San Diego County Fair, June 1, 2018

San Diego County Fair

"How Sweet It Is"

June 1, 2018

Living in Virginia most of my life, we never had a "County Fair". We had the State Fair, and that is pretty much what I relate the San Diego County Fair to. We had festivals, small fairs. But nothing on the scale of the SD Fair, in length or attendees. 

Since moving to San Diego County, I have made sure that we go to the SD Fair each year. The first day of the fair, opening day, is the military appreciation day. Military members with their families get in free. The fair also does a special event for Albertson's and Vons employees on opening day.

The theme this year is How Sweet It Is. It is very cute. It is like Willy Wonka, and Candyland witn unicorns. Even the food vendors have Unicorn specials. One of the vendors has a "Unicorn Leg", which is just basically a smoked pig leg. One has a "Unicorn Horn" which is basically just a churro with icing and sprinkles. It is cute. The San Diego County fair runs at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar until July 4. 

Vista Strawberry Festival, May 2018

We had a great day at the Vista Strawberry Festival. 
The Vista Strawberry Festival is an annual festival in Vista California,  it is probably the biggest one day festival in North County. It is expected that over 110,000 people will attend in 2018. The festival is held on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend,  in the Historic Downtown Vista area.
The festival features the typical assortment of festival booths. Plus it also has a carnival ride area, a beer garden and an art show. With a crowd that large, parking is at a premium.  Thankfully,  there are 2 free shuttles that make the experience easier.

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

Little Tokyo

Los Angeles

July 29, 2017

One of the best things about living in Oceanside is that we are in between San Diego and Orange County. It makes it easier to get on the road and drive to Los Angeles or Long Beach.  Another nice thing in Oceanside is the train station. My husband and I have driven to LA to visit Chinatown, Filipinotown, Olvera Street, Little TJ and other places. After a little bit of investigating, we decided that we would take the Pacific Surfliner train from Oceanside to Los Angeles and then travel to Little Tokyo to check it out. 

On the weekends, the train schedules are reduced, so the key is checking the schedules ahead of time. Most trains, subways, trolleys etc all use electronic tickets that you can buy through an app. The annoying thing is, each piece of public transportation has its own tickets!  

The train ride from Oceanside to Union Station is about 2 hours. It is a BEAUTIFUL ride. I would recommend taking the train, even if you just turn around and come back.  

We took the train to union station, and then we took the Metro to the Little Tokyo stop. The area is kind of spread out, but there is quite a bit to see. RIght near the station is the Museum of Japanese Heritage. Every weekend there are street performers, music, and other events to check out. It really gives everyone a good chance to experience Japanese Culture. 

We really took our time and checked out everything. There were some really cool shops. One of the most popular shops was the Hello Kitty store. Of course that store was super busy. We don't collect Hello Kitty, so it was one place that we did not check it out. 

The food is amazing! Some of the places have a LONG wait so keep this in mind. Some will let you get on the list and wait your 2 hours while shopping in the area and they just text you when your spot is available. 

After eating, before leaving the area, we went and made a couple small purchases at the Asian Market that was there. It was pretty much just a grocery store, but they did have a few Japanese items that we have had a hard time finding back in Oceanside. 

Sea World, San Diego, April 2016

We have had Platinum passes with Busch Gardens / Sea World for years. Whenever we have had to go to customer service for an issue and the rep actually realizes how little we pay each month, they are shocked. That tells you exactly how long we have had our passes. 

Before moving to California, We lived in Virginia about 45 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and about 50 minutes from Water Country USA in Williamsburg. We would go to Busch Gardens at least 4-6 times a year and Water Country USA 1-3 times a year when we first met. Over the last couple years we lived in Virginia, we reduced the amount of times we were going because we were doing other things. But we kept the passes. Living that close to the parks, it made sense.

Living in Southern California, the only parks nearby are Sea World San Diego and Aquatica in Chula Vista.  We have not visited Aquatica yet. But we try to go to Sea World at least twice a year.

This visit was our first visit of 2016. It was great weather. We went during Sea World's Magic Days. It was the first time that we had been able to go to Sea World during Magic Days. Sea World had a schedule of visiting well known magicians who performed during the month.

When we visited Sea World during Magic Days, We got to see the Magician Rick Thomas. We had seen him on tv. Obviously, the show stage at Sea World is smaller than what he is used to, but he was still able to give a great show!
We really enjoyed the show. 

The theme days and special events at Sea World are truly a don't miss. If you are visiting Sea World, make sure you check out the schedule of special events and plan accordingly.