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Easter Egg Hunts for Kids

It's Easter weekend. Kids are always excited about Easter. Lots of food, toys, candy and Easter Egg Hunts. Plus the magic of the Easter Bunny himself. We usually hang out with the family on Easter Sunday, but the day before, we usually scope out the local Easter events that various cities, parks, Churches host. The last few years we've gone to the Easter Egg Hunt at Mountain Gate Park in Corona, which is hosted by South Hills Church. This is, by far, the BEST public Easter Egg Hunt for the kids that we have ever attended. If you have kids, I HIGHLY recommend that you take your kids here. It's always the Saturday before Easter. It's very well organized, the kids get PLENTY of eggs, people are courteous and friendly, and it's just well done.

So, today we got punished for attempting to try something different. LOL. We first went to an Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the city of Claremont. There was good entertainment, and it was free. The magician/juggler pictured above was the feature show. There were crafts, face painting, a petting zoo and snacks. But come on, the kids were here for the Easter Egg Hunt. My wife took our oldest daughter old to egg hunt for her age group, and Grandma and I took our youngest daughter to the egg hunt for the little ones. We're in line, ready to release the kid and have her experience the thrill of the hunt, when someone announces that they would be handing a "goodie bag" to each child. WHAT?! Many of the parent's booed (we're all adults, right?), and most of the parents were pretty upset. This wasn't fun for the kids. After we got our bag, I rushed over to where the older kids were doing there hunt, thinking that I could get some good pictures of the kids rushing for the eggs. I get there, and my daughter is crying....with ONE egg in her basket. The egg hunt was over in about 1 minute. At the Mountain Gate Park event, she would gather up at least 15 eggs. How disappointing.

Not wanting to disappoint our kids, we rushed over to the Dos Lagos mall in Corona. We were too late for the Mountain Gate event, but we could make it in time to the Dos Lagos event. What a beautiful area Dos Lagos is. We get there an hour early and scope out the egg hunt area. There's not many eggs, but we remain optimistic. We're in line, and adults are cutting in line, arguing about places in line, and kids are cranky. It's unseasonably hot, and tempers are flaring. Then, five minutes before the start of the hunt, someone announces that "we had WAY more people show up than we anticipated. So, please only take ONE egg. If your egg has a number in it, go to the redemption booth for a prize." People are really pissed off now. We finally reach the egg hunt areas. All the kids at the very front of the line had baskets FULL of eggs. What happened to "please only take one egg?" Our little one was handed an egg by one of the adults, but my oldest was very disappointed to find that the first kids took all the eggs in her age group's area. I take the one egg we have and find that it has a number inside. Victory! I go to the redemption booth. People are pushing and shoving like it's the Watts Riots. It was mayhem. I finally claim our prize - a stick on tattoo that was literally 1/2 inch square. I'm trying to leave the redemption area but there's no exit out of the line. You were literally forced to go against the mob to leave. It's obvious that I'm trying to leave, so most people kindly moved out of the way, except for some bozo wearing a "Big Dog" shirt. He looks at me and shouts, "Excuse me, Sir!" and I just couldn't hold back any longer. I shouted back "Back up, buddy! If you had an ounce of grey matter in that rock that sits on your neck, you'd realize that I'm trying to LEAVE. I'm not cutting in front of you, like I'm sure you did to all the people behind you!" There was a small bout of laughter, and this idiot tried to hide in his shell, so as I left, I just said "Nice going, BIG DOG!"

Next year, I think we'll go back to Mountain Gate Park. Sigh.

-- Kenji H on 03/22/2008

La Computer Fair a Disapointment

I decided to check out the Computer Fair at the Pomona Fair Grounds. I had not been to the Computer Fair for at least six years. I was interested in going to visit it again.

It was a huge disappointment. The fair used to be large taking up two rooms. Now, it barely took up 75% of one room. Moreover, there was one vendor that was selling a washer and dryer. Something else that caught my eye was floppy drives going for four dollars. Who buys floppy drives for four dollars?! Unfortunately those were the highlights of the trip. I believe it cost about 8 dollars for parking and another 8 dollars for entry. I left thinking they would have to pay me to go again.

I was discussing this with my friends and we figure that the internet killed off the Computer Fair. I can see how it would be difficult to compete against the online retailers.

-- J. Arthur on 03/17/2008

Miyako Sushi Review

I ate at Miyako Sushi off of Main Street Hesperia. Miyako Sushi is new restaurant. When I opened the door I found a nice atmosphere. However I was disappointed with the wait time. My order consisted of two orders of California Rolls and Chicken Udon. This small order took roughly between 20-30 minutes to arrive. The price was slightly more than Soya Sushi. I also found that the Udon at Soya Sushi was more flavor full. I recommend driving a little farther to Soya Sushi when you want sushi.

-- J. Arthur on 03/11/2008

The Living Desert Zoo

The Living Desert Zoo. Ever heard of it? Maybe not. We discovered this wonderful zoo at the end of last summer. It's in Palm Desert, which was a little far for us, but it gave us something to do one weekend. Admission is reasonable ($11.95 for adults, $7.50 for kids), although I probably paid that in gas to get there and back. LOL. It's not a huge zoo, but I liked it because there were plenty of wide open walkways, places to sit, places to contemplate and things for everyone to see and do.

They have an educational area in the beginning, where my daughter got to learn about some native desert animals. Perhaps my daughter Gabby's favorite part was the Butterfly garden. They have plenty of flowers that attract butterflies. This picture was taken in the butterfly garden with my Sony DSC-H2 camera. Photography is quickly becoming a hobby for me.

The Living Desert Zoo has plenty of native desert animals. I liked the shops and the places to eat. The staff were very friendly and helpful. They also had a nice nursery where you could buy many different kinds of plants.

Toward the end of our visit, we saw one of my favorite animals, giraffes. They seem so content and peaceful. I also took this picture of a giraffe. It seemed so happy as it walked gracefully toward the horizon. If you're ever in the Palm Desert area or are just looking for something to do, go visit the Living Desert Zoo. It's different than your typical day at the San Diego or LA Zoo. I think you'll enjoy your visit!

-- Kenji H on 03/11/2008

Super Adobe

Super adobe is a building technique developed by the Cal Earth project. The goal of the Cal Earth Project is to provide energy efficient homes that are good for the environment, affordable, and easy to construct.

I have been following one of their projects in particular for quite some time. The houses are rather fascinating as they are made out of bags filled with cement. The buildings are very interesting as they do not have the typical box like appearance that traditional houses currently have.

I really enjoy going to see how the house is progressing. I like the different style because it reminds me of the traditional adobe that I see in New Mexico. However, I believe that the house is just way too different for the general population to accept. When I show friends pictures of the Super Adobe they think I am a crazy hippy.

It does appear that the houses have a niche audience. Their cause would be strengthened if they invested some time into presentation. Maybe get some professional real estate agents to come out and explain visually what changes should be made to make the houses more appealing to a general audience.

-- J. Arthur on 03/01/2008