...to slow down time!

A lot has happened in the last month: July 4th celebrations, a wedding on Mackinac Island, and a summer flu. Now we are getting ready for the International Surf Festival. Yipee!

Well, let's see what I remember...I remember spending some quality time on the beach for the 4th of July weekend and watching Redondo's fireworks from the Manhattan Beach Pier. Well done! Then my niece came to visit from PA. We got to see Hollywood and Griffith Park Observatory and then she watched my kids while my husband and I went to a wedding on Mackinac Island, MI and to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Again, where does the time go? It was a wonderful vacation. Have you ever seen the movie, Somewhere In Time? It's filmed on Mackinac Island. Very pretty.

Congrats to Chuck and Mercedes on their marriage. You had the best wedding cake ever! Love ya!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as we are. By the way, my daughter has a season pass with Beach Sports. I highly recommend it! She loves it!

Finally, to quote Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat "I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend"! Happy Anniversary honey!

THE MB Grand Prix

The Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. How exciting! It seemed like the racers this year were very intense. This is a picture taken at the corner of my house looking up Valley Rd. This is the fourth race I've seen and every time I am very impressed.

I've never appreciated biking because I grew up on a hilly country road where there wasn't a place or need to bike. But my husband grew up on a bike and has always loved it. His passion for recreational biking has rubbed off on me. We'd even love to own a bike shop. There seems to be a better system for renting bikes in Hermosa than in Manhattan Beach. But we haven't tried either, yet. We've stopped into Fun Bunns in Manhattan Beach (it's on Manhattan Ave, just south of Manhattan Beach Blvd.) a couple times and have enjoyed meeting the owners. What do you think? Is it easy to rent a bike in Manhattan Beach? Or does the shop need a little something else? Is that why The Shade Hotel and The Belamar have bikes of their own to rent to our visitors?

Well, hope you all had a nice weekend. Wasn't Sunday afternoon on the beach spectacular? And, I hope I congratulate Ryan Begley correctly for finishing in the top 10 in his Cat 3 race at the MB Grand Prix this year!

HAPPY SUMMER!

Baby Stuff

Hello everyone, hope you had a nice weekend. Yesterday, we thoroughly enjoyed the annual Manhattan Beach Wine Auction that benefits the MB Education Foundation. They outdid themselves again. The food was amazing and the wine superb! Thank you! Loved the music too!

So, I have my little 10 month old cousin from Pennsylvania coming to visit next month and need to buy or borrow a few baby items. I have long since given away my bulky baby supplies (thank God). I thought I'd try the store I've passed for 4 years, but never had the need to visit, Children's Orchard. Children's Orchard is at 2701 Sepulveda Blvd in MB. They mostly have clothes, but they do have some baby equipment and even furniture. I didn't leave with what I initially went in for, but did buy a cute toy that I hope he will like. What's nice is that she put me on her wish list, so she will call me if they receive any items that I'm looking for. It is owned by two sisters and their mom and I met one of the sisters, who was very nice and helpful. What a great business and would recommend it to anyone with young children.

Enjoy the week!

Great Community Event

I am so lucky to have been able to participate in the Grand View Gator 5k this past weekend! The results are in and I must say the the feeling of pride is great! By the way, that last hill to the finish line up 24th Street was killer!

When we first moved here 4 years ago, we would watch and cheer the runners go by and never in a million years did I think I would be a participant one day. So when I ran by our house and my daughter and neighbors cheered for me, it felt so good. It's only my second 5k, but I am already psyched to do the next one. I'm even considering working toward doing the Hometown Fair 10k. It's a scary thought, but I'm amazed that I'm even considering it.

Thank you to all the volunteers that made that wonderful community event happen. I hope it was successful for you too. Also, thank you to all of the sponsors for the event. I love my Murad gift bag and coupons for Fresh Brothers Pizza and Grow!

Finally, a shout out to my friend Leslie who finished 4th in her age bracket. Way to go!

Memorial Day Weekend

First of all, thank you to the men and women who have lost their lives defending our country. Memorial Day is a time to stop and think about the many heroes our country has. The stories are so remarkable. God bless their families.

We had a nice holiday weekend. The Hermosa Fiesta Fair was fun as usual, we enjoyed some time at the beach, and of course, we savored a delicious BBQ with friends. Every time I go to the Hermosa Fair, I can't wait to go to the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair. This year it will be on Oct 1st and 2nd.

Cloops had a booth at the Hermosa Fair. I signed up for Cloops a few months ago and have surprisingly used it 3 times already. Check out their website and sign up for the daily emails. I think you will find it very interesting. It can save you quite a few dollars and it helps you learn more about the local businesses. Just be sure to read the conditions. Some of them are for first time customers only.

Well, enjoy the short week. I'm looking forward to the Grandview Gator run on Saturday morning. It will be my second 5k ever. Wish me luck!

...To Go Camping

We went camping at Thornhill Broome State Beach in Point Mugu State Park this past weekend. What a great weekend trip for the family. From Manhattan Beach, it only took just over an hour to get there, however, it could take much longer depending on traffic. Our tent was right on the beach, so it was an awesome experience to listen to the waves all night long. My favorite sound is when the rocks tumble over one another.

We also took a hike along La Jolla Canyon Trail. It has a small waterfall about 0.8 miles in. Then the trail after that narrows and becomes very interesting. We only went a little over a mile, but next time we will plan to go further. Since it's spring, many of the flowers were blooming and the whole canyon was echoing the sound of buzzing bees. It was pretty cool to hear.

Overall, the short trip with friends and family was a refreshing experience. It tapped into all of your senses. The smell of campfires, the sight of beautiful pelicans diving in the ocean, the sounds of waves crashing, the feel of the crisp air against your skin, and the taste of espresso, bacon and pancakes in the morning. I highly recommend it.

So, to stay on my blog topic here. I wanted to give REI, Manhattan Beach, a thumbs up. They helped us get ready for our little excursion. I haven't been in there very much, but I intend on going back. They are a bit expensive, but their customer service is unique. I get a feeling that they are honest and are good at steering you in the right direction.

A post on the Post

So, we finally got a seat on Sunday evening at the bar at MB Post. I was skeptical at first, but in a very short time, they won me over. Sal, the bartender, had excellent customer service and made us feel very welcome. I thought that with all of their new found fame, that I would not get any special attention. But their fame has not gone to their head, yet.

As for the menu, I think it is very well done. Growing up in the restaurant business, critiquing restaurants is second nature. We started with their pretzel and spicy horseradish mustard. The horseradish rush in my sinuses was not disappointing! Loved it! We also ordered their pickles and olive appetizers. Loved it! The Racer 5 IPA by Bear Republic was a nice compliment to the food. Well, I couldn't stop there, so we ordered the GINORMOUS Fe Fi Fo Fum French Fries and the Green Beans with Pork plate. Wow! What a treat!

All I can say is 'Keep up the good work'. Although a little expensive, you get what you pay for. I look forward to going back. THANKS!

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on MB Post. The only thing I would suggest is that they have an extra bartender to care for the "simple drink" drinkers. So that if the main bartenders are busy making their 5 minute specialty drinks (which look amazing), I can just hop in and grab a beer, quick like a bunny.

Gold in Manhattan Beach

Don't you just love all those "We Buy Gold" commercials? My first impression is that I don't trust that they would give me a fair deal. So when a friend of mine wanted to see if she could sell some family jewelry, I cringed at the thought of getting some appraisals. However, she remembered seeing a sign "We Buy Gold" in the window of Jolie' Designs jewelry store next to Whale of a Wash on Manhattan Ave. I have never been in there, because I didn't think it had anything that I would like. However, I really loved everything in there. Who doesn't get distracted by something so shiny and pretty?

So, Helen, store owner, very patiently went through all of our jewelry and made the whole experience quite pleasant. She made us feel welcome and I felt confident that she was going to be honest. We will likely go back again and I would recommend it to everyone.

What's my point? I often wonder how a business is successful, if, every time I walk by, I don't see many visitors to it. However, I can see how Helen will be successful, because she has excellent customer service and has found an extra way to reach out to the public by offering to buy gold. I hope that she continues to get more people into her store, because once she has a customer, they will become repeat customers.

Great Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day weekend. I certainly did, thanks to my wonderful husband and kids.

Last evening was a bit windy and cool, but we went over to Bruce Park to watch the sun set and play basketball. What a treat.

I was wondering if residents in that area look for a certain type of business that would be local, such as a coffee shop, deli, or convenience store. I think the closest businesses would be at the Marine and Highland intersection. The Sushi Gallery is available. I heard that it used to be a deli before it was Cork Screw ( I really miss their Philly Cheesesteaks!). I wonder why the deli closed? Is it a parking issue? Well, if anyone has some input on that location, I'd love to hear it, just to get some ideas.

Thanks and have a great day!

Another Glorious Day in MB...

We really enjoyed our day on the beach! We are so blessed to be able to bike down to the pier in the morning, take a run down to Hermosa Beach Pier and back, bike home, get ready for the beach (which takes awhile with kids), bike back down to the beach, then just sit back and relax. And after all that, we took in a couple of Navy Grogs at Rock n Fish to top off our day.

We love Rock n Fish! Our favorite watering hole. Everyone is so nice in there. I love how flexible it is. We can either roll in from the beach or dress up and enjoy the nightlife.

And then look at tonight's sunset....I love to see all the people enjoying the evening!
Happy Sunday everyone! Oh, and happy May 1st! A shout out to Leslie....11 years in South Bay....congrats!

Awesome sunset!

We had dinner at BrewCo tonight and watched the sunset. How amazing! We were lucky enough to have a table that overlooked the sun setting. We love their German pretzel with spicy mustard. Perfect compliment to their vast selection of amazing brews.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was very nice. I wish there were more places in MB that offered that view.

And we're off...

So let's get right down to it...I'd like to pick your brain.

Have you ever said to yourself, "I wish downtown Manhattan Beach had ________________". Fill in the blank. For example, I really miss having Toy Jungle downtown, so i wish they had a toy store.

Care to share?

Let's start at the beginning...

So first of all, I'm not a writer. My background is engineering. So please forgive my writing. It's a painstaking task for me. 

I was hoping to start a blog in order to gather information from other Manhattan Beach (MB) residents and from visitors about their experiences with businesses in MB. I think, someday, I'd like to open a small business in MB, but first I need to know what kind of needs are out there. "See a need, Fill a need". 

At the same time, I think it would be cool to just share information with others in our community. You never know who may be having the same issues as you. And it's sometimes easier to find solutions when you share your problem. For example, I have a 9th grader at Mira Costa and a 3rd grader at Pacific. I'm always looking for ways to streamline our very busy daily lives. Local businesses help me do that and I prefer to give them the business. What is spent in MB, stays in MB, or at least some of it.

In summary, I hope that this blog is a win-win for both blogger and bloggee (is that a word?) Thanks in advance for your insights. Who knows, you might discover something new...