Category Archives: Places To Go

Pokemon Go Adventures at Huntington Library and Gardens

Pokemon Go is a virtual reality game, on Pokemon of course, and I really recommend to play at Huntington Library not only because of the beautiful scenery, but because of the tons of Pokemon there. Recently I downloaded Pokemon Go mostly because of my cousin, who told me all about it. The next day I went to Huntington Library where we caught a bunch of Pokemon. It’s a great place to activate “Incense” to lure Pokemon. There is Pokemon everywhere, so running out of of PokeBalls may be of a situation so remember to go to PokeStops. We could not go everywhere due to the long walks so I recommend to visit mostly the two gardens, the Japanese Garden and the Chinese Garden.

This is a very basic tutorial on Pokemon Go!

PokeBalls – ball which to capture and hold PokeBall, has a limited amount, to get more visit a PokeStop.

PokeStop – an icon to represent a type of grand or even small memorial part of a place, this icon if near enough you can spin it and it gives off random items for use such as Pokemon Eggs, Revives, Incense, Potions, and PokeBalls.

Incense – an item used to attract Pokemon to you for 30 minutes.

Revives and Potions – used to heal fainted Pokemon to half it’s health and used to heal partial health.

Pokemon Eggs – are Pokemon Eggs gained from PokeStops or bought from the shop, and can hatch by walking a given amount of kilometers. The more kilometers needed to hatch the more rare the Pokemon.

Tips:

  • Do not use Battery Saver
  • Try travel as far as possible
  • Hatch the most rarest eggs first
  • Do not spend real Money, keep it REAL!
  • Be aware of your surroundings or your Pokemon Adventure will end quickly
  • Try to not waste any PokeBalls
  • Look for Pokemon with strong attacks and high Combat Power(CP)
  • Try different regions for different types of Pokemon
  • To find a lot of Pokemon go to parks

Directions to Huntington Library

Redondo Beach Boat Tour

Had a chance to take the kids on a boat tour at the Redondo Beach pier with a windows on the bottom level that gives an underwater view. The tour costs $15/adult and $10/children and last about 40 minutes in the harbor.

First they will feed the fish from above and draw the fish to the viewing area which you can watch from below the deck. The tour continues through the harbor to an up-close look at the sea lion dock and you can watch them play/fight and bark at each other. Overall a good experience and would recommend this as a quick tour that doesn’t require too much planning or time commitment.

Check out the Looking Glass Semi-Submarine

T-Rex Restaurant at Downtown Disney in Orlando


While walking through Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida we came upon a dinosaur themed restaurant called T-REX. Found out it is from the creators of the Rainforest Cafe franchise, except this one featured prehistoric animals and a meteor shower during your meals that light up the ceiling and the Ice Cave.

An adjacent gift shop adds to the experience but they also have an outdoor area where kids can dig for dino bones like a paleontologist. Food is so-so and pretty standard from what you would expect from a themed restaurant. Can get very crowded so come with patience and enjoy all that the experience brings.

Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate Review.


While visiting Orlando, Florida we stayed at the Omni Resort at Champions Gate. It is around 20 min away from Disney World, but you can avoid the crowds and makes up for it in the resort setting. The hotel has a lavish lobby and beautiful and spacious decor. Also, attached golf course and an amazing view from your room in any direction.

Of course the highlight of the place is the swimming area which the entire family will enjoy. A main pool with water slide, a formal swimming pool, a fantastic lazy river with water cannons and fountains, and 2 jacuzzis to relax your muscles. You can spend so much time here its like a vacation within itself. During summer time pool stays open till 11pm which is great for night swimming on those hot summer days.

Another plus for families is a nearby market just down the street and some fast food options if needed. The restaurant itself has a couple of fine dining restaurants that delivered in food quality and atmosphere. Overall, this hotel is highly recommended for families and very reasonable pricing through sites like Expedia.

Kid’s Blog: Visiting Gatorland

For our family road trip we travelled to Orlando, Florida and went to a gator theme park called Gatorland. As we reached there you can see that there were huge birds that were black or white. The tickets were at a reasonable price but, I surely recommend getting the AAA discount. Once we got our tickets we saw our first alligator there, it was a medium sized guy and it was also sleeping.

There was a huge habitat that hold both crocs and gators with a small sand bar in the middle. We did not notice at first but in the water were fish that we believed were food for the gators and crocs. We even saw a fish food dispenser to feed the fish with pellets only for a quarter. In the middle, were baby crocs and gators. A staff woman was holding a baby gator that you can touch for free and it is so cute.


After we ate, we went to this show called, Gator Wrestling Show. There were two guys, the first one grabbed a Gator by the tail out of the water and told us how the gator eyes can pop in and out. Then he did crazy tricks where he put his chin on top of the gators mouth. His partner began to sing putting the gator to sleep and the 1st guy started tickling the Gator. The gator woke up and went back to the water and that ended the show.


At 1:00 we went to the breeding marsh where they have the biggest gators and by the way there are no crocs there. There was a way to get out but it was only a gate so if you go inside there there is a chance you will get eaten but, luckily there was staff there. For only $10 you can feed them there because behind the gate in the Breeding marsh there was land where the biggest gators wait to get fed. Once you pay you can feed them three pieces of horse meat and also get your picture really scary close to them for more money.


We went to see another show which is called,the Jumparoo Show which is where we saw gators and crocs jump trying to get chicken meat. Later in the show the performers got the chicken meat and made the gators and crocs jump and try taking it from their hand. Then we got 4 hotdogs which you can give to the gators but, be careful the birds might steal it from you and the fish. There is also flamingos where the feeding is if you want to feed them by paying for flamingo pellets.


Later in the afternoon, we went zip lining over the breeding marsh for only $10 and get to feel the experience of gators underneath us. I went first out of my family and was surprised when we had to fall backwards then it moved me over the swamp and I saw gators in the waters. It was so thrilling how I was so close to the breeding marsh because it is actually not a man made swamp.

If it was up to me I will rather go to Gatorland than Disney World and would give Gatorland 4 and a half stars. There is 3 awesome qualities there, it is natural, thrilling, and educational.

More about Gatorland

Kid’s Blog: Visiting the Statue of Liberty

We went from my friend’s house in Long Island to the Statue of Liberty. First, we walked to the train station. Second, we took the subway to downtown New York. Then we bought our tickets and boarded the ferry.

View of New York from Liberty Island
View of New York from Liberty Island

We rode the ferry to Liberty Island and went on an audio tour. We took lots of pictures and after that we went back to the ferry to Ellis Island and went back to downtown.

I thought the statue was kind of small, but the view of the city was awesome. They made fresh squeezed lemonade on the island and I got a limited edition New York Coke bottle. We didn’t get to make it up to the crown or pedestal because they were sold out, so make sure you reserve months in advance.

We made it to the Statue of Liberty
We made it to the Statue of Liberty

I think it was awesome maybe you might go there too!

Knott’s Berry Farm Videos


It’s summer vacation and what to do with the kids. This summer we got an annual pass at Knott’s Berry Farm for our family which runs approx $100 per person. It has a wide range of rides that covers the gamut of ages. You have some extreme roller coasters like the Silver Bullet and Xcelerator to more family friendly rides like the Jaguar roller coaster and new 4D experience, Iron Reef, which is like a video game/movie/ride.


I have children that range from 9-17 and they thoroughly share the enjoyment. Even if you have younger children, Camp Snoopy offers rides that are for younger children as well. During the summer, park opens at 10am daily but if you are a season pass holder a portion of the park opens earlier around 9:15-ish and you can get on some rides with a minimal wait time.


Tips: Food and drink are extremely expensive, so I suggest packing your own lunch and maybe getting one of their souvenir refillable cups to save on drinks. Also if you are going to get a season pass, get a parking pass as well which is approx the costs of parking 4 times.

Can You Beat Our Pinball Scores?

We had a chance to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas after reading a previous blog by Jace, Read it here! It was definitely worth the visit and we had a challenge among our family to see who could get the highest score on some pinball machines, can you beat our scores?

Family Guy High Score: 10,404,810

The Simpsons Pinball Party High Score: 2,320,230

The Simpsons High Score: 1,134,340

Have Fun!