My 50th in Vegas

We took Rachel to the Mirage to see the dolphins and white tigers.  They have a lovely set up there.  It's only $15 for adults to go in and while they don't have a set schedule to interactions with the animals, they seem to be doing something every few minutes.  There is a small snack bar there that is nice to sit and watch the dolphins.  I was actually surprised by how much time we spent there.  We had mild weather, so I'm sure that helped.

We ended up staying at the Signature at the MGM Grand.  These are condos behind the hotel/casino.  The condo towers are connected to the casino by a moving walkway.  It turned out to be the same price as a regular hotel room, but there is alot more personal service.  Perfect for families.  They take your bags out at the door and bring them up to your room minutes after you get there.  There is only valet parking, so we just made sure to only use our car once a day.  The MGM Grand is one of the monorail stops, but we never used it.  There is a Starbucks and lounge in Tower 1 (where we stayed), but Starbucks is only open till 5pm.  There is a very tiny gift shop with candy, soda, chips, and other small items.

Mt. San Jacinto - January 2011

I've never been to Palm Springs and technically, I still haven't gone, but I was near it!  We took the Palm Springs Aeriel Tramway up to Mt. San Jacinto.  Amazing!  We went from the desert floor at a comfortable 60F degrees up 8000 ft. to 35F degrees and snow.

January 2011 - Wayfarer's Chapel

I'd never been to Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes.  My aunt was married there in the 60s and I knew it was a place that shouldn't be missed.  However, I kept missing it.  The chapel was designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1951.  It is a glass chapel nestled among the trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

1961

John F. Kennedy is inaugurated President of the United States
The Dodgers move to LA
The first human goes into space
West Side Story wins the Oscar for Best Picture
Pascual and Carmen are married
and Jessie & Amado have their first daughter

While I think of ways to celebrate my birthday this year, I thought I would plan some stuff I've never done in my time on this planet...

January: Palm Springs
February: Mission San Gabriel
March: Yosemite in spring
April:
May: the new Getty Villa
June: Monterey Aquarium, Alcatraz, & the Redwoods
July: Venice Beach, The Grove
August: Sacramento
September: The Gamble House
October: Museum of Latin American Art, the Skinny House, Rancho Los Cerritos
November: Oak Glen
December: Disneyland during the Holidays

Christmas in San Francisco

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: