The Tiki Bar is Open

More random thoughts as I enjoy a summer Friday. Unfortunately, these are likely to become furlough Fridays before too much longer…


I love the 4th of July. But hidden in the mix of all the other better-known traditions are some others that don’t quite get the widespread attention. Like the gathering at Dave Bosson’s house on Eighth Street as the runners fly by in the Claremont Freedom 5,000 5k run/walk. I can think of no better way to start Independence Day than with a Bloody Mary watching the fun. His house is just a couple blocks from Memorial Park, where the rest of the community gathers later in the morning. I get the impression that people who don’t even know Dave show up and take advantage of his hospitality (and bar)…

And then there are the mid-day festivities at the Seligman residence in Claremont. It’s another one of those less publicized holiday traditions, but one that you can count on most years. Cheers…

By the time those get-togethers break up as people head off to parades or fireworks shows, I’ve usually about had it. So while the crowds flock to their favorite stadium shows, I’ve always favored finding a good vantage point where you don’t have to battle the people or traffic. For years, that meant parking going to the great shows at Fairplex or parking at the bowling alley across the street from Upland High, where tailgate parties were spread throughout the parking lot… and at businesses all along Foothill from Euclid to San Antonio. But those have gotten pretty popular, so this year we reverted to pulling up a couple chairs out on the driveway and watching the aerial explosions from the distance. The view was surprisingly good and the drive home was a breeze, since I already was home…

This year we revived an old tradition by starting the fun on July 3 – something we did for many years before kids came into the picture, including my bachelor party at Dave’s house on Baseline 24 years ago. Not a bad way to start the summer. The tone of the parties have changed, but the Robinson tiki bar is now officially open for summer 2009. Come on by…


Beth and I made a brief, relaxing trek to the beach this past weekend to celebrate our 24th anniversary. Newport Beach was pretty crowded, but it is always great. And even though Balboa Island was full of holiday weekend vacationers, it’s hard to beat the peace and serenity of the beach. We’re just thankful our good friends generously open their home to us to unwind and relax. These coastal getaways are truly a world apart from our daily grind in the Inland Empire, and they are something I’ll always appreciate…

While we were there we dropped in on Beth’s sister Marilyn Bosson Skidmore at the Tabu Grill in south Laguna Beach. Marilyn’s pretty proud of this place, and with good reason. This intimate restaurant has been getting great reviews and recently became the highest rated restaurant in Southern California, scoring 29 out of a possible 30 points on the Zagat scale. Aside from that, the food was incredible (as was the service, of course)…

Another fun summer tradition is the weekly Monday concerts in the park series in Claremont. That’s just a great way to start the week. The LCR Band opened last Monday and sounded great. The Ravelers are set for Aug. 3…

Along with the Monday concerts, Claremont has a full calendar of music and family events, including the Claremont Village Live music on Friday nights and Claremont Wednesdays, which is a street fair event with music, retail booths, food and more in the village area west of Indian Hill. A couple of weeks ago I saw there was a musician scheduled by the name of Cydney Robinson. I went to the event so I could tell her that she spelled her name wrong, but I couldn’t find her…

Did you happen to catch FM radio station 100.3 “The Sound” today? They’re calling it a tribute to the old KMET (94.7) and have brought back a bunch of the old DJs from the past. Just heard a tape of the old fish report with Paraquat Kelly and “The Burner” Mary Turner. Great memories. Just like a little bit of heaven. KMET was such the soundtrack for most of us in the 1970s, and it’s pretty cool to hear some of the DJs and air-checks from years ago, including tapes of late, great pioneer jock B. Mitchel Reed and others. The Sound is doing the KMET format throughout the day, closing with an hour of Dr. Demento…

The Orange County Fair opened today and runs through Aug. 9. Now they’re calling it the OC Super Fair. Maybe that’s because of the Fair’s extensive entertainment lineup at the Pacific Amphitheater and at stages around the fairgrounds (where the local favorites the Dogs will perform July 15-19). Or maybe it’s because the fair has been extended over five weekends. This seems to be the trend with fairs – utilizing more weekends and closing on Mondays and Tuesdays...

The Los Angeles County Fair also will be longer this year, covering five weekends from Sept. 5 through Oct. 4. That’s a long haul, but the total run only adds up to 23 days when you subtract the dark days. With a few days to rest, that isn’t so bad, especially compared to the years in the early 1990s when the Fair was open 24 straight days. That was a killer, but still something I’ll always remember fondly.

This year the LA County Fair is opening for three days over Labor Day weekend from Saturday, Sept. 5, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. The event then picks up a couple days later and is open every Wednesday through Sunday from Sept. 9 through Oct. 4, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. I like the idea of trying to get a few folks in the gates before school starts after Labor Day.

Upland Day at the Fair is Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Claremont Day is Thursday, Sept. 24. All of the local communities have their own day at the Fair, along with ceremonies to honor their community heroes…

I expect the Fair to announce its End of Summer Concert Series lineup pretty soon. I haven’t talked to anyone at Fairplex, but it’s not hard to find a schedule of some of the acts that will be playing this year. Most of these acts have been there before: The Spinners on Sept. 5 (I suspect they’ll be part of a bigger show), Blake Shelton on Sept. 6, Kansas on Sept. 11, Lynyrd Skynyrd on Sept. 13, Creedence Clearwater Revisited on Sept. 17, War on Sept. 18, LeAnn Rimes on Sept. 19 and the Beach Boys on Sept. 27. There will be more, so we’ll mention those when they are officially announced. And I’ll try to preview the shows as they come, since I believe I’ll be back doing the grandstand house announcements again this year before each show. So when you hear “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the End of Summer Concert Series…” look for me at the soundboard in the box seating area…

I’m really not ready to think about the end of the summer yet, since it just started. Enjoy, and I hope to see you at the tiki bar soon (yeah, even tonight). Just give us a call.