On the Scene

ADVENTURES NEAR AND FAR

Saddle Creek Resort Genral Manager Bob Higgans (right) shows Gerrye Wong (left) and Dali Jones (middle) the view of the 9th hole of its golf course.

With plane fares skyrocketing this summer, some lady friends and I opted for a road trip to the Gold Country. Just two hours away from the bustling Bay Area life is quiet little Copperopolis, which boasts the Saddle Creek Resort as its premier destination. Over three hundred new homes testify that many city folks have come looking for the best in country club living nestled in California foothills. We came for a Girls Getaway escape and we found a majestic world amidst the high country peaks of the Sierra and the rolling hills of the Gold Country Foothills, where just a few miles away sit some of the most historic towns of California’s pioneering days.

Golf Pro Tyler Brown welcomes Patsy Ja and Jeanette Yee to his well equipped golf shop

Resident historian Linda Beck filled us in on the history of Copperopolis from the discovery of Gold in them thar hills days, while Golf Professional Tyler Brown showed us around his fully equipped golf shop and pristine conditioned Saddle Creek Golf Course. General Manager Bob Higgins proudly showed us the rental lodge bungalows lining the golf course, which are spacious and could be perfect for honeymooning couples, family reunions, business retreats and especially our Girls Getaway. The bungalows have a welcoming sense of spaciousness and what better way to unwind than to open the French doors to the patio to see spectacular views of the golf course and surrounding hills. Hillsborough sisters Patsy Ja and Jeanette Yee admitted it was utter bliss to spend a night with nary a city sound, and wake up to find your golf cart waiting for you at the front door ready for our 7am early morning tee time. Food and Beverage Manager Tammie Littlefield met us at the restaurant’s patio with hot coffee and a baggie breakfast to take for our golfing pleasure. After the round, she and the resort chef prepared special luncheon dishes for the crowded Saddle Creek Patio restaurant. Copperopolis’ temps in the summer are in the 80-90s and Saddle Creek Resort offers many Stay and Play Packages to entice visitors from around the world in search of a quiet vacation set in a beautiful golf club setting. Try it, you’ll like it. We did and the neighboring Copperopolis Town Square had some cute restaurants to try out there too.

Information: www.saddlecreek.com

Susan Chang and Gerrye climb aboard Old Town Trolley in Washington DC

Had a whirlwind trip to where it’s all happening – yes, Washington, D.C. which is a great destination for family vacations or reunions because there is something there for all ages. Had a wonderful visit and tour of the Capitol with our own favorite Congressman Mike Honda and his aide Nadir Visanjy who took time out between his assembly floor voting schedule to take us to his Democratic Club for lunch. The hard working Honda even wanted to take us climbing up umpteen steps for a glorious view of the city from the top of the Capitol — but luckily for my aching knees and those of companions Dr. Clifford and Susan Chang, he was called back to the Assembly for more voting duties.

Playwright Joyce Hsu with husband Ta Lin host Congressman Mike Honda on his 70th birthday.

On another day, we had a special tour given by the very knowledgeable Harrison Rackley, Marcia and John Chapin of the new Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air & Space Museum which has many of the planes that had been stored and unseen by the public heretofore. Located close to the Dulles airport, this is a wonderful place to visit if you’re in between flights someday. A great way to get an overview of the City is to take the Old Town Trolley Tours which takes you to all of the scenic spots and has a wonderful driver-given dialogue as you go along, not a canned one like so many of the other tours do give. Eric Holmes runs a very good operation, and the trolleys run all day. We started ours from DC’s wonderful historic Train Station. Any visit is always made special reuniting with far away friends so it was fun catching up with Deni and Norman Mineta, who was an old UC Berkeley friend and of course, our one time Mayor of San Jose before starting his Washington D.C. political career in the President’s Cabinets. Now Vice Chairman at Hill & Knowlton, he still lives half his life flying around the world and enjoying a very active career while the rest of his college buddies have no doubt slowed their retirement lives to a snail’s pace. More power to you, ever youthful spirited Norm.

The Calvin Wongs visit Scott and Michele Wong in Washington D.C,

Also visited with our young relatives Scott and Michele Wong, both of them happy to be in the Washington scene with he working for politico.com and she with the SBA. Also visited with San Francisco native Grande Lum, so devoted a family man that he flies home every Thursday to San Francisco and then returns on a late Sunday flight.

BACK AT HOME

Martha Shimizu and Tami Takahashi are welcomed by Gerrye Wong to Asian Art Museum event.

U.C Irvine's Jodaiko taiko drum club perform at San Jose Obon Festival

This is Obon Festival time for all of the California towns, big or small, which have a Japanese American community. Sponsored by the local Buddhist churches, this event brings out young families to support this traditional holiday with special dinners, and outdoor exhibition of Japanese traditional dancing. At the San Jose Obon Festival the grandmother in me was thrilled to see my grandson, Justin Matsuura and his 15 member Jodaiko troupe of Taiko Drummers, all students of UC Irvine, perform along with other college groups from UC Davis, UC Berkeley and Stanford during the two day Obon Festival. What a wonderful way for these college students to learn a craft that is a part of their Japanese heritage, and seem to have such fun doing it. UC Irvine’s Jodaiko group is celebrating its 19th generation of drummers this year.

Collegiate drummer Justin Matsuura and 19th generation Jodaiko Team in action

Local playwright Joyce Hsu and the Hua Yi Performing Group will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat Sen’s overthrowing the imperial Ching Dynasty and establishing the republic in 1911 with a new play, SOARING OVER A CENTURY: A FAMILY SAGA. To be performed at the San Jose Repertory Theatre August 6-7, the play tells the story of the amazing history of that century as told through four generations of a Chinese family. The play takes one from the great-grandfather fighting in the revolution, through the grandfather as a pilot fighting the Sino-Japanese war side by side with young American pilots, the Flying Tigers, through the migration of the family in 1949 as a result of the Civil War, to the fourth generation living in California. Although the play will be in Mandarin with a cast of 30 from the Hua Yi Performing Group, there will be English subtitles. Atherton Playwright Joyce Hsu is a prolific writer and well versed in the history of China. Let’s hope someday this story might become an American movie for the second and subsequent generations of Chinese Americans who would enjoy an English version of the story.

Ticket Information: (415) 672-2809; (650) 967-6847; (408) 858-1510. San Jose Repertory Theatre is in downtown San Jose at 101 Paseo de San Antonio plaza.

Grand Master Tae Yun Kim welcomes film actress LeeAnn Meriwether to her Stargazer Estates home in Fremont.

To celebrate the success of her Grand Masters martial arts show at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Martial Arts Grand Master Tae Yun Kim hosted a post performance party at her solarium where guests dined around her indoor swimming pool. Actress LeeAnn Meriwether flew up for the day to support her dear friend and said she was overwhelmed with the talents and concentration of the students of Kim’s academy.

At the Grand Masters match and black belt installation, Kim herself wowed the audience with her state of concentration which many times had her performing daring feats of memory and concentration. Once Miss America, the lovely LeeAnn is kept busy doing theater work around the country.

TAE YUN KIM walks with motorcycle spokes pierced through her skin at Grand Masters event.

On Saturday, July 9, over 500 people gathered to watch incredible demonstrations of energy, speed and power from martial art Masters at the Legendary Masters event at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Great Grandmaster Dr. Tae Yun Kim hosted the event in order to raise money and awareness for the Save the Children Emergency Relief Funds for the children victims of the US Tornadoes and the Japan Tsunami. Blocks of ice were shattered, arrows were caught in mid-air, bottles were smashed, apples kicked off swords, stacks of bricks were decimated, wooden boards went flying,… it was a display of martial art prowess that was capped off by Great Grandmaster Kim herself performing demonstrations that she hasn’t done in over 20 years. After she performed a mystical Ki energy form amidst swirls of fog, this 4’11” 100 lb Master amazed the audience by standing on a flat of raw eggs without cracking any of the shells. Following this demonstration of how gentle Ki energy can be, she then demonstrated an extreme example of mind over body as 2 sharpened motorcycle spokes were pierced through her skin just above the elbows and buckets of water were hung off the pins. Not only did she not display any signs of pain during the piercings, when the pins were removed, no blood was drawn.

Beijing native Hei Ying and associate from the National Theater Administration show us inside of theater during recent Beijing trip.

REMINDER: Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation unveiling of its Immigrant Heritage wall on Angel Island will be on July 23, Saturday, with programs and special docent tours available for all visitors. Trams can be ordered on ferries to drive you from pier to Immigration station building. For info: www.aiisf.org.

Pictures are worth a thousand words and my camera is full – so sharing more pictures of past and present events. Have a good summer. I will be reporting from Inner Mongolia next month.