NYE 2010 - Ticos Travels and Adventures

I just realized that our website is kind of common to Tico Travel, a travel company for Costa Ricans and Costa Rica.  Hence, the name Tico.  B and I went to Costa Rica for 8-9 nights in the fall of 2008; and we really loved it. We have been to many other places since; but Costa Rica held a great spot as far as one of our best travels.  From driving the wrong way back and forth in the middle of the night through downtown San Jose, to getting stuck for an hour waiting for our turn on a bridge while driving south close to the Panama border on our way to Manuel Antonio, and almost running into a mouse-sized dog who got out of the fence when we were driving in the dusk through muddy rain in the hills of Monteverde to get to La Fortuna.  Bryan almost got mobbed by a dozen taxi drivers who are eager to take him to wherever.  He also almost got in trouble with the armed security guard inside a bank in Canas, which is a seedy looking city mid-point on our way to Tamarindo from La Fortuna.  A second after we got out of our car in Jaco, after driving from Tamarindo, we were approached by a curly american tween boy and said "got weed?" - which means he's got some to sell to us.  We politely said no.  There's also the confusion of being in San Ramon, San Jose, versus San Ramon the city itself. 

We had a cheapie rental car and I think it was called AVEO, or ALTO; and its wheels were as thick as the regular bikes'.  It was definitely a fun trip, and we often laugh about it.  We bartered our way to almost all of the hotels we stayed at - from grand Gran Hotel in San Jose, to wonderful views in luxurious Parador in Manuel Antonio, to heavenly Tabacon Resorts in La Fortuna; and on to cheap hotels like Tropicana Hotel ($40) in Tamarindo, to La Posada ($40) in San Ramon, and another one in Jaco, but our favorite is this small outfit hotel just outside of La Fortuna, which cost us $40, and it's colored orange and blue.  One of my favorite photos of B was taken from that hotel because of its beautiful color inside and out of the hotel, in the middle of the rainforest paradise.

Anyhoo, when we got a dog, I knew I was going to call him Tico.  B wanted to call him Enzo, so I told him we'll use it as his middle name instead.  People have had a hard time trying to pronounce his name, and we only had one or two people actually recognize his name as what it was...Tico means a male Costa Rican native in Costa Rica.  A female counterpart is Tica.  If we do get another dog, it will be likely another German Shepherd male; and this time, his name will be Enzo.  For now, we'll concentrate on Tico, and give him the best adventure for the next 10 or so more years that he'll be around us. 

I guess the point of this blog post is that, we are not related to Tico Travel.  So I changed it to Tico the large GSD dog's travels and adventures.  The blogspot address is another story - - because I want it to be a memorable address, but it's an improvement in positioning ourselves from the Tico Travel website. 

But no matter what, if Tico Travel customers do come across our website, welcome!  And happy travels!  But if you are really looking for Tico's Travels, the blog for all things related to our dog Tico's adventure as a large German Shepherd dog trying to make it in/around LA and hopefully across the continental US, welcome!  Either way, happy travels! 

And have a great new year!  Welcome to bigger and better things in 2011!

B and I had a night out at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant at The Grove, which is on 3rd and Fairfax near Beverly Hills.  The Grove is empty, and it's too pretty to see without the usual crowd.  It looked like a magical wonderland, with the waterfalls, the christmas decoarations, the large trees, and beautiful shops and stores.  A few of the restaurants had NYE dinner prix fixe menu, but we didn't have the funds to spend, and used one of the gift cards we received from the wedding to go to Maggiano's.  We then watched "Little Fockers" the movie at the Pacific Theatres, and walked over to the Farmer's Bar around the corner from the farmer's market.  The bar/patio area was a bust, and they played 70's music the entire time, so with 20 minutes to spare, we walked back to The Grove and entered Cheesecake Factory, which gave out free champagnes, New Year hats and noisemakers.  I got a seat at the bar, and watched Ryan Seacrest, Jenny McCarthy and Dick Clarke countdown the New Year's Eve Ball drop.   We rushed home afterwards to get to Tico within the first hour of 2011.  We would not miss our first hour of 2011 without our dog to celebrate with.  He was there with us in Napa last year when we got engaged - - we weren't going to break that tradition.

What's ahead for 2011

In 2011, our goal is to:

1. Go on a big week-long trip across the US with Tico
2. Go on a big week-long trip outside the continent without Tico
3. Try to check out something new at least once a month (new dog park, new dog beach, new dog-friendly restaurant, etc.)
4.  Go on small road trips with Tico, namely San Luis Obispo, Big Bear, Grand Canyon, Laughlin, Mammoth, Lake Tahoe, camp together.  He's never been to any of these, so it would be nice to go with him.
5.  Lose at least 10% of our bodies (Bryan and myself).  We clock in at 250 and 135 each, so 25 pounds and 14 pounds are not that hard to accomplish if we put our minds to it.  I lost a few before the wedding, but with the honeymoon cruise and the holidays, I did not care.  But a new year brings a new resolution, or so they say.  So we shall see.  Hence part of the reason for this blog.  It will give us accountability to a)Take Tico out to somewhere new as often as we could; and b)lose a few pounds ourselves with all of the activities at the same time

Year in Review: Early 2009

SCOTTSDALE AND SEDONA, ARIZONA, MEMORIAL WEEKEND 2009

At the time that B and I got Tico in February of 2009, I was fired from my job in November of 2008, and worked part-time for his grandfather to help pay the bills.  Bryan on the other hand, was still looking for a job.  We lived in Whittier.  When we got Tico, he was barely 15 pounds.  This is a picture of him during the Memorial Day weekend of 2009 on our trip to Sedona and Scottsdale, Arizona.  He was about 50-60 pounds or so during this time.  In a way, I was glad that B and I had a lot of time to ourselves during Tico's growth spurt, because he grew so fast.  I blinked my eyes and he's so big.  I had to carry him after our 2+ mile walks around Whitwood Village in Whittier, because he couldn't keep up and he gets tired easily.  Three months later, he looked like he could carry me.  Here's a few pictures of him during our time in Whittier.  He loved running around when we'd walk around Whitwood area.  I'll have him on a long leash and people are fascinated by a small dog with large ears and paws.  His ears would adorably fold inward, and we were concerned that it would stay that way, but gladly, it didn't.

Hotel in Scottsdale:
We stayed at 3 Palms Hotel in Scottsdale on 7707 E. Mcdowell Rd, Scottsdale.  It's across from the golf course and a dog-friendly park.  The rate was less than $100\night, and I think it costs $10 more for Tico.  The room was clean, modern, with a jacuzzi tub in the room.  What stood out with this hotel is the staff.  They are amazing, and accomodating.  We'd definitely come back here.   http://www.yelp.com/biz/3-palms-scottsdale

Eats in Scottsdale:
Here's a link to Avalon Scottsdale, which is right in front of 3 Palms Hotel.  The hotel gave us 20% off card to dine at the nice restaurant across from the hotel.  Their food and the ambiance was good as well, but the service is just great.  They opened the patio just for us so we got to dine outside, and Tico got to hang out with us on the other side of the fence.  It's a nice restaurant that looked fairly expensive, but we were sensible on our eating habits to know not to break the bank.  And the 20% off definitely helped.
http://www.avalon-scottsdale.com/

Eats in Sedona;
Wtih a dog in tow, we just picked up a couple of sandwiches on West Sedona. 

Activities in Sedona:
We hiked the Bell Rock, and Tico really loved the views from up there.  He's very good at climbing up, but climbing down is a little bit of a challenge.  Make sure to being lots of water, and maybe a wet towel because he kept trying to get in shades whenever we stopped to rest.  But we really enjoyed the hike.

We also tried to get to Oak Creek Canyon, but we got there about a half hour before the park closed; so we just kept driving and did some sight-seeing along the way instead.


MILPITAS/SAN JOSE, CA; APRIL 2009

In April, the month before, we also took a road trip to San Jose for a job interview in Milpitas, just up the road from San Jose, CA. 

Hotel in Milpitas:
We stayed at the Best Western Brookside Inn in 400 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA http://www.bwbrooksideinn.com/ just off the freeway exit.  The location is great, and the hotel is beautiful.  The room rate I believe, was just under $100 as well.  Best Western is one of those staple hotels that I know, most of them will accomodate my large dog.  Some Best Western aren't much to be desired for, but this one is just beautiful.  With dogs or not, I would recommend this to people stopping by SJ. 

Eats in San Jose area:
Bryan and I love SJ for their Indian food, one of which accomodated us eating while Tico got to play with one of the staff in front of the restaurant.  It's off of 4th Street I believe.  I can't remember the name, but it had a large TV screen showcasing Bollywood music videos.  I just wanted to give them a shout-out.

FIRST FEW WEEKS WITH TICO
Afer getting him in February, Tico had a rough first few months with us.  Getting used to being with his 6 other siblings, and with his German mother and his father all in one roof, to now being the only dog in a 2,000 sf house.  I'd be coming home at 10 a night, and he'll be so full of energy.  We'd be sitting on the couch, and he'd be under our feet, trying to bite us to get our attention.  He'd pee at every thing and everywhere.  I started having him in our bedroom, which was at the end of the house, and in the end, we barricaded him in our kitchen, which had lenoleum floors.  He'd whine for a while, but learned to keep himself in that room for the most part.

Then in late March, we had to have him do a surgery.  It was an expensive surgery, and B and I had to split the $1,600 charge (which was hurtful for the both of us because we both just got fired from our regular jobs).  On top of that, I cried and hated everyone for pushing to do a surgery on this 20-pound dog.  In the end, I relented, and I'm glad we did.  Here's a picture of him trying to eat my slippers.

LIVING IN HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA; APRIL 2009-JANUARY 2010
Then in early April, we moved to Hungington Beach, from a large 4 bedroom, 3 bath house, to a small 1 bedroom one bath apartment with barely a yard.  It took a while for him to get used to the area and the apartment, but in the end, we really enjoyed our stay in HB.  That apartment took a lot of abuse from us.  Tico learned to chew at the corner of walls, break the screen doors for both the entrances and the back yard, broke a glass window because he did not liked noises of people passing by our apartment (the front of the apartment is a courtyard on the way to the other apartments, and we were on the first floor).  He did this the night before our trip to Vegas.  We actually had to take him to the vet the next day, and then gauzed him up before we left for the trip.  Here's some of the photos of our days in HB:

Activities in HB:   
We also took Tico kayaking at Huntington Harbor, in Sunset Rentals on 16862 Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Beach; Phone 562-592-5537.  http://www.yelp.com/biz/sunset-kayak-rentals-sunset-beach-3
They charge $15\pp for kayaking, and they have 1, 2 and 3-person kayaks. I used to go kayaking with the Outdoors Club when I just moved to LA http://www.outdoorsclub.org/, and they used to give us discounts to $7\pp back then for a $10 normal rate.  It used to be run by Dave, but is now being managed by a new ownership.  Tico did not like the fast movement of the boat, and he whined the entire time.  So after about a few minutes, we just turned around and have him go overboard, and he learned to paddle his way back to shore.  The rentals did not have a vest for dogs, so we just jimmied a small-size vest to fit him. I was a little bummed that this did not go well, because I thought that it'd be something the boys and I could do on a regular basis. 

In June, Tico graduated at the Huntington Beach PetSmart's beginner dog training class.  He was the largest one in the class, and was the "meanest-looking".  But because he loves taking pictures, here he is posing with B, who was so proud of his graduate. 

The fourth of July 2009 in Huntington Beach was a big deal,because it was their 100th year.  So the boys and I secured a great spot just outside of downtown HB, right by the Christian School on Main Street.  Tico got to wear a blue and red streamer around his neck, and we all enjoyed the day watching the parade.

On our first Halloween together, Tico dressed up as Chewbacca.  All we did was get a belt of plastic bullets at Party City, and wrapped it around him.  We walked around downtown HB, and he was a hit with the tourists and locals alike.   

Eats in Downtown HB:
Downtown HB, or most of HB aka "Surf City", is known for its being dog-friendly.  Most of the restaurants would let you hang out with your dog as long as they are on the leash and on the other side of the fence.  Beachfront (301 Main St) is our favorite place to grab a drink, because they have Taco Tuesdays, and weeknight specials.  Avilas is a great place to pick up a decent Mexican plate during lunch or dinner.  Then we'd pick up a scoop to share at Coldstone Creamery.  Fred's is a great place to make use of your dancing shoes, but it's on the second floor, so it's not really Tico-friendly.  Tuesdays are farmers market nights at Downtown HB, so we get to grab local eats for cheap. 

We bring Tico once in a while, and since there's too much crowd, people get startled when they see a large scary-looking dog coming up too close to them.  But Tico knows how to handle himself n the crowd.  The pier also have street fairs on weekends, where you can buy artworks, food and snacks, and other goodies that local vendors sell.  It's a great way to find local goods and support local merchants.  We actually bought Tico a bubble machine for $10, but it only lasted us a few weeks because he wanted to eat it.

On December 11, Tico turned 1.  We celebrated at the Lazy Dog Cafe on Beach Blvd.  http://www.lazydogcafe.com/  We had the Ahi Tuna salad and another entree, and Tico had boiled chicken.  We ate at the patio.  The manager came over and said hello to us, and gave us a free appetizer.  We really appreciated that.  The food is okay, but we really liked the accomodation and the service.

Apartment in HB:
We lived at the Sandpiper Apartments, on 8081 Holland Drive.  It's a great dog-friendly apartment.  They have apartments for as low as $1150, and they offer 1-3 bedroom apartments.  The staff is nice, and the place is pretty clean, considering there are dogs everywhere.  If you don't love dogs, I won't recommend staying there or else you'll go crazy.

Here's a photo of my boys during one of our lazy days in the Huntington Beach apartment.

POINT LOMA/SAN DIEGO, CA; JULY 2009
Later in July, the entire family of Bryan's and I took a road trip to Point Loma, a beach community in San Diego, and we stayed at his cousin's house.  His cousin Paul's girlfriend Jenny manages a hostel, and their house is right next to it.  Bryan, Tico and I got to sleep in one of the rooms they recently remodeled. 

Activities in San Digo:
That night, we got to see the San Diego Padres play.  They actually have a "dog night", where you can actually in one of the bleachers with your dogs.  You pay a little bit of a premium price to be there, but it's a great way to enjoy baseball with your pets.  We did not bring Tico becuase of the large group that we had, but this would be something for us to check out one of these days.

The next day, the boys and I took a drive to the Sunset Cliffs to look at the beach.  We then drove to Chula Vista to visit my Auntie Cion where she made us filipino food like Pinakbet, Chicken adobo, pansit, and some hawaiian food as well; while my nephews get to play with Tico in the backyard.

CAMPING WITHOUT TICO; AUGUST 2009
In August, B and I joined our friend Mai and her friends for their annual camping trip.  This time, we stayed at Arroyo Seco, which is just east of Cambria, in Greenfield, CA; off the 101 Freeway.  We hiked to the pool area, which is about 3 miles from the campgrounds, and you can actually bring dogs to the camp and the pool.  But it would be too much to get Tico to stay with us in the camp site for the first time with other friends.  Going camping with Tico will be something that B and I will need to test for ourselves first, without other friends; to see how he would react to the whole sleeping in the tent, and being out in the wilderness.  He's an indoor dog, so it's a bit new to him.

Lodging for Tico:
We had Tico stay at the Whittier PetSmart, for about $35 a night.  PetSmart Pet Hotel is great because they are all over, but they only take the dog out of their cages for maybe an hour.  And they charge you $15 extra if you want your dog to play with the others on their "doggie camp".  So on an average, you get charged about $60\day.  But I do like the fact that they are clean, very efficient, and the people in PetSmart Pethotel in Whittier is friendly.

ALL AROUND OC: LAGUNA BEACH, CA FALL 2009
Here's a photo of Tico and Bryan at a laguna beach park were dogs are allowed to hang out, as long as they are leashed.  But we see others without leashes.  We would too, but since it's on a hill, and there's a bit of a cliff that goes down to the beach area, so we're not sure about letting him loose on his own around this time.  We have gone to the beach area with him once or twice, but it's definitely not a dog-friendly beach because it can get really crowded from locals and tourists alike that stayed at the Ritz-Carlton just up the hill.

SAN DIEGO PART DEUX: SEPTEMBER 2009

During the labor day weekend, we decided to go back to San Diego to check out the Ocean Beach dog beach.   http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/casdmenu/p/beach_ocean.htm
We really like this beach because it has pretty large sand coverage, and the parking is aplenty.  Here's a photo of us with Tico, but he ran so fast the person that we asked to take a photo of us didn't know what hapenned.

We also checked out Balboa Park during this trip.  Tico really enjoyed the kois in the pond that was in front of one of the museums. 

San Diego Hotel:
We stayed at the Holiday Inn San Diego on the Bay http://www.hisandiegoonthebay.com/ on 1355 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA  92101.  We paid about $100, and probably paid $25 extra\night for Tico.  Not bad for being too close to the water and only a cab ride to the gaslamp quarters for our night out without Tico.  You are not supposed to leave the dog unattended, but we talked to the front desk and told them that we'll only be out for a few hours, and we're only a phone call and a cab ride away if anyone ever complained.  No one did, because Tico is pretty well-behaved when it comes to being in a hotel room.  He's been doing this for a long time, so he knows how to behave.  The trick is to tire him out during the day, and when you leave him, you tell him to sit in one corner, and put your finger over your lips, and say "shh".  And then hold your palm out and say "stay".  He'll sit in that spot until you come back. 

LAS VEGAS, NV; NOVEMBER 2009

Petsmart in Henderson
In November, Kathy, my girlfriend from Hawaii and her husband met up with us in Las Vegas.  B and I stayed at the Montecarlo, and we dropped off Tico at the Petsmart in Henderson (531 Stephanie St., 702-898-0055), just outside of Las Vegas.  Tico loves road trips, and has been a pro at staying in one of the dog-friendly hotels we have visited during our travels.  This is the first and only time we travelled so far, where we slept at two different places, and got together again the next day.  This is one thing that Vegas is lacking; a large dog-friendly hotel that is clean, in a safe area, and is still reasonable in room rates (aka +-$100\night).  Four Seasons accomodates dogs, but as long as they are under 20 pounds or something like that.  Would I stay at Four Seasons if I don't have a dog?  Most likely not. But for the convenience of having Tico with us, I'd pay the price; but unfortunately, they won't accomodate us either because of Tico's size.  Now, if Holiday Express or even better, Kimpton just open up in Vegas, I'd be there all the time.  Here's a photo of the boys in front of the Siegried and Roy statues:

Year in Review: October - December 2010

WEDDING/HONEYMOON/WHISKERS AND TAILS; NOVEMBER 2010

B and I finally married in November of this year.  It was a perfect day, with great 180-degree views of the blue ocean as our altar/backdrop.  We then headed down the hill at the hotel for a reception with about 70 of our close friends and family.  With all of the planning (I started in June, but really got active in July-August), I hardly have had time to discover new great dog parks or beaches for us to hang out in.  Most of the time, we did the usual Redondo Beach Dog Park and San Pedro Dog Park jaunts.

Here's a few photos of our honeymoon trip to Fort Lauderdale, where we took a cruise to Grand Turk, San Juan, St. Maarten, and the cruiseline's private island in the Bahamas.

During the wedding and honeymoon, we boarded Tico again to Whiskers and Tails.  He was there for about 10 days.  He was already used to the staff around this time, and they told me he always loved to play with the staff, which would have been unusual with the PetSmart staff.  I'm not dogging (pardon the pun) PetSmart, but their pet hotel and grooming are not the best.  Their vets are okay, especially the staff at the Whittier office, where we kept our records because HB's PetSmart are not that great.  And the Torrance PetSmart, which is closer to us in the LA area, are snotty to our dog.  But going back to the Pet Hospital.  I liked that, for $25+\month, we get to have all of his shots current, most of his medicines paid for, some of his surgeries and stuff paid for, and thanks to them, we have a very healthy, happy dog.  And I go to PetSmart for our doggie groceries.  I don't like PetCo at all.  Sometimes, I'd go to Albertson's and Food 4 Less because of the convenience, but PetSmart is my number one choice for everything dog - related food, and toys-wise.  Tico loves Beneful, and Alpo Prime Cuts.  He eats almost any snacks, but the rawhides are always the winner.  When we used to shop at Costco, we'd have groceries shopping for a month, and Tico's groceries are about 1/3 of that.  For a large dog, be prepared to spend a lot on dog food.  Tico eats about 3 cups of dry food, and a can of wet food a day.  He'd eat more if he could, but we try to keep him on a sensible diet.  We never have him eat non-dog food items because he easily reacts on it, and gets the runs immediately.  My black leather car seats have experienced enough abuse from one of those "episodes" for us to know better not to feed him junk food.

RUNYON CANYON (DOG) PARK; NOVEMBER 2010
After the wedding and honeymoon madness, on Thanksgiving morning, we managed to check out Runyon Canyon, which allows dogs to be off-leash.  Tico had a great time.  It took us a long time to find the place, because Yahoo gave us the wrong directions.  The best way to get there, IMO, is to get off on the 101 via Mulholland Drive; and take it up until you see the dog park just up the hill.  But the address, they say is 2000 N Fuller Ave., LA CA 90189.  Amazing views of the greater LA. 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/runyon-canyon-park-los-angeles

Later in the afternoon, B and I went to Rolling Hills Estates, where his grandparent's houses were, and I got to point out where I was earlier this morning (it's in close proximity to the Hollywood sign, so I pretty much knew where the park was, from the pool area of his grandparent's house).  This photo is taken at his grandparents' house during my wedding shower the month before.  Which brings me to some of the pros and cons of living on Main Street.  We are within 20 minutes to just about everywhere, because we are near the 91, 405 and the 105 freeways, but the neighborhood is much less to be desired for.  Across the street from us is the industrial buildings.  Our neighbors are great, friendly and helpful, but we are nowhere walking distance to anything.

THE STRAND/MANHATTAN BEACH, CA; NOVEMBER 2010

The next day, I took Tico to have a nice walk on the strand on Manhattan Beach.  To get there, just take the 405 freeway, exit Rosecrans, make a left on Sepulveda, and right on Manhattan Beach Boulevard and take that all the way to the end.  There are lots of paid street parking, but they, like Huntington Beach, are trying to get away from coins, so don't forget to bring your bills, or debit/credit cards.  We got to see a handful of dolphins on the water playing.  Tico was really well-behaved today, and I was worried since B was not with us. He's a strong dog, and he almost cleared me under the bushes one time when he was chasing after a neighbor's cat.  With all of the dogs, people and cars, I am always concerned what will tick him to go after someone.  The leader leash helps, but I can still feel him leading me most of the time. 

CHRISTMAS 2010:

With a handful of Home Depot Gift Certificates from the wedding, we drove to the local Home Depot that afternoon to get our christmas tree.  We got this 8-footer baby for $40 bucks.  Tico sniffed around for a while, and then just went back to his couch to rest.  We don't have much of an ornaments per say, since I always liked to buy ornaments that meant something to us (this year, I bought a house ornament in honor of buying our house.  I am still looking for a wedding ornament that I'd like).  What we do for decoration instead, is just hang the christmas cards that we receive during the month.   Speaking of ornaments, we also received this year a Hawaiian angel with her aloha dress from Wennie and Jason.  Wennie is a girlfriend of mine who came to the wedding with her husband.  When she got home, she mailed this ornament, along with a couple of Na Leo Pilimehana CD's, as well as Iz Kamakawiwoole's CD; whose songs were featured in our wedding via the ukulele player at the ceremony atop the beach cliff, and during the reception at the hotel.  Another new ornament we got this year is a princess house angel we got from his mom (she sells princess house for a living, and is the top seller in Riverside, where she lives). 



This photo was taken at Redondo Beach Dog Park one weekend.  For $5, we got to have Tico take a photo with I believe, is the photographer's son, and the photographer's granddaughter is the cashier.  It was a cute operation, all they had were some digital SLR camera, and a portable photo printer.  The proceeds went to the park as donations. 

Sunday of the Christmas weekend, we took Tico to Huntington Dog Beach again.  He loved going there.  I took him to Redondo Beach Dog Park the day before, but this place is vast, and Tico can roam around freely and I can toss the ball farther without worrying about running into other people or dog in the way.  And the dog park itself is about 1-2 acres big, it just get crowded, especially on the weekends. 

In HB, it was a high tide because of the storm, but the place is still beautiful.  Tico loved running around with balls, twigs, or whatever he can put in his mouth.  I used to blow bubbles and he used to chase him a lot here, but I keep forgetting to bring them with me each time I think about going back to HB.  B don't care much for the bubbles, but I told him it's non-toxic. 

Tico used to be scared of the water, but now, he is not even fazed by it.  He loves going after his ball in between the waves.  After an hour of that, we drove to Seacliff mall and ate at the local Pick Up Stix in their patio area.  We came home, and Tico was down for the count for the entire day and night.  

Year in Review: July - September 2010

PALM SPRINGS/RANCHO MIRAGE, CA; JULY 2010
Well, it's Fourth of July weekend, and B's mom arranged for B and myself, B's sister Michelle and her husband Jerry, and B's mom Cyndi to have a nice weekend in their family Rancho Mirage condo, which is a resort community in Palm Springs area.  It was a great condo, with three bedrooms, and two bathrooms.  And our backyard is the golf course, where we just crossed the greens, and got a great view of the fireworks in the town's baseball park.  You can also rent condos in Palm Springs and other places via vrbo.com; which is a great place for those who would like to get a cheaper and unconventional way to spend vacation than staying at a chain hotel.  The good thing is that you can cook your own food, there's no crowd, and you don't have to pay for resort fees, etc. like you would if you'd stay at a hotel.  The condo is also for rent.  If you're interested, I'll get you connected to the property management company that handles the condo for B's grandfather. 

Tico of course, was shunned by PetSmart Torrance, and they refused to take him in for the night (more on that later, but that was the end of our PetSmart hotel business).  So we ended up taking him with us for the weekend.  Here's a picture of B and Tico in front of the beautiful outdoor mall just outside of the condo's grounds.

CAMPING WITHOUT TICO/WHISKERS AND TAILS, AUGUST 2010

In August, we took another camping trip with our friends Mai and D, and their boyfriends/husband and other friends to Arroyo Seco, in Greenfield, CA about 4-5 hours from LA.  This time, I left Tico at Whiskers and Tails, a cage-free boarding for dogs, located in Gardena.  (http://www.whiskersntails.com/).  Their address is 546 West 182nd Street in Gardena.   Unlike PetSmart, the ladies there are not afraid of Tico, and they don't make me and my dog feel like second class citizen becuase he's a large GSD.  Their price is less than PetSmart, and during the day, he gets to roam around and play with the other dogs at no extra charge.  We opted to have him take a bath on the last day, and his coat felt like cotton for days, like he was a totally new dog.  He was there for two nights, which was the longest he's been away from us. So when I picked him up, he whined and was hating on me the entire 7-minute ride back home.  I love Whiskers and Tails.  They were a great find.  If you happen to live near the Gardena area, I would recommend them.

DOG GROOMING IN OC/LA AREA:

Speaking of grooming, we were novices on places we could take Tico to.  The Whittier PetSmart and HB's for that matter, does not like my dog.  So we usually take him ourselves to the Doggie Spa when we lived/around HB area   http://www.thedoggiespa.net/locations.html they are located in the Seacliff Village strip mall, where Albertson's is at.  From the 405, exit on Beach, and just take a right on Main Street on your way to the beach, and it's on the corner of Yorktown.  They charge $15 for you to wash your dog, and just leave a tip for the use of their comb, shampoo, towels, and bath tub.  The first few times, Tico didn't like to take a bath, but he got used to it.  He still hates the vacuum dryer, but that's another story.  This place is great after a swim trip to the Dog Beach just down the road. 

But since we moved to LA, we found another dog wash in downtown LA, which is 6 minutes from our new house.  It is called Pussy and Pooch, on 564 Main Street.   http://www.pussyandpooch.com/ Like Doggie Spa, you get to wash your own dog, but this place is so clean, modern, and have all of the gadgets and toys that Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell would be excited to have.  They don't take tips, which was great.  Parking is a hit or miss, but if you got patience, the weekends are not that bad.   

FILIPINO FIESTA, SAN PEDRO, CA; FALL 2010

Every September, the local filipino community puts together a Filipino Fiesta, a two-day cultural event in in Point Fermin, just at the end of San Pedro.  You just take the 110 freeway all the way, exit/turn left on Gaffey, and take it all the way up, until you reach the park, which also houses a lighthouse.  Here is Tico with one of the ladies who came over and petted him during the our trip to the Fiesta.  He's a real chick-magnet.  He takes after B.  The other picture is of me and him next to the lighthouse.

Since we were planning for a Fall wedding, we found this place, in San Pedro as well, just across the road from Point Fermin, in the Angels Gate Park.  It has a Korean Friendship Bell, with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and the neighboring Catalina island.  Here's Tico posing again with B, and then we went to spend an hour in the San Pedro dog park again, just down the hill on our way back home.

We also hung out there one hot summer night (it was really record-breaking hot!) when the portable AC was just not gong to cut it.  Not much of a lighting because of the Iphone, but we also saw a great view of the catalina island a night, with all of the house lights shining bright across the ocean.  Here's  a photo of the boys:

DOG BEACH, PALOS VERDES; FALL 2010
We found another dog beach contender in the Palos Verdes area, just down the hill from the Trump National Golf Club.  It's a great day beach, and you can really get a nice workout going up and down the hill to the beach area.  I would say bring some food and water, and plop down the rocky sand area with beach towels and something to read, and let your dog roam around the beach with their newfound friends.  Apparently, not too many people knows about it, but here's more information about it, as well as directions.

http://www.in-and-around-los-angeles.com/los-angeles-dog-beach-rancho-palos-verdes.html

Year in Review: April - June 2010

The second quarter of 2010 was busy with settling in the new house.  The good thing about the house is that it was remodeled, and everything seemed brand-new looking.  During my search for a house, we considered that we at least have to have a yard of some kind for Tico to run around in during the day.  This house sits on under 3K square feet lot, which leaves about a 2-car carport size lot in the back of the house for him to enjoy.  But lo and behold, our dog does not love to be outside.  He loves to hang around the black leather couch, and that's where he hangs out during the day while B and I heads for work.  Here's a picture of the first fruit from the cherry tomato we planted.  We also have a basil plant, and other herbs.  We also have a mini-lemon tree we use for our pastas and fish dishes.. 

CULVER CITY DOG PARK
Part of our roaming around LA area for a great dog park search, we discovered Culver City Dog Park aka The Boneyard; which is in Culver City, off of Jefferson Boulevard and Duquesne Avenue.  It is currently closed, but B definitely loves this park.  People are friendly here.  http://www.culvercitydogpark.org/main/007_Dog_Park_Site.cfm

On mother's day, B bought me flowers.  Here's the "son" trying to sniff the flowers to see if anything is edible at all.  It took him a while to figure out there's none.  He just liked the smell, apparently.

Here's a picture of him with our brand-new treadmill.  Dianne, a friend of mine, who does not have time to take her dogs out for their daily walks as well, said she does this a lot with her "kids".  There's a joke I read lately, and it said: "if your dog is fat, that means you don't get enough exercise".  So true.  We feel guilty, so we try to make up for it whenever we can.  Anyhoo, he was wondering what we were doing inside the office room, and we figured we'd try to get him in the machine.  He stayed on it for a few minutes, and that was the end of that. 

REDONDO BEACH DOG PARK

This is a photo of Tico (second GSD on the left) with other German Shepherd Dogs, in Redondo Beach Dog Park, http://www.rbdogpark.com/ which is just off of the 190th Avenue and Flagler Lane. Since we moved to LA, this is our favorite hangout, since it's only about a 20-minute drive from our house.  It can get crowded especially on Sunday mornings.  There used to be a bunch of old men who get together and poke fun of other people and their dogs, and I used to tell B "oh, the gossip girls are here again".  But I havnet' seen them for a while, which was good.  It can get really dirty after the rain because of the mulch and grass combo, but dogs don't mind.  We always just keep a blanket for him in either one of our cars.  They have pooper scoopers instead of plastic bags.  There's a lovely Victorian House\Museum called The Heritage Court right next door to it, too.  Your dog will not get lonely here, definitely.  And it's a fenced-in yard with separate fences for small and large dogs.  We liked to bring our ball sling, and Tico would just pick up the ball, and run off with it.  But there's lots of stray balls around, so you won't have a hard time finding one that you can sling, and Tico will then drop the ball out of his mouth, and chase after the second ball, and then the cycle continues.   

CONEJO CREEK DOG PARK, THOUSAND OAKS, CA

This is a photo to Tico and B at Conejo Creek Dog Park in Thousand Oaks.  We went to meet with Chris, a co-worker of Bryan's at his baseball game one Sunday, and we figured we'd make a day of it wiht Tico.  We were glad we did, we had some really good run on that dog park.  It's large, clean, and there's  hardly anyone there so you don't have to worry abou thet crowd.   http://www.yelp.com/biz/conejo-creek-dog-park-thousand-oaks

SAN PEDRO DOG PARK
Another place we go to is in San Pedro, which is just off of the Harbor exit of the 110 freeway.  It is secluded, and is hard to describe the directions to, since it's under the freeway itself.  Here's a website I found.  It's never crowded, we probably saw three other dogs there at max once, and that's it.  Right next to it is a K-9 training center, so they probably use that area as well for dog training.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/knoll-hill-dog-park-san-pedro

Year in Review: January - March 2010

When we lived in Huntington Beach, CA; we used to go to the Huntington Dog Beach http://www.dogbeach.org/ on Goldenwest and Pacific Coast Hwy almost every weekend (see photo). 

OUR HOUSE
But once I closed escrow on our current house, about a good 45 minutes drive out of the way, we hardly have time to take him out on the weekends, so we tried to discover other places that are in the greater LA area that will do, but we always try to go to the HDB whenever possible.  Today, we did just that.  We always love HDB; it's our favorite ever, and as much as we love discovering new places, there is a comfort in normalcy.  If something's not broken, why fix it, right? If you have a dog and you live in the OC, this is the place to be. 

Here's a few photos of the boys settling in.  This is how we usually do Saturday nights.

LONG BEACH DOG BEACH
Since we moved in the early February back to LA, we have found the Long Beach Dog Beach - it is an off-leash dog beach just around the corner from the famous Belmont Shore/Naples area.  When you head east on Ocean Blvd, keep right, and take Ocean Blvd all the way, which is behind Alamitos Bay.  We have not gone back there since the first time, since it does not have a barrier between the parking lot and the dog beach area.  And Tico is a little bit on the wanderer to keep him off-leash the entire time.  Otherwise, it's a great beach alternative to HDB.  It was still winter time, so I am wearing my jacket.  Here is Tico trying to catch bubbles (he loves them!). 

SANTA MONICA, CA
March was a particularly busy month for the three of us.  Here are some of the best photos of Tico and the gang.  He was on the fence, trying to see if he could join me a few of our friends at the Main Street Farmer's market in Santa Monica's lawn area, while we shopped for fresh vegetables and ate lunch before we headed to cheer on our friend D, who's in the LA Marathon, where the finish line is on Ocean and Broadway in downtown Santa Monica a couple of miles north of us.

PACIFIC PALISADES (MALIBU), CA
Here we were on our botched day in the park on Los Liones, in Pacific Palisades, just south of Malibu.  And it said "no dogs".  So we just walked back downhill, and found a dog-friendly park just down the hill. 

WRIGHTWOOD, CA

Later in the month, we figured we'd go to Wrightwood, a snow resort community about 1 1/2 hours of LA.  We have found a near-frozen lake area called Jackson Lake, where we found slopes, and bought a plastic disc, and had a great time playing in the snow.  This photo is just above Snow Summit Ski Resort.  He didn't know what to make of the snow for the first few minutes, and kept digging his head in the ground.  But he loved taking pictures, so he finally sat up for this shot.