"The Two Yutes", Recreation Park Dog Park; 02.27.11

French Fry and Debit

Doggie walk of fame

Recreation Park - entrance to dog park

Casting Club pond





What a great dog-gone day!  After some running around with errands and house work, it's already 4pm when we headed out to take Tico out for his exercise.  We originally were planning to go to El Dorado Park, but it turns out; they charge $7/car, and there's nowhere to find a street parking to dodge the fee.  Maybe one of these days we'll go.  It's a great, large park; just not feeling the paying for it today.

So we hopped back on the 605, to the 405 freeway, and got on the 22nd and hit the Recreation Dog Park, which is on 4900 E 7th Street, Long Beach, CA  90804.

The dog park has its own parking area; but there's way too many parking spots within the park itself.  We found one by the entrance past the dog park's entrance, so we had to cross the Casting Club.

The dog park has a separate area for large and small dog parks, but the small dog area are rarely used; so much so that I got confused and told Bryan to enter to the right, because when we approached; the large dog park only had small dogs - - so I thought the other area is the one for us.  It's such a cool dog park - - it comes with tree trunk, tires, tunnels, mounds, bridge, and whatever obstacle courses you could think of.  There's a water fountain, and a community board.  The park itself is 3 acres in size; so you don't have to worry about space.  The locals are mainly in their 20's and 30's couples who live in the area; but there are many of different age ranges as well.

In the beginning, B and I were so excited about the obstacle courses; we wanted Tico jump over the tree trunk, go up on the bridge, get under the tunnel, but we only managed to make him do the jump over the tree trunk.  Well, one of many ain't too bad.  About 45 minutes later, we met a Filipino guy named Paul with a small black chihuahua mix who's standing over the plastic bridge.  Paul then called his white chi-mix named French Fry to join the black dog named Debit.  He said that Debit's b-day was April 15, so he figured it was fitting.  He couldn't call him credit - - then Paul would have to yell "bad credit" when the dog misbehaves - - so cute.  Bryan and I enjoyed talking to Paul and his partner George.  They have been going to the park for a year, and so far they liked it.

At the end of the day, Paul wanted to show me a trick he taught French Fry: he told him to "come here" (halika), "sit" (upo), and "go" in Filipino.  And French Fry did them!  I was laughing so hard...that was crazy cute.  Paul said he can't really speak Filipino well, since he's been in the US at the age of 2; but he can understand very well.  So he said "don't let my non-accent fool you!  I can understand"...lol.  My accent can get pretty strong, especially if I'm nervous or get excited. 

"The Two Yutes" is a quote from our all-time favorite movie; "My Cousin Vinny".  It's one of the famous courtroom scenes when Joe Pesci's character was trying to describe the two young defendants played by Ralph Macchio and Mitchell Whitfield.  Bryan and I can practically make a day-long conversation using all of the quotes from that movie.  I mean; there's always an excuse to belt out:

"Oh yeah, you blend".

"How's your chinese food?"

"It's an industry term"

"You...shower, I'll get your....suit"

"You were serious about that?"

"Yeah, well what are you? A...world traveler?"

"Beans make you fart...(response:) we got a convertible"

"Hey, a burp is spontaneous.  A burp is not romantic"

"Are you sure?  (Response:) I'm positive"

"No!  The defense is wrong!"

"I did say that.  Would you say that?"

"And the way that this case is going, I ain't never getting married"

"Would you give a (darn) what kind of pants the (guy) that shot you is wearing?"

and

"The two yutes!"

"The two what?"

"Uh, did you say yutes?"

"Oh, excuse me, your honor.  The two YOUTHS"

Case closed.

  

"Love will keep us alive", Griffith Dog Park; 02.26.11

"...but they can' take away... OUR FREEDOM!"



"My name is Patches...and I CAN see you"



Side of park facing parking lot

Down the road is the soccer field

Side of park facing small dog park

Lynn and her GR





To his left is the freeway

Small dog park

This pitbull is 4 months old

Park: Griffith Dog Park

Address: North End of John Ferraro Soccer Field on North Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90189

Directions: Take the 5 Freeway North, and exit on Zoo Drive.  You'll see a clear sign to make a left to the dog park, and take that road all the way past the soccer field.  The dog park will be to your left.

Parking: free, about 2 dozen stalls for the dog park alone.  You can also park on the side of the road, if needed. 

Traffic: There's about 10+ dogs on any given moment.  For about an hour and a half that we were there; cars have come and gone, but then again, we were there in the mid-morning to noon on a Saturday. 

This place is tucked between the greater Los Feliz and Burbank area.  It's about 1 and 1/2 acres in size, and it has a small dog park area as well as the large dog park.  The small dog park area is rarely used; so you will see most of the small dogs go over to the large area to play.  Bryan really enjoyed the locals here.  He said for once, the locals had personality.  This park, just like most any park we've seen, have had a lot of Golden Retrievers.  Lynn, one of the local, has a GR that has the softest coat I've ever touched.  She said she try not to bathe him as much, to make sure his coat does not lose its natural oils.  We bathe Tico about once every two months or less, so his hair is a little on the bristle side; but he lives on the couch, so personal space in the house is zip, and so being non-stinky is very critical in our household.

The large dog park has ample benches and lawn chairs, and one water fountain.  The 134 freeway is visible from the dog park, but the fences are pretty high, so you don't have anything to worry about.  The lot is mostly dirt, and a few grass spots here and there.  It rained, so you'll see a few puddles, which the locals have placed lawn chairs over so that the dogs don't play near them.  When you enter the dog park, the freeway is in front of you, the small dog park is to your right, and the side of the soccer field and the road is to your left.  Behind you is the parking lot, behind the parking lot is some kind of fenced industrial building.

The dogs here are fun - we have seen a min-pin who trotted around like a little reindeer, and a 4 yo little mutt that ran around jumping on everyone, and playing with just about every human and dogs in the park.  Dogs of any type and size will not hesitate to jump on you, so never wear your Sunday best whenever you go to this park, or any park for that matter, anyway. 

Griffith Park has ample dog parks that you and your pooch can enjoy.  Griffith park itself, is about 4K acres in size, and it houses the Griffith Observatory, the LA Zoo, the Greek Theater, and the Hollywood Sign. There's also golf courses, baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, and swimming pool.  And the hiking areas in this park is unlimited.  The park is open from 6am to 10pm.  So if you want to enjoy a nice day out with or without your pooch, there's something for everyone in this park.

We started leaving the park once the hail started.  Hail!  I've never actually seen an actual hail in LA until this morning.  It was brief, but it was really cool to touch a small bead of ice.  We have gotten more hail later that night when we were leaving the house - - - our front porch was covered with white pellets of ice. 

Goats and ducks and sheeps - oh, my!

The band - - and the chandelier

Organic, fresh produce, anyone?

Behold: the gate to shoe heaven

No dogs allowed in the farmers market

After the park, we jumped on the 134 Freeway and stopped by Glendale to check out Americana at Brand, which is a 3yo shopping mall in Glendale.  When I moved to LA, having come from a small rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I thought the Glendale Galleria was impressive.  This one was pretty.  It looks exactly like The Grove in Beverly Hills, because it's owned by the same company.  But the shops here are nicer in my opinion, but the dining selections can be better.  Some of the shops are Stuart Weitzman, Tiffany, Ed Hardy, and True Religion.  Of course, there's Guess, AX, AE, B&N, and Anthropologie.  There's a BevMo just outside the mall.  For food, there's Deluca, Cheesecake Factory, Katsuya, and Frida, as well as some italian restaurant called Amici.    

If you have kids, there's a petting zoo and a pony ride area today, and the mall itself has a permanent playground area.  There's a train ride, and the shops offer family and kid-friendly activities as well.

Today, the Brand had a small farmer's market, which was eerily empty because of the rain.  The selections were also bleh, but I found a produce stand that offered fresh cauliflower the size of my head for $2 a piece.  I later made veggie stir-fry with it, and along with some cabbages and celery, and enjoyed it with some leftover steamed rice.  My home-made sauce was a little sticky, because I've put too much cornstarch, so I'll learn to ease up on the starch the next time.  Otherwise, the stir-fry was good. 

In the middle of the empty farmer's market is a live band, which was placed under the residential building's driveway because of the rain.  I got to enjoy their rendition of Eagle's "Love Will Keep Us Alive".  The band was about the Eagle band's age range, but they can sing and play very well.  This one song just stuck to me, because 1)I love the band and their songs, 2)The lyrics to this song pretty much speak to me in a personal level.  

The Brand offers free 2 hour parking with validation, as well as there are street parking all around the mall for $1 and hour.  The street parking takes coins and cards.  We parked in the street parking because of the dog, and I took this moment to take a photo of B's shiny new decal on his car.  

B is now a proud Herbalife distributor, and so far, B has lost 16 pounds in a little over a month.   So far, I've really enjoyed the snack bar and the Total Control energy pill, but we both enjoyed the French Vanilla shake, which is about $34 for a bottle that last about a month per person. 

Jim Cramer of Mad Money  interviewed the Herbalife (HLF) CEO a few days ago because it's growing a minimum of 15% year over year in any market it has been on, mainly because of its distributors, which is any average joe with a drive to earn money on the side or full-time, and make it work for them by hiring someone else to help distribute, and so forth.  HLF does not advertise, but their distributors are given the tools to advertise heavy or light, depending on their sales drive.  It's like Avon, but it's health-focused, which is recession proof.  The distributors have a 50% retention rate, and its profit has increased from 50%, bringing its stock price from $40 to $77 in the past year.  It's a $3 billion company, with a $300 million profit.  So B and I are excited with the possiblities to be a part of this company's worldwide success.

If you want to know more about its products and being a sales leader, contact us.  We can't wait for the company to start making dog-related products, since they have already ventured into women's health (PMS, hot flashes), kids, personal products such as shampoo, fragrances, eye creams and body scrubs - - this company's not stopping its growth train.  And we want to be on board.

"To Infinity...and beyond!"; Long Beach Dog Beach; 02.20.11

Buzz Lightyear soaring over LBC

P-u!  Someone stinks.  So we took our offending canine family member out for some last beach frolicking before we take him to his b-a-t-h.  Since we have a dinner to go to in less than 3 hours, Huntington Dog Beach is out of the question.  So we decided on the Dog Beach Zone instead.  This is a 3-acre, non-fenced, off-leash dog beach in Belmont Shore.  Entrance to the parking lot is between Argonne and Roycroft Avenue, off Ocean Boulevard.  The best way to get there is to take the 710 Freeway, and exit on Ocean.  Make a left, and take it all the way past Livingston.  We parked on the street off of the Granada Street entrance, not knowing the ample parking lot behind the wall.  The dog beach is also known as Rosie's Dog Beach, named after a late English bulldog by a Long Beach resident Justin Rudd. 

Restroom



Kiteboarders



Happy dogs!

Lifeguard truck watching the kiteboarders

These dogs were gunning for some half-ball thing

Vincent Thomas Bridge

We took the 110 freeway, so we passed by this bridge.  I LOVE bridges.  And churches.  Just about anything that's made from great architecture and engineering. 

The beach: I've never seen so many happy dogs!  And happy owners, of course.  But the dogs are just all over the place, running around, chasing balls, chasing Tico who's too busy chasing balls, Tico chasing them back, and off they all go to "fight" over some blue-green half-ball and around and around they go.  It was a doggie-dog fun day at the beach today.  And then there was a little yorkie chasing after some pigeons who were brave enough to be lounging around in the orange-coned dog beach area.  This place is not fenced in, but the orange cones clearly mark the area where you can safely keep your pooches off the leash.  Once you get out of the coned zone, make sure to keep your pooches leashed.  We made that mistake before, and we scared off some unsuspecting biker at the bike path just a few feet away.  Tico tends to bark whenever he gets nervous, so it's not a good situation to those people who are just carrying on with their own business and this scary-looking Cujo is barking at them.

There were a bunch of people kiteboarding today, thanks to the windy day and the rental gear provided by Windsurf Center  next door at 3850 E Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach.  This of course, made for a great photo-op with the Shoreline Village to your right, the blue ocean in front, and the kiteboarders to your left and in front of you.  And the dog in the sandy beach background.  Albeit the windy weather, it was a great day.

There were also pretty kites flying about, one of which is the Buzz Lightyear being flown by a teenaged girl just a few steps from the dog beach zone.  But being a couple of old folks, B and I couldn't handle too much of the wind, so we decided to walk instead, once Tico started lying around.  We passed by a few dozens of pigeons lying around the bike path, if only we could let Tico roam leash-free, this would have been a great photo-op. 

We then got in to our car, and headed further into Ocean Boulevard, and passed by the marina and the pretty houses along Naples/Alamitos Bay .  The 54th Street and Ocean Boulevard I remember being in, to kayak in the Naples area back in 2004 with the Outdoors Club.  That was a fun memory, because we parked our kayak by the Jamba Juice/Starbucks at the mall behind PCH.  I thought that was pretty cool.  But the kayak rental I believe was $19/hour.  If I was going to do some kayaking, I would go to Sunset Kayak and instead kayak in Huntington Harbor, since Sunset still charges $12 for 2 hours or longer. 

But Naples also offer Gondola Rides for the lovebirds.  The address to that is 5437 E. Ocean Boulevard; rates are from $85 for two.  I've never done it, so it will be something new for Bryan and I to try on one of these days.  And of course, Belmont Shore and their fabulous shops and dining spots is just up the street on 2nd and Redondo/Livingston.

Dog-friendly hotels in Long Beach I would recommend to is Renaissance and Hilton, who are both near Downtown Long Beach, at the beginning of the 710 Freeway; which is a few miles of this area.  But that downtown area in itself is a great spot to visit, with Rockbottom Brewery and the Shoreline Village just down the hill.  There's the Long Beach Performing Arts, the Aquarium, and the race track in the area.  Food-wise, you got CPK, the Yard House (love!), and Islands.  But your pooch is not allowed in Shoreline, so keep that in mind. 

There's just TOO MANY things to do in Long Beach.  After all, it's the 6th largest city in CA, and the 39th nationwide.  It boasts half a million residents on its own.  And being 20 minutes away from downtown and just about anywhere in greater LA, this is a good alternative city from the West LA/Beach Cities/Downtown LA hotel options.  And they offer dog parks aplenty.  The best pet-friendly city in LA.  For dogs and their owners, the activities are just limitless, and - - ahem...infinity.  Or make that infinity times two.  Or infinity times infinity.   

Afterwards, we took Tico to Tidy Dog for a wash.  The address is 4110 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA  90803.  They have self-wash for $15; $16 if you pay card instead of cash.  The place is clean; TIDY.  It is huge, and has several washing tubs.  The lady owner has an english accent, and her assistant kept busy cleaning around, running vacuums and sweepers that drove Tico crazy.  This place is GREAT.  They provide oatmeal shampoo and conditioner as standard, and provide you with 2 hand towels and a large towel as well as two aprons, blow dryer, several brushes and cottons and ear cleaners, swabs, and treats for after wash when your dog is good.  We gave Tico the biscuits anyway; even though he howled and cried and barked at the staff and customers each time they pass by his tub area.  Feeling bad for the mess and the noise, I tipped well.  We'll definitely come back here.  On top of which; she gave Tico a long jerky as a treat after the bath. 

The place also sells doggie treats and supplies, and they provide cage-free, concrete free boarding.  Parking is aplenty, and the place is easy to spot.  Just keep your eye on the shopping strip to your right, after you pass Livingston, driving on Ocean.  I believe the street is Bennett, which is probably the street you turn to get to the Belmont Olympic pool.  It's on your way to the dog beach.  One thing is that, since the shampoo and conditioner is aready pre-programmed with the water hose, I feel like my dog is not getting enough soap.  So bring your own soap if you want your dog foamy.  I do.  It's a preference.  For me, foam aplenty = very clean dog.  Still, Tico looked handsome and fluffy after the bath, though.  And he smelled like oatmeal.  I wrestle-hugged him today, and he passed the EPA (Ew, P-u Animal) test.     

 Toy Story was another Tom Hanks movie that I liked.  But not having the luxury of being around kids, I lost track and interest with Toy Story 2 and 3.  And when they started messing around with Mr. Potato Head's face, that was it for me.  I love mainstream cartoon movies in general, but the sequels rarely do justice to the original versions most of the time.  I did, however rented Shrek Forever After because I wanted to see the fat cat with the funny accent slide down the scratch post.  And of course, Eddie Murphy's donkey.  And Ryan Seacrest.  And Princess Fiona.  And Mike Myers.  But that's it.  And maybe Rumpelstiltskin.  I thought he was genius. 

All I'm saying is that I'm over cartoon sequels.

But I wouldn't mind checking out Mike Wazowski on screen again.  So excited.