- Credit: Maribel Reyes
I’m exited to share that we have a new contributor covering the San Diego/Baja area. Our new contributor, Maribel Reyes, had the opportunity to experience the San Diego Fair this past week and shares her experience.
My two kids and I had the opportunity to visit the San Diego County Fair. This year’s theme is “Race to the Fair”. It celebrates cars from the past, present and future.We were there Tuesday when admission was at a discounted rate of $3.00 per adult and kids 12 and under were FREE. Snacks were also reduced at $2.00 each for a smaller portion at participating vendors.
Credit: Maribel Reyes
The night before I had reviewed the map and exhibits in order to prepare for our trip, as I wanted it to be special since it was the first time I took both my kids. Our goal was to visit the Fine Arts exhibit, The Horse Show, AgriFair and of course kiddieland.
At the Fine Arts exhibit they had paintings and photographs. At the entrance they had a round table with a basket full of blank artist trade cards and another one with markers of all sorts of colors. You could use one of the trade cards to draw or write and then post your creating on the “Miniatures Masterpieces” wall. My 5 year old immediately sat and started drawing.
Credit: Maribel Reyes
The AgriFair was breathtaking! The AgriFair had flowers, vegetables and fruits on exhibits that were all local! The best part for the kiddos was being able to interact with goats, sheep, cows, chickens, ducks, turkeys and pigs. There was also a very nice petting zoo. My 18 month old son loved touching a goats horn and my 5 year old loved feeding the sheep. We were also able to watch sheep getting their wool shaved for competitive reasons. We also learned some very interesting facts. Did you know that 1 pound of wool could be up to 10 miles of spun yarn? Neither did we!
Kiddieland was very busy, since Tuesday’s kids 12 and under are FREE. You can purchase 28 tickets for $20.00 or 72 tickets for $50.00. Here’s a tip, you can purchase a bracelet online on Wednesdays and Thursdays for $30.00, which entitles you to unlimited riding in kiddieland and the fun zone. Since my 5 year old only wanted to ride on a couple of the rides we decided to do the 28 ticket deal. Each ride costs between 3-6 tickets
Credit: Maribel Reyes
What is a fair without some totally fried foods? At the San Diego County Fair you have so many options to choose from! Some of the deep fried food items include Klondike bars, Krispy Kremes, Kool-Aid (Yes! Kool-Aid!), Avocados, Brownies, Girl Scout cookies, Twinkies, frog legs and don’t forget the funnel cakes and snow cones.
The fair has fun and entertainment for the whole family, my only advice is to plan ahead to have FUN and enjoy your day there!
For additional info head here.
There are so many fun activities and fun events this month and one that I have blogged about before and have to mention again is Free Admission at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park.
The San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoofari Park will offer free admission to both parks for children during the entire month of October. If you have been wanting to head out to either park this is the month to do it! You can bring as many kiddos as you would like and they will all be FREE!
It is a great deal and a perfect Halloween Treat for the family!
If you are planning on heading to San Diego this week with the kiddos or you have a membership, you do not want to miss out on Panda Birthday Week, taking place this week.
During Panda Birthday Week, Zoo guests will be encouraged to wear black and white and be part of the fun. The “Panda-monium” will be held throughout the week as Su Lin celebrates her fifth birth Today, Zhen Zhen on Tuesday and Yun Zi celebrates his first on Aug. 5.. The pandas will enjoy ice cakes on their special days and ice “gifts” on the other days of the birthday week.
Additional activities open to the public during the week include:
· Q&A sessions with a panda researcher
·Dr. Zoolittle and a daily plush panda giveaway
·Children can write birthday wishes for pandas
·Unique photo opportunity next to a huge panda backdrop
·Costumed characters
·Extra panda chats with panda experts
For additional info head
here.
San Diego Zoo
2920 Zoo Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
Have you ever wanted to attend the best air show in the nation? You are in luck because San Diego is home to the best air show in the country, the Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar Air Show. The Miramar Air Show will be taking place from October 2nd to October 4th. The theme for the 2009 air show is “A Salute to Teamwork” and is dedicated to the magnificent men and women who are the heart and soul of Marine Aviation and the inventory of aircraft they fly and maintain.
It is a truly a fun family event that is not to be missed. Everyone needs to see this show at least once in their lifetime. The best part is that General Admission, Parking and blanket seating are free of charge! You can also purchase tickets if you would like reserved seating. There are different preserved seating options that range from around $5 for adults and $3 for children. There is something available for every budget. You can also just bring a lawn chair and enjoy the show for free!
I can’t wait to take my son to this. He is going to love it. We are going to try to catch the twilight show on Saturday night. To read all about the show, including what you can bring and other questions you might have and ordering your prefered tickets online head over
here.
MCAS Miramar Air Show
October 2,3&4, 2009
Marine Corps Station
Miramar, (San Diego)California
On our recent excursion down to San Diego, we had the opportunity to explore Balboa Park. The park is well known for being the home to the San Diego Zoo but did you know that it is home to 15 museums and gardens? It is an absolutely stunning place! Our family had an amazing time exploring the different gardens and strolling through the impressive grounds.
You can make a daytrip out of your visit or better yet you can actually make a weekend out of your visit. You need really more than a day to explore this amazing park. We have had the opportunity to check out the San Diego Natural History Museum , and The Fleet Science center and the kiddos had a blast! I really want to head back this weekend and purchase the stay for the day pass, which allows you to visit 4 of the museums for one price.
I also want to head back to enjoy one of the free concerts at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. We missed the concert by minutes on our last visit. They are held every Sunday afternoon from 2-3pm during the summer.
We had a great time exploring the beautiful park and I can’t wait to head back down and tell you all about it. Once you cross that beautiful bridge that connects most of the park- it’s as if you were in another world. If you had not had the opportunity to visit the park, now is the perfect time to head down. Your family will love it! If you have had the opportunity to visit head down back for more. The cool breezes from down south are beckoning for a visit!
For additional info head on over
here.
We had the opportunity to attend Comic-Con last week thanks to an invite from
Momlogic to watch a preview of the new ABC show
The Middle. It’s a seriously funny show starting Patricia Heaton, as a busy working mom ,trying to manage it all. We had a great time catching the first episode of The Middle as well as exploring Comic-Con.
Don’t know what Comic-Con is? If you don’t, let me fill you in, it’s a comic book and pop culture convention in San Diego that you and your kiddos will love. I was worried that my four year old would get bored and ask to leave early. Boy was I wrong!! She loved every single minute of it. If you have older kids or teens this would be the perfect place to escape for a summer treat/vacation. It’s a little crowded (think 125,000 of your geeky friends) but jam packed with interesting things to see and do. It’s also celebrity ville. I have never seen so many actors in one place!
We walked around the convention center for a couple of hours learning all about of the upcoming shows and movies. My daughter had an amazing time at the Nickelodeon exhibit interacting with some of her favorite cartoon characters. The convention features a children’s day geared towards the kiddos that my daughter absolutely loved!
I could honestly say we had one of the most amazing times as a family exploring the convention floor and people watching. Comic-Con is the place to people watch. Everyone dresses up as their favorite character. I found a bench to sit outside of the convention center and gazed for an hour at the different characters walking by. It was by far the best people watching session I have ever had.
We loved everything about comic-con (well everything except $30 parking and lack of food options).My husband was able to take in a couple of different show panels which included a Q and A session with sci-fi icon Ray Bradburry. My hubby the total geek ,was in geek heaven!! We had such a great time that we are planning on making a vacation out of it next year. We plan to head down to the Con, book a hotel across the street and take in all 4 days. I’m planning early since tickets sell out quickly.
I was able to pick up some Comic-Con “swag” and wanted to do a little giveaway. The “swag bag” giveaway is made up of a fun Momlogic Canvas bag, WB Harry Potter Bag, Mythbuster Bag, Sci-fi pins, an inflatable sword(big hit with the kiddos), two Scooby Doo DVD movies, a WB Classic 3 DVD set and other little goodies. All you have to do is leave a comment under this post and you will be automatically entered to win. You have until next Sunday to enter. Winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!
If you want to learn about next year’s event head over
here.
A couple of weeks ago we were invited by
Country Inn and Suites by Carlson to head down to San Diego and explore the city. The hotel chain has a fun road trip
itinerary if you are heading down south. We decided to check out their Mom’s pick, Balboa Island, but were a bit disappointed when a big parade and festival happened to be going on the day we decided to explore the park. We decided to explore Balboa Park the following day and started searching for other affordable outings in the city.
We love anything nautical in our family and decided that we wanted to take a little boat ride. I remembered reading a while back that there was a ferry to Coronado island. It was settled we would head over to Downtown SD and take the ferry to the island. It’s a fun 15 minute ride into another little world. The ferry leaves San Diego from either the Broadway Pier in Downtown SD or the Convention Center area in the Gaslamp District. Tickets are $3.25 one way and $6.50 round trip. Children 4 and under are free.
We loved our little ferry ride. The weather was perfect and we found a great seat. The kids loved every single minute of our ride and before we knew it the ride was over and we were off to explore the island. We had a fun time looking through all the shops and had an inexpensive and yummy lunch at KFC (which is about a block away from the Ferry landing). We had a fun and inexpensive outing for less than $25.00. The kids loved every single minute of our little outing. In fact there were a couple of tears when it was time to head back to our car.
Here is the nitty gritty on our little outing- Make sure to take quarters. There is coin operated parking machines all along the harbor area. We easily found a spot and walked only a block or two to purchase our tickets. The Ferry leaves at the top of the hour from the Broadway Pier and departs from Coronado island at the half hour mark. Make sure you take plenty of sunscreen and be prepared for some fun. Bring your stroller and bicycles-you can squeeze them on the first floor of the ferry. We had a great time and hope you will also!
For additional info head on over
here
This past weekend my family and I headed down South to San Diego. We had a fantastic time and I can’t wait to share my experiences with you during the next couple of days. We also had the opportunity to visit SeaWorld. We have usually just bought the SeaWorld Fun Card which basically boils down to buy one day and get the rest of the year for free with some black out days and no parking.
This year we decided to mix it up a bit as we are looking to stretch our dollar a bit. We like to head to San Diego often and decided to upgrade and purchase a Silver Passport instead. We figured we could head down a couple of more times this summer and on the weekends once tourist season is over. The Silver passport is around $30 more than the fun card but it includes parking and is more like an annual pass- since the pass expires 12 months from the date of purchase. The best part is that you can buy your pass in payments- with no financing! It’s called EZ pay and our Silver Passport will cost us around $8.25 a month per person. We only paid the first payment on Saturday. I believe we paid $24.75 and will have 11 more payments throughout the year. It’s a great deal for us because we know we will get much use of our pass and because sometimes coming up with a couple of hundred dollars for admission can be a bit overwhelming. I know that breaking it down for us makes it much more affordable.
I can’t wait to share with you our adventures down south and to also pick a winner for the Angel’s 4 pack. Will share tonight. Have a fantastic week!
I’m going to be heading for a quick roadtrip down south this weekend. This year because of the economy and changes in my job we will be skipping a traditional “vacation” and doing a little weekend getaway or two instead of a traditional week long getaway.
Country Inns & Suites by Carlson is actually providing me with two free nights and a fun roadtrip itinerary in San Diego. We will be heading down south for a quick, fun and hopefully inexpensive getaway. The roadtrip itinerary that was provided by Country Inns & Suites has us heading off to explore Balboa Park and other excursions that are inexpensive and some that are off the beaten path.
I want to pose a question to you – What’s your idea of the best last-minute vacation? I want to hear from you! Just leave your answer under comments and you will also be entered to win a family 4 pack of Angel tickets to a Big Bang Friday game.
Thank you in advance! Looking forward to reading about your favorite last minute vacation tips!!
I forgot to add you have until Sunday to enter. Thanks!
My family had the opportunity to visit the Birch Aquarium at The Scripps Institution of Oceanography this past weekend. We have been on a marine/sea life quest recently and from what I had read on the net the Birch Aquarium is THE place to visit. Let me tell you folks- It most certainly is. The aquarium is absolutely breathtaking. The Birch Aquarium is nestled on an ocean bluff and overlooks beautiful La Jolla Shores. I was in love from first sight and so was my family.
We parked our car in the aquarium’s adjacent parking lot(which had plenty of parking and was complimentary) and walked over to the entrance of the beautiful aquarium. From the moment we walked in we were greeted by a friendly volunteer who was tickled by my kids excitement. She offered us a map and encouraged us to explore the Hall of Fishes.
It was the perfect suggestion for our little family. The kids loved learning about the different types of marine life. My husband and I were equally thrilled. We made a promise that we would definitely be coming back on a date sans kids. We learned about the sea life that inhabits the waters of the Pacific Ocean from the Pacific Northwest, through the California coast and ending in the tropical waters of Mexico. We could have strolled through the Hall of Fishes for hours!! The kids loved all of it!! You can also observe animal feedings – which we sadly missed by a half hour. Next time we will make sure to get there with plenty of time and be able to catch a glimpse.
We then headed out to the Tide Pool Plaza and let me tell you- my kiddos were in tide pool heaven. I was not only in love with the tide pools but also with the spectacular view of the California Coast. The view from the Tide Pool Plaza has to be one of the most breathtaking and beautiful views of the California Coast. I could go on about the view but trust me on this- It is something you have to see for yourself. You will not be disappointed!!
The Tide Pool Plaza featured three living tide pool displays which my kiddos loved. They had the opportunity to get up close in personal with a starfish and a sea cucumber. We had an unforgettable moment and one that I know my daughter Lauren will remember forever. One of the volunteers brought out a starfish for Lauren to touch. The look on my daughter’s face was priceless. She loved not only being able to touch the starfish but to also learn about it’s body structure and how the starfish lives and feeds. Lauren was in heaven and has not been able to stop talking about her magical experience.
We were all so impressed with the individual attention we received from the staff. Everyone had a bright smile on their face and was happy to be working there- and yes this was the 4th of July. I can’t rave enough about the amazing staff!! We had to tear the kiddos away from the tide pools- they could have stayed there for hours.
After exploring the tide pools we made our way to my children’s favorite exhibit, The Wonders of Water in the Smargon Courtyard. The exhibit is made up of two outdoor water playstations. My husband and kiddos spent at least an hour playing with the water tables. I coudln’t blame them ,it was addicting!! My son Michael, who is only two and a half, was able to use the panels in the water table and able to make a path for his boat. He was mesmerized by the water station and there were plenty of tears when we told him that we had to leave. We did manage to catch a glimpse of the Shark Reef on the way out. It was amazing and I wish we had additional time to observe the sharks.
Closing time was upon us and we had to leave. We spent almost 4 hours at the Aquarium and yet if felt like one. Time just flew by. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the 4th of July. I have been on many outings and this will definitely now be on the top of my list . It is in my opinion that the Birch Aquarium is one of the MUST places to visit in Southern California. From the beautiful setting to the wonderful staff – The Birch Aquarium is a shinning
star.
The best part is that for the price of a movie ticket, you can explore another world and make priceless memories. I had a reader recently email me that she wants her son to make memories of exploring sealife and not just have memories of playing on his playstation or surfing the net. This really stuck with me and I couldn’t help but think of this as we were exploring the Aquarium. I promise you that your entire family will fall in love with the Birch Aquarium and make priceless memories!!
Admission is $11.00 for adults, $7.50 for 3-17 year olds and Free for kiddos 2 and under. The Birch Aquarium is part of Museums on Us – which gives you free admission with your B of A debit or credit card on the first weekend of the month. We actually paid only $7.50 for my daughter since my husband and I both bank with B of A and were able to get in for free. It is an incredible deal!! You can also receive $1.00 off each admission with your AAA card.
Hours: 9am to 5pm daily
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day
3 hour courtesy parking provided
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
2300 Expedition Way
La Jolla, California
For additional information head over
here
