Meet Your New Neighbors

David and Penny Rivas had been living in an old farmhouse in Ventura, California, but when Penny retired after eight years in litigation support for Amgen in Thousand Oaks, they decided it was time for a move. They were attracted to the livability and cool nights of the mountains of Tehachapi and finally made the move to Bear Valley in June.

David retired two years ago from “boiling water” at a forging plant in nearby Oxnard. He monitored the boilers that operated a 50,000 pound hammer that was driven by steam and used in the aerospace industry. It was while working there that he learned to work with metal and began making sculptures while watching the boilers. Some of his tall pieces have been on display at the Ventura County Museum in Ventura. Currently he is working with abstract photography as fine art and his fascinating work can be viewed on his website http://www.RivasArt.com . David is originally from Texas. He was a Marine for three years and spent one of them in Vietnam. After his service, he attended Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California, before spending the next 40 years in coastal California.

Penny is from Port Townsend, Washington, where she was born at Fort Worden, a facility which is now a state park and conference center. She says that she still has aunts, uncles and cousins living there. She attended Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington, and lived in Seattle until 1985 when she moved to California and lived in the San Fernando Valley for 14 years before finally ending up in Ventura. She worked for a law firm in Santa Barbara before moving on to Amgen. She loves to hike and that is how she met David. He is a hike leader for the Sierra Club and was leading the Urban Night Hike in Ventura. He got her phone number and the rest is history.

Between the two of them they have five grown children ranging in age from 43 to 25 and five grandchildren. All of them live in California.

”Happy retirement“ to David and Penny and “welcome to Tehachapi”.

Bob and Shelley Carlson wanted a vacation spot that they could share with their entire family; a place that both sets of parents could get to easily as they got older and a place where their kids and grandkids could enjoy “fun, fresh air, and family”. For a time they had a place at Bullhead City, Arizona, but that did not work out so they began to look for a place closer to home. Tehachapi fit the bill and they soon found a mountain retreat in Bear Valley.

Bob and Shelley live at Rosamond Sky Park , a community designed for people to keep an airplane at home. Bob has been a pilot since he was old enough to have a license at age 16. He bought his first airplane at 25. Both of his parents are pilots and they have all flown and camped together for years. They all still fly to church every Sunday in their Beech Bonanza and are very active in the ABS (American Bonanza Society). After spending many years in and around the music business in Los Angeles, Bob moved to Rosamond. For the last fifteen years he has had a medical gas distribution service in the Antelope Valley. He loves music, plays the oboe and teaches music business courses at Antelope Valley College.

Shelley is from Utah and teaches the second grade in the Antelope Valley. It is no surprise that her mom is a librarian and her dad is a teacher. Her parents currently live in St. George, Utah, which is close enough for frequent visits. Shelley met Bob online and the couple have been married for around two years. Between them they have three children, Ashley (31), Steven (23) and Mitchell (21). They also have five grandchildren, with another on the way.

Both Bob and Shelley feel that music is an important part of their life so it is no wonder that they often have music playing while they work around the new house. It won’t be long before the Carlsons will be ready to welcome parents, children and grandchildren to their new mountain cabin. We welcome Bob and Shelley to Tehachapi and wish you many happy times here.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call 661-822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.