Tuesday’s Tip: The best free aquarium around: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

 

Did you know that we have an aquarium in San Pedro that is not only a pretty fun and informative place to visit, but also FREE? I’ve written before about our visit to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and how much fun we had as a family. It is such a great place that I really wanted to feature it again today, especially since I think it would be the perfect place to visit for Spring Break.

The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is a smaller aquarium that is adjacent to Cabrillo Beach Coastal Park and the Port of Los Angeles. It is a truly hidden gem. We visited last year on the 4th of July weekend and pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The aquarium is home to three main exhibit area, a nursery (that was a huge hit with the kiddos), a play and craft area for the kiddos and a new animal care center. Some exhibits are interactive and the kiddos(and adults) will learn about our local marine life and what we can do to protect our local sealife.

We had a great time on our last visit and only spent $7 for an afternoon of fun and learning. .Admission to the aquarium is FREE but donations are suggested. The suggested donation is $5 for adults and $1 for children or seniors. We had an incredible couple of hours for only a little more than $5. Parking is a $1 an hour – make sure to take cash with you.

To read about our review head here.

For their official website head here.

What: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Where:3720 Stephen M White Drive
San Pedro , CA 90731

The Cabrillo Aquarium is open Tue- Sun. The hours of operation are 12-5 Tue- Fri and 10am to 5pm on the weekends.

 

Cherry Blossom Festival in Little Tokyo

 

UPDATE: Unfortunately it looks like the Cherry Blossom Festival has been postponed until September!

One of my favorite places to visit, shop and have dinner is hands down Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles. I used to work in the financial district back in the day and loved heading there during lunch to shop and just enjoy the atmosphere. We’ve visited as a family a few times and my daughter loves all of the fun shops(she loves Hello Kitty) and bakeries.

If you have not had the opportunity to visit Little Tokyo and take the little ones this is the perfect weekend to visit. The Cherry Blossom of Southern California returns for it’s 10th year to the Little Tokyo district.  The festival celebrates Japanese and Japanese American cultures. There will be live music, entertainment, crafting area, a kimono fashion show and rumor has it a huge Hello Kitty doll walking around that the kiddos go crazy for. The best part is that they have a great kids fun zone that will feature storytelling and fun activities for the little ones.

There will be plenty of yummy food, booths to shop from and a Hawaiian village that will feature hulu dancing and Hawaiian music. It is the perfect opportunity to teach the kiddos about the beautiful Japanese culture. The American Red Cross will be there to collect donations for the victims of the Japan earthquake.

To learn more about the festival head here.

 

What: Cherry Blossom Festival of Southern California

Where: Little Tokyo District in Los Angeles

1st Street between Alameda and San Pedro Street and
Parking Lot 7 directly behind East West Players and next to the Go For Broke Monument.
Entrance on Judge John Aiso Street (San Pedro) between 1st & Temple or Temple at Alameda

When: Saturday, April 2 and  Sunday, April 3rd

10:30 am to 6:30pm Saturday

10:30 am to 5:30 pm Sunday

 

Winner of Chuck E Cheese

Yikes! I can’t believe I forgot to post this Saturday. Without further ado.. the winners of the Chuck E Cheese prize pack are…

Tricia Rudarte

Olga Alvarado

and last but not least…Alicia Williams.

Congrats!

Thank you all for entering and I’m hoping we have a fun Easter themed prize pack giveaway this Thursday.