Rotta Winery is good enough without the added ambiance of music, but it's definately worth scheduling a special trip for these special Sundays.
Sunday, August 15th 3-6pm - Mike McGuire
Sunday, August 22nd 3:30-6pm - Martin Paris
(RSVP 805.237.0510 Food avail. For purchase)

Pismo Monarch Grove

This really is one of those "right in our own backyard" wonders.   Every winter, a small  eucalyptus grove off highway one in Pismo Beach becomes a magnificent haven for some of the most beautiful butterflies anywhere.    "A lot of time, they'll look up into the trees and you really can't see.  It looks like leaves" says Docent Terri Jackson.  "And then they'll look through the telescopes and say 'Oh my goodness! I've never seen anything like it.'"

If you've heard of it, but never stopped to check it out, you should.   Jordan Elkins works for State Parks  and says the Pismo Grover plays host to the largest congregation of Monarch butterflies in the United States.

From the end of October, until late February or mid-March, you'll find tens of thousands of them hanging out here for protection from the winter elements elsewhere.   "So they come down, they hang out in the trees, they go into a semi-hibernation called t." says Elkins.  "They'll sleep during the night, and hang out during the day, get warm."

Their numbers vary year to year, but there are always enough to leave you in awe.   Elkins says in 1991 there were 230-thousand Monarchs hanging in the grove through winter.   Over the last five years, there has been an average of 25-thousand each winter.

While Monarchs typically only live a few weeks, the variety that camps out here live six to nine months due to a unique fat storing system.  But do the math and even the ones that leave in March, will never return.

So consider making a stop in the coming weeks to say so-long.   Your kids will feel like they've walked into a fairy tale.   Time it right, and you'll likely also find this place pretty magical.  Even docents like Jackson, who see it daily year after year say they're still in aw by the beauty of this little corner of the central coast.  "Sometimes when the sun hits a cluster, all the butterflies will start flying at once, and it's like an explosion of gold.  I'm still impressed by it."

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010:

Saturday, September 4, 2010:

Sunday, September 5th, 2010:

Saturday, September 11th, 2010:

Thursday, September 16, 2010:

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010:

!

I really don't know where to begin, but I had to try to express my appreciation for all you have given me over the last few years. In March of 2005, I arrived in this state to an empty apartment and a city full of people I didn't know. Almost five years later, I leave a place that feels like home and friends who feel like family. I am from California, but in so many ways, I grew up in the mid-west. I am so grateful for that, as well as the opportunity to go home.

I had never really spent any time in Minnesota, but every time I ran across someone who had, they always expressed their love for it, and talked about how great the Twin Cities area was. They were right.

I have so enjoyed my time here, the people I've met, and the adventures I've had (most of them anyway.) I now understand how and why people live in sub-zero temperatures and love it. I understand what people mean when they say Minnesotans "embrace winter'.  I will miss snow on the ground at Christmas time. I will never forget the chill of a morning run along Lake Minnetonka with a few hundred "friends", then jumping into a big hole cut into the ice to celebrate the start of a new year. I will think of my WCCO buddies every first weekend of January and remember the crazy fun of "Ice-Feeshorama" as I try to explain to my friends in California how I really did spend the night out on the middle of a frozen lake (and what a great time it was.)

It is hard to explain to people who haven't lived it, how great this place is, even in the winter. I have felt the warmth of the sun as I sat in the middle of frozen Lake Calhoun and watched the bright colors of the ice-sailors swoosh back and forth around me. I enjoyed the magic of seeing Lake of the Isles lit up with ice lanterns, and cross country skiers enjoying the peace of an evening spin on the eve of The City of Lake Loppet. And I have felt the amazing energy that comes with the first signs of spring after a hearty winter. Summers are short in Minnesota, but they are worth the wait with all they offer. I could go on and on with the memories I take with me from this wonderful place, but it would take up pages if Idid.

So I get to the point of this: my grateful heart for the time I spent here and the way so many of you made me feel a part of your community. I worked among an amazing group of people at WCCO, and learned so much from them. I thank you for making me feel like part of the family from day one. Thank you to viewers for making me part of your evening routine by tuning in. To those who have taken the time to watch, read, and offer kind feedback or even harsh criticisms when necessary, I sure appreciate it.

Thank you to all the great folks I met along the way as I was "Finding Minnesota" for sharing your stories with me. And I offer a special thanks to those I met during troubled times who found themselves part of headlines through crime, illness, financial crisis, or loss. Thank you for trusting me to tell your stories and helping us all find more empathy for those in our community through your willingness to share your pain.

Thank you to my pals at the grocery store, gym, gas station, coffee shop, parking garage, local eatery and watering hole who always made me feel connected to the community with their friendly greetings and personal attention. And my gratitude to the dozens of familiar faces I passed regularly on daily treks around Lake Calhoun and exchanged waves to on breathless runs, or Howdys and Hellos on leisurely walks. Many of you I knew only by face and running pace, but you broke your stride long enough to offer condolences and support when I experienced my own losses in recent months.

To all of you who have written, called, e-mailed or commented on my blog or facebook page with words of encouragement, sympathy and support, I thank you. I don't think I will get back to each of you personally, at least not any time soon, but I have read every one, and they have made my journey through a transition period so much easier. I have truly been overwhelmed by your kindness. Minnesota is a place full of people who grew up here, are from here, and yet, I have felt anything but a stranger.

It all makes saying so-long a bit tough. I am thrilled with what is next for me. I'm heading to the place I am from. I will be spending Christmas with my family and for the first time in 15 years, won't be getting on a plane to head somewhere else when the New Year arrives.  I'll be heading to work at the very station where I started my television career.  I will be living in the community where I was born, went to college, and have roots. It's all very exciting. But it doesn't take the pain away from good-byes I have had to say here in the last few weeks. Including this one.

That's because so many of you have made it such a special place for me and such a special time in my life. So thank you, for everything. I leave with a very grateful heart.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Trompeter

I like to think if people really knew what their passion for trendy pets leads to, they'd head to the local shelter instead of the local paper or their computers to find their dogs.

Last week the Hollywood City Council adopted an ordinance to prohibit the sale of dogs in pet stores.  It's a move that comes with controversy, but unfortunately, restrictions like this can be needed in some communities to keep pet retailers honest.    History has shown too many have chosen to get their supply of dogs from "breeders" who run less-than-ethical operations.

How do I know this?   I lived in one of the two top states for Puppy Mills.  I've been along on raids of facilities that made their money by raising dogs in horrid conditions, then shipped them to pet stores in California and New York where there was a high demand for certain breeds.   While many communities have cracked down on the sale of mill dogs in stores, the on-line purchase of animals has made it too easy for questionable breeders to stay in business.  And since dog breeders are regulated through the USDA, there isn't the manpower to inspect breeders on a regular basis.   That is why it's up to us as dog-owners and lovers to be responsible when looking for a new pet.

I could go on and on, but instead I will post an article I wrote for the Telegram Tribune in Des Moines, Iowa, which was also printed in Dog and Kennel Magazine back in 1999.  It was written after I lost a mill dog I had adopted.   She was a beautiful German Shepard who had been rescued from a mill raid I covered for the station I worked for in Iowa.  I hope it may inspire some to ask some questions when looking for a new dog.   And maybe to consider adopting from a rescue organization. 

By the way, my second dog was also a rescue, and gave me more than a decade of loyal companionship.   I have posted blogs about Madelyn ("Maddie #2) below the article.  

http://jeanettetrompeter.com/Blog/MissingMadelyn.aspx

http://jeanettetrompeter.com/Blog/SweetCondolences.aspx

http://jeanettetrompeter.com/Blog/SentimentalJourney.aspx

It's time.

It's time to say so-long. I feel like the last few months have been full of too many good-byes. So I don't want to dwell on it. But I couldn't leave without acknowledging it. I left Minneapolis last Thursday and am in California for the holidays   It still hasn't quite sunk in that I won't be getting on a plane to head back to the mid-west after all the celebrations have ended. As regular readers know (and the rest of you can catch up on by reading back a few blogs) I'm staying here in California to take a job at KSBY-TV and be near family.

The preparations for the move kept me busy enough to keep emotions from running amok. I forgot what a move across the country involves, especially when you are moving more than the few possessions I had as a young professional headed east. But I can't ignore them...the emotions, forever.  They come right to the surface when I have to say good-byes.  That doesn't mean you should skip them.  

It's not like I won't ever be coming back. I have a house there (and thankfully some good tenants in there until it sells) and relationships I'll try to maintain over the distance. And you all. But the fact of the matter is, my life begins here now.  Again.   I'm thrilled about that. It doesn't mean there's not some sadness in the transition.

I have to say good-bye to Minnesota as my home, and to many of you as neighbors.  But I do so with one hell of a grateful heart.  I am so thankful for my time there, the adventures I enjoyed and the way I was welcomed into the community. And I am incredibly grateful for the support I've been offered during a difficult time of transition.

I just kept getting lifted up by the magic of Minnesota during that time. And the people who live there. it's not just the letters, e-mails and posts, but the little signals that have told me I'm right on track, even in the middle of a bit of chaos.

The magic comes in the most unexpected moments. Like the time not too long ago when I was walking Madelyn before she took her turn for the worse.  I was still at a loss of what the next step in my life should be, but I was beginning to think it would be a step that took me away from the Twin Cities.  I was feeling that maybe my time there was done.  I was not sad, I don't think. In fact, I was beginning to feel an optimism that comes when change is finally accepted, almost embraced.

I hadn't made any decisions yet.   I wasn't even sure the right thing had been presented to me yet, but I was starting to feel like it was just around the corner. That what was meant to be was on its way....and soon.

So I'm walking my usual route, in front of a building I've passed literally hundreds of times, and I hear a voice yell my name. "Jeanette!"
I didn't think I knew anyone who lived in this building. "Hello Jeanette!" the voice yelled again. I followed the sound to a balcony up high and the woman standing outside on it.   She had stepped outside, I think,  just to give me a message.   She was full of this incredible happy, optimistic energy and she was offering it to me.  I said hi back to her, and she just opened her arms out to me and enthusiastically yelled "Jeanette, we wish you the best! We love you and we just wish you all the best!"  There was no condolence in her tone...but almost an excitement that stopped me there in my tracks. I was frozen by her energy for a moment, and just had to stand there  and take it all in.

She was smiling ear to ear, and just kept saying it over and over...we just love you and we wish you the best.  I was fairly certain I didn't know her, and there she was, making me feel like we had been pals for years, and who was the "we" she was referring to? There was this amazing sense of optimism and joy to her. It was if she had already received the news I was just feeling was right around the corner.

I thanked her and continued on, feeling more optimistic than ever.   I was moved by her aura of confidence in my future.    I kind of shook my head at the significance I felt about the interaction and continued on feeling absolutely blessed by the support she and all of you have offered.    And I felt certain in that moment that things would be coming together just as they were meant to be in short time.  

And they did.   Here I am, sitting in a coffee shop in California knowing it's right were I belong today.   I took my nephew Christmas shopping yesterday and will join my mom and sister-in-law in wrapping presents tonight.   I couldn't have predicted this outcome that day but the feeling she gave me, the message she gave me was right on.    Change was just around the corner and it was going to be good.   I will miss my life in Minnesota, but I'm quite confident it was time for me to say so-long and head home.  

I do so with a heart full of gratitude for the experiences I had there, the friends I made, and the things I learned.   I could write thank you notes every day in the new year and still not be able to personally express my gratitude to all those who made this transition time in my life easier.   So I do here, and in a letter I am sending to the local papers today.     Whether they print it or not, I don't know, but the basic message is this:  Thank you.   Thank you for everything.   

And Merry Christmas my friends.   

JT is stepping out of the privacy cave I've been living in the last three months and putting this domain name I've been paying for to some sort of use.    So, welcome to jeanettetrompeter.com.   I'm not sure what exactly it is, or will be, but we will start with it as a place for me to start blogging again.   I am flattered and appreciative of those of you who have visited my facebook page and let me know you actually read the one I did for WCCO and that you kind of miss it.  

When I do venture out and about the first thing I get asked is "What are you up to these days?" or some version of that.    I have not taken a new job anywhere yet, but am interviewing and throwing the net out wide to see what's out there.    I'm grateful to know that while the job market is tough, there are opportunities.    The question becomes, which ones fits you and what do you want to do next?   There's where I'm struggling a bit.

It's  been a challenging few months.    I wasn't exactly expecting to be out of a job when I was let go, so it's been a bit of an adjustment period for me.    There's a little joke I've heard and often repeated:  "Want to crack God up?   Tell Him your plans."   That's a little how I've felt lately.   This isn't how I thought I'd be spending my spring and summer of '09, but I also realize just because things don't go as we planned, doesn't mean they aren't going as they should be.

I know there are many folks out there like me...wondering what's next.   Will I be able to sell my house for what I owe on it?   Can I stomach another move across the country?  What about Madelyn (or the kids for those of you who have them)?   These are uncertain times and a lot of us are dealing with the consequences of that.

So until I know for sure what's next, I'm riding that collective wave of uncertainty with the rest of you.   I'm  finding it's both unnerving and a bit of an adventure.  And on days like this, when it's the afternoon before a three-day weekend, I find it so exciting that I'm not doing the 5 O'clock news tonight and can actually join the masses heading out on their fun adventures a little early.  

In the coming weeks, I'll share some of the stories of the last few months...the ups and the downs.

Right now, I have to learn how to work this thing.   Be patient.   I promise to keep you posted on "what I'm up to these days" and share any big news as soon as there is some to tell.