Arts
- Simply the best of Lodi
- Star watch: Enjoy a movie in style
- Lo (ho, ho, ha, ha) di
- Rhythm of the night
- A season for a festival
- Keeping it cool: Jazz scene popular in Lodi
Food
- Much more than secret sauce
- Edible, incredible Lodi offers food treats for finicky feasters
- List of area restaurants
Recreation
- Take off!
- Par for the course
- Mokelumne River more than Lodi's northern border
- Fun in them there hills
- Nearby nature: Spend a day exploring Lodi Lake
- Outstanding ornithology: Birds just love Lodi
Shopping
- L.O.D.I. spells hidden treasure in antiques
- Dollars and sense: There are plenty of places to shop in Lodi and the surrounding area
- Chocolate lovers rejoice!
- Find the perfect ‘Lodi' gift
Things To Do
- Perfect day includes walking, eating, playing
- Time alone or with family can be perfect
- Lodi's past comes alive
- Museum reveals Lodi's ag roots
- Move over Wonka
- In all directions, fun is a stone's throw from Lodi
- Discover: The big list
Wine
Time alone or with family can be perfect
A perfect day in Lodi for my family and me would be to start at one of the area's many parks. The kids get to get out in the air and play with other children. Or perhaps Lodi Lake or Oak Grove Park so that our five-year-old son can try his luck at fishing.
Then as the kids have burned some energy, they will be undoubtedly hungry. Chase's favorite Downtown eatery would have to be the "Cow Store" better known as MooMoo's for a milkshake, battered fries and a sandwich of his choosing. Another possibility would be El Rosal for what the kids call "rice and beans". El Rosal is one of my husband's favorite dining establishments.
With bellies full we'd mosey on to the movie theater for a G or PG movie.
If it is a weekday, Monday through Thursday, and the sun is not shining, there is a place, a very special place, that allows your young child to cure some of that cabin fever. The Bounce About on Commerce has inflatable bounce houses, air hockey and a few video games. Our kids love it. Just bring a sweater, it can get a little chilly.
As the day winds down, we might pick some Chinese take-out for dinner. After dinner, we get the dogs and walk around our older neighborhood, seeing what is going on. When we get back in, its bath time, a song and bedtime.
On my own
If I were to have the complete day to myself, I'd grab the camera and head out early to the Cosumnes River Preserve. I would meander through the landscape taking in the beauty of the area and snapping way. After an hour of two I would head to Isleton and Locke to shoot the historic buildings and cats.
When I get back to Lodi I have to stop at my favorite store. Gotta Crop! located on Church Street near Lodi Avenue. As a scrapper they have everything I would need or want.
Since I am already there, I walk next door to DeVinci's. The aroma of pasta and bread loft about. I order a ravioli lunch with salad and focaccia bread with butter.
I take my raviolis to the lake where I'd spread a blanket out and picnic. Lodi Lake is truly own of the city's most traveled places. There is something for everyone. Young couples walk the water's edge hand-in-hand. An older gentleman reads a newspaper on a bench. Children run everywhere and true to catch tadpoles. Bird watchers flock to the nature area where they can view an assortment of winged critters.
Then it would be home to my babies.
With the husband
If we had a day together, it would most likely involve a drive up into the hills. Perhaps past Arnold to Big Trees State Park. The trees are so majestic there and it is so peaceful.
We'd spend an hour or two and head back.
One of our favorite things to do in Lodi is grab the bat and a few balls and go to Zupo Park to swing to the fences. What a stress reliever!
We'd catch a non-G-rated movie at the movie theater and grab some dinner at the newest restaurant to see what is going on in the dining scene.
That would be my, theirs and our perfect day in Lodi.
First published: Thursday, May 18, 2006