Village Venture Arts & Crafts Faire

Talk about a unique shopping experience!  Village Venture is the biggest arts and crafts faire any of us have ever seen.  Over 450 vendors set up shop along the streets in Claremont Village, which is completely shut off from traffic.  Amazing!  We didn't know where to start . . . but being the seasoned shoppers that we are, we soon figured it out!  And scored some unique items in the process.

So many little booths . . .

We had trouble deciding which way to go first.

Lots of beautiful things to look at

Shelly found a gorgeous new Red Hat!

Where to start and what to pick? . . . .

 

There was even entertainment along the way

And Mr. Turkey posed with us before making his escape - didn't want to be around too close to Thanksgiving!

Of course, we found the candy store

We did our best to resist temptation

Lunch Stop!

The food was delish!  And the servings were huge!

Queen Annie led us to the Ice Cream Shop for dessert - Pumpkin ice cream - Soooo Good!

We're some tired shoppers at the end of the day, but we sure had a nice time!

Thanks, Queen Annie, for always coming up with such fun places to go!

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

For the 3rd year in a row, as one of our Outreach Projects we participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, but this time instead of going to Orange County, we decided to stay in our own area and drove down to Temecula for the Inland Empire event.  And we really enjoyed ourselves. . .  the course is flatter which was good for our slightly maturing bodies, and there were less people, which made it much easier to park and to enjoy the Expo before and after the race/walk.  Here we are in action . . . .

Still in the parking lot before the event

We each were walking in honor or in memory of someone who is near and dear to our hearts.

Our entire team just outside the Expo area

Walking through the Expo and checking out all the people was really fun

Here's we are just before the "Start" line - Shelly's hubby Bob has already left - he RAN the whole way!

And we're off . . .

Go Team!!!

Love the excitement and enthusiasm of the crowd - it really gets you fired up.

Time out for a short rest stop and photo opp.

There were lots of spirited cheer leaders and well-wishers along the way to keep you pumped up

Approaching the turn-around point - what a gorgeous day!

At the 4K mark - Almost finished and we're having a blast!

We did it!  Good job ladies!  Woo Hoo!!!!

After the race/walk, we spent some more time at the Expo and then headed over to Wilson Creek Winery for an amazingly delicious picnic lunch prepared by Co-Queen Shelly and graciously delivered and set up for us by Shelly's son and his girlfriend  . . .

Wilson Creek Winery, Temecula, CA

The winery grounds are beautiful, what a perfect place for a picnic.

We even had a custom-made welcome sign on our picnic table.

Queen Shelly puts the final touches on her salad

Chinese Chicken Salad, Caesar Salad, fruit, bread and water - everything was scrumptious!

Queen Shelly gave us each a beautiful fan to help keep us cool on such a warm day.

The guys accommodated us by posing for a picture too - and what good sports they were to wear purple shirts.

We HAD to check out the gift shop!

One last group shot before heading back home.

What a nice day we had, and we raised some money for breast cancer research in the process.  Susan G. Komen, you can count on us again next year.