Living in Contra Costa County

East Contra Costa County Royal Rangers - The Trail of the Silver Saber

My four oldest boys are Members of Outpost 5 of the Royal Rangers in the Sioux Section.  Our new year got rolling at the end of July.  Royal Rangers is a lot like Scouting, but through the church.  We provide an outdoor experience and training with Spiritual Development.

This weekend my two oldest boys went to a Leadership Training Weekend.  It is part of a series of six camps to earn the Silver Saber which is one of the awards they can get.  The Silver Saber is a real military style saber; it will have their name on it and a favorite passage from the Bible.

At the camp this weekend they worked on camping and camp cooking, Leadership Skills, learned about formations and marching (we never do this much but kids think it is cool), the earned the Nature Merit Badge, and just had a lot of fun. My other boys cannot wait until they are old enough to go to Leadership camp and work on their Silver Saber.

Our Outpost stratles the border of East Contra Costa County and Central Contra Costa County.  If you would like more information on our Outpost or Royal Rangers in general let me know.

Nelson and Corbin at Ranger Camp with the Patrol Flag they made.

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Every Month I prepare a Market Report on the Cities in East Contra Costa County. If you are considering Living in Contra Costa County East County is an affordable and quality option.

I have been cautioning for months now that the market is ready to turn. Now it has. Prices on a SF basis are up by 1-2% in a one month period. My reports focus on the Communities of Brentwood CA, Antioch CA, Pittsburg CA, Oakley CA, and Discovery Bay CA.

Part of this increase is due to the decline in the Bank Owned Home market. But more Bank Owned Homes are starting to move back onto the market. Individual reports will follow on each community.

The links will be updated to this Post, but better yet Subscribe to this Blog.

Photo By Jurvetson on Flickr

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My two oldest of five boys are from a first marriage. One of the awkward compromises of the situation is the oldest boy goes to school in with us and plays Little League in East County Little League in East Contra Costa County. Son number two plays in the Continental Little League in the Walnut Creek/Concord area.

I see about the same number of games for both boys (as many as I can). Each league has it’s own style and approach. One big difference is that in the ECLL they pay umpires, in the CLL they have parents taking turns umpiring.

Most of the paid ECLL umpires are High School or even Junior High School kids working part time. I think they get paid $25.00 per game, two umpires per game. They are very good. Like pro-baseball the kids work their way up the ladder starting at AA. Do I see some mistakes? Yes I do, but even when I see mistakes they handle themselves professionally. I have seen young umpires start out shaky and can confidence. When they do make mistakes I chalk it up to learning. Just as the kids are learning about baseball and honing their skills, so are the young umpires.

Now in the CLL, the dads assigned to the games are not that good. They try, but there are way too many mistakes. They are shaking on the rules and the reflexive action to be looking at the right place is not there. The dads are volunteers and honestly try their best, but it takes away a lot from the game.

It is not the routine plays that the umpiring is apparent. It is the close or the unusual situation when you need the professional to make the call. A few bad calls, and lack of training on how to handle a bad situation can ruin and entire game.

It is the same in real estate, it may look easy, but you need a professional to help you make the tough calls and one that knows how to handle the bad situations when they arise. Real estate is something everyone thinks they understand but it is the subtleties that make all the difference. Always go with a Realtor.

Using a Realtor to buy generally cost nothing. Some people think they will save money by going to the listing agent. They do not, generally the listing agent just keeps the entire commission, rather than splitting it, and the listing agent does not owe you the same due diligence a separate buyers agent does. Using a Realtor to sell will pay for itself in increased sales price, convenience, ease of marketing, and speed of sale.

Each home is unique and if you want an evaluation of your home please let me know.

If you are interested in Buying a Home or Selling a Home in Brentwood or anywhere in East Contra Costa County, Antioch, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pittsburg and others please contact me. I specialize in helping buyers of Bank Owned Homes. For regular updates please subscribe to this blog.

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