An Outing To The Aquarium Of The Pacific

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My friend Paloma and her son, Diego, came for a visit, so we took them to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It is one of my five top places to take friends with children when they come to LA. Kids (and adults) love it so much.

(Places like this remind me of how different was my childhood from the one my kids are having. I was born and raised at the “end of the world,” one of the southern most cities of the American continent Punta Arenas, surrounded by beautiful landscapes and people, but not much access to the “world”. My kids, on the other hand, have access to almost everything the world has to offer, including an amazing, gorgeous, and informative aquarium with hundreds of sea creatures just 30 minutes away! They are spoiled. I know it.)

So, let’s talk about the Aquarium of the Pacific. It is not a HUGE aquarium, but it is big and you can easily spend 5-6 hours there if you enjoy the different events and special exhibitions they have. If you just want to see sea creatures, you can be done in 2 hours. It has two floors and an outdoor area.

My favorite things to look for are the aquariums inside the building with the Horses and Dragons. Sea horses have all the colors and shapes you can imagine. My kids’ favorite is the Shark Lagoon. The sharks and stingrays get fed a couple of times a day; which is a lot of fun to watch. The Lorikeet Forest is a highlight, too. You are allowed to feed the birds while they walk all over your arms and hair. Did I mention there is a baby penguin? And a tunnel that runs in the middle of a seal swimming pool? Yeap, lots to do, for sure.

Here are some photos:

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jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific18 jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific16jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific6 Look at these glowing colors. Just WOW! Don’t you think?
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jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific24jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific14jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific17 Yes, this is a sea horse, can you believe it? jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific1jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific27jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific21jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific11jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific7 The Lorikeet Forest. More and more color. jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific9 jestcafe-com-aquarium-of-the-pacific10

Paloma and Diego. Love you both!

My only problem with the Aquarium is that is expensive. It is better to buy a family membership and use it many times through out year to make it worth it. Otherwise, you will pay $29.95 for adults and $17.95 for children every time you go there.

Tips for your visit

  • Get there early to avoid crowds, especially on weekends.
  • There is a restaurant where you can buy food and drinks. They have healthy options.
  • There are some water games in the outside area. Some kids can get wet, so you might want to bring a change of clothes.
  • It is hot outside during the summer, bring sunscreen!

Hope you like it!

Aquarium Address
100 Aquarium Way,
Long Beach, CA 90802

www.aquariumofpacific.com

Open 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m – Every Day of the Year, Except Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and During the Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 15-17, 2016).

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The Arts District, DTLA – A Great Place For A Date

jestcafe-com-artdistrict5Right now, it is all happening in the Arts District, DTLA. Nice restaurants (have you been to Bestia?), cool galleries, vintage shops, bars… It is a great place to be so we have been taking advantage of it. It is close(r) to home, not that crowded (yet), and in Downtown, which is my favorite place to go out in LA.

If you are planning a night out with friends, I highly recommend going here. You can see art, have a drink, look at murals, watch people taking photos -million of IG opportunities here-, take a selfie -cause you know why-, and then have dinner somewhere.

Most galleries close around 6 or 7pm, but the Hauser Wirth & Schimmel closes at 8pm on Thursdays. Here you can get a drink and see some art before dinner. Shops like Hammer and Spear close around 7 pm, Poketo closes at 10pm on weekends, etc.

The last couples of times we went there, we ate at Fritzi. A small and modern restaurant; kind of unpretentious but hip.  It is small, and never too crowded. The drinks are tasty and the food, too. The fried chicken is their signature dish, and it is delicious. The fries are great – double fried, which is the only way of making good fries. I like to sit outside and do some people watching.

The Arts District Brewing is just next-door. It has great beers and drinks, plus a relaxing vibe.

After dinner, walk over to Little Tokyo. There are even better bars over there and all the fun of a neighborhood that resembles Japan.

Here are some photos I took in one of our outings. Hope you like them.

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Paso Robles, California

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From all the places I have been wine tasting (and I have been to a lot), Paso Robles is one of my favorites. The setting is what makes it for me. The narrow roads covered by trees make the drive between wineries as nice as the actual wine tasting.

It is a magical place.

My favorite area to visit is west of the 101, and my favorite road to drive through is Vineyard Rd. Here you can find wonderful wineries, like Justin, Halter Ranch or Lone Madrone… because WINE! Wine is a wonderful thing. Unless you drink too much of it and get a horrible hang over, which seems to happen often when you are older than 30.

To sleep, I like to stay in San Luis De Obispo, 30 minutes south of Paso Robles, because it has a fun downtown area and good restaurants. It is easy to find all kind of hotels and entertainment here. Among them,  is the Madonna Inn. Having brunch or dinner at the Madonna Inn is a must because the décor is kitschy and crazy, and the food is not bad. When you step into it, you are transported into an alternative world where hot pink and bright green are he main decorating dishes. It is fun and unexpected.

For a day trip, aside from the wineries, you can go to the Hearst Castle, located 40 minutes away from San Luis De Obispo. It was one of the homes of William Hearst, a media mogul that spent time here in the first half of the 1900s. It is an incredible sight. How did a man manage to create such a monumental place in the middle of nowhere, almost 100 years ago, baffles me. But he did. If you decide to go, make reservations! It can get busy and, this way, you don’t have to wait.

Here are some photos of a weekend trip we took a couple of weeks ago. Hope you like them.

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Camping At Buckhorn, Los Angeles National Forest

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Camping trips are a nice bonding opportunity for the family. I felt that on our trip to Idyllwild last year, where it was only the four of us for three days doing everything together.

This year, we wanted to have a similar experience, so we decided to take the kids to the Buckhorn Campground in the LA National Forest. 2 hours from my house and 1 hour from Pasadena.

What is nice about Buckhorn is that you are truly “incommunicado.” As soon as you start climbing the mountains, cell phone service is out. It is just you, your family, your car, and your fears, so make sure you bring everything you need-including a book!

Buckhorn is a first come, first served campground. No reservations needed, but you need to arrive early morning on a Friday (8-9am) to get a site. If it is a busy weekend, like 4th of July, you better arrive on a Thursday.

The bathrooms are not clean, there are no showers, and no park rangers on site, so it is a pretty wild situation for those city people that like the city life, but the place is beautiful and “remote”- if you consider a place that is 45 minutes away from a 15 million people city remote. In my dictionary (and the dictionary of every other human being I know), not having cell phone service “classifies” a place as remote, or simply hell. If you are in the “hell” category, don’t go to Buckhorn.

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FOOD AND FUN

This time, I wanted the experience of eating food to be a memorable one. There is no reason why you can’t bring nicer table clothes, serving plates, and food. I wanted to be able to have a nice meal, and that is what we did.

I like wildness with civility. Ugliness depresses me (I am a Taurus, there is nothing I can do to help this), so I made sure to bring a couple of things to beautify the table and my soul. It worked.

Good salads, appetizers, skewers, fruit, marinated steak were all part of the menu, and, for dessert, marshmallows (duh!) and cookies. Simple and sweet.

Wouldn’t you agree that one of the best parts of camping is eating (and drinking); well, in reality, one of the best parts of life is eating (and drinking), so I would recommend putting extra effort in that part of the planning.

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KIDS GO WILD

In the beginning, it was a little difficult for my kids to entertain themselves. A bunch of nature didn’t seem to be enough to stimulate their creativity. Well, by the end of the camping trip they were making up games and having fun in such a beautiful and valuable way. That change made the trip well worth it.

We went for a couple of hikes and I was impressed at how much these kids can walk. One day we went all the way up a mountain, away from trails. Kids loved that. Another day we went to a stream, the kids were so happy going in the water naked and free.

As a side note, don’t forget to bring a small First Aid Kit. At some point, your kids will need a Band-Aid, so you better have it on hand. This is the voice of experience talking.

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The trip was fun and easy. We are going to try to go camping again in September near Ojai.

Thanks for stopping by!

For more camping trips, here is a post about our trip to Leo Carrillo, Idyllwild, and Lake Arrowhead.

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Brunch at Gjusta – Venice, CA

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Gjusta is a deli, bakery, and coffee shop in the heart of Venice. It has amazing food but it is pricey, although no more pricey than any other hot food spot in LA.

I would define Gjusta as a minimalist, tasteful, creative and mildly pretentious place… like almost every other restaurant around Abbot Kinney. I think this spot could be encapsulated in time as an example of what LA was trying to be in the 2010s.

Now that we have established these basic facts, let’s talk about the décor! I loved this place! The artisan style, big open kitchen, white marble tops, flowers, beautiful food, and open patio were a win, win for me.

The food was SOOOOO good. George and I had steak and eggs and my kids had a goat cheese quiche. Both these dishes were excellent, but the best one was the multigrain waffle. Gjusta has amazing pastries so you should try some if you head that way.

The patio in the back is beautiful and small so it gets filled up quickly. If you can avoid brunch or lunch time, please, do. It gets extremely crowded in there with huge lines and no spot to sit in. Luckily, We are morning people and I have small children, so we were ordering food by 7:30 am on a Sunday. A that time there were no lines, plenty of available tables, and the calming sunlight of the morning hours.

One interesting thing about this restaurant is that it has no sign outside. It is located in a big warehouse and it can be difficult to differentiate from any other building in the block if it wasn’t for the movement of people coming in and out of the place. Also, no more than one block away, you can find a large homeless camp, a sad reminder that not all of us have the income to spend $4 on a drip coffee.

Fran Camaj and Travis Lett, same people who created Gjelina, are behind Gjusta.

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Address: 320 Sunset Ave, Venice, CA 90291
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