Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday's Soar and Explore

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Have you been to the San Diego County Fair yet, this year? We went this week and while I didn't "soar" on the bungee, it was great fun to watch! It got my heart pumping just watching these brave folks on this exhilarting looking ride! We did however go on some "tamer" rides and enjoy some of the crazy foods they got going on there! Bacon-wrapped-cheese-filled-mushrooms!!!! Can you say "heart-attack-in-the-works"!!! Even the food sign had a girl with a fibrillator ready for electric shocks to the heart! CRA-ZY!

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Anyway, there was lots of other good stuff as well, bbq'd corn, pineapple, sweet potatoes and more. Good stuff!

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Oh, and if you go to the fair, be sure to check out the beautiful garden displays. In conjunction with the fair's theme this year, they are "Out of this World"!


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Where'd you "Soar and Explore" to this week? Let us know. Share on our Facebook or here in the comments.

Have a great weekend!





Keep Soaring and Exploring! 

Your Soaring Mama, 

Mandy





Sunday, June 24, 2012

Soaring on a Sunday

Fireworks in Chino Valley

Summer is here and it's the best time of year in San Diego, well, when isn't the best time of year in San Diego, to enjoy the sunshine, play at the beach, swim, go to parks, amusement parks, water parks, well....we have just about everything here that anyone can enjoy! Whether you live here or are a visitor, you are sure to enjoy your summer. Here's a few things you might enjoy as well as some great 4th of Jully events coming up next week!


Monday, June 25th-August 27th, 7:30-9:30 pm and FREE! 25th Annual Summer International Organ Festival, Balboa Park, San Diego.


Thursday, June 28th, 6-8pm. Tower After Hours: Japan. Join the museum on June 28th as they honor Japan and San Diego’s Japanese-American community with traditional food tastings, Sapporo beer, drinks, music, dance, martial arts, and presentations by local cultural arts groups.


Saturday and Sunday, June 30th and July 1st. Reptile Super Show, San Diego. Snakeds, Lizards, Geckos, oh my! And so much more. Come see these reptilian pets and maybe even bring one home!


June 16th-August 19th, August 25-26 and September 1-3. Summer Nights at Seaworld. Nighttime shows and fireworks. Great time to visit this local park for fun in the summer evenings and day.


June 8th-July 4th. The San County Diego Fair is going on right now! This year they are "Out of this world!" with an explore space theme. The fair is closed on Mondays. Check the website for hours and other details.


Summer Concert Series at various park locations.


Independence Day events:


Saturday, June 30th, 10 am. Oceanside Independence Day Parade. Dancers, floats, equestrian units, family fun, classic cars and more!


Wednesday, July 4th. San Diego Bay and other locations in SD. Big Bay Boom at 9pm.  "In its 11th year, this display features multiple barges discharging simultaneously from around Shelter Island, Harbor Island, North Embarcadero and Chula Vista. There will also be a display from the end of the Imperial Beach Pier."


Wednesday, July 4th. Coronado Independence Day Celebrations.   Fireworks at 9pm and parade.


Wednesday, July 4th, 4:30-9:30 pm. Fireworks at 9pm.  Escondido July 4th Celebration and Fireworks, to be held at Grape Day Park. "There will be plenty of free entertainment, including magicians, baton twirlers, musical performances, children's arts projects, contests, and fireworks.Refreshments will be available for purchase. Bring a picnic and blanket. But the park doesn't allow any of these items: Tall chairs, alcohol, pets and barbecues."


Wednesday, July 4th, 9pm. Imperial Beach Pier July 4th Fireworks. Free event.


Wednesday, July 4th. Julian 4th of July Parade. "The Julian 4th of July Parade honors stars, stripes and pioneers. Known far and wide as the “best little small town parade in America,” Julian presents a homegrown event that celebrates the town’s gold rush era history, the dedication of veterans and active duty military who serve our country, and local residents who cherish the special qualities of the little town tucked into the Cuyamaca Mountains east of San Diego."


Wednesday, July 4th. Historic Old Town Fourth of July. An old-fashioned celebration of July 4th. Parade, crafts and activities of early San Diego. Wagon rides, period games, music, food specials, pie-eating contest and more. Flag raising, keynote speaker, military involvement.


Wednesday, July 4th, fireworks at 9pm.  La Jolla Cove Fireworks Celebration. Fireworks will blast off at 9pm from La Jolla Cove. The sparkled display can best be seen from Ellen Browning Scripps Park, and nearby La Jolla Shores and Kellogg Park.


Wednesday, July 4th. San Diego County Fair July 4th Fireworks at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.


Wednesday, July 4th, 3:30pm-9:20pm. Santee Salutes July 4th at the Town Center. The celebration will feature carnival rides, games, inflatables, a food court, firework, and live musical performances by Danielle Tucker Band – Rockin' contemporary country and The Mighty Untouchables – Motown through today's Top 40 Hits.




Have a great week!



Keep Soaring and Landing Safely,

In Beautiful, Sunny

San Diego!

Your Soaring Mama,

Mandy

Friday, June 15, 2012

Friday's Soar and Explore



From Jun 15, 2012

We had our monthly Lego/Anime Club this week at the Ramona County Library. It's always so much fun and so many fun activities while there. We also discovered, from some visiting local school kids, that the library has a Chess Club on Tuesdays, Music Club on Fridays, and crafts every Friday. I know all the county libraries have wonderful programs all year long and also have the fun Summer Reading Programs every year. What great things does your local library offer?

Have a great weekend!




Keep Soaring and Exploring! 

Your Soaring Mama, 

Mandy




Friday, June 8, 2012

Friday's Soar & Explore

From SDFS Comedy Club 6/5/12
This week we were at Harry Griffen Park in La Mesa for our unschooling group, the Funschooler's, Comedy Club Show. It was very "SNL" in nature. They had a news report, weather report, how homeschoolers change a lightbulb (hilarious!), a funny hot cocoa skit. It was a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day at the park. Here is Violet practicing her lines pre-show and Livi just hanging out with Olivier, our rescue chihuahua mix. Here's a few taken at Harry Griffen earlier this year. It's a really lovely park with a doggie park area and a nice outdoor amphitheater as well as a nice play ground and a large open space for kite flying, running around, hula hooping or anything you desire to do while there!
From SDFS May Day at Harry Griffen Park
(You can see the amphitheater in the background of this one)

From SDFS May Day at Harry Griffen Park
(Pretty flowers in the springtime)


 Have a great weekend and remember to keep Soaring and Exploring, beautiful, Sunny San Diego! Your Soaring Mama, Mandy

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

June Gloom? Not here in Ramona

Welcome to Ramona
One of the wonderful things about living inland, in East County San Diego (actually, we're a bit north, just below San Diego Safari Park in Escondido) is the beautiful blue sky days throughout most of the year. It does get a bit warm come Aug/Sept, and there's those pesky fires that come through every few years, ahem. But, it really is a quiet, peaceful place to live.


one hump or two?
There's many local activities and we're just 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to most places in San Diego County.  Here, in Ramona, we're 20 minutes to the Safari Park, and 30 minutes to Escondido, which has the Center for the Arts, SD Children's Museum, Kit Carson Park-home to Queen Calafia's Magical Circle, Sikes Adobe, beautiful Felicita Park. And, here in Ramona we have the lovely Dos Picos Park.  We have an awesome glass company which has semi-annual glass blowing demonstrations. We have the Oasis Camel Dairy which also has open houses and tours throughout the year. We have our own small town fair, with 4H showings and the usual rides and attractions found at most small town fairs. We even have a Mainstage Theater with many known bands appearing.


I love to buy local and there's organic farms as well as many small businesses that I frequent and try to do my part to keep them in business. There's beautiful, old oak trees and prickly pear cactus. Our spring time is lovely and it actually gets quite green and lots of lovely spring flowers including poppies and other colorful flowers.


Family of turkeys


It's not uncommon to see wild turkeys crossing the road out here, and many other beautiful creatures. There's the annual Hawk Watch during January and February. There's several goat, sheep and chicken farms here.
Also, we are just 1/2 hour to Julian, home to the famous Julian pies. In Julian, there's also the Smith Ranch where one can take a train ride and a gold mine tour and learn about pioneer life. And, also lots of great places to camp and the quaint little town of Julian is fun to visit during the Winter Holidays. Apple picking in the Fall is always one of our favorite things to do.
Lovely Oaks
We really love it here and plan to stay for many years in this little town. It's amazing how quickly 6 years has flown by. Hope you can come out and visit our lovely little town sometime. It's a beautiful drive here from any direction you come.


Tell us about your town and what's great about it. We'd love to here about all the pockets of San Diego and fun things to do that we might now know about!


Until then,




Keep Soaring and Landing Safely,

In Beautiful, Sunny

San Diego!

Your Soaring Mama,

Mandy

Monday, June 4, 2012

Soaring on a Sunday

Splash


It's a beautiful Sunday in San Diego and summer feels like it's upon us already! Warm temps, blue skies, beach days, and pool time! Lots of great ways to cool off and lots of fun summer activities coming up soon.

Here's a few of them;

June 8th. World Oceans Day. Happening "All Over", and Birch Aquarium in La Jolla is celebrating on June 8th & 9th, 11am-3pm. Explore the aquarium in Seussian style as you spot fish with zany names and odd shapes. Learn about fish diversity as you peer through microscopes, touch shark skin, and observe swimming fish. Enjoy a fishy scavenger hunt and story times throughout the day. Included with admission.


June 8th. World Oceans Day Beach Clean-up with San Diego Coastkeeper. For all beach cleanups, please wear comfortable clothes, closed-toed shoes and sunscreen. All volunteers (individuals as well as groups) are welcome to participate and must sign a liability waiver. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian present at the beginning of the cleanup to sign a liability waiver before the minor can participate. Registration is not required unless a group is larger than 25 people – to register please contact beachcleanup@sdcoastkeeper.org. We will have supplies on hand, but volunteers should bring their own reusable gloves, reusable bag/bucket and/or reusable water bottle to reduce waste. As a volunteer, you play an active role in determining the sources of trash on our beaches. After all beach cleanups, please be prepared to fill out a data card detailing the types of trash that you collected. We post this data on our website and track trends over time, then communicate it to your community leaders.


Month of June. North County Arts & Culture in June. If you are looking for something fun to do this June, then take a drive up the coast and experience arts and culture in North County. Six North County San Diego institutions are presenting the second annual North County Arts & Culture in June, a month-long opportunity for the public to enjoy half-off admission at the following six participating museums: California Surf Museum Lux Art Institute Museum of Making Music Oceanside Museum of Art San Diego Botanic Garden San Diego Children's Discovery Museum


June 6th, 4 and 7pm. WOW First Wednesdays, free performances at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. This month is the Too Much Fun Band,Born from a desire to make audiences smile, Too Much Fun pours out a toe-tapping, hand-clapping sound that resonates with the American heart, performing Old Rock to Country Rock to Country to Blue Grass.


June 9th, Carlsbad Beach Fest. The festival features competitive sporting events, live music on multiple stages, food, green product vendors, kite-flying, sand-sculpting, a health and safety expo, opportunity drawings and prizes, a massive beach cleanup, and much more.


Through September 3rd, Washed Ashore exhibit at the Chula Vista Nature Center. Washed Ashore: Plastics, Sea Life & Art is a nationally acclaimed, environmental art exhibit featuring massive sculptures and other art pieces made entirely of marine debris collected from beaches, such as plastic ropes, nets, toys, cigarette lighters, flip-flops, Frisbees and more. The community art project brings attention to the global crisis of ocean pollution and the impact of “disposable” plastics that threaten marine animals and habitats. The vision of Oregon-based artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, Washed Ashore is designed to educate, entertain and inspire guests of all ages. This interactive art experience runs through September 3rd, 2012 at the Chula Vista Nature Center before beginning its worldwide tour.


June 9th, 1pm-4pm.  Second Saturday Workshop: Fiber Arts at the Museum Art School at the San Diego Museum of Art.


Summer Camps coming up....


Summer Art Camp at the San Diego Zoo


Summer Camp at Safari Park


San Diego Junior Theatre Summer Camps at Balboa Park and Village of La Jolla


Surf Camp with Ocean Experience Surf School - Sign on San Diego currently has an online deal.


Mad Science Summer Camps


Summer Camp at the Nat


San Diego Air & Space Museum summer camp


San Diego Museum of Art


The New Children's Museum, San Diego


San Diego Children's Discovery Museum, Escondido


Chula Vista Nature Center Summer Camps


If you don't see what you like here, there's a wonderful Summer Camp Guide at the Patch, here.


Have a great week!






Keep Soaring and Landing Safely,

In Beautiful, Sunny

San Diego!

Your Soaring Mama,

Mandy

Friday, June 1, 2012

Friday's Soar and Explore


From LIG Mini Minecon


We're back, and rested!!! We had a great time in Corvallis, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington visiting friends and enjoying the Life is Good Unschooling Conference. I don't have a local "Soar & Explore" photo for you this week, but I do have this fun photo taken at the LIG Mini-Minecon Funshop that my daughter really enjoyed while there! Back to some local SD shots next Friday, but in case you haven't been keeping up with all the upcoming fun activities this weekend on our Facebook page,   I'm posting it all for you here today!

Enjoy your weekend!


Saturday & Sunday, 9am-4pm. Wings Over Gillespie Air Show: A Salute to 100 Years of U.S. Marine Corps Aviation. An impressive array of vintage airplanes plus an area for kids, educational displays, food and more. $10-$90. Gillespie Field, 1960 Joe Crosson Dr., El Cajon. Visit Air Show for more info.

 Saturday & Sunday, 9 am-9 pm. 33rd Annual Fiesta del Sol in Solana Beach. This free festival features live bands, an arts & crafts fair, gourmet food trucks and a kids area with rides, climbing wall & hands-on activities. Adjacent to Fletcher Cove, bordered by South Sierra Ave & Acacia Ave. Visit Fiesta del Sol for list of performers and more info.

 Saturday, June 2nd.  Celebrate National Trails Day Enjoy the great outdoors by taking a family hike or helping to restore a trail. Special hikes and cleanups are planned at 17 local parks.

Starts June 1st.  Summer Movies in the Park is a perfect chance to relax and enjoy a safe and special night under the stars. Come early and get a good seat! Movies will begin at dusk. Movies are subject to change.


Saturday, June 2nd, 1-4:45pm.  In conjunction with the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America, on exhibit until September 9, 2012, the San Diego Museum of Man is giving you the opportunity to ride on a real half pipe mini-ramp (provided by Spohn Ranch) inside the Museum on special public skate days!  And, pros demo the half-pipe from 1-3pm on Saturday too!!!


Starts Today.  Enjoy half-price admission at six participating museums & institutions in San Diego North County with a special passport available at Westfield Shopping Mall in Carlsbad and Escondido and download. For more information, visit: http://www.northcountyartsandculture.org/.

June 6th. 4 & 7pm.  Wow! First Wednesdays. Free concert at Escondido Center for the Arts. Featuring the Too Much Fun Band.



Keep Soaring and Exploring! 

Your Soaring Mama, 

Mandy