The Edge of 2026

Finally, the winds that have been blustering since Sunday have calmed. Rain is moving in — fat, drizzly drops are starting to polka-dot our patio. Ruby and I got our walk in, and I refilled the bird feeders, just in time, I think. I’m seeing more hummingbirds now. They all but drain their feeders every 2 to 3 days. And whenever I refill the other feeders, I can hear the finches and sparrows gossiping in nearby trees, waiting until I go back inside to descend upon the buffet.

It’s been a slow week of doing not-much. Our car’s in the shop, so I’ve been home, doing some end-of-year cleaning and working on writing projects, including this.

In looking back at The 805 Diary, all I can say about 2025 is that it was strange, surreal, and stressful. January brought us Covid, wildfires, and a nagging sense of dread. It set a tone.

You had to look for charm, for moments of grace. Luckily, we were able to find them in our favorite places:

• In March, Rabalais’ Mardi Gras celebration rocked so hard that one woman even flashed her bodacious ta-tas at everyone present. It was, according to staff, a first for the local celebration.

  

• We discovered the spiritual oases of the Mountain View Inn and Corazón de Piru — along with more local lore about Rancho Camulos and some of the kindest people we’ve ever met.

  

• Fillmore’s Red Engine Brewing entered its second year of operation, slinging some delicious brews and pizzas and providing a much-needed space for families and kids to play.

  

• Parque 1055 established itself as Santa Paula’s go-to event space and a favorite happy-hour watering hole.

  

• The Glen Tavern Inn welcomed new management and staff, revitalizing the hotel and embracing its haunted reputation.

  

For Dale, Judy, and myself, 2025 was the year we finally got to travel to England together and experience their lively pub culture, which often serves as a portal into English history. (Each pub seems to have its own lore.) We took in roughly 10,000 years of history and nearly ate our own weight in Halloumi fries. A successful trip, I’d say.

There were day trips into L.A. to take in an exhibit at The Getty, have dinner at the iconic Musso and Frank, and see Lewis Black one last time before he retired from the road.

On July 1, I launched the Screwtop Academy website. And promptly realized it was going to be too unwieldy to manage in that particular format. Content is now being migrated to The Screwtop Substack and to The Screwtop Online Pub Instagram account. I’ll write this off as a “learning experience.”

We lost a good friend just before Halloween, but we celebrated her life as she wanted us to. I participated in my first ghost hunt at the Glen Tavern and channeled grief into curiosity and a sense of play. (I’m still never sleeping in Room 308, though. Yikes.)

We toured Rincon Mountain Winery’s beautiful mountaintop facility and sipped wine on their patio overlooking both valley and ocean. For me, it was a refresher of my WSET studies and a chance to see the winemaking process up close.

Dale and I splurged on a winemaker dinner at the Mountain View Inn and went all but catatonic the next day from all the fantastic food and wine.

We slid into the holidays, ready for our long winter’s nap.

Dale and I are planning a quiet evening at home. But if you’re looking to party, I believe a few seats are still available for the Glen Tavern’s fete, which includes a four-course dinner, table-side magic, a stage show, and a champagne toast as the ball drops in Times Square. Two seatings/times are being offered. Check with the hotel for details.

There will also be merry-making at Parque 1055 and Corazón de Piru.

Rabalais’ closes at 2:00 today and will be closed all of New Year’s Day. They re-open Friday for normal business hours, but will observe their annual shutdown/staff break from January 5 to January 12, 2026.

With all the ongoing turmoil, the upcoming midterm elections, and the observance of the country’s 250th birthday, 2026 looks murky at best. Rather than New Year’s resolutions, I have hopes and wishes and tentative plans.

• This will be a year of addressing some ongoing medical issues. (Nothing serious, just annoying.)

• We’re planning a trip north to visit family — and some of our favorite wide spots in the road — in late spring.

• With cutbacks to my paid work, I may have more time to devote to the longer-term series I had planned for The 805 Diary but had to back-burner: deep-ish dives into the Santa Paula Art Museum, the St. Francis Dam disaster, and more local history.

But mostly, I keep coming back to what writer Michelle McNamara once told her husband, comic Patton Oswalt: It’s chaos, be kind.

I hope for kindness in an age of hate, for grace in a time of rage and misery. I refuse to let the assholes live rent-free in my head. Here’s hoping for a way out of — or through — the chaos. The country is still young, historically speaking. She still has potential. She doesn’t have to be the prom queen who peaked in high school and keeps trying to relive her “glory days.” She can dump her toxic boyfriends and strut into middle age with a renewed sense of purpose.

Here’s wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year! All the best to everyone. We’ll see you in 2026.

Going forward, look for Diary promos and additional content on the new Orc and Fae 2026 Instagram feed.