Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Hiking Review...Christmas Tree Cove and Point Vicente Lighthouse..






Highlights: Spectacular Ocean views/View of Catalina and South Bay
Scenery: Ocean Views/meadows/dirt path to hike along
Hike Time: About a hour each
Difficulty: Easy. Flat dirt trail.
Rating: 4 Stars (I would have given it a 5 but it wasn’t much of a challenge for me and the views didn’t really vary, I’m a.d.d. ;)
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Summary: If you are looking for a well maintained, scenic , easy flat hike, these two hikes are for you. They are within 1.5 miles of each other so I attempted both on the same day. I started off with the Christmas Tree Cove excursion, which is known for it’s amazing diving. I was disappointed because I did not find the trailhead down to the Christmas Cove. Half of the hike was a dirt path along the sparkling Pacific Ocean and the other half was through a pretty residential area.
 The Point Vicente Lighthouse was located on a rambling cliff. Unfortunately, it was not open for a tour when I was there. It is only open every other second Saturday of the month. Whale watching is very popular from there, so it is a popular place to have a picnic lunch. The hike was pretty similar to the Christmas Tree Cove hike, flat, along the ocean and you follow a dirt path. There isn’t any shade on either trail so I wouldn’t recommend the hikes on a hot summer day.

Directions  to Trailhead: Christmas Tree Cove- From the Pacific Coast Highway, head South on Palos Verdes Blvd for 1.4 miles. Turn right on Palos Verdes Drive West. In 3.8 miles, turn right on Paseo Lunado which becomes Paseo Del Mar. You'll see the park on your right.
Point Vicente Lighthouse/Hike- 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes. From the southern end of Interstate 110, follow Gaffey Street south through San Pedro roughly two miles to 25th Street. Turn right on 25th street. Follow 25th Street 2.7 miles until it turns into Palos Verdes Drive.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Week of 3/8....



Welcome back to Fabulous Things To Do In LA :) I know it's been awhile, I just moved to Redondo, so I felt it was time to bring it back..There are some really fun events coming up esp. for St. Patrick's Day, and of course the way gas is going up in price, happy hours and sample sales are always welcome:)!! I added a new category, cute date deals, and I really want to check out the "Do Good Bus Ride" on 3/9, a mystery community service adventure?? I'm so in :)
Week of 3/8-3/21

Events
Wednesdays- Free Public Planetarium Shows- http://www.astro.ucla.edu/planetarium/
3/8-August- Electric Dusk Drive In- Drive-In Movies in the heart of Downtown LA- http://electricduskdrivein.ticketleap.com/
3/8-3/9-LA’s Irish Fair & Music Festival- http://la-irishfair.com/
3/9- Breakfast with the Easter Bunny- http://www.santamonicaplace.com/Events/Details/168960?startDate=3%2F9%2F2013
3/10- 2013 Woofstock- The day-long pet extravaganza will include a Pet Parade, pet related vendors, pet adoptions, pet related entertainment, and food vendors.-http://thisweekinsocal.com/2011/03/2011-woofstock-90210-2/
3/10- Festival of the Kite- Redondo Beach- http://www.redondopier.com/event/38th-annual-festival-of-the-kite/
3/10- Around the World Wine Tasting- Over 50 different Wines to taste from various countries- Shade Hotel, 1000 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach- http://www.localwineevents.com/events/detail/465295/manhattan-beach-around-the-world-wine-tasting
3/12- Los Angeles Times Wine of The Times- http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5524766726#
3/15-3/16- Santa Monica’s Official St. Paddy’s Day Bar Crawl- http://www.barcrawls.com/santa-monica
3/16- St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hermosa Beach- http://www.southbayevents.com/events/saint-patricks-day-parade-hermosa-beach.asp
3/16- Santa Monica Airport Artwalk- http://www.smgov.net/Portals/Culture/content.aspx?id=15034
3/17- Los Angeles Marathon- http://www.lamarathon.com/
3/18-4/26- LA Tourism’s Annual Discover The Arts in Los Angeles- More than 40 of LA’s leading museums and performance groups invited you to save up to 50% on admission- http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/discover-the-arts-los-angeles?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Post&utm_term=DTA&utm_content=030813&utm_campaign=SocialMedia

Happy Hours/Food Deals (Focused mostly on the Southbay this week, I just moved here :)
3/8-3/15- Old Pasadena Happy Hour Week- http://www.oldpasadena.org/happyhourweek/
Every day- 3-6:30pm- Full size appetizers at discounted prices and $4-5 drinks- Kincaid’s, 500 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach- http://www.kincaids.com/menu.php?c=redondobeach&id=Bar%20Menu#12
Mon.- 4-6pm- $3 everything on the menu incl. imported beers/select wine and sangria- Dominque’s Kitchen, 522 S. Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach- http://www.southbayfoodies.com/2013/01/28/menage-a-trois-monday-means-happy-hour-at-dominiques-kitchen-redondo-beach/
Mon.-Fri.- Starts at 2pm- $4 margaritas/well drinks/wine/domestic beer/$3 off tequila bar food- El Torito, 100 Fishermans Wharf, Redondo Beach- http://www.eltorito.com/tequila-bar.html
Mon.-Fri.- 4-6pm- Buy any drink and get the second for .25, Food varies from $2.50-3.75- Sharkeez, Hermosa Pier
Mon.-Fri.- 3-7pm/Mon.-Tues. 11pm-1am- $3 beers/well drinks/house wines, $5 specialty cocktails- American Junkie, Hermosa Pier
Mon.-Fri.- 5-7:30pm- $5 on all food and drinks- Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach
Mon.-Fri.- 4-6pm/ Sun.-Thurs. 9:30-midnight- $3 domestic beer/house wine/well cocktail- Fish Bar, Hermosa Beach
Mon.-Fri.- 4-8pm- Half priced drinks/food varies $2.95-4.95-Patrick Molloy- Hermosa Beach Pier
Mon.-Fri.- 4-6pm- $5 beers/cocktails/select appetizers- Cheesecake Factory, King Harbor, Redondo Beach

Shopping/Sample & Warehouse Sales
3/8-3/10- Sienna Rose Sample Sale (50-75% off)- 433 Colyton Ave, Los Angeles- 10am-3pm- Cash/cc only
3/14- 3/24- Mishka Warehouse Sale (up to 75% off)- 7817 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles- 12-8pm Mon.-Sat./12-6pm Sundays - Cash Only
3/14- 3/16-Greylin Sample Sale (up to 80% off)- 2812 S. Grand Ave, Los Angeles- 8am-5pm (3/14-3/15) 9am-1pm (3/16)- Cash/cc only
3/20-3/22- ShoeDazzle Sample Sale (50-75% off)(Shoes & Handbags)- 3530 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 210, Los Angeles- 11am-4pm

Cute Date Deal Ideas
2 Hr Flying Trapeze Class- $39 pp (reg.$87pp)- http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Beach-Cities/Other/44549
Sunset Cruise with drinks- $25 pp (reg $50)- http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Los-Angeles-Area/Other/43509
All Day Skiing At Mt. Baldy- $29 pp (reg $69)- http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Los-Angeles/Other/43710
Hands on Art Night with Apps & Wine- $25pp (reg $75)- http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/San-Fernando-Valley/Other/44310
H.O.M.E. Murder Mystery- Beverly Hills live jazz supper club dinner, drinks and a classic “whodunit?” murder mystery- $39 (reg $95)- http://www.giltcity.com/los-angeles/homemysterylamar?utm_medium=email&utm_term=1160141&utm_source=city&utm_campaign=ME-502097582-los-angeles&utm_content=homemysterylamar
Sunset/Day Sail- http://local.amazon.com/los-angeles/B00BEN7T9M

Events For A Cause
3/9- Polar Plunge- Benefits the Special Olympics- http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1046370
3/9- Do Good Bus Ride- Help your community, each trip is different and the locations are a secret- https://www.purplepass.com/#983/Do_Good_Bus-Do_Good_Bus_-_March_Community_Ride-Pick_Up_Location_TBD-March-09-2013.html
3/10- Carnival at the Pier- Benefits Children’s Bureau- http://www.all4kids.org/event-info.php?FileName=angelic-event
3/15- 2nd Annual LA Breast Cancer Fundraiser- http://labcf-eventful.eventbrite.com/r/eventful#
3/15- Casino Night & Silent Auction in Marina Del Rey- Benefits the alcoholism Center For Women- http://eventful.com/marinadelrey/events/casino-night-silent-auction-/E0-001-054799607-0
3/22- All 7 of the Cirque Du Soleil Las Vegas productions will be going dark and staging a benefit performance to benefit “One Drop” a nonprofit organization to ensure safe and secure water supplies around the world- http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-las-vegas-cirque-benefit-show-20130307,0,110376.story

Networking
3/20-L7 Networking Cocktail Mixer- http://www.l7scene.com/eventDetail.asp?eventID=437

Upcoming
4/21- Alvin Ailey Dance will be having a cocktail hour and meet & greet- Message @TheLAScene on Twitter for more details