Thomas Arnold

Oct 23, 2024 | bestclassicbands.com | Thomas Arnold

Jimmy Webb’s October 13, 2024, performance at the Coach House concert hall in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., affirmed what Roger McGuinn so eloquently sang in the epic “Russian Hill” on his 1977 Thunderbyrd LP: “It’s not the singer, it’s the tune.”Webb is one of the most masterful songwriters of the pop era, responsible for some of the most notable “horn pop” hits of the late 1960s, including “Galveston,” “Wichita Lineman” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” each a huge hit for Glen Campbell.

Oct 16, 2024 | sandiegoreader.com | Thomas Arnold

Lake Calavera PreserveWho needs a gym, or even a treadmill, when you’ve got … this? Tucked between Carlsbad and Oceanside, Lake Calavera Preserve is a natural fitness center, with miles upon miles of hiking trails, a picturesque lake, and a volcanic plug that’s a great place for a leg workout — a half-mile climb that’s nearly straight up. The topography is remarkably varied. There’s a nearly two-mile hike around the lake, which is home to egrets, herons, ducks, and coots.

Oct 16, 2024 | sandiegoreader.com | Thomas Arnold

Layered love affairEveryone has their favorite donut shop. Donut Bar in Pacific Beach gets high marks, as does The Goods in Carlsbad, whose website promises “artisan doughnuts crafted with the finest locally sourced ingredients.” VG Donuts in Cardiff, which describes itself as “an old-fashioned bakery,” is something of a local institution, and was even mentioned in the mayor’s annual state of the city address a few years back.

Oct 16, 2024 | sandiegoreader.com | Thomas Arnold

Nobody stays for just 45 minutesAfter your North County excursion has taken you to Legoland, the Flower Fields, Oceanside Harbor, and the San Diego Botanic Garden, you may start wondering what else there is for you to do. Here’s something: check out the Discovery Center on Cannon Road, and once you’re there, maybe wonder why you’ve never been there before. Yes, it’s that kind ofplace.

Oct 11, 2024 | bestclassicbands.com | Thomas Arnold

Remember Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average?”Such a clean, neat description applies to Eric Clapton’s Oct. 8, 2024, concert at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena. The veteran guitar hero delivered a solid, but not spectacular or inspiring, 90-minute set that consisted mostly of old blues covers and deep cuts from his supergroup (Cream, Derek and the Dominoes) years.