This has got to be the best kept secret in the Monterey Bay. Located in Pacific Grove, and off the beaten path in Caledonia park, Stillwell’s Snow in the Park must be seen to be believed. The event starts early when the snow machine shows up and covers a basketball court with a ten foot high pile of snow. They then blow another huge pile for the giant snowman. Then they set up a petting zoo, some jump houses, the horse carriage rides, and maybe some pony rides. Oh and it’s all FREE. Yep, that’s not a typo. Even the parking is free because it’s in a neighborhood. Now this is...

Every December, the Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown San Jose is turned into a winter wonderland. Non profit groups create displays in a friendly competition. Some have a polished Disneyesque quality to them and some are just funky and fun with a cool hand made vibe. They also build an ice skating rink, bring in some carnival rides and have  a variety of scheduled low key family events. Little kids will have plenty of fun just looking at the displays, cranky teenagers may be a bit bored, and adults will appreciate the logistics and effort that went into putting it all together. Great fun but parking is...

This is a fun event. You drive through Vasona park while listening to Christmas music on your car radio. The displays are huge and many incorporate animations. There’s dinosaurs and an erupting volcano, a pirate ship, and a few tunnels among the dozens of displays. Takes about 20 minutes to drive through. Dress warm as you’ll probably have your windows down. But here’s the kicker. This event is very popular and all the cars start lining up in the street before hand. But they won’t let you line up too early. So you’ll want to find a side street or a parking lot with a...

It’s December 16th, 2008 and I’m heading out to the Point for a dawn patrol session. My car is covered in a thick sheet of ice so I melt it off with a couple of gallon jugs of hot water. The air is barely 32 degrees. When I get to the point the waves are waist to chest and just peeling across through second. The cold has kept everyone home so I suit up to enjoy a rare day at the Point in solitude. I catch a few waves before I notice that the Santa Cruz mountains are covered in snow. Not a just a dusting near the summit, I mean solid white from top to bottom. The water is a brutal 48...