out and about: Butterfly Jungle at the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park is now open - 03/29/12 04:10 AM

 
Butterfly Jungle, one of the most popular and fascinating exhibits at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park is now open through April 15, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Safari Park is located at 15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, about 45 miles northeast of downtown San Diego and east of Escondido on Highway 78:

 
Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. through April 15.
There are always long lines to get into Butterfly Jungle, and you need a special ticket, so my advice, … (6 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Ever wondered what a condemned home looks like? - 01/15/12 04:34 PM


Ever wondered what a condemned home looks like?
The San Diego Union-Tribune on Thursday last week had an article about a Spring Valley home that was going to be torn down after being condemned by the County.
The same person has owned the house for twenty years but, according to neighbors, no one has lived in the house for about fifteen years. The home has become infested with rats, and although the County has been in contact with the owner, a Mr. Seeley, he didn't want to harm the rats so he did nothing.
The County finally got an abatement … (10 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — 50% discount on admission to Birch Aquarium - 01/14/12 10:24 PM

50% discount on admission to Birch Aquarium
The Birch Aquarium, part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which itself is part of the University of California San Diego, is celebrating its 20th anniversary at its current location on Expedition Way in La Jolla.

 
To celebrate, Birch Aquarium is inviting the public to stop by for a 50% discount admission. Of course, there is fine print. Just like real estate!
The discount is only available on the twentieth of each month and only for zip codes 91901 to 92199, so you'll need to bring a valid ID showing your zip code … (5 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Petco WALK.RUN.WAG. benefitting the Petco Foundation - 01/11/12 07:58 PM

Petco WALK.RUN.WAG. benefitting the Petco Foundation
Multisports.com and Petco invite two- and four-legged runners, walkers, and waggers to join in the first Petco WALK.RUN.WAG. to take place at 7:00 a.m. on January 15, 2012. Race starts at 2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard (the Del Mar Racetrack) in Del Mar, California.

 
This is the initial event in the new 5K9 series sponsored by Petco and Purina Pro Plan in support of healthy lifestyles and local pets. Furture series are in Tempe, Arizona, on March 4, and San Antonio, Texas, on April 1.
You can actually walk or run a 5K … (7 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — San Diego Restaurant Week, January 15-20, 2012 - 01/08/12 10:11 AM

San Diego Restaurant Week, January 15-20, 2012
The first San Diego Restaurant Week of 2012 (there will be another one in late Summer) is coming up quickly: January 15-20, 2012.
Restaurant Week features around 180 restaurants throughout San Diego with fixed price menus. Depending on the restaurants, lunch menus are $10, $15, or $20, and dinner menus are $20, $30, or $40.
Click on San Diego Restaurant Week to see which restaurants are participating, and if your favorite restaurant is not, contact their management and ask them to join the fun!
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San Diego Mission Valley condos … (8 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Last 10 days to see the beckoning cats - 01/05/12 09:19 AM

Last 10 days to see the beckoning cats
Maneki Neko, Japan's Beckoning Cats: From Talisman to Pop Icon ends it exhibition run at the Mingei International Museum on January 15, 2012. That means you have just ten days left to see 155 beckoning cats!


 
Most of the cats are made of clay, but some are wood, metal, ceramic, and papier mâché.
The collection was given to the Mingei International Museum by Billie Moffat of Long Beach, California, whom some readers might recognize as the maiden name and hometown of international tennis star Billie Jean King.
    
 
… (10 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — 2012's first home show, January 6-8 - 01/04/12 11:30 AM

2012's first home show, January 6-8
The first home show of 2012 will take place in Hall A at the San Diego Convention Center, 111 West Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego, on January 6, 7, and 8.

 
This is the San Diego Spring Home Show put on each January by American Consumer Shows.
The San Diego Convention Center is wheelchair and stroller friendly, so bring the family, young and old.
Admission is free! Parking at the Convention Center is not.
Hours are:
Friday, January 6, 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, January 7, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 … (7 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — "December Nights" in Balboa Park - 11/28/11 04:55 AM

 
"December Nights" in Balboa Park
Holiday traditions continue in San Diego this coming Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3, with the 34th annual December Nights in Balboa Park.
December Nights, known as Christmas on the Prado until about a decade ago, is an all-inclusive end-of-year holiday event. Jew, Muslim, Christian, Atheist.... All are welcome at December Nights for a truly multicultural experience.
Attendance at Christmas on the Prado was usually about 125,000-150,000 people. Opponents of the name change said that attendance would fall, but attendance spiked by 50,000 the first year under the new name. The number of … (5 comments)

out and about: Surfin' Santa arrives November 26 at San Diego's Seaport Village - 11/23/11 03:43 PM

 
Surfin' Santa arrives November 26at San Diego's Seaport Village
With so many children being Internet-savvy, I wonder how parents explain Santa arriving in 500 cities simultaneously.....
Santa arrives here in San Diego around 1:00 p.m. on November 26 at Seaport Village. One of today's luxury pirate ships will bring him close to shore, and I guess he'll ride his surfboard the rest of the way in.
Get the holiday season off to a spectacular start with holiday music, live entertainment, holiday treats, face painting, and balloon sculptures. The historic Seaport Village Carousel will be open and running for everyone's … (10 comments)

out and about: 2011 Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Fairgrounds - 11/22/11 12:31 PM

 
2011 Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Fairgrounds

 
The annual Holiday of Lights at the Del Mar Fairgrounds begins on Thursday evening, November 24, at 5:30 p.m. and going through New Year's Day, inclusive.
This is the most spectacular light show in San Diego County, and they charge by the car, so you can take the whole family. It's just $14 for a car with five people, $19 for vehicles with six or more people, unless you bring a bus, then its $49 for the bus.
There will be more than 400 spectacular lighted scenes, and you can enjoy … (7 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Father Joe's Thanksgiving Day 5K - 11/21/11 11:40 AM

 
Father Joe's Thanksgiving Day 5K
Father Joe's Thanksgiving Day 5K begins at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day at the archway at the Museum of Man in Balboa Park, just after coming over the Cabrillo Bridge from Sixth Avenue.


 
Father Joe is a San Diego icon when it comes to helping the underprivileged and the underserved, and proceeds from the 5K will help provide basic provisions for underprivileged persons through the St. Vincent De Paul Village. Father Joe is trying to serve 1.7 million meals in 2011, and this event should help him get there.
For more … (5 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" coming to San Diego in February 2012 - 11/20/11 10:49 AM

 
"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition"coming to San Diego in February 2012
"Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" will be coming to San Diego, opening on February 10, 2012, at the San Diego Natural History Museum, and continuing for seven months.
The sinking of the Titanic, possibly the world's most famous sinking (nothwithstanding Gordon Lightfoot singing about the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald), occurred on April 15, 1912, on the luxury liner's maiden voyage from England to the United States. The sinking was made into a movie in 1997 and won 11 Oscars.
More than 5,500 artifacts have been recovered from the Titanic … (7 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Jerome's Furniture 57th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Weekend going on now! - 11/19/11 10:30 AM

 
Jerome's Furniture 57th AnniversaryCustomer Appreciation Weekendgoing on now!
Jeromes Furniture is having its 57th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Weekend this weekend! How come I didn't find out about this earlier than today?
Fortunately, today's San Diego Union-Tribune gave us front-page notice so we zipped on over there and got a marble floor vase that we've had our eye on for quite some time. It is supposed to be delivered before noon tomorrow.
If you've never been to Jerome's Furniture, you're missing out. Best showrooms and furniture collection in San Diego County, bar none.
There are five showrooms in San Diego … (4 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — 32nd Annual Dixieland Jazz Festival November 23-27, 2011 - 11/18/11 12:01 PM

 
32nd Annual Dixieland Jazz FestivalNovember 23-27, 2011
The 32nd Annual Dixieland Jazz Festival, sponsored by America's Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society, will take place at the Town & Country Hotel and Convention Center, 500 Hotel Circle North, in Mission Valley. Town & Country is on the south side of Fashion Valley Mall and right next to the Fashion Valley Transit Center, making it easy for everyone to get to.
Bands from throughout the country will be featuring Dixieland jazz, classic jazz, and swing.
For more information, visit America's Finest City Dixieland Jazz Society.
… (8 comments)

out and about: Out & About San Diego — Encinitas Street Faire & Fall Festival, November 20, 2011 - 11/16/11 07:04 PM

 
Encinitas Street Faire & Fall FestivalNovember 20, 2011
The annual Encinitas Street Faire & Fall Festival is Sunday, November 20. With over 400 booths featuring antiques, arts and crafts, clothing, food, and unique items from around the world, this is one of the largest fall festivals in San Diego County.
It's a family event, so take your children so they can enjoy the many children's rides. Live entertainment from two stages.
Fun begins at 9:00 AM and goes to 4:00 PM along Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. You can't miss it.
Coast Highway 101 will be closed from D … (10 comments)

out and about: 65th Annual Mother Goose Parade, November 20, 2011 - 11/15/11 08:12 AM

 
65th Annual Mother Goose ParadeNovember 20, 2011
The 65th Annual Mother Goose Parade is always the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year it starts at 10:00 a.m. on November 20, 2011. This is the largest single-day event in San Diego County, the largest children's parade west of the Mississippi, as well as one of the largest children's parades in the country. Expect over 100 entries featuring bands, clowns, equestrians, floats, giant balloons, and even Santa Claus. All for the children.
The parade begins at Magnolia and Main, heads down Main Street to N. Second Street where it turns nort and ends … (7 comments)

out and about: Eighth Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival - 11/13/11 01:37 PM

 
Eighth Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food FestivalNovember 16-20, 2011

 
The largest food and wine event in Southern California starts on November 16 and continues for four glorious palate-satisfying, stomach-filling days!
There will be over 800 wines from 170 world-class wineries, as well as other spirits to whet your palate. Couple wine tastings with celebrity chefs, including 70 of San Diego's top chefs, providing cooking classes, and this is an event not to be missed. Even Sam the Cooking Guy will be there! Of course, he lives in San Diego, so we expect him to be … (15 comments)

out and about: Mingei International Museum annual art sale returns on November 19, 2011 - 11/09/11 02:34 AM

Mingei International Museum annual art sale returns on November 19, 2011
The Mingei International Museum's annual — and popular! — art sale returns on Saturday, November 19, 2011, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. That's if there is anything left since Museum members (like me!) get to attend a special preview event the evening before.
This is a unique event for those wanting a unique item as a gift or for your own home. Start your own art collection! Furniture, textiles, sculptures, pottery, toys....
There will be more than 4,000 art objects from throughout the world, ranging in price from … (7 comments)

out and about: Cruise Classic NCAA basketball (North Carolina vs. Michigan State), a new ship christening, and America's Cup, all in San Diego through November 20 - 11/07/11 03:38 PM

Cruise Classic NCAA basketball(North Carolina vs. Michigan State),a new ship christening, and America's Cup,all in San Diego through November 20
Beginning Friday, November 11, and running through November 20, San Diego will be hosting three unique events.
The first is the the NCAA basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Hells, national champions in 2009, the third-winningest basketball program of all time, and currently ranked #1 in the nation; and the Michigan State Spartans, the 2000 national champions.
You might say, "So what?" Well, this game will be played on the flight deck of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS … (10 comments)

out and about: The Marston House: Not your ordinary Craftsman - 10/31/11 07:20 AM
 

The Marston House: Not your ordinary Craftsman
I celebrated my third anniversary this past weekend, specifically yesterday. We've been together for 17½ years and would have gotten married many years earlier but for various reasons, we couldn't.
On Saturday we went to the Marston House and Museum:

 
The Marston House is a Craftsman house, but not just any Craftsman house. That thing is 8,500 square feet. It is on a raised foundation yet still has a basement in addition to its first and second floors. It also has an attic floor, which most of us would call … (7 comments)