Southern California Vacation Value: Camping in Big Bear's Pineknot Campground

I just returned from a weekend camping trip to Pineknot Campground in Big Bear. We took our Toyota Dolphin motorhome and met several friends as we do once a year.

The Value

Our little one and friend - the sites are spacious

Is Pineknot a best value, good value or less than average vacation value in Southern California?

Price: We paid $30 per night for our 20-foot Toyota Dolphin RV.

Amenities: No showers, no electrical hookups and no dumping station. There are clean flush toilets in easy access to the sites.

Proximity: Pineknot borders the Snow Summit ski resort with plenty of mountain bike activity in the spring, summer, and fall.

It's a 10-minute drive to the Big Bear Village and the Pine Knot landing marina with boat rentals and sales.

It's close to the shops and other resorts.

You have to drive to hiking trails.

Layout

The campground is terraced on the hillside so it doesn't have the flat expanse one might enjoy. The sites are spacious, though, and you don't feel like your sitting on top of your neighbors.

We were camping with several others, including a few couples with no children, one family with two teen girls, and two of us with children aged 11, 7, and 3.

There are plenty of pine trees for the kids to play hide and seek and the more adventurous ones – and those with good balance – can roller blade but it's not flat for very long.

It's clean and it's not noisy at night. There's a camp host available.

Why We Chose Pineknot:

We used to camp across the lake at Serrano but getting sites for several families required calling about six months ahead of time. Pineknot was definitely more convenient.

My Rating:

Average / Good

This is my second visit to Pineknot at the end of June and I enjoyed the second time better than the first visit. For a camping experience really close to cute shops and a drive to the water, then Pineknot is going to be fine.

If there were electrical hookups and showers for $30 per night then I'd give it a Good to Best value rating.

If you want to pull your RV in or pitch a tent for a couple of nights to see Big Bear, then it's fine. For a campground so close to the city, it would be nice to have a few city-like amenities.

A Best Value Kitchen Product: Nesco Electric Water Kettle

This is an unsolicited and unpaid review.

One of the best values we got as a kitchen product in recent years was the Nesco electric water kettle that I now prefer to a teapot.

If you're looking to give a gift as a housewarming present, bridal shower, or other purpose or if you need a teakettle then I'll make a strong recommendation for this item. We received our kettle as a gift.

If you're concerned about people forgetting a teapot left on a gas or electric stove burner then this product is a safety solution.

About

The Nesco electric kettle is 2 liters. It sits on a round base and heats from the unit so there is not heat transferred to the handle. The kettle uses 1500 watts of electricity.

On the company's website, the product description says the water kettle uses 40 percent less energy than stovetop kettles.

Performance

The capacity is about 8 cups and requires a minimum of 2 cups of water. I found that 2 cups boils in just about 2 minutes and a full pot may take 4 to 5 minutes to boil. This is definitely faster than our gas-burning stove.

There's a cool blue light at the base of the kettle that looks a mini-lava lamp and the kids get a kick out of seeing the water roil as it moves to a boiling temperature.

There is no after-taste from the container when I pour the water.

Use and Price

The kettle is compact for homes, small apartments, or offices. The listed price on the Nesco website is $ 42.99 and a glass version sells for $ 59.99.

I wasn't familiar with the Nesco brand prior to using the electric kettle but the company has a wide range of energy-saving products and a line of camping cookware called Open Country.

I checked consumerreports.org for Nesco products but didn't see ratings that I could easily access.

Click here for Nesco's website featuring the kettles.

In another related post, click here to read about our refrigerator.

Personal Health Best Value for Chronic Pain Relief: Chiropractor Johnny Truong

Professional workers, laborers, and students in chronic pain know how it reduces productivity and treatments may cost money and only provide temporary relief.

A best value for treating chronic pain may be through Upper Cervical Chiropractics. In Los Angeles, I learned about the discipline through Dr. Johnny Truong who had me write blog posts for his practice. His office is on Wilshire Boulevard in the Koreatown section of LA.

He spoke to me about his success rate and I met several of his patients who told me they were grateful they came across him.

Upper Cervical chiropractors work on the brain stem to clear nerve interference affecting various parts of the body.

Dr. Truong told me about treating a woman who had been bedridden and saw about 18 specialists. He treated her and within a week she went back to work full-time.

Other patients have suffered Trigeminal neuralgia, the suicide disease and Dr. Truong has helped them recover and have full and productive lives.

 

He uses 3D X-rays to pinpoint areas of inflammation and problems in the joints.

 

Dr. Truong also told me that his form of adjustment is gentle and he does not typically "pop" the neck in an abrupt fashion. He also told me he will not do adjustments if the patient does not need one.

 

Dr. Truong also told me about a procedure at Cedars Sinai Hospital of drilling into the skull about the size of a nickel to relieve forms of pain. He believes his gentle adjustments have more favorable results than some forms of surgery.

 

You can click here for Dr. Truong's website.

 

Click here for the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic website.

 

Disclaimer: Dr. Truong did not ask me or pay me to write this post. After speaking with him and his patients, I believe he is a "Best Value" for personal health and pain management.

Southern California fence company's value for residential and commercial projects

Nothing defines the Southern California landscape of residences and businesses quite like the fence. This picture is from a recent commercial fencing project at Westminster Presbyterian Church on North Lake Avenue in Pasadena.
 

Ray and colleague Jim of Top Notch Fencing

For those seeking the best value for their custom fence, Ray Marcogliese, (Marco-lee-ace) owner of Top Notch Fence in Temple City, California, offers a 35-plus year blend of fence construction experience and old-fashioned values such as such as reliability and quality.

From construction of a 20-mile fence near the Salton Sea to beautiful wrought-iron gardens, from
industrial-complex razor wire to grandma’s picket fence, Top Notch Fence takes great pride in nearly 4 decades of complaint-free business.

Adds Marcogliese very seriously, “I always try to do extra. I want the property around the fence to look better than when I began.”

 

Marcogliese’s biggest concern is not the difficulty of the job but the satisfaction of the customer upon
completion. 

He says he learned from the best in the business, spending long days not just picking up tips on fence construction but also studying the customer as well.

“Good value is extremely important in this industry.” Says Marcogliese. “And we provide it better than anyone.”

 For more, click here to visit the Top Notch Google Plus Profile.

The Best Value in Los Angeles Mortgages Depend on Personal Circumstances

Real estate home buying trends and mortgage rates in Los Angeles vary greatly and that means finding the best value in home mortgages will depend in part on your neighborhood.

The Mount Washington area to the north and east of downtown LA is a popular zip code to hunt for homes and mortgage broker-banker Richard White says it was the third most popular zip code nationally in 2003.

"Home buyers found there was a 64 percent jump in home values from the 2^nd quarter of 2012 to the 2^nd quarter of 2013." Richard told me he lives in the Mt. Washington area and said the lower

priced homes were popular.

"Higher end homes weren't appreciating at the same rate so in the Los Feliz area to the north there was a 5 percent jump at the same time."

Richard says listening to homebuyers, their goals, and their specific circumstances helps him tailor a mortgage and run a total cost analysis.

"I run scenarios for people in all stages whether they're home buyers with low credit scores, buyers over age 62 considering reverse mortgages, or people looking to buy on their own for the first time."

Richard can run many scenarios including a rent-to-own cost analysis and check figures and costs for refinancing to 15 year mortgages, and a cost of waiting analysis. He expects to work with people from all backgrounds.

"I don't target market any particular kind of mortgage need. Instead, I get many different buyers of all income levels and ages needing a specific product. Some are turned down by banks and others may only want to stay in a property for 7 years."

A broker-banker has more lending options than a bank, says Richard who has a degree in finance and has nearly 25 years experience.

"As a banker broker we utilize all different types of financing institutions that offer all the Fannie, Freddie, Fha products plus portfolio products. I have to look at the client and see their goals and fit into the best product. In some cases, using retirement funds may be answer while in other cases we'd stay away from those funds."

"If someone's nnot approved at the bank they need to talk to a mortgage banker with few dozen products. There are guidelines but there are variations. My job is to find out what works best."

Click here for Richard White, ArcStone Financial and learn more about personalized mortgage products for home buying in Los Angeles.

A spread sheet Richard uses

Finding the Best Value for Refrigerators and Appliances in Pasadena

Getting the Best Price for a New Refrigerator

An idea for getting a best value for refrigerators and other appliances or major household purchases could mean shopping around major and minor holidays.

We bought a 28-cubit foot LG refrigerator during a Labor Day sale at Best Buy in Pasadena in the Hastings Ranch area.

The original cost was $ 1, 400 and there was an announced sale price of $ 1,097.

Another 10 percent off was announced in a store flyer and the price dropped another 5 percent because we applied for a Best Buy credit card.

Delivery was free, too.

The LG Refrigerator Features

The LG refrigerator is a side-by-side and runs quietly and is considered an ultra-large model.

I'm impressed with the lightweight doors. They open and close easily without a great deal of suction as is the case in some refrigerators. Our most recent model was used and it seemed like it took a hard yank to get the doors open.

A welcoming blue light is innovative in the refrigerator and the ice dispenser is truly meant to be used from the outside only.

The temperature can be controlled by an outside touch panel.

LG has a trademark on the Spaceplus Ice system used.

On the company's web site for appliances there are details on how a conventional compressor has

higher peaks and lows during run times and that results in greater motor noise and more uneven cooling.

Click here on this portion of the LG website for the details on energy efficiency. 

LG Dependability in My View

I'm not a LG fanatic by any means. We'll give the refrigerator a try and I hope it lasts for several years or more without the need to service it or have it hauled off. If that's the case, then our price for less than $ 1,000 will be a Best Value indeed.

We had a low end LG dishwasher and got rid of it at the end of 2012 and we went several months without even having a dishwasher.

We have a full household but the insulated rubber inside the dishwasher wore off easily and became damaged. The metal inside became damaged as well and LG was difficult to work with in help to fix it or make a claim.

A person came out and said he would make a report on what he saw. We couldn't get the company to budge on refunds or replacement.

LG Reviews Online

On this site, Consumer Affairs.com about LG refrigerators there are many negative reviews.

We're getting off to a great start with the LG refrigerator and I'm glad we got it during a holiday. Keep your eyes peeled around the end of October for possible deals in your area and of course at Thanksgiving so you can get the best value for your refrigerator or other appliance.

In a related post, here is a Best Value for teapots and kitchen products.

Best Value Car Rental at Los Angeles International Airport with Hubber

If you're flying out of Los Angeles International Airport here's your chance to rent your car and get paid instead of paying for parking.

Offer - Want a 3-Day Free Tesla Rental?

List your car between August 21 and September 30 and you'll be entered to win a 3-day free rental in a 2013 Tesla Model S in Los Angeles.

Hubber is a new rental concept coming on to the scene that allows travelers to list their cars for rent on the company website. Cars must be 2003 models or newer and have 100,000 miles or less.

Car owners can get paid from $10 to $30 per day depending on type of vehicle and other specifications. Another benefit is a free car wash.

Hubber Website

Click here to enter the Hubber website and use the promo code "List My Car."

The Tesla rental can be used between October 1^st and November 24^th.

More News on Hubber

I wrote an article on Hubber and founder Paul Davis earlier in the year.

Click here to read the article on Examiner.com, LA BusinessNews Examiner.