The Crazy Days of … Fall

Valley Weekly. She can be
reached at robin@cvweekly.com
or (818) 248-2740.
You remember that song, “The Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer?” The one that ends, “You’ll wish that summer could always be here.” I don’t know about you, but last week it seemed that summer would always be here.
First the Santa Ana winds, as predicted, ripped through town on Friday bringing a spike in temperature. That night I actually had to pop earplugs in so I could sleep. As I drifted off, I thought about the plans for the Montrose Chamber of Commerce’s biggest fundraiser – Oktoberfest – that was taking place the next day and how things could fall apart if the wind continued.
It was still somewhat breezy on Saturday, but thankfully not nearly as bad as expected. I said a silent prayer of thanks and prepared for the day. Crescenta Valley Weekly was manning a wine booth at Oktoberfest and the Prom Plus Club (the student-led arm of Prom Plus) was manning four snack booths so it was going to be a busy time on Honolulu Avenue. But before heading to Montrose, I had a date at Rockhaven Sanitarium.
I was one of several guests invited to tour the grounds courtesy of the Friends of Rockhaven, part of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley. The tour, led by docent Joanna Linkchorst with assistance by Roberta Medford, Mike Morgan and Mike Lawler, gave a wonderful overview of the history of the property and its owners, and shared what the future could hold for the three-plus acres. (You can read about the tour and see some of my photos on page 14.)
Leaving there I was excited about sharing my experience and was trying to come up with a way to do so. As luck would have it, the answer fell into my Inbox.
Mary O’Keefe, who also sits on the Prom Plus board with me, has been working on this year’s holiday tour of homes, one of Prom Plus’ major fundraisers. After talking with the city of Glendale, who owns the Rockhaven property, and the Friends of Rockhaven, Prom Plus was given permission to feature the historic property on our Dec. 14 tour! I am thrilled that we have been given this opportunity and know that so many in our community will be as delighted as I to learn more about Rockhaven. The tickets for the holiday tour of homes will go on sale next month, but mark your calendars now.
Now back to Oktoberfest.
If you recall, it was hot on Saturday – some might say perfect beer-drinking weather. And the heat didn’t keep the Oktoberfest crowds away! Beginning at noon, Honolulu began filling up. Families came early to enjoy the rides and bratwurst and by nightfall the avenue was packed! One reason I love Oktoberfest is that you get to see so many people that you don’t usually during the year. A special thank you to the folks who stopped by the CV Weekly booth to say hi, congratulate us on our four-year anniversary and compliment us on the paper that’s read “cover to cover.” It was very heart-warming.
I fell into bed exhausted a little past midnight and slept soundly until late morning on Sunday. Very well rested, around 4 o’clock Steve and I headed over to Memorial Park in La Cañada for the Kiwanis annual wine and gourmet food tasting. This event is a terrific chance to sip wine while tasting some of the fare of our local restaurants.
We capped off our evening by heading to Oceanview Restaurant to have a light dinner. What a wonderful way to end a very busy weekend.
With the summer temps, it seems we had the crazy part down much better than the lazy. But now summer really does seem to be behind us as we make sure to grab a sweater before heading out to meet cool and crisp wet weather.