by Mary Lascelles

Redding, California.  A Place to Grow.

It was the end of 1982 when we arrived in Redding, California. You could say we were “fresh off the boat” from New Zealand. Married in September of that year in Wellington, we came back to the States to look for a place to call home. Mark is from New Zealand and I am from Minnesota where we had met in 1977.   

We had in our minds that we would go to Bend, Oregon and at least spend the winter. It was a place several of our acquaintances in Raetihi/Ohakune, New Zealand had been to – a lot of hemisphere-skiers hop between these two desitinations. We formulated a plan to get to Bend.

Let’s just say that we were driving North in our new-used-loved Volvo purchased in Long Beach. We drove and drove and found California to be a BIG and beautiful state. When we got to Redding, we stopped dead in our tracks!

Approaching Redding via Hwy 44 off of I-5 is incredible!

The backdrop of the Trinity Mountains to the West is nothing short of stunning. The sun was shining on the mountains and the colorful autumn leaves were absolutely glistening. The town had a population of 40,000 then and seemed large enough to this gal who had lived in Minneapolis prior to going to New Zealand. At least there were no horses galloping riderless down the main street as I’d found in Raetihi, NZ the day I arrived!

Mark liked Redding. It seemed like it would be worth exploring if this would be a good compromise for a city gal and a country guy.

We quickly found ourselves unpacking in our first home - a studio apartment on Trinity Street.  We made a trip to K-Mart to stock the apartment with necessities. Life was simple then with so few things to call our own. It was fun! 

Within one year, we were well established in jobs. Mark had earned his California real estate license and already working for the top brokerage in town. I was working in coronary care at Memorial Hospital. By then we were making good friends and had moved into a house with a wonderful view to the west and we were enjoying barbeques and sunsets in our new home with our new friends. 

Roll it forward 26 years and many changes have been seen in this community of Redding, California. It is a town that has grown out and up – and I’d love to share my perspective of what has happened to this “best kept California secret.”

  • Redding is magically placed with mountains on three sides and the Sacramento River running through it. The recreation created by the geography is only limited by one’s imagination. Some of the world’s best fly fishing is right downtown on the Lower Sac! 
  • Whiskeytown and Shasta Lakes are within minutes of town. They are not only beautiful but again provide some of the best kind of family and sport entertainment available. 
  • Sailing and houseboating and fishing and camping draw people from near and far. 
  • Entertainment includes regular performances at the Riverfront Playhouse and
    Cascade Theatre. 
  • Shasta Symphony is beginning its 59th season.
  • The Redding Convention Center books Broadway performances.
  • MarketFest happens each Thursday evening in downtown Redding and hundreds enjoy global entertainment during the summer months - and there is the Mosquito Serenade on the river in Anderson during the summer. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Restaurants have provided an increasing variety over the years. Some local favorites are Rivers, CR Gibbs, Moonstone Bistro and Market Street Steak House, Carnegies, Jacks Grill and Cheesecakes Unlimited. 

Shopping has improved, as you would assume, over the years.  From Macy’s to boutique stores, you can typically find what you want without leaving town. It was not that way back in 1982. 

Golfing is a wonderful past time for many in our community – Riverview, Tierra Oaks, Gold Hills, Tucker Oaks, Churn Creek, Lake Redding, and Allen’s are a few of the local golf courses. 

A very exciting thing that is scheduled at the Cascade Theatre in March, 2009, is the Sundial Film Festival. This will highlight still photographs/films made in the area or works done elsewhere by local folks. It is being met with much anticipation.

Turtle Bay Museum and the McConnell Arboretum & Gardens are a wonderful addition along the river. The Sundial Bridge adjoins a river trail on either side of the Sacramento and ties into the museum and arboretum. 

Big League Dreams is a facility that opened in 2004 and is only found in a few locations around the United States. It is a tremendous venue for families/young and old who enjoy playing or watching softball, baseball, volleyball, soccer and indoor hockey. 

Many week-ends throughout the year have events “on the calendar”.  Some of the bigger events are:

  • Kool April Nites
  • Old Shasta Art Fair
  • Redding Rodeo
  • Big Bike Weekend
  • Beer & Wine Festival
  • Turtle Bay Arts & Crafts Festival

Healthcare in our community is broad and State of the Art. We are blessed with wonderful family doctors and specialists and medical facilities. This is an important consideration when people are considering a community to live. 

Redding is within 2-4 hours of just about every amenity on the planet!

By that, I mean, we can be on the slopes skiing within 1 hour on Mt. Shasta, on the lake sailing within half that time, fly fishing within moments, in our state’s capitol in two hours, at the ocean in 3 hours, in San Francisco in 3.5 hours, in Ashland, Oregon to see Shakespeare performances within 2 hours…

I hope you have sensed how happy we to have landed in Redding!

While we moved here sort of on a whim, I truly doubt we could have found a better place to raise a family. It continues to develop and become more sophisticated each year but we can still come home to our five acres in the country just outside Redding where we live with five miniature donkeys and our two dogs. 

This community is where we safely raised our boys into men and they are now off adventuring into the world and they will either come back to live here or find “their Redding” someplace else. We feel this is a community that has given them that choice. I don’t think we could have found a better place to call home.

If you would like to find out more about our area, I would love to hear from you! 

 

 Photos for this feature were privided by the author.

December 12, 2008  by Network Abundance Publications