10/1-10/30 FREE addmission ALL month to the SD zoo and safari park.

We love the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and now kids can get in free.

Each year, from October 1–31, in honor of our Zoo’s founding, children ages 3–11 are admitted free to the Zoo and Safari Park when accompanied by an adult. 


The Zoo’s Guided Bus Tour and the Skyfari Aerial Tram are not included with Kids’ Free 1-Day Pass and must be purchased separately at the Zoo. 


The Safari Park’s Africa Tram Safari and the Conservation Carousel are not included with Kids Free 1-Day Pass and must be purchased separately at the Park.

This deal applies if you are bringing in one kiddo or ten! It’s a great deal for families. So if you have been planning to head to one or both parks, make sure to take advantage of this great deal.  October is one of my favorite months, the weather is perfect and allows for a great day at both parks. I also love that there are less tourists this time of year and you aren’t pushing or shoving you way through this like summer months.

Fridays are FREE at The Long Beach Museum of Art.

The Long Beach Museum of Art is located on a magnificent bluff-top site overlooking Long Beach Harbor and the Pacific Ocean. The campus includes the historic Elizabeth Milbank Anderson house and carriage house, now called the Miller Education Center (built in 1912), oceanfront gardens, and a new pavilion with two floors of expansive gallery space for changing exhibitions with the Museum Store in the Masterson Atrium. The historic buildings are home to administrative offices, the Boeing Classroom and Café. In addition to changing exhibitions, the Museum offers extensive educational programs for children and adults, musical programs, festivals, and other special events. They are celebrating 60 years this year! 

To visit their website, click here

 Admission:   Every Friday is FREE thanks to generous support from the L.A. County Arts Commission

FREE parking is available in the Museum parking lot on Ocean Blvd., one block west of the main entrance. Metered parking is available on the beach. To park on the beach, turn off of Ocean Blvd. at Junipero and follow the road to the parking lot. There are stairs to the Museum from this area. 

Museum Hours: Galleries and Store Tuesday - Sunday: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Long Beach Museum of Art
2300 East Ocean Boulevard.  Long Beach, CA 90803
562-439-2119

Want to meet an Olympic athlete? It could happen....

Olympic Training Center

This all-weather, 150-acre complex trains 4,000 athletes per year, supporting their efforts to excel in Olympic archery, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, soccer, softball, field hockey, tennis, track and field, and cycling. Facilities here include North Americans largest permanent archery range, an artificial all-weather field hockey surface, four soccer fields, a 15,000-square-foot canoe/kayak and rowing boat house, four tennis courts, a 400-meter track and a cycling criterion course.

Free self guided tours are conducted daily from the Copley Visitor Center. You can come here any day. (See more info. below)

 

Chula Vista Olympic Training Center

2800 Olympic Parkway

Chula Vista, CA

(619) 656-1500

Website

• Hours: Open 365 days a year
• Reservations: Not required, except for groups of 8 or more
• Cost: Free
• Location: In Chula Vista. Driving directions below.
• How Long: Allow one to two hours
• Best Time to Visit: Any time, but less crowded on weekdays

Getting to the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center

From I-5 south of San Diego, take 54 East to I-805 into Chula Vista. Exit Olympic Parkway, drive approximately eight miles and turn right into the Copley Visitor Center.

Celebrate Olympic Day!  Olympic Day, celebrated annually on June 23 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games, is not only a celebration, but an international effort to promote fitness and well-being in addition to the Olympic ideals of fair play, perseverance, respect and sportsmanship.  The goal of Olympic Day is to promote Olympic values and participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.  

From June 17-26, 2011, communities across the United States will celebrate Olympic Day through educational programming and other activities. Please support the Olympic Day mission to promote Olympic values and physical fitness in your community by working with your sports commission, parks department or a community-based organizations.  By celebrating Olympic Day, we not only can improve the communities we live in today, we can inspire the champions of tomorrow!   

For additional information or to register for Olympic Day, please visit the Olympic Day website at www.teamusa.org/olympicday

Palm Springs Hiking Indian Canyons

Palm Springs Hiking Indian Canyons

Each time we have been to the Indian Canyon trails it seems to offer a true break from the hustle and bustle of the OC lifestyle and is a great alternative if you don’t have the time to visit nearby Joshua Tree National Monument. Creeks and waterfalls offer a chance to sit and enjoy a lunch after a stress-relieving hike. Three areas are available and each offers a unique experience. Be sure to pay close attention, as many endangered wildlife can be seen along the way. Hundreds of years ago, the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians settled in the region of Palm Springs. Communities developed around the fresh water supply, and ample hunting was available with the abundant wildlife.

Fifteen miles long, Palm Canyon trail is one of the areas of great beauty in Western North America. Its indigenous flora and fauna, which the Cahuilla people so expertly used and its abundant Washingtonia filifera (California Fan Palm) are breathtaking contrasts to the stark rocky gorges and barren desert lands beyond. A moderately graded, paved foot path winds down into the canyon for picnicking near the stream, meditating, exploring, hiking or horseback riding. While in Palm Canyon visit the Trading Post for hiking maps, refreshments, Indian art and artifacts, books, jewelry, pottery, baskets, weaving, and conversational cultural lore

The Andreas Canyon trail and it's contrasting greens of the magnificent fan palms and more than 150 species of plants within a half-mile radius beckon the desert-weary traveler to this lush oasis. A scenic foot trail leads through the canyon passing groves of stately skirted palms, unusual rock formations and the perennial Andreas Creek. One can still see bedrock mortars and metates used centuries ago for preparing food. This tranquil setting is excellent for photography, bird-watching, or a picnic at one of the tables along the trail. 

Murray Canyon trail is an easy hike south from Andreas Canyon. Foot and equestrian trails lead to beautiful recreational areas among the many palm trees. Lucky visitors may catch a glimpse of the Peninsula Big Horn Sheep (an endangered species), mule deer or other wild animals still roaming the high ground above the canyon. Less visited, Murray Canyon has its own secluded beauty. The endangered Least Bells Vireo bird is known to nest here. This is my favorite, but i haven't seen them all. I enjoyed the cool waters and beautiful palms. They made me feel like i was world away and being able to enjoy God's creations in one of it's many splendors is always a joy!

Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits is FREE first Tues of the month

Every FIRST Tuesday of the month, the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits is FREE to all visitors in Los Angeles.

This museum is filled with the mounted skeletons of Ice Age animals dug out of the adjacent tar pits, including woolly mammoths, dire wolves, saber-tooth cats and more.

There’s a short FREE movie also that shows how creatures got trapped in the tar pits, died and were eventually fossilized. You can also go outside and see the actual pits, which are still being excavated.

And note that kids are always FREE at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is adjacent to the tar pits, if you sign up for the free kids club.

A bit farther south, the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum in Exposition Park near USC is also FREE on the First Tuesday of the month.

Click here to go to the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum web page

Parking is NOT free, by the way.  I think the lot is $8.  There is street parking in the area, but watch for permit-only signs and never park on Wilshire Blvd in the afternoon! They will tow you away!!

Regular adult admission is $7, students are $4.50 and kids 12 and under are $2.  Also note that active duty military also get in for free.

First Tuesdays of the month in 2011:

• April 5, May 3, June 7, July 5, Aug 2, Sept 6, Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6

There are also attractive picnic tables in a park setting where you can bring your own lunch. So pack your lunch and make it nice afternoon with the fam.!

And note the Los Angeles County Museum of Art next door!

Free Family Art Day

Create a Character at Free Family Art Day 

Price: Free

• Visit Website

10/02/11 Develop the character you have always dreamed of in a workshop that incorporates drawing, various fabrics, paper bags, and magazines that will teach kids how to tell a story through character design. Related to the exhibition, It’s Not My Fault: Everett Peck, children will have the opportunity to see first-hand how renowned illustrator Everett Peck created some of his most well-loved characters from concept sketch to completion during a special docent tour for kids that will inspire their art making practice.

At Free Family Art Day, children and their parents work closely in the artistic process designing small works of art that reflect concepts and themes from the exhibitions on view. All art activities and exhibitions on view are free to the public. Projects are designed to engage children of all ages. No art experience is required for the art activities. Healthy refreshments are provided.

1:00-4:00 pm

KIDS FISH FREE! Every Sunday in Dana Pt.

KIDS FISH FREE!  Every Sunday 12:45pm – 5:45pm  Join us every Sunday (right after our Free Kid’s Fishing Clinic) for our 12:45pm 1/2 Day Fishing Trip and kids fish FREE!

Also One child will get a free 1/2 Day Fishing Trip (a savings of $25) per paying adult! Rental gear is included for the kids too! A savings of $12!  You can check out our info on their website at http://www.danawharf.com

FREE KID'S FISHING CLINIC

Every Sunday  12:00pm - 12:30pm
Join us every Sunday for our free kid's fishing clinic! Dana Wharf is proud to offer a dockside experience for young anglers! Ask the experts and learn new fishing techniques, new hook tying secrets, win raffle prizes and so much more! No reservations are needed! Try out your new techniques on the 1/2 day trip departing immediately after the clinic!