Monthly Archives: March 2026

Posted in Family • travel

Wining & Dinning on the Central Coast

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by Bob Sparrow

2004 Famous Wine Movie, SIDEWAYS

We had the opportunity last Thursday to drive through the world of the movie, Sideways, on the Central Coast to visit my brother and his wife, Jack & Sharon in Santa Maria. We decided that we would leave Orange County during the middle of the day to avoid commuter traffic. How many years will it take living in Southern California to know that there is always commute traffic going through L.A.? At least we had good music on the radio; well I did, Linda was listening to her book through her ‘Meta Glasses’.

We had planned to meet them at our favorite restaurant up there, The Brother’s Red Barn in Santa Ynez, for a 6:00 o’clock dinner reservation. After we got through L.A., we had several hours to kill, so we stopped in Solvang, the quaint Scandinavian tourist town along the way and walked up and down the main street, grabbed a quick bite to eat and decided we’d seen enough. Truth be told, there was slot machine money burning a hole in Linda’s pocket, so we headed to the Chumash Indian Casino. We were proud to donate to the welfare of our indigenous people!

We met up with Jack & Sharon at the Red Barn; the reason it’s my favorite restaurant on the Central Coast is the petrale sole – it is the best fish I have ever tasted!

Fess Parker Winery Barrel Room

Friday after breakfast at Jack & Sharon’s we headed for the Fess Parker Winery, where Jack has worked in tasting room for 22 years! We had not been to the winery in several years and we observed lots of renovation as we sat on the patio and got the ‘free employee tasting’ of several very good wines. Yes, wine isn’t just for breakfast anymore! After the winery we headed back to the Chumash Indian Casino to get our money back! You can probably imagine the outcome. Actually, I did recoup some of my earlier losses as I stopped playing slots and only played blackjack. On our way home, it was hard not to be awed by the pastoral countryside with its beautiful rolling hills, plenty of large, sturdy oak trees and an occasional horse or cow grazing in the open fields. Beautiful!

Jack’s famous Rack of Lamb

Back to Jack & Sharons for Jack’s delicious barbequed rack of lamb and Ceasar salad and watching some March Madness basketball.

On Saturday we went to Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria Valley to meet up with Sharon’s daughter, Debbie and her husband, Steve, who are members of this winery. It is located high atop a hill with breathtaking views of sprawling vineyards and the Pacific Ocean. We tasted various wines as well as had a spread of scrumptious food. Later that afternoon, we were invited over to Debbie and Steve’s for some pizza and more wine tasting. Steve has been making wine for many years now and I tried one of his Syrahs – delicious!!! He also made me a delicious smoked Old Fashion. Diet starts Monday!

Smoked Old Fashion

Home on Sunday full of food, wine and joy – always a great time seeing Jack and Sharon.

Posted in Historical

Has Betting Reached a New Low?

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Caveat: Before you read this blog, I need to go on record stating that I go out to Las Vegas 2-3 times a year usually for golfing but also to see good live shows. While there I will play craps, blackjack and/or slots, but I’m not a big gambler, I’ve never won big and I’ve never lost big – and that’s the way I’d like to keep it (OK, maybe I could handle winning big one time!). It just seems that lately gambling is everywhere, so I decided to look a little deeper.

What I found was . . .

New Orleasn Gambling River Boat owned by Willie Nelson

Gambling in the U.S. was established early on, like in the colonial days, where the upper class bet primarily in lotteries or on horses, with New Orleans emerging as the national leading gambling center with gambling taking place in the city and on river boats. Later, the increased population of California brought on by the gold rush in 1849, moved the gambling capitol from New Orleans to San Francisco. Sports betting in the U.S. spread to other western cities that were the end of cattle trails like Deadwood, South Dakota and Dodge City, Kansas or major railway hubs like Kansas City and Denver. By the turn of the century, cities like New York and Chicago got heavily into the now-illegal gambling scene by paying off the police.

U. S. Gambling Capitol

Then, in an effort to overcome the effects of The Depression, Nevada legalized gambling in 1931. While gambling was still going on in much of the U.S. illegally, stricter law inforcement drove people, particularly ‘the mob’ to Las Vegas – which, through the 50s and 60s became the ‘Gambling Capitol of the U.S.’

All was pretty normal until May 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and thus allowed 40 states to offer gambling to the public. Then gambling as a business surged from a $7 billion business in 2018 to $167 billion last year. The dramatic growth was not only attributed to the fact that now 40 states allow gambling, but rather that betting became something you could do on your phone. It’s now handier than ever to lose money.

Issues with gambling: Debt, health, relationships, stress

Anyone that’s paying attention can see that gambling has increased its awareness significantly over the last few years. Ads on television constantly promote it and television commentators often quote odds of something happening during the game.  The Super Bowl is known for it’s ‘prop bets’ that range from everything from, will a field goal kicker hit the crossbar with the ball – commonly known as a ‘doink’, to what color Gatorade will the winning coach be drenched with. It seems light and fun and in fact, it can be an enjoyable social event among friends. But the ‘serious’ gambler can expect some of the following downsides:

  1. Severe financial ruin (debt, bankruptcy, loss of assets)
  2. Mental health crises (depression, anxiety, suicide)
  3. Strained relationships due to lying or theft
  4. Significant stress (insomnia, hypertension)

So, gambling has got that going for it!

For me, gambling reached a new low last week when I saw that companies like Polymarket and Kalshi, boasting trades of $500 million, offer bets on the war in Iran – like, how many U.S. casualties, timing of a ceasefire, when the regime will change, when the Strait of Hormuz will open, etc. Disgusting!

FYI: I’ll be in Vegas in a couple of weeks looking for that ONE BIG WIN!  

Posted in opinion

SIBLINGS, SONGS, AND SAGEWOOD

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

Some weeks are better than others. Last week was not only a “better” week, but a great week because brother Bob came for a visit. I know a fair number of people who would roll their eyes at the prospect of their sibling paying a visit. But Bob and I (and our older brother, Jack) are lucky enough to not only be siblings, but friends. Bob lives a six-hour drive away, which means we don’t get to visit as often as we’d like. So, I was excited when his car pulled into my driveway last Tuesday, only to be outdone by Dooley, who sprang from the front door and raced out to greet him. So much for the “wait” command. Luckily, Bob is a dog lover, so the affection was reciprocated with lots of scratches and hugs. And, oh yeah, he gave me a hug too.

That night we had a low-key evening with my friend Marge and her husband, Bob. I cooked chili and didn’t kill anyone, so I consider the night a success. Marge is like a sister to me. In fact, I think the entirety of my family would like to make her an official member of our tribe, so she is included in all family gatherings, large and small. The next day Bob and I set out for a fun and purposeful day. One of the reasons for his visit was for him to tour the continuing care communities I’ve been considering and to confirm that I have zeroed in on the one that is the best fit for me. But first…we needed some fun. I have long wanted to take him to the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) because he is such a great musician and has an appreciation for all types of music. The MIM is the largest museum of its type in the world, with a collection of over 15,000 musical instruments and associated objects from nearly 200 countries and territories. It is truly fascinating to see how people from continents thousands of miles apart invented similar drums and string instruments at roughly the same time. My fatal mistake was not allowing enough time for our visit. We were there for a bit over two hours and could have spent all day.

We had briefly toured one of my “retirement home” options earlier in the day but spent more time, and ate lunch, at the one I am favoring, Sagewood. I tried not to influence his impression, as I wanted to hear his honest opinion, and luckily, he confirmed that I had made the right choice. I won’t be moving for a while because I want to wait for their new addition, but it’s nice to have that major decision behind me. We finished the day with dinner at my club, once again with Marge and Bob, and my good friend Bonnie, who always makes for a fun evening.

The next day we were able to meet our niece Shelley and her husband, Colin, for lunch down in Casa Grande. CG, as we call it, is not exactly a garden spot, nor is it known for its great restaurants, but it does have the distinction of being exactly half-way between Shelley’s house in Tucson and mine in Scottsdale. And in reality, we could have been eating tuna sandwiches on a park bench and still had a good time. They are delightful to be with, and we always leave feeling we haven’t had enough time together. Of course, being the Boomer that I am, I forgot to take a photo.

That night Marge wanted to see Bob again before his visit ended so she and her Bob had us over for dinner. The dinner was delicious, but the best part was the music. Marge played some beautiful songs on the piano while we sang along, her Bob played the banjo, and then my Bob played the banjo while Marge sang and danced. It was truly one of those magical evenings that you don’t plan but remember forever. The next morning Bob headed for home and both Dooley and I were sad to see him drive off. But what a wonderful visit! Usually we have a lot of people around when we see each other, so it was special to have some one-on-one time. I’m convinced there is nothing better than when your sibling is also your friend. I’m a lucky sister.

Posted in travel

A Desert Dive Bar Adventure

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by Bob Sparrow

The Lunch Spot: You meet the strangest people. It’s 100 degrees and this guy in line is in a long, dark trench coat, long pants and a hat!!

Linda and I just spent the last three days of our timeshare in the desert a weekend ago; it was the fifth or sixth time we visited the desert in the last two months – it’s like we’ve become ‘snow birds’. We’ve spent time out there this year with both golfing and non-golfing friends, but apparently, we ran out of both as we spent our last weekend with just the two of us. It predictably meant that we were going to have to talk to each other.

We did talk and decided that we’d make the weekend a pursuit of previously unvisited by us, hole-in-the-wall, places to dine and drink. Typically when we check in at the Marriott Desert Springs around noon, they tell us our room isn’t ready so we usually go to Cactus Jack’s for lunch and wait for our room, but this time we were switching it up, so I Googled hole-in-the-wall lunch places and found The Lunch Spot, tucked amongst several industrial buildings, where we both had a pretty good sandwich and although the place seemed hidden from the public, it was packed!

Linda getting ready to be disappointed by Cocina de Mama Margarita for not having Margaritas!

But they served no alcohol, so after we finished our sandwiches, we decided we’d find a place to get a margarita; we were told to go to the Cocina de Mama Margarita, which was not too far away. We found it, walked in and ordered two margaritas and the bar tender said they didn’t have margaritas!! “But your name is Cocina de Mama MARGARITA!!!” He started speaking Spanish, and we realized we weren’t going to get a margarita, so we left.

Our quest for a margarita, which we now wanted more than ever, brought us to Fresh Agave on Highway 111, we walked in and asked, “Do you have margaritas?”  “Si” We sat down.

The bevy of beautiful blondes we sat with at the bar at Tommy Bahama’s. I particularly liked the one on the left!

It was now getting near ‘Happy Hour’ and while we wanted to keep this as hole-in-the-wall only, just weeks ago when we were here, we had a slider and a Mai Tai at Tommy Bahama’s that was to die for, so instead of going into the ‘Hideout’, which was right next to Tommy’s and seemed like a perfect place for this adventure, we walked right by and found a seat at the bar at Tommy’s. “Sliders and Mai Tais, please.”

Saturday, we played golf, which thankfully kept us out of the bars for 4-5 hours, but after golf we continued our quest and hit the Little Bar, and it was indeed a little bar, so we spent little time – one drink and out. “What a hole-in-the-wall!” Oh yeah, that’s what we were looking for!!

Little Bar filled with big people

To end the evening we decided that we had had enough ‘adventure’ for the day, so decided to hit an old favorite, Cactus Jacks. We had dinner and a cocktail and headed home, well, our ‘home in the desert’!

For Sunday morning breakfast we had been told by friends to try the Palms Café, a place we’d never been, so we plugged it into our GPS and ended up at Rancho Las Palmas Hotel in Rancho Mirage. We walked throughout the hotel lobby looking for the restaurant which we found out back by the pool.  But it was only a grab and go sandwich place. We were sure this wasn’t the place that was recommended by our friends, but across the patio was a breakfast place where we could sit with views of the pool and golf course.  As we were having breakfast there, I plugged Palm’s Café into my GPS again and found 4-5 different Palm Cafes in the area. Maybe we’ll try to hit the right one next time!

Beautiful view of golf course and pool, but wrong Palms Cafe!

Since the temperatures were around 100, we decided we’d cool off in Agua Caliente Casino – we got, and remained cold, as we made a nice donation to our native American friends.

Finished a great round of bar-hopping at The 19th Hole

By talking to strangers we met in these random bars and restaurants, we’d always ask them about their favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar and several people mentioned The 19th Hole in Palm Desert, which advertises itself as ‘hidden gem dive bar’.  Perfect! So we headed there for dinner. Good fish and chips, cold beer and fun ‘people watching’.

Famous fams of The 19th Hole

Bottom line on the ‘desert dive bar tour’: Great fun, good change of pace, met and talked to various, interesting people from across the U.S. and Canada and found a few places we’d go back to.

Posted in opinion

COMFORT AND JOY WITH A TERRORIST

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By Suzanne Sparrow Watson

His first day home

One year ago today I brought my new puppy home. I named him Dashing Doolin, which was a nod to my former dog, Dash, and Doolin, one of my favorite towns in Ireland. I nicknamed him Dooley, which I thought sounded very playful and cute. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are known as the “comfort spaniels”, bred to sit quietly and lovingly by their owner. So, I envisioned a similar experience to that which I had with Dash the Wonder Dog – mellow, lots of naps (him), endless amounts of time to live a normal life (me). I was wrong. Very wrong. I swear Dooley is part Jack Rusell Terrier. Right from the jump he required lots of activity and almost all of my attention. My idea of keeping him occupied was to throw a ball. His was to nip my arms, toes and ear lobes. Or chew on the throw pillows. Or scratch the front window, begging to go chase birds, bunnies and every errant leaf that blew by. Although he had some of the same lineage as Dash, it soon became apparent that Dooley is a very different dog.

The “convict”

I’d like to say that the last year has been one of happiness and fun. But I’d be lying. What was I thinking getting a puppy in my mid-70’s? I have been frustrated, tearful and ready to give up more times that I can count. I jokingly referred to him as “the terrorist” because my life was dictated by him. In truth, it wasn’t such a joke. At least once a week I gave serious consideration as to whether he might be better placed with a young family with a very large backyard. For six months I enrolled him in training classes, in which he excelled. He was the perfect student and his instructors remarked about how quickly he caught on to commands. But turns out I had a little Eddie Haskell on my hands – a kiss-up around other adults and a complete menace at home. For Halloween last year I dressed him up as a convict for our community’s pet costume contest and several people mentioned how appropriate his outfit was. In other words, he had a “rep”. His saving grace was that he loves to “smoosh”, an activity where he jumps up and practically smothers me while laying his head on my head. It’s his version of a hug and although he doesn’t know it, that gesture kept him in my good graces.

Finally, when I was truly at my wit’s end, my friend Joan referred me to her trainer, Tammy Verhas. I took him for lessons twice and at the end of the second session she said, “You know, I think he might benefit from boot camp.” I think when a professional tells you your dog needs to go to military school it’s best to listen. So, the first week of November he went to “camp” for three weeks. I was able to get him home a couple of days before Thanksgiving and at first, I thought she’d switched out dogs on me. The dog she brought me was a perfectly behaved, obedient dog. Surely this couldn’t be Dooley?! Tammy and I had a long talk about his behavior. Turns out I was leading with affection, versus establishing some element of respect. I guess I had a “rep” too. In my defense, she told me he was the most intelligent and high-energy Cavalier she’d ever trained.

It’s been almost perfect since then. He is definitely smarter than me and knows when I’m in a weakened state and not up to being as strict as I should. That’s when he decides to pull on the leash or jump up on visitors. But generally, he is now a really good boy. And I have to say that at night, when he is snuggled up next to my pillow or curled up next to my stomach, there isn’t a better feeling in the world. Now, I don’t know what I’d do without him to keep me company. As Tammy told me, sometimes we get the dog we need, not the dog we want. As I’ve found out, it’s even better when we get both.