This took me a while to notice but when women’s clothing store J.Jill moved to another Broadway Plaza location in downtown Walnut Creek they just so happened to move right next to another “J.” store, J.Crew. Coincidence?
This took me a while to notice but when women’s clothing store J.Jill moved to another Broadway Plaza location in downtown Walnut Creek they just so happened to move right next to another “J.” store, J.Crew. Coincidence?
Talk about Picasso Masterpieces from the Musee National:
Ygnacio Valley Library
2661 Oak Grove Road, Wanut Creek
Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
6:30pm – 7:45pm | FreePablo Picasso’s paintings and sculptures are both personal and emblematic of the era in which he lived. This talk includes iconic works from all eras of the artist’s career—his Blue and Rose periods, Cubism, the war years—up to his late works produced in the South of France.
The Lafayette Community Park, located at 480 St. Marys Rd. in Lafayette is home to one of the great tree swings in all of Lamorinda. The tree you see above is really quite massive, and if you look really closely at the photo above you may be able to spot a kid enjoying a swing ride. Take a look at a close-up below for a better look. Suspended high up in the air on a solid branch, the simple wooden slat for sitting allows one to hang on while swinging like Tarzan.
When you enter the park there are a couple of small playgrounds which are quite interesting as well. To get to the swing you’ll need to take a walk around the baseball field at left up a hundred meters or so until you reach the swing. Who has been to this swing before? Is this the coolest tree swing or what?!
33 Lafayette Circle, Lafayette
A new salon called Caroline’s Salon offering various services has opened in La Fiesta Square in downtown Lafayette next to the Lesley Evers boutique.
From their website:
Caroline relocated to the bay area from Los Angeles two years ago, bringing 20 years of cutting edge beauty experience to the plate. Her Hollywood resume includes her expert touch on film, TV, print, editorial, and commercial hair and makeup, as well as two Emmy nomminations for hairstyling. An artist to the core, Caroline uses her skill in cutting, color, styling and communication to produce an extremely happy and beautified client!
Lafayette Library and Learning Center
3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd, Lafayette
Tuesday, November 19th, 2013
7:00pm – 8:00pm | $5In 1904 President Teddy Roosevelt committed the brains of American engineering and the brawn of America’s industrial machine to build a canal of unprecedented scope and challenge. After an unsuccessful attempt by the French in 1889, the US succeeded in building a fifty mile sea level canal in Panama. Panama Canal’s successful construction was the result of the convergence of extraordinary men, machines, and methods.
Paul Giroux, recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ prestigious Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award for 2013, will share highlights of this remarkable construction feat, illustrating how the right men, the right, machines, and the right methods all came together in 1904 to build a project of unprecedented scope and challenges.
$5/person
To reserve call: 925-283-6513 x103 or email: reserve@LLLCF.org
Boxed meals available for Pre-Purchase: $10 (non-refundable). Call the above number to order. Beer, Wine, Coffee, Tea & Cookies for sale in the Community Hall.
It’s been a few months since vandals smashed in the front doors of Tiffany’s in downtown Walnut Creek but the new doors have finally been installed and they look great. I did notice two small concrete pillars on each side as you can see in the photo below but I’m not sure whether they were there before or were added for extra security.
It took almost 50 years but the Caldecott tunnel finally has its fourth bore, allowing traffic to pass through two tunnels in each direction, Orinda – Oakland.
From the project site:
Saturday morning, November 16, 2013 at 4:10 a.m. the first vehicles drove through the new, two-lane, 3300-foot-long Fourth Bore of the Caldecott Tunnel. The long-planned $417 million project provides congestion relief to residents and workers in the East Bay, and brings to an end the daily process of switching the traffic direction of the third bore to accommodate travel between Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
The new Fourth Bore features wide travel lanes, roadway shoulders, bright lighting, emergency exits along the length of the tunnel, and state-of-the-art fire and life safety systems. The tunnel’s incident detection and response systems underwent extensive testing before Caltrans began the traffic realignment needed for the new State Route 24 lane configuration utilizing the Fourth Bore.
Years ago when I used to live in Oakland and work in Concord I would dream about that fourth bore opening while waiting to get through, so it’s really amazing that it’s finally happened. Has anyone noticed a difference in their commute time?
Photo from Caldecott Tunnel project
Swan’s Fine Books
1381 Locust Street, Walnut Creek
Saturday, November 23rd, 2013
1:00pm – 3:00pm | FreePlease join us on Saturday, November 23rd, to meet the photographer and author of “Mount Diablo, The Extraordinary Life and Landscape of a California Treasure“.
This book is a first-of-its kind collection of original fine art photographs and panoramic creations of one of California’s premier landscape photographers, Stephen Joseph. Mr. Joseph has been hiking and photographing Mount Diablo in Northern California’s Contra Costa County since 1985, so drawn is he to the complex mountain’s unparalleled natural beauty and intriguing geological faces.
1633 Bonanza St, Walnut Creek
It’s only been a month since Cafecitos Cafe opened in downtown Walnut Creek but things are not looking good over there as you can see by the bicycle lock on the front doors in the above photo. I dropped by on numerous occasions attempting to try the patacones and papas appetizer but they have always been closed. I’m hoping this is not permanent…
This week I posted about a new Starbucks that may open up in the Mercer apartment complex in downtown Walnut Creek which, considering the quantity that already exists downtown, got people wondering if maybe there were too many Starbucks downtown. Existing locations include Target, Barnes and Noble, Safeway, N Main St, Locust St. and two more in Broadway Plaza. So do you think there are too many Starbucks in downtown Walnut Creek? If not Starbucks what would you rather have, an independent cafe? Peet’s? Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?