Zoom, zoom, Second Street

Belmont Shore Auto Show is this Sunday from 9 am to 3 pm. Thousands of people will flood Second Street to ogle the souped-up, slicked down, and generally tricked out classic cars on display from Bay Shore to Livingston. There'll be lots of street closures and limited parking, so taking a bike or bus would be a good choice.

Books and Authors

Great news from Grunion Gazette! Apostrope Books is coming soon to Second Street. Expected to open in the middle of March, the store will carry cards and gift wrap as well as books, but it's run by experienced book retailers so there's hope that they can make a go of it. More great news from the Grunion! Award-winning mystery author Wendy Hornsby will be writing a biweekly column called No Mystery Here.

Sunset Spotlights Belmont Shore

Belmont Shore was featured in the Southern California weekend section of the December 2009 issue of Sunset. Praising it as a perfect place for Christmas shopping. Several Second Street stores were mentioned, like Frosted Cupcakery, Pussy & Pooch Pethouse, We Olive, 5001 Home Collection, Olives Gourmet Grocer, Blue Windows, Luna Belmont Shore, Luna, and Sweet Jill's. The Christmas parades, both Belmont Shore and Naples Boat, get notice as well as Bay Boat Rentals, Naples Gourmet Grocer, and Morry's of Naples.

Ooh la la La Strada!

The waitresses of La Strada Restaurant (on Second Street) agreed to display some of their (ahem) hidden talents and posed for a 1940s-style pinup calendar to raise money for pancreatic cancer research. A long-time customer of the restaurant died of pancreatic cancer at age 55 about a year ago, and owner Lisa Ramelow organized the production of the calendar. If the calendar is half as much campy fun as the YouTube video of the photo shoot, it should be a big seller at the Belmont Shore Car Show on September 13. Part of the proceeds will go to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which funds research as well as supporting victims of the disease and providing community outreach.

Stroll and Shop Update

The Belmont Shore Business Association has more info about the July 11 Stroll and Shop event on its website. There are lots of 10 to 25% discounts being offered and some fun events. Polly's is going to have a coffee roasting demonstration at 3 p.m. La Strada invites kids to make their own pizzas all afternoon. Fern's Garden is hosting the Yard Farmer, who'll give gardening tips.

The Going has definitely gotten tough--time to go shopping?

In these trying economic times, the good merchants of Belmont Shore have devised a perfect excuse for us patriotic shoppers to dig out our reusable bags and dig deep into our change purses and do some shopping! Long known for their Stroll and Savor event where restaurants take to the sidewalks and offer tasty tidbits to ticket holders who wander up and down Second Street in search of the perfect knosh. Upcoming Stroll & Savor opportunities will be July 22 and 23 and August 19 and 20.

This Saturday, July 11, will be the first Stroll and Shop event. Balloons in front of a store will indicate special promotions and discounts inside. Other activities are promised but no details yets. Don't forget you can now cruise Second Street on your bike on the sharrow. Green and thrifty! That's a win-win I can get behind.

The Sharrows Are Here!

I was away in San Luis Obispo last weekend so I missed the opening day for the sharrows on Second Street in Belmont Shore. BikeLongBeach has links to some videos which is almost as fun as being there. They've also got a Q & A page that explains the advantages of sharrows. I'll have to pedal down there over the Fourth of July weekend and check it out.

Looking Forward, Looking Back

This week has a lot to offer. Tops on my list is the Belmont Shore Chocolate Festival from 1 to 4 this Saturday. For ten bucks you can wander up and down Second Street with all the other chocoholics and sample tasty morsels all the way from Sweet Jill’s to Café La Strada. Alas, I have to work this Saturday, so have an extra hot fudge brownie for me!

I will be able to stop by the e-waste dropout at Kettering School this Saturday. It’s from 9 to 3 at 550 Silvera, and you can bring all household electronics such as TVs, computers, monitors, printers, DVD players and batteries for proper disposal.

If my schedule doesn’t change, I hope to make it to Break at the Bay at Bayshore Branch Library on Friday, February 6, at 12:30. This month, Dr. Lionel Gatley, former president of the Historical Society of Long Beach, will talk about the history of East Long Beach. The library’s located at 195 Bay Shore Avenue where parking’s tighter than a tick, so come early and enjoy the spectacular view of Alamitos Bay from the library’s reading room or snag a free cookie in the auditorium.

I reached a milestone of note, having posted more messages this month than I did for the whole year of 2008. Wish me luck for the coming months and send chocolate!