Winston's Real Estate Blog and more

Looking for something to do this 2009 fathers day weekend June 19th, 20th and 21st ? Let me suggest the Huck Finn Jubilee located at the Mojave Narrows Regional Park in Victorville Ca right above Spring Valley Lake. 

Huck Finn Jubilee is a Country/Bluegrass festival for all ages where you can camp, bbq, watch some concerts and much much more. 

For more info visit HuckFinn.com 

See you there

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid threw in his support for the Desert Xpress. Desert Xpress is the new proposed high speed rail line to connect Southern California  to Las Vegas Nevada. The originating station will be located right here in the city of Victorville Ca. 

Before Desert Xpress came along Harry Reid was a strong proponent of the Maglev train project which had been dragging its feet for the last 30 years. I can't tell you how many times I've read stories about a train to Vegas from LA. Mr. Reid was so impressed by the way Desert Xpress has been able to self finance a majority of their expenses including an environmental study along with the swift progress they have achieved in so little time. 

I can't wait to be able to waive at all the commuters on the 15 fwy from the comfort of the desert express train. 

They expect to break ground by next year. 

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Winston Westbrook is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and Notary Public servicing the cities of Victorville, Adelanto, Hesperia, Apple Valley and the surrounding Victor Valley High Desert communities of Southern California in the County of San Bernardino. 

CA DRE#01200483

So you are wondering what to do with yourself this weekend and you are having an itch for some deep fried twinkies right. Well, let me suggest you head on up to the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds this weekend and walk into fried heaven, lol. 

I like going to all the county fairs around Southern California. The best one of them all is the Los Angeles County Fair towards the end of Summer but until then you can get a head start with the San Bernardino County Fair . 

It's located on route 66 in the City of Victorville California right off the 15 freeways Palmdale exit.

Today and tomorrow May 17, 2009 are the last days of the fair so make sure to head on down. 

See you there.

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About the author:

Winston Westbrook services the entire cities of Victorville, Hesperia and Apple Valley. If you are looking to buy or sell please feel free to contact Winston.

Toll Free 888-33-WNREC

westbrooknational@gmail.com

CA DRE#1200483

Check out my other blogs

I got this e-mail from a friend a long time ago but I always kept it because it made so much sense. I thought I would share it with you guys. You never know in case of a major earthquake. Especially over here on the west coast. The life you save might be yours. Now doesn't that sound like a public service announcement, lol.

Save yourself then you can go buy me a coke Slurpee to thank me, lol

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries. 

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and
I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time
know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'.
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you
see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see,
in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are 
crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You 
can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a 
large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back 
of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to 
the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or
backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls 
sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be 
killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of
frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.


8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is
experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

'We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly'

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of
Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific
test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins did 'duck and cover,' and ten mannequins I used in my
'triangle of life' survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under
directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, 
showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the 'triangle of life.' This film has been seen by millions
of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen
in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV

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Thinking of making a move? If you want to move to Victorville, Hesperia or Apple Valley, California  then Winston Westbrook would like to help you. His realty office is conveniently located in the City of Victorville off the 15 Freeway and Palmdale Road. Help with acquiring FHA or Conventional financing available. First time buyers and investors are welcome. 

Call Winston toll free 888-33-WNREC

When you move to the High Desert/Victor Valley area from down the hill some of the plants your accustomed to gardening will not do as well as you might think. Take for instance ferns. Ferns to not do too well out here due to the drop in temperature at night. During winter, the nights can get quite chilly and you might want to bring those ferns indoors or into your garage to avoid the cold damaging their leaves. 

When we moved out to Victorville California we did not know what kind of plants or trees would do well and survive out here. In fact the day we moved out here nature decided it was going to snow. We got a good amount of snow that day. Sad thing was that many of our plants did not make it through the snow. 

Couple of months later we ended up going to the Victorville swap meet located at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds and ended up meeting Tony. He owns a nursery out in Apple Valley called Siesta Tree Farm. On the weekends you can find him at the swap meet selling his plants at or below wholesale prices. He specializes in selling plants and trees for the high desert. He was a wellspring of information. He is an expert.

Tony sells plants, cactus and trees. We picked his brain about what fruit trees do well out here in the Victor Valley area and he said many do well like apple, peach, pomegranate. 

We didn't buy anything that day but he gave us his flyer with information about his nursery out in Apple Valley. A couple of weeks went by then we decided one day to go take a visit. 

His nursery sits on 5 acres of all the plants and trees that do good up here in the high desert. He took us on a educational tour of his nursery explaining the process of how he raises these palms, plants and trees. I really learned a lot from him. We ended up purchasing a bunch of italian cypress to make as a fence in our front yard. 

If you are in need of some plants or trees give Tony a call at 760-220-0016 and tell him Winston sent you. He'll take great care of you

The following is just a sample of what he carries:

• Mediterranean
• Canary
• Windmill
• Pindo
• Mexican Fan
• Roses
• Cedars
• Cypress
• Plum Trees
• Apple Trees
• Palms
• Yuccas
• Pines
• Shade Trees

Winston Westbrook is a licensed California Real Estate Broker and Notary Public servicing the cities of Victorville, Adelanto, Hesperia, Apple Valley and the surrounding Victor Valley High Desert communities of Southern California in the County of San Bernardino. 

Oh and by the way if you liked this post then do me a favor and click the little red flag right below so I can get featured one day. Thanks everyone

I don't know about you but if you live in the Southern California area and you have taken a road trip to Las Vegas then you know about the I-15 freeway. This stretch of highway is one of the most ticketed stretches of highway in California. I can't even count the times I have been with friends on our way to Las Vegas when low and behold we see the red and blue lights behind us. Bad boys, Bad boys, starts to play in my head, lol. Yes it's the CHP pulling us over for speeding. I must admit I have had a few tickets on my way to Vegas since I turned 21. It's just that you want to get to Vegas already for crying out loud, lol. Same goes for the return trip home. I remember waking up one early Sunday morning to leave Vegas to return home and beat the south bound traffic leaving Vegas back to Southern California. My friends and I piled into the little rental and putted down the highway. The highway was as clear as the eye could see. You could see forever. We didn't see a single Nevada Highway Patrol car anywhere. We were booking it. Then right before we reach state line we noticed about 15 patrol cars pulling motorists over left and right. We were amazed. We thought we were home free then all of a sudden one went right after us. We asked why we were pulled over? The officer stated that their aircraft clocked us going an excessive speed. We were shocked. We had never heard of such a thing happening to anyone ever. 

Traveling to Vegas from Southern California costs us:

• Time (driving takes 4 hours) (flying takes about the same time due to high security)
• Money (fuel/traffic citations)(taxes to widen the I-15)(airline costs rising)
• Lives (falling asleep at the wheel/drunk drivers)

Which brings me to my blog title. We have needed an alternative to driving or flying to Vegas. We need a high speed railway connection between Southern California and Las Vegas. I heard time and time again that they were planning on constructing a high speed railway for the longest. When you allow government to supply what the people need you are going to wait and wait and wait. 

If the government can't supply it then we have to look to the private sector to supply us what we need. 

Allow me to introduce you to Desert Xpress. Click here for their website. Desert Xpress is a private company dedicated to bringing high speed train service from Victorville CA to Las Vegas NV without any taxpayers dollars being used. We know how well our government handles our money right, lol.

What does this new service mean to Victorville and the surrounding cities of Hesperia, Adelanto, Apple Valley and Barstow? It means:

1. More business 
2. Higher property values
3. Jobs