Rachel is 8!

Blogger swag

So I've been doing my Long Beach Family blog as a hobby.  I'm always finding events and passing them along to friends.  I figured I'd just put them in one place and not send so many emails, haha.  Well, I got onto some kind of publicity list and now I get alot of emails asking if I would mention this event or that product.  Some of the companies even offer to send me samples to try.  After all, how can I write about it if I don't know anything about it?  That is all well and good.  I've been getting kid/family DVDs like Tooth Fairy and Percy Jackson, but I also got Avatar.  They offer to do giveaways and the companies send DVDs to some of my readers.  I get all kinds of other products, too, like baby equipment, lotions, supplies, as well as stuff for older kids and families.  We also got tickets to a Dodger game and various other events.  Well, I was recently invited to a "blogger" lunch in Manhattan Beach.  Very swanky and surprisingly relaxed.  There were companies there like Pottery Barn, Dyson, and Toyota giving away samples and prizes.  I ended up winning a bunch of toys from Backyard Safari.  Rachel loved it.  It's been quite fun getting this swag, especially now when we don't have alot of funds for extra stuff.  Here are some pics:

Nature Center

Camping! - Kern River - June 2010

Tree hugger!

Fishing

Great form!

Peekaboo!

Our camp

Rachel's play room

Sequoia

Massive

Kern River

June 2010

Rachel and her friends' puppy

LA Times Festival of Books

Rachel's first major league game

I finally have a chance to post some pics. We got some free tickets to see the Dodgers and Angels in their exhibition game at Dodger Stadium. Rachel loves to watch all kinds of sports, but we had never taken her to a baseball game.

She loved it so much we stayed till the end. :-)

California Wolf Center

We went to the California Wolf Center in Julian yesterday and it was quite impressive. We didn't know what to expect at all, but it was an amazing experience.

The Wolf Center is located in Julian, CA, a 3 hour drive from Long Beach (with only a bathroom break in Oceanside). Allow more time if you want to have lunch before you get there. The program is only a couple of hours at the Wolf Center, so it might be a good idea to make a day of it and check out the small town of Julian.

The route from the South Bay area is the 5 south to the 78 East. You pick up the 78 a little past Oceanside, so that's a good point for a potty break and to pick up a drink. The 78 *freeway* ends at Escondido and you go through town to pick up the 78 again. This is another good place to stop if you haven't done so, yet.

When you pick up the 78 East again, you will pass by the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the San Pascual Battlefield Historic Park, and the San Diego Archeological Museum. If you have enough time, you can add these to your learning for the day.

78 East goes through the town of Ramona and then you will hit Julian. In Julian, turn right at Main Street and then turn right onto the 79 South. You will go about 5 miles and see a sign for KQ Ranch Resort, turn left here. You go a short distance up to the entrance of the resort and there you will see a sign for the California Wolf Center. Wait there for an escort.

The dirt road to the center was washed out, so our escort lead us through the campgrounds to the Wolf Center. We parked next to a big house where our presentation would begin.

At the end of March, it is very cold up in Julian. It was 44F degrees when we were there. Definitely bring coats, scarves, and gloves. However, we heard the wolves are more active in cooler temperatures.



We went down to the house for our presentation about wolves. We got to see the difference between a coyote pelt and a wolf pelt. Wolves are definitely larger! After the presentation, we went out to see the wolves! The center is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of these wild predators in North America and has a few wolves in captivity.

The wolf enclosures are only a short walk away the house. We walked up to the fence and the wolves were definitely interested in us. We had to snap our pics quickly, because when they figured out we didn't have food, they started wandering back to where they had been laying down. We stayed out there for awhile, though, and they back round again.

After that we went down to see where the Mexican Gray Wolves were housed. They hung out by the fence almost the whole time we were there. It was easy to snap a photo and our host provided lots of info on wolves in general. We were invited to hang out outside a bit longer or go back to the house to check out some artifacts. The wolf pelt was soooo soft!

We hung out a bit, checked out the gift shop, and soon it was time to be led back to the highway. Rachel was sooo fascinated by the wolves and it was amazing.

We headed back to Julian for dinner and then we were on our way home.

An oldie, but a goodie!