a national memorial that you can simply show up to on a whim, you'll need to contact the park service until they eventually build their future visitor center. Tours finally began again this month but because it's on a working military base, there won't be anymore tours until March 2021. We met ranger Erik (who my husband had been trying to schedule with for months) at the John Muir Historic Site and everyone on the tour group followed in their cars onto the base. It's a working base, again, so you can't just waltz in. Okay, as far as the memorial... I went to school in the Bay Area (Pleasanton) from 6th-12th grade and NEVER learnt about the historic WWII and the Civil Rights Movement events that happened on this base in Concord, California. This needs to be a place that you visit. Aside from never hearing about the largest domestic loss of life event on US soil during the war, with a blast radius that could be felt in Nevada, I learnt that at least 50 black service men were charged with mutiny here at the base. These men were sentenced to 8-15 years of hard labor for refusing to load munitions onto ships after the disaster without formal training and increased safety measures. "The Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is a memorial dedicated in 1994 recognizing the dead of the Port Chicago disaster, and the critical role played by Port Chicago, California during World War II. The memorial is located at the Concord Naval Weapons Station near Concord, California, in the United States. The 1944 Port Chicago disaster occurred at the naval magazine and resulted in the largest domestic loss of life during World War II. 320 sailors and civilians were instantly killed on July 17, 1944, when the ships they were loading with ammunition and bombs exploded. The majority of the deaths were African American sailors working for the racially segregated military. The explosion and its aftermath led to the largest Naval mutiny in US history, and it and the subsequent trial became major catalysts for the United States Navy to desegregate following the war." - https://www.nps.gov/poch/planyourvisit/index.htm

On this National Day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, perhaps a visit to the Port Chicago Naval…read moreMagazine National Memorial would be a suitable observance. Last Friday, I arrived at the main gate of the of Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO), formally known as the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS), to await a National Park Service (NPS) Ranger who would be leading the tour. MOTCO is commanded by the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) and can be reached by taking the Port Chicago Highway North and almost to the end. The Memorial itself is located within the Tidal area of this ~7500 acre and still "active" Army base. The remaining ~5000 acres of the former CNWS is known as the Inland area and is in the process of being handed over to the City of Concord for future development. From start to finish, the tour of this newest National Park (#392) takes about 90 minutes and is well worth your time. The Site is open to the public by reservation only and made at least 2 weeks in advance. Military clearance is also required and no visits are allowed while military ships are docked and are being loaded. My host Ranger was great and told me all sorts of things I didn't know. He also helped me through the various photo restrictions that you might expect on a military base. After all, I wasn't particularly interested in finding myself on the wrong side of an Army rule. The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly munitions explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine. Munitions detonated while being loaded onto a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations, killing 320 sailors and civilians and injuring more. Most of the dead and injured were enlisted black sailors and accounted for ~15% of all African-American deaths during WWII. A month later, continuing unsafe conditions inspired hundreds of servicemen to refuse to load munitions, an act known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. Fifty men, called the Port Chicago 50, were convicted of mutiny and sentenced to long prison terms. Thurgood Marshall attended some of the proceedings and later drew national attention to the plight of these men. Most were released soon after. The trial itself raised lots of questions regarding fairness, legality, and racism. It also led the Navy to be the first branch of the Military to initiate the desegregation of its forces, beginning around February 1946. It's a whole big, empty, lonely, and empty world on the other side of these Army gates. The Tidal area is stunning in its beauty and old military history, including abandoned barracks, an intact railroad observation tower, rail-side loading bunkers, the former Port Chicago Town Site, and storage buildings (and contents) that time has probably forgotten. Remember the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark? The base appears to be minimally staffed and includes at least a newish looking administration building, 1 fire company, security (of course), occasionally used loading dock facilities, rail switcher engines and lots of unused track, and various maintenance-related buildings. Being able to experience all this (in addition to the Memorial) from the comfort of a modern NPS van and a very knowledgeable and friendly Park Ranger was almost worth the free cost of admission alone. The Memorial itself is located along the water and at the remains of the dock where the Point Chicago Disaster occurred. The center of the Memorial consists of a simple plaza with the individual victims etched on stone tablets. There are also information boards, a pulverized metal example of the explosion, a dummy ordinance display, and a place to site and contemplate the explosion, along with the abysmal safety precautions and racial segregation practiced during that time. This dignified design is certainly an appropriate recognition for the American sailors who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country that day.

Most amazing muralist!!!! Finally, an artist who gave us a…read morewonderfully artistic and aesthetically pleasing, professionally executed mural that made our business more visible, attracts foot traffic and we already made our money back after it's been up only a month. Our building looks more pleasing to the eye, is easier to find and a mural is ongoing advertising that's such a good investment. Russell understands architecture, how to prep, paint, put graffity guard over the art work and is easy and professional to work with! Highly recommended!!!

We love living in Rio Vista, California, the people here are just fantastic. They're just life…read more"Leave It To Beaver" neighborhood, the only negative to this City, is we didn't move here sooner. The people who sold us our House, were Angels to the nines. We are so lucky, to move into this house. Now it's Our belief that if you make a move to Paradise (not that City) there is a price and it's such a minor price. The Rio Vista Bridge makes all traffic, East & West bound on Highway 12 come to a complete stop and just east of the Bridge is a Four Way Traffic Light where Highway 12 and Highway 160, so all that traffic build up, waiting for the Bridge to come down, but most of the time, they have to wait on the Junction of the 2 Highways Lights. Like I said, it's like, "everyone wants the go to heaven, but no one wants to die". Like I said...we found heaven, but with little price to pay, waiting for our Town's Bridge.

The Solano Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is a great way to connect with other business people in the…read moreHispanic and local community. You do not have to be a Hispanic Owned Business to be a member, and the mixers are a wonderful way to meet business owners

We all know when you have a wedding day you want everything to be as perfect as possible. However,…read moreyour video is supposed to be excellent. These guys are professionals I have no idea what classes they took or what college they went to but they do incredible job. When I saw their previous videos I knew it right away that I'm going to hire them. I have been looking for a video team for a while. But when my friend told me about these guys I was like that's who I'm gonna pay whatever they asking for. I can't believe I found them they did incredible job. Serge was working hard the whole time to record every special moment from my wedding. He didn't even take a break. I was truly impressed. They have about 4 professional cameras plus a drone. If you want all your special moments to be recorded and edited epically that's the right guys to work with. You will not regret it. I'm highly suggesting this video team.

Guys, there is nothing better than Hidden Treasure Films! A whole family is working hard on…read moremultiple cameras to capture your wedding or any event and make a beauty out of it. They really devote their time and all energy to their customers. I would really recommend it to everyone. If you want great and loving memories, and are looking for someone to film your event or even an advertisement of your company, look no further than Hidden Treasure Films!

If only all businesses were run this way. Jaezar was quick and gave me exactly what I wanted at a…read morevery fair price. I got the job information for my brochure to Jaezar on a Friday afternoon, and by Sunday I had proofs in my email to review. He will definitely be my go-to guy for graphic design in the future.

I have lived in Fairfield for 12 years, and until now, I did not know about the Casual Carpool. It…read morereally is a tremendous resource for drivers and riders in the Fairfield community, and surrounding cities. At this point, I have only been a driver, and it is nice to take the carpool lane up to SF. I've only had pleasant riders, that all have offered me $1.25 for the ride. It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing and I get to drive in the carpool lane. It's been such a great experience that has reduced the stress of dealing with morning traffic. I'm surprised that no one has "yelped" about it, so I thought I would be the first...CASUAL CARPOOLING ROCKS!!!