Debra's Blog

SOLANA BEACH: Solana Beach Presbyterian Preschool

2007-01-14T22:08:43Z

We had a wonderful experience sending our daughter to Solana Beach Presbyterian Preschool. She spent two years thre and really developed into a neat kid. The teachers are extremely caring and the student to teacher ratio is less than 10-1.

We strarted our daughter off in the three day program when she was three years old. We were amazed at how much she learned in that short year. She learned to count, identify letters, shapes, and colors. Her spiritual development basically advanced to :God is good". That was wonderful and exceeded our expectations. She participated in group projects, learned socia; interaction, and how to deal with frustration.

We advanced her to the five day program for her four year old year. This is when she really started learning! They start emphasizing phonics, basic addition, more advanced art projects, and "team building". Her spiritual development advanced to knowing that she was a child of God, discerning right from wrong, caring for those less fortunate, and an understanding of the Chrsitian holidays (Christmas and Easter).

Tuition for the 3 day a week program is about $300/month and the 5 day program was about $500/month.

Solana Beach Presbyterian Preschool website

SOLANA BEACH: Pizza Port is a Great Family Place

2007-01-14T21:51:44Z

Pizza Port is a fun restaurant that specializes in pizza and beer. The pizza is definitely "Southern Californian" style. Where else can you get a Lahaina Pizza (with pineapples and Canadian Bacon), Solana Pizza (shrimp and clams) or Margherita Pizza (basil, tomatoes, and olive oil)? The menu is simple and tasty.

The big screen television plays surfing videos featuring the best big wave surfers. There are plenty of video games n the back of the restaurant to accomodate bored children. Pizza Port has a microbrew on site with "hand-crafted beers" that will please the most discerning of suds snobs.

When dinner is over you may want to pick up a pint of their home-made ice cream. Prices are very reasonable. We feed a family of three for about twenty dolllars. There is no dress code. Most of the patrons are in softball uniforms or flip-flops.

Pizza Port is located on Coast Highway across from the Solana Beach train station (click for map). They have locations in Carlsbad and San Clemente but the Solana Beach location is the original "Port".

SOLANA BEACH: Chief's Burger's and Brew

2007-01-14T21:30:36Z

Walk into Chief's Burgers and Brew on a Sunday and you'll feel like your in downtown Denver; this is definitely Bronco's territory. Show up on a Friday night for dinner and you'll feel like a Solana Beach local. Across from the Solana Beach train station on Cedros (just west of Lomas Santa Fe), the restaurant was actually named for the "SuperChief" train on the Santa Fe line.

Chief's is casual. You eat dinner at picnic tables and can watch one of the 25 televisions tuned to sports. The service is outstanding and the food is served quickly. Chief's has been hailed for having one of the top five burgers in Southern California and I won't refute that claim. The menu is pretty simple and features a different special each night of the week.

This "joint" is extremely family friendly. You'll probably see some of the kids from your children's school there. It's a place where mom doesn't have to cook, dad can swill down a microbrew or two, and the kids feel comfortable.

Chief's has a bar that serves beer and wine. It is a "locals" hangout that closes around 10PM. The topic at the bar is light, mostly sports. It's the type of place where you come in a stranger and walk out a local.

The outside patio is small and has a charming firepit. Dress is casual; flip flops are the preferred footwear. It is only prohibitively crowded during race season (mid July to early September) or if the Denver Broncos are playing.

This was posted on www.sandyblogger.com

The Marquis of Queensbury Rules

2006-11-19T13:33:46Z

A week full of passionate blogging came from various members of Active Rain about price fixing and discount mortgage brokerage models. Some of the notable blogs this week include:

The Mortgage Industry's Civil War

Price Fixing: Un-American...what say ye?

A Realtor's Guide to Price Fixing Commissions

Price Fixing Brokerages? Seen It, Been there, Done It

The Peoples' Mortgage Kollectiv

Real Estate Is Not A Horizontal Business

Many members learned a whole lot about the issue of price fixing inasmuch as it relates to real estate brokerage and mortgage origination. The subsequent blogs really offered some good insight to this sensitive issue. If one enters "price fixing" into search engine for blogs on the Active Rain Real Estate Network, close to 30 different entries appear. Hundereds of comments were made and over 5000 "views" were recorded on these six blogs. That in itself is an astounding fact.

I think that the smoke has cleared and it is time for some "intellectual discourse" among members. Certain mamber sof the community have agreed to set aside egos and agendas and "keep it real" about this timely topic. I'm sure it won't be as "sensational" as before (or will it?) but I'm glad to host it here.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen! In the words of little Michaleen Oge Flynn, in the great 1952 movie, The Quiet Man, "The Marquis of Queensbury Rules will be in effect."