I've been asked by the good folks at centralvalleyVine.com to generate a blog from the website.  I wasn't quite sure what they were looking for at first, but as we talked, it became quite clear and quite simple really.  Knowing that I'm still, relatively, a new resident of this vast region, making my home in the Sacramento area, they have asked me to blog about my experiences as I visit some of the many communities and meet with some of the locals.  Not a new concept, but all of this, of course, done by fresh eyes... mine.

As I thought about this idea more, I decided I would probably take a "bare bones approach" to this new adventure of mine:

• make unannounced visits to communities.
• talk candidly to local residents and business owners.
• travel lightly, "armed" only with my own personal level cell phone, camera, laptop, and notebook pad and pen.

I also realized that this idea coincided with one I had planned for this new year, to connect with some of my social network friends on a personal level and to meet and talk to small business owners to promote their passion and the importance of small businesses to our local, regional and national economies.

I suppose you already guessed... I happily accepted.