By far the best place to check out a festive display of Christmas Lights in Santa Clarita, is over in the Saugus area, at Wakefield Ct. It’s right off of Copper Hill. Just turn on Courtland Way, and you’re there.

Santa Clarita's Very Own Candy Cane Lane!

Lights, everywhere! From street light to street light, to the lawns, to the roofs, to the cars. It feels as if there isn’t a single square foot of space outside that Southern California Edison is providing electricity to. It’s really beautiful, and the kids dig it. If you’re planning on checking it out, and you should, go on the weekend. It’s packed. And that’s the cool part, because you don’t see that everyday. There are lines of cars going about 1MPH down the street. Bumper to bumper, headlights off to enhance the experience for all. You’ll even see cars that are decked out and decorated as well as you pass them by.

Homeowners are all in on this festivity. Many of them hangout in the front of their house, like it’s a street party, warming up to portable fire pits on their driveways. I also noted a few people capitalizing on the experience, selling mistletoes for a dollar each. Another family had their garage open and they were playing their piano and drums, belting out holiday tunes.

Wakefield Ct - decked out car becomes an attraction

Some people park their car on Wakefield Ct, and get out to walk the entire street. Some park off the street in a separate area due to the congestion. It doesn’t really matter. I think you’ll enjoy the experience, walking it, or driving it.

If not this year, perhaps in 2011, you’ll check out Santa Clarita’s own Candy Cane Lane – Wakefield Winter Wonderland! Check out the photo below. Even Google got into the action at some point during the day, and snapped a photo of the street entrance, during the holidays. You can see the giant sized candycanes lining the street.

Even Google Visited Wakefield Winter Wonderland!

Check out my slideshow of what amounted to be just average photos, taken from a moving car, on the night I visited Wakefield Ct in Saugus with the family.

FLICKR SLIDEHOW – WAKEFIELD CT, SAUGUS, CA:

I’d like to give a BIG thank you to all of the homeowners/residents who collaborate to put this together. It’s an asset to the community.

Now how can I tie this to real estate? Let me start by saying, while I was driving through the extravaganza, my 5 year old son said, “Dad, I want to live on this street.” Could it be, that home values on this one particular street, could actually be higher, because of an added demand from people who’d love to be a part of putting this type of a show on for the public? I mean, it would be pretty cool to say that you grew up on that street. Cool memories, right? Unless you’re the hermit type. I’m sure its crossed more than one persons mind. With that said I was just looking at a real estate listing (old one) on this street, and it was actually disclosed in the private remarks of the Santa Clarita MLS that Wakefield Ct is a tourist attraction. Essentially warning buyers and their agents about the hoopla that happens every December. Interesting.

If you’re interested in viewing homes for sale in the community that Wakefield Ct is a part of – Ridge View tract of Saugus, just click that link. It’s a pretty low inventory community. There may not be any for sale at the time you’re checking.

[Show as slideshow]

Final Score is back! Located in Newhall, again. This spells trouble for my intake of roast beef, but I couldn’t be more excited. Apparently they reopened on September 15, 2010. I learned about their reopening today, from my wife. She mentioned she heard something about it on Facebook. I had to verify. It proved difficult to verify, surprisingly. I had to post to Facebook, and Twitter, to confirm it reopened, since there was nothing online (Google, etc) about this lunch habit changing event. All I found were Yelp, and Google Places links to the the other two old locations they used to occupy.

Finally, someone on Facebook confirmed that they had been there in the last week, since their reopening, and they kindly disclosed the new Final Score location.

They used to be on Lyons Ave, then they relocated to, Lyons Ave again, so, it’s only fitting that once again, they re-establish themselves on Lyons Ave. Check out the map above, the arrow points to the new location.

Finally, Final Score! Finally, I can substitute a different sandwich shop for Jersey Mike’s. It’s really nice to go into a local, non-chain eatery, where the owner stops by your table, and thanks you for coming by. And he means it. Final Score is part of the history of Newhall, and Santa Clarita. Many Santa Claritans my age, grew up eating Final Score. I imagine that many others, will continue to do the same.

I’ve never been so happy to pay $8-11 for my sandwich. Thanks for coming back, Final Score! You were missed. If you stumble across this post, share your love for Final Score, below with your comments.

I keep finding myself at The Kona Crisp in Valencia for lunch. If you want the very best BBQ Tri-tip sandwich in Santa Clarita, this is the place.

Tip: You have to ask for the whole wheat bun. And you can substitute the fries for a green salad.

The Kona Crisp in Valencia is centrally located, and right next to Target in the River Oaks Shopping Center. Great location!

You might want to compare this place and sandwich to Tri Tipps, which is located off of Newhall Ranch Rd in Valencia.

Enjoy!

Check out the new live webcam in Santa Clarita, at Old Town Newhall. From it you'll be able to check out the construction of thew brand new library being built in Old Town Newhall, as well as the streetscape project going on at Main Street. Enjoy!

Looking for a Frozen Yogurt place in Valencia, Ca? Look no further! Red Mango Frozen Yogurt, located off of Newhall Ranch Road in Valencia at the posh Bridgeport Marketplace is the place to be! Check out all the positive reviews Red Mango Valencia received on Yelp.

I tried Red Mango for the first time a few weeks ago thanks to my friends Ken and Jaimie who swore by it. It was also Easter Day, and my usual Golden Spoon, was closed. So Red Mango it was. I've since been back a few other times. I think it has a great chance at becoming one of my healthy addictions, just like Golden Spoon. It's good stuff.

I tried the Pomegranate by POM Wonderful. Check out Red Mango's other yummy choices on their menu below…

Next time you're in the Valencia area, defiinetly give Red Mango a try. They are located @ 23885 Newhall Ranch Rd. Valencia, Ca 91354.

Yesterday I spent the day at William S. Hart Park and Museum with my family and some friends. Being a native of Santa Clarita, it's hard to believe that I haven't taken advantage of this great resource more often. Plus it's free!

I must admit it was quite busy yesterday, at the William S. Hart Park itself, but it was a weekend, and it was Easter, so that should be expected. It was nice to see families and friends out enjoying the nice cool day, playing games, hanging out, and barbecuing.

The William S. Hart Park, which is a regional park maintained by Los Angeles County, features a Barnyard Zoo with over 70 birds and animals, picnic area with tables and barbecue amenities, Heritage Junction Historic Park which is home to the 19th century Saugus Railroad Station and many other historical buildings, and there is of course the William S. Hart residence and museum which is a satellite operation of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. There are free tours guided tours year round at Hart's mansion! I loved the tour of the home. Being in real estate, that doesn't shock me. The artifacts in the home are quite cool, too!

Here are some photos from my trip to the William S. Hart Park and Museum yesterday. Quite a few photos were taken from the Heritage Junction Historic Park which is on the same park grounds, and adjacent to the Barnyard Zoo.

These photos were all taken with my iPhone. It's just so much easier that way! This is a mesh of photos, showing the William S. Hart Residential Museum and interior photos of the home, and some other photos taken at Heritage Junction Historic Park just down the hill, from Hart's mansion. Next time you're in the area, stop by and check it out!

[Show as slideshow]

12►

I was out to lunch yesterday in Valencia. We stopped by Nick N Willy's Pizza for what has become one of our favorite sandwich destinations. They have a new and quite tasty selection of Focaccia sandwiches.

 That's a picture of the Aegiano Fresca focaccia sandwich that I had. It doesn't come with chicken, but you can be sure I added it. I don't think they charged me for that either (hungry person to investigate).

I really like Nick N Willy's Pizza…and these Sandwiches seem to be a much better option than Subway.

 Check out Nick N Willy's Pizza the next time you are in the Westridge Village Shopping Center.

Have you visited the Bridgeport community located in Valencia recently? If you haven't, or if you have simply never been, you should check it out! It's nothing new of course, but it is certainly worth writing home about. 

This morning presented an awesome, beautiful, clear, and breezy Spring day that was meant to be outdoors. And indeed that's how mine started. My wife had actually scheduled my two handsome little boys (ages 2 & 4) to have a photographer take their pics this morning. The spot was set – Bridgeport Valencia. My wife actually didn't have a clue as to where within Bridgeport, but…she knew it was nice and couldn't go wrong as a backdrop for the photographer. What most people know about Bridgeport Valencia is the tall Lighthouse that faces Newhall Ranch and Mc Bean Pkwy. But there is much more!

Lakefront Bridgeport homes, beautiful waterways, pedestrian walkways for walkers, joggers, and Fido, a one-of-a-kind community clubhouse fit for any event and indeed, many take advantage of this facility for their wedding receptions. There is also a gorgeous park, and wonderful elementary school within the Bridgeport Valencia community. That's what Bridgeport Valencia is all about. And that's why we chose it for our Saturday morning, photo outing.

Have a look at some of the photos I snapped with my iPhone today, while my kiddo's were playing "fabulous" with the photographer…enjoy!

[Show as slideshow]

We're hanging out at the TPC Valencia located in Westridge. We're eating lunch at the very tasty Oaks Grille, which over looks the golf course. We highly recommend taking your next lunch break here, at Valencia's Westridge TPC golf course. To get here, take Valencia Blvd west towards Westridge, then make left on Heritage View Lane, and the entrance to the TPC golf course and the Oaks Grille will be on the left prior to the guard gated community of the Westridge Custom Estates.

Welcome to the wonderful community of Stevenson Ranch. Stevenson Ranch is located approximately 30 minutes North of Los Angeles, and just West of the 5 freeway, in the Santa Clarita Valley. Stevenson Ranch is a beautiful community, rich with amenities, and lovely homes pressed up against a mountain backdrop. When you're in the market for a home, definitely put Stevenson Ranch at the top of the list, when moving into the Santa Clarita Valley.

As always, contact The Robert and Brian Team of Realty Executives Valencia for all of your Stevenson Ranch & Santa Clarita Valley real estate needs.