Page 42 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2018

For a groovy treat this summer, be sure to enjoy the Russian River Wienery, which is a mobile hot dog stand that’s been frequented by residents of all ages over the past two years!
Jennifer Arvizo sets up her stand around town and is in the parking
lot of Russian River Realty during the Rockin’ on the River concerts. She is an absolute pleasure to speak with; take some time to talk to her while she prepares your hot dog or polish dog... She has been spending her last two summers serving this groovy area, and donates the end of the shift left overs to our local homeless. She donates gift certificates to local charities/fundraisers and will be working at El Molino High School Cafeteria this next school year.
Thank you Jennifer! You are a groovy addition to our town! And thank you to Sue Mobley at Russian River Realty for inviting her to set up in your parking lot...(evidently mobile food service is not permitted on or near the Plaza). Oh, wait... wasn’t the Taco Truck just there?
Speaking of Russian River Realty, there are two new agents who just moved in; although not new to us as Nancy Marie Spilman has been a local agent for 25 years and Denise Mobley, just retired after serving 20 years as a Correctional Officer, helping our youth get back on track! Congratulations to you both! Other groovy business news is it looks like we have a new tenant over on the corner of Armstrong Woods and Main in the Plaza Building... Amber Salon, Holistic Hair will be opening soon and we look forward to seeing the new look of the space! It’s right next door to Equality Vines Tasting Room, who has an ongoing special during the Music on the Plaza. $10 door charge gets you one glass of wine and some small bites to nibble on. Remember, 20% of all proceeds go to the LGBT and various women’s organizations.
And while we talking about the groovy Rockin’ the River
Concert Series, the August line up is as follows: 8/2 is the Rock n Roll of LuvPlanet, 8/16 you can fly with San Francisco Airship (Jefferson Airplane Evolution) and 8/30 you can groove to Coco Montoya. The music starts at 7pm and is FREE! Thank you Russian River Rotary! Don’t forget the After Party over at Main Street Station where the music continues and the food is served all night!
August 1st is the Russian River Chamber of Commerce will be holding its Mixer at the Russian Riverkeeper Park that is located under the bridge on the Plaza side. Please go and take a tour of this teaching park and see what a gem we have hidden there! August 3rd is the First Friday ArtWalk which will be full of fun! Not only do we get the pleasure of seeing all of our local artists’ work, there will be live music on the Plaza among other groovy fun. Shakedown Street and Smart Pizza will be supporting this family event, with Coco’s Magic Dip Dye, there will be a Community Soap Box, local artists, food and more fun presented by Just Do Something / Stone People’s Medicine.
All begins at 4pm on the Plaza...and when you are leaving the Plaza, which direction will you walk? Wouldn’t it be great if we could eliminate the crosswalk on the East Side of the 4 corners, so the traffic coming off of Armstrong Woods Rd could flow onto 116? It wouldn’t take much to divert pedestrians to the
cross walk on the West side of the 4 corners...just a thought from several local residences. Perhaps someone wants to take this project on? While you are at it, why not get a left turn only signal put in for those of us trying to exit the bridge onto 116? The opposite directional traffic on Old River Rd has the right of way, and we all know how everyone is courteous and takes turns during the back up...(yeah, right).
If you’d rather look at some vintage groovy cars upfront (outside of the traffic back up), head on out to Monte Rio on August 25th from 8-3. It’s time for the 20th Annual Russian River Car Show! There’s a pancake breakfast, beautiful cars and trucks from yesteryear, the Historical Society will be there, just a good ol’ time!
Enjoy the rest of your groovy summer! Come see me at Pinnacle Capital Mortgage to give me your upcoming happenings! 16190 Main Street Ste C in beautiful, groovy downtown Guerneville.
42 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 8/18
Where has time gone? I haven’t written my column for the past two months due to my life being super busy, which leaves me very little free time to wriing. So, here I am back after a numerous backlash from my Column supporters who look forward to reading about the interesting goings-on in our tiny magical enclave of Rio Nido every month. I promise not to disappoint.
Summer folks: One lovely afternoon hosting a dinner soiree at my crib with a group of local friends, enjoying the lackadaisical warm days of summer, we noticed an interesting game going on in the RN Tennis Court. Summer revelers were playing “beach ball” tennis with a gigantic beach ball. They were having a great time hitting the beach ball over the net. None of us have ever seen anything like that before and it appeared they were really having a terrific time... well, that’s a fresh idea....think I’m gonna invite a group over and give it a try. Its wonderful to see summer vacationers on their skateboards, bicycles, mini-bikes etc... A lot of nice folks come to Rio Nido and truly enjoy their summertime fun here. For those of us who reside here all year round, we truly are the lucky ones!
New Rio Nido Sign: Wow! I am thrilled with the new Rio Nido sign that was recently installed on River Road. It’s been years in the making and truly represents this lovely little historical village. The Friends of Rio Nido (FRN) finally made it happen after a snafu prevented us from getting the sign, (I won’t mention the details), but as always this little group persevered with the help of Efren Carrillo and the FRN Board.
A big thanks goes to Nate and Ingrid Emming for their tireless efforts in getting this sign placed in the proper spot, making it happen and dealing with the delicate issues with paperwork, phones calls and installation. Your tireless efforts were worth it. Now the sign stands tall and proud and represents the wonderful Community that is Rio Nido. Bless you for all your hard work and dedication. It is appreciated.
Rio Nido Lodge: The RN Lodge has been hopping all summer. We are booked solid and the weekends are especially crazy-busy. A Coffee Shop/Café is in the works and will be opened by the time this column comes out.
Back to topic: The descendants of the original first owners of the Rio Nido Lodge came to visit all the way from New Zealand. It was amazing to meet these people. They stayed at the Lodge for several days and enjoyed learning about the colorful history of the Lodge. The amazing Clare and Carla Harris
of Johnson’s Beach fame, Dennis Judd (current owner of the Lodge), Martine Eva and me (Elena Chronis) enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Harris’s hosting these lovely New Zealanders. The Lodge has such an interesting history and it was truly a blessing to meet these lovely people and share all the stories about the Lodge.
Wonderland Radio Hour: An exciting, chalk full of history event took place at the Monte Rio Theater on Saturday, July 28th from 11am to 12pm called “Wonderland Radio Hour”. Special guests were: Gaye LeBaron, Historian and Columnist, the Slavyanka Russian Chorus and Clare Harris, A Rio Nido Life. This was a live show reminiscing about Rio Nido and listening to interesting conversations about Rio Nido. We are famous!
Rio Nido Homeowner’s Association Events: It sure has been an eventful summer here with all the amazing events the HOA has hosted for this Community. Mark your calendars for the Pancake Breakfast on August 5th from 9am - 12 noon. The RN Art Festival is from 9:30am - to 1:30pm.
Don’t forget to visit Pee Wee Mini Golf Fridays through Sundays from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. Great concession stand with ice cream and popsicles for the wee itty bittys. Remember this is volunteer based sponsored by the RNHOA. See you there!
Rio Nido Pet of the Month:
This is Ellie. She is a 13-year-old blue healer and pitty mix. Her favorite activities are going to the River and the Roadhouse.
Ellie loves her life in Rio Nido and is a bit of a celebrity about town.
Her favorite snack is chicken. Ellie even has her own special snack item at the RNR....its called an “Ellie Biscuit”.
Let’s give Ellie a warm RN Hello!