McKeever Real Estate

It’s necessary to take care of your body, so today we headed over the BodyBliss Holistic Wellness Center and did just that.

Bliss |blis|noun

By definition; perfect happiness; great joy : she gave a sigh of bliss.

• something providing such happiness

BodyBliss, I get it,  providing your body with perfect happiness! What more could you want?

Karen McDougall, the owner, was kind enough to offer me a massage! Being the great husband I am, LOL, I offered it to my hardworking wife, Shauna.  Let me tell you, Shauna was a new women when she was finished!  She was very relaxed and stress-free.  She was happy, I was happy.  See the video below!

While she was getting rubbed down, I was talked into trying Tai Chi for the very first time.  I was glad I went through the 45 minute class as it was a new experience and definitely not what I am used to doing.  You can feel the energy in and around your body being push and pulled in different directions.  Very interesting to say the least.

BodyBliss offers a wide variety of services from  a wide variety of Massages, Tai Chi, Yoga, acupressure just to name a few.

The BodyBliss is moving to their new location on Robinhood Drive, behind Stone Creek Village, as I write this.  Please support our local businesses!  Call them today to give your body perfect happiness!

Find them on facebook too!

BodyBliss Holistic Wellness Center

209 472-1542

email:  massage_energy_blss@yahoo.com

Today I went to the Stockton Rural Cemetery, see map, to visit some family who where laid to rest there.  I have been thinking of featuring the cemetery for sometime now, so I thought with the 4th of July coming it would be a good time to do so.  There are many in the cemetery who fought for the U.S.A., and this weekend would be a great time to honor them.

In the past I never really spent the time to marvel at the massive and artistic monuments of many of Stockton’s past leaders and dignitaries.  Walking around the cemetery, I recognized many names.  Many of them are also street names throughout Stockton.  Shippee, Davis and Sperry, to name few.

The cemetery opened in 1861 and is still beautiful.  Visitors are welcome to walk around during the day.  The office is open during the weekdays and on Saturdays and they do provide a map of the cemetery.  One great part of the cemetery is an area called “Millionaires Row“.  Millionaires Row has monuments some of Stockton’s richest founders.  One of the most famous of the persons lied to rest in the cemetery is Benjamin Holt, inventor of the Caterpillar tractor.  The tombs are really ornate and are mostly carved from granite.

Access to the tomb’s are easy as the roads inside are well maintained.  The large mature oak tree create a beautiful and peaceful setting to honor our family and friends.  This is a great spot to visit if you are a history fan or want to view the great artistic tombs of the past.

One of the best sites to find more information about the Rural Cemetery is on the Our Stockton blog.  Wes Rhea, highlighted is trip as part of a walking tour of the cemetery.

Every Summer about this time, Lincoln Center kicks off its very popular Lincoln Center Live events.  These events feature great live music, classic car shows, food and drinks and much more.  Lincoln Center live events take place one Friday each summer month.  See the schedule below.

This is a great time to enjoy time with family and friends and maybe even meet some new ones.  I encourage you to check out Lincoln Center Live if you have never done so.  They’re a blast.

Learn more about Lincoln Center on Day 2 of 365 Things to do in Stockton: Lincoln Center.  Lincoln Center was also featured in Day 3 of 365 things to do in Stockton about geocaching in Stockton.  Check out the video.

The August 20th Lincoln Center Live Classic car show seems to generate the most interest.  Many stores will be giving out free gifts to attendees.  The Classic Car show is a fundraising effort to a help a local charity and will feature musical performances, a huge display of classic cars, brand new vehicles and fun for everyone.

2010 Summer Schedule:

Friday, June 18th: Wine and Art Stroll
Friday, July 16th: Block Party Charity Fair
Friday, August 20th: Classic Car Show
Friday, September 10th: Literacy LIVE!

Lincoln Center
Pacific Ave and W Benjamin Holt Dr.
(209) 477-4868

If you find yourself in Downtown Stockton, take a moment to stop in and look at the wonderful art at the Tidewater Art Galley.  The Tidewater Art gallery showcases mostly artists from San Joaquin County.  Tomorrow night, June 11th, from 5pm-8pm the gallery is holding an artist reception.  You will have the opportunity to meet the artist.  Food and drink will be provided.

One goal of the 365 project was to broaden my horizons.  I would not normally consider going to an art gallery a thing to do with my time.  However, since the start of the project it has helped me appreciate the time and efforts one puts into creating a piece of art.  I hope you can take a small amount of your time to step inside this and view the work in this gallery.

Once inside the gallery you will find various forms of art from paintings, sculptures, pottery, and some miscellaneous pieces that boggled my mind.
Find them on facebook

223 Weber Avenue
Stockton, CA 95202-2706
(209) 463-4033

Wow, Who knew? Who knew that just east if Highway 99 on Carpenter Rd lies the Stockton Cambodian Buddhist Temple. No big deal, right? No. The Buddhist temple has many, over 90, “Disneyland-like” sculptures that are huge! The attention to detail is amazing and fantastic.  I really believe you need to see them in person to experience the full magnitude and detail of design in this artwork!  I have lived in Stockton my entire life and never knew that the Buddhist temple had such impressive statues.

If Siddhartha is one of your favorite reads, you will find many of the major events depicted in greater-than-life size-statues.  This would make a perfect field trip for 12th grade English classes as this is a required read for seniors.  Click to read some of the stories behind the statues.

The Buddhist Temple is also home to the annual Cambodian New Year Celebration.  The Temple is FREE to see and welcome the community to visit during daylight hours.

Stockton Cambodian Buddhist Temple
3732 E. Carpenter Road – Exit Hwy 99 at Mariposa Road
209-337-2728

This Saturday evening, May 22nd,  the Haggin Museum will open its doors for 22nd Annual Haggin a la Carte. This annual event will be sure to please its guest again this year.

The wine, beer, and food tasting event will kick off the 3 new exhibits.   The Haggin was kind enough to let me in to give me a sneak peak of the 3 exhibits.  Watch the video below to get your sneak peak of these fabulous exhibits.

• Returning to the Haggin is the J.C. Leyendecker exhibit.  J.C. Leyendecker is know as America’s “other” Illustrator opposite of Norman Rockwell.  J.C. Leyendecker was arguably the nation’s most popular commercial artistsin the early part of the 20th century.  Much of his work was done for the Saturday Evening Post.  He was greatly admired by Norman Rockwell who’s art became popular among millions of Americans.  I didn’t know who J.C. Leynedecker was but I sure did recognize his work.  His illustrations will be displayed at the Haggin Museum starting Thursday the 20th.

• Also opening the 20th of May, is the California Impressionism painting exhibit.  All paintings are captured under the Californian sunshine and feature landscapes from around the state.  59 paintings from the Irvine Museum will be on hand for the public to view.  Get a peek in the video below.

• Finally, the Bustles & Balustrades exhibit will be shown in the 2nd floor of the Haggin Museum.  It is an exhibit which will bring the Victorian clothing of 19th century women and architecture of the homes together.  Vignettes featuring clothing and objects from the museum’s collections rarely seen by the public will be on display throughout the gallery.  This exhibit will be on display thorough August 15, 2010.

Haggin Museum
1201 N. Pershing Ave – Victory Park
(209)940-6300

Once again I headed over to UOP, but this time to check out the Reynold’s Art Gallery located in the Jeannette Powell Art Center, 1071 W. Mendocino Ave.

The Reynolds Gallery encourages the exchange of artistic and cultural ideas, and provides Pacific students and the larger region with a forum to explore traditional and contemporary art and design.

The gallery currently has the Step Out Step In exhibit and typically showcases 3-4 exhibits a year.  This exhibit is showcasing senior and

junior work and includes art and design work from both the Graphic Design and Studio Art majors.   Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.  There are some really cool art work there and I encourage you to stay in touch and check them out.

Connect with the Reynolds Art Gallery on facebook.

Reynold’s Art Gallery
1071 W. Mendocino Ave.
Stockton, CA, 95211
(209) 946-2241