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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.
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!
OK - this doesn't pertain specifically to the IE, but it's something that I've been noticing a lot lately and wanted to get off my chest. Drivers are getting more and more aggressive. Just early this morning, someone got shot on the 210 Freeway near Azusa. It's crazy. First of all, why are people carrying guns in their cars? And secondly, what could make you so mad that you would shoot another driver?
About a week ago, I was trying to change lanes to get on the freeway. A driver saw me trying to change lanes, so she speeds up. She wasn't even trying to get on the freeway. She just wanted to prevent me from changing lanes. Why? Just to be nasty about it. When I tried to pass again, she sped up again. I finally get behind her and she slams on her brakes. WHY? It forced me to slam on my brakes, and I honked my horn. As I was approaching the onramp, she STOPPED her vehicle in her lane so she could sneer at me as I was passing. WHY? OK, so she's not having a good morning. And perhaps giving me a hard time gave her some satisfaction. But, come on. What was she really going to do??? Was she going to do? And was she going to get out of the car? And, if she had gotten out of the car, what would she have done?? And, with all the crazy people in the world, how do I know that she didn't have a gun? And how did she know that I didn't? For all she knew, I was a police officer. Lucky for her I wasn't. Come on. Let's all be courteous drivers. And no matter how rude someone is to you, it certainly isn't worth shooting someone or being shot yourself. It's driving! It's not a war!
Been to Winco Foods yet? They're new to the Inland Empire but have existed throughout the country for a while. The name sounds funny...for some reason, it makes me think of Food 4 Less. I was a little skeptical trying Winco Foods the first time, but let me say...I like it! Sure, you gotta bag your own groceries. Minor inconvenience. I always found that Food 4 Less was...well...kinda trashed. I've even seen customers just rip open bags of food and then leave them there. It's rude, disgusting and just plain unnecessary. For the most part, I've been a Stater Brothers shopper for a long time. The prices are good, they're locally based (I feel like I'm supporting local economy) and the people are friendly. Sort of a small town feel.
Then came Winco Foods, the mega mart of grocery stores. They're clean and Costco-sized. Prices are good and selection is good. You'll notice that the freezers and fridges are huge and well stocked. And you can buy a LOT of stuff in bulk. Even things like cheese sauce....you can pick them up in powdered form in bulk. Not that I would buy it, but it's there. I buy a lot of things like amonds in bulk. You can also buy fresh peanut butter - as much or as little as you want. You press a button and a machine makes it for you. My favorite is the almond butter. You can even buy things like dog food in bulk.
Take advantage of the bulk buying. Also, whatever they have on sale is typically a great bargain. I suggest scanning the aisles first to see what's on sale before you start loading your cart. Many things are even cheaper than Wal-mart when on sale. Now that's a good deal! Try it out. I think you might like it!
When I lived in Orange County, there were Asian markets everywhere. Maybe there wasn't always one right around the corner, but they were always abundant and convenient. In fact, many ethnic markets of all varieties are easily found there. The Inland Empire is certainly a culturally diverse place to live, but there aren't as many places to shop for ethnic foods. The funny thing is that my friends often say that I'm the whitest Asian guy they've ever met. After all, I was born and raised in California and my dad's side of the family has been in Hawaii for generations. So, I'm a little detached from my roots. LOL. I digress...
Han Ma Eum World Market recently came to Rancho Cucamonga (right before Christmas 07 I think). This is a very large Asian market, with the core emphasis on Korean food. I see a very wide variety of shoppers frequenting this market, not just Asians. The prices on various ethnic foods is pretty decent, and the prices on produce is excellent. Also, the quality and freshness of the foods is hard to beat. I will do a more detailed review in the near future, but in the meantime, I highly recommend you visit if you haven't done so already. Right off the corner of Carnelian and 19th street in Rancho Cucamonga (just south of the 210 freeway).
Welcome to my blog. I've lived in the Inland Empire for about 10 years now and love it. Sure, it gets really hot in the summer and it gets pretty cold in the winter, but it's home. There are many things to do and see; it has really grown in the short period of time I have lived here. Through my rambling posts, I'll discuss things that are happening in the Inland Empire, talk about some things to do or see, places I've shopped, etc. Enjoy your visit and leave some comments :)
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