“I LOVE Benicia!” I hear it almost every day, expressed with just that kind of enthusiasm. Mostly, I hear it at the office—last week, from a brand-new resident who just moved to the marina, adding to the “liveaboard” neighborhood, and also from a Safeway employee. Do you know about the Facebook pages “I Love Benicia” and “Benicia Beauty?” It’s not a secret anymore: People love Benicia. Personally, I am very grateful to live in such a culturally rich community. How about you? To close out the year on a high note, we put the question out on Facebook, “What do you love about Benicia?” Here some of the responses.
“Definitely it’s the people that make up this sleepy community. Most business owners are locals who really care about their town.” -Leeann Cawley
“What I love about Benicia is that everyone is so friendly to visitors … makes me feel at home every time!” –Betty Steinmann (Denver, CO)
”Downtown at Christmas. And Halloween. And July 3rd Parade. Every parade. And the people. Definitely the people. And their dogs.” -Toni Foster
“Location is everything and ours is the best! And the people are friendly.” -Candice Estey Swanson
“Love the Christmas Tree Lighting, and of course, the Fire Department Open House. Love bocce too!” -Gina Desiderio Eleccion
“Small town feel.” Mariessa Deltorchio
“I love the people and community organizations, the schools, the parks … and our police and fire departments keeping our town a safe place to live. … There is no other place with the feeling and vibe of our beautiful little town.” – Diane Lynn Baranik
“Three of the best things in Benicia: The July third parade, the Christmas on First Street event, and the people.” -Jessica Steinmeyer
“The waterfront. The trains. The tugboats. The fishermen. The bicycle teams. The farmers market. The Rellik. Luca Beer Garden. The community Park.” – Ann C. Nourot
Brian Maloney Benicia sunset |
Benicia Magazine Archives Benicia waterfront |
“The water! No matter where I roam, coming home to the strait is always a comfort and joy!” – Alison Fleck
“One thing that I especially love is how polite everyone is. Californians are generally aggressive and somewhat rude drivers. You adopt that attitude on the freeways. However, you must chuck that attitude once you hit the off ramp into Benicia. Everyone is courteous. I think that's my favorite thing about Benicia.” – Brent Seymour
“I LOVE just waking my dogs up and down First Street at night. The lights in the trees make First Street feel like a magical little place.” – Ashley Cason
”Gotta love July 3rd Torchlight parade, First Friday in December Open House, Peddlers Fair, Taste of First Street, Haunted Depot, Thursdays farmer's market, Waterfront Festival, Opening Day on the Straits, oh and of course the people. What's not to love in Benicia?” – Diane Bilotti
“The sunsets!” – Jayne E. Boyd
“The sublime feeling of living near water and enjoying beautiful sunsets creates a lovely low-key lifestyle…all the while being close by to major cities and world-class wine regions!” – Maria Ciarallo Streifer
“Having grown up in Benicia and gone to school there, I feel at home in Benicia. Every time we come to visit I still have that feeling that I am home again!” - Joanne Miller
