Ventura Harbor Village Memorial Day Weekend

I read in the local paper that the Ventura Harbor Village was to have scallywag pirates roaming around the promenade and I just couldn't miss out on it. Plus, it was a great day to get out and enjoy the warm sunshine. I thought for sure, with it being the holiday weekend, it was going to be overly crowded, but when I got there, I was pleased to find a parking spot right away.
It's was such a beautiful day, I was in such a hurry to enjoy the Ventura Harbor Village that I ventured off with out my camera, which I typically always have with me at all time. I never want to miss a precious moment with my Little Buckaroo.  Lucky I had my trusty iPhone. So, I decided to do an Instagram photo blog of my day with Little Buckaroo at the Harbor. Little Buckaroo and I headed straight to the Ventura Village Carousel for a spin; It's a bit old and run down, but Little Buckarro does not even notice.
They also have an arcade inside, but it too is run down and the games tend to take your tokens without a play so I recommend playing the games that you see others playing so you don't waste your money. The staff inside is young and lacks in customer service but overall it's a good place for the kids to run around and play.
Of course, my mission for the day was to find a pirate so we could get a picture. I'm a huge Disney fan and with the release of the new Pirates movie-which I've yet to see-I needed a picture. We walked around, exploring the stairways and got to see the Harbor sights from above.
The delicious smell of barbeque lured us down the harbor walkway and just before reaching Blackbeard's BBQ Cafe we spotted a very good Captain Jack Sparrow look alike. He (Sparrow) played the role very well,; He had the swagger and speech of Captain Jack down, making the experience even better than I had anticipated.
After we wondered through the rest of the shops, making our way back towards the grass area of the Carousel Stage, where we sat down to listen to the live jazz music of the Justin Clavero Trio. Little Buckaroo enjoyed some popcorn while I got a chance to relax.
In all it was another great 805 Buckaroo adventure. The Ventura Harbor Village has free parking, many restuarants, shops, boat rentals and cruises to enjoy, plus you can just walk across the street to the local beach. If you have more time, I suggest driving (or long walk) to the end of the harbor to visit the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.

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Pancake Breakfast

One of the most frustrating things as a Police Officer today is the lack of funds to buy equipment or pay for resources needed to do a our job. So, it is greatly appreciated to get support from our local community. Even though L.A.P.D. is a large agency, we are broken down into 21 smaller geographical areas. I have been assigned to Devonshire for the past 7 years and consider it my home station.

Supporters of Law Enforcement in Devonshire (S.O.L.I.D) put on their annual "All-You-Can-Eat" Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser at front of the station this last Saturday, May 21, 2011. S.O.L.I.D. helps to pay for the equipment and resources that are not paid for by the by the City of Los Angeles with enables us to work more effectively and inefficiently. Little Buckaroo and I went to show our support and to eat a delicious breakfast.

Me & Little Buckaroo

Of course, they made a special Mickey pancake for Little Buckaroo...

Mickey pancake

One of the Devonshire Captains was there to greet everyone...


Patrol Captain Ryan & Little Buckaroo


The day was also Armed Forces day so the local VFW was there sharing the spotlight. Little Buckaroo absolutely dug the mini police car that was on display, which is owned by another officer at my station. After telling him he needed a license to drive, I took him to the Hollywood - West Valley Masonic Lodge booth were he believed he was getting a license but in actuality was getting finger printed and photographed for the free child I.D.'s being done that day. Then we took his license (a.k.a-child I.D.) back to the mini patrol car where Little Buckaroo got a chance to sit inside.


Pint size Patrol


I also write our station news in the widely distribution of The Thin Blue Line magazine, which is the Los Angeles Police Protective Leagues monthly published magazine. So, I had to get a picture of the Devonshire Officers showing there support by setting up and flipping some pancakes.



Devonshire Officers

Click here to view the video contest Devonshire Station entered to raise addition funds, S.O.L.I.D. has been supporting the construction of our new training facility but we could always use some extra cash to help out.

I know some people view police officers in a negative light but thats mainly due to the fact that when we are required it's usually in a bad situation. Even though I'm working inside at the present time, I have always been one to be very approachable out in the field.

So, be sure to say hi and show support for your local Police Station or Law Enforcement, out there serving your area daily.

Mainstreet Meltdown

Even with Little Buckaroo's terrible two meltdown, a day is always better when your at Disneyland. Little Buckarro is at the stage where a stroller is still needed but harshly resisted, he is craving his independence to walk around and explore. Being that our May trip to Disneyland was just the two of us, I desperately needed the stroller as my toddler command center for supplies, large crowd cruising and nap-time bunking. It was a beauitful day and we traffic was light making the start of the day just about perfect. I was safely able to manage the parking lot tram with Little Buckaroo and the stroller, then we entered Disneyland. We headed up the stairs to take a ride around the park on the train and it began.

After some resistance I got Little Buckaroo on the train but only made it to the first stop in New Orleans Square after all eyes where on him having a fit. Thank goodness I remembered to bring his snack bag and for the jazz band playing in The French Market.

Mr Attitude

We hung out in The French Market for a few minutes while Little Buckaroo gobbled down a few snacks but he began to get fussy again so I loaded him up in the stroller and headed back to Mainstreet debating whether or not to just leave. It wasn't necessarly busy that day in the park but I normally put him in the stroller to navigate our way through the park and take him out when we get to where ever it is we are going. Im not quite sure what upset him so but he certainly made me pay for it with a meltdown on Mainstreet.

I still hadn't eaten breakfast and it was now late morning so I decided to get a ham and cheese sandwich from the Mainstreet Bakery, which it pretty good but the cheese on the bread makes it a bit hard. I tried to eat at the counter but once again, Little Buckaroo began to fuss so I took him out of of his stroller. What a difference, I sat on down on the Mainstreet curb and he played with the horse post while sharing my sandwich.

Finally happy.

I'm glad I decided to stay because we got a chance to take a few spins on the Mad Hatter, Little Buckaroo  first time, and he loved it. I love having those special moments, especially at the park.

1st time on the tea cups.

It's as if the morning  was reset and we got a chance to really enjoy the afternoon. Even found a penny (heads up) that Little Buckaroo tossed into the wishing well.

Making a wish

We made our way through Sleeping Beauty Castle....

and stopped for a treat....

Sticky face

We were at the Pin Trading Post to get a few pins when Little Buckaroo fell asleep for his afternoon nap. I nornally try to leave just before Little Buckaroo takes his afternoon nap but with our late start we were too deep in the park to make a quick exit and it's too difficult to load a sleeping toddler and stroller on to the tram by myself so I decided to stay and stroll around the park while he slept.

My time with Mary Poppins and Bret.

After nap time we ventured over to California Adventure to play around in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Little Buckaroo had a blast running around and exploring.

Plenty of space to run around.

Mikey enjoyed bouncing in the rope bridges.

We finished off the day riding rides in "a bug's land"...

Flik's Flyers

It was a long and wearing day at the parks but so worth all the fun and memories we did have. It's tough being a toddler and wanting your freedom to roam with a protective mommy.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

This is a picture of me (so serious) working in West Valley Area on probation. We are debriefing after a parole search of a house. If you know me I'm far from serious but it's all about command presence.

Quest for Pirates Loot

I am a huge fan of the quirky On-the-Go reporter Gayle Anderson from the KTLA Morning Show and admire her job, my dream job. Gayle reported that the Western Costume Company  was putting on the the 4th annual Spring Sale this Saturday, May 21, 2011. While reporting on the sale Gayle was wearing a Pirates of the Caribbean coat wore in the first Pirates movie and it was for sale for only $50 dollars so I was excited to head to the sale in hopes of getting my hands of some Pirates Loot. The sale started at 8am but I knew enough to get there early but so did the veteran shoppers.

Waiting for the sale to open

While in line waiting to enter I got chance to observe the collective group of people gathered together, movie fanatics, shop owners, mod fashionista and me. Many of them bringing their own shopping carts, rolling clothing racks, boxes and bags to carry their loot. I then realized I was a bit unprepared but thought I'd try to at least look for the coat or something similar. The sale started and folks moved quickly but quite orderly inside. One person stopping at the entrance to strip the mannequin "Zelda" of her outfit.

Poor "Zelda"

Price breakdown

There were racks and boxes galore just waiting to be picked through. I took a quick walk about but got lost in the sea of people and racks of costumes.

Lots and lots to chose from

Organized mess

Serious shopping

By time I snapped out of my dase most everything was picked through so I just enjoyed the moment. I got a chance to talk to the entrance staff worker going by the name of "Wavy Gravy", he explained to me that the Western Costume Company will be celebrating their 100th year aniversary next year. Lets hope that their 120, 000 sq ft warehouse fills up for next years Spring Sale.

I made that coat look good.

Even though I didn't find that Pirates coat or even buy anything I truely enjoyed the people watching and seeing the elaborate costumes. I just might venture back next year...prepared.

Wordless Wednesday

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America's Teaching Zoo

Mother's Day is typically a day to be pampered and relax but as a single mom that's further from the truth. So, it was a day just like any other, well almost. I lounged around in my P.J.'s for awhile but that can only last for so long with a two year old, Little Buckaroo gets too restless. So, we are very fortunate to live in area that has an Exotic Animal Training Program (EATM) of  American's Teaching Zoo, located on the campus of Moorpark College.

Silly pose but at least he stood still for it.

Though the Zoo is small, Moorpark College EATM program houses over 130 animals. Many of them are are endangered in the wild, while some are disabled or could not survive in the wild on their own. Students come from all around the world to attend the EATM program to one day work in the animal industry.

Little Buckaroo lead the way and we started off seeing, Clarence, the 85 year old Galapagos Tortoise with one of his student keepers.

He weights over 500 lbs.

Then we headed over to see the winged animals...

"Ghost " the Bald Eagle.

Time to monkey around...



My monkey watching the monkey.

They have animal shows at 12 noon, 1, 2, and 3pm and a carnivore feeding demonstration at 3:30pm. They only bring out four to five animal but it was just enough for Little Buckaroo's short attention spand.

"Zeta", the Red Crested Turaco.


(Cool fact about the Red Crested Turaco, it's feather bleed their color in water.)

It only took us an hour to walk through the entire Zoo and watch the show so we headed out and got some lunch at my favorite pizza parlor. We finished off the afternoon with a dip in the kiddie pool and a long nap, Ahhh!

Disney Blog Hop - Disney Decor

This weeks blog hop co-hosted by Lisa Robertson from Babies in Disneyland and Linds from Deals 2 Disney. The theme this week is Disney Decor. I'm not much of a home decorator. I just don't have the eye or talent for it.

I'd have to say my home is simple and collective with no real theme. I like my knick-knacks and toys but have really tired to simplify my house and purge items I don't use or need. Some items are to hard to part with though, especially my Disney.

Things that I treasure the most tend to end up on my main bookcase. Here are a few of them....



This is my Police Officer Mickey next to my own police medal giving to me by the city.




My miniature Mickey and Minnie bobble heads.




My Toy Story happy meal set, I collected from McDonald's back in 1999.

If I could afford it I'd have a Thomas Kinkade Disney 50th anniversary painting above my fireplace. Maybe oneday, dreams do come true!


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Wordless Wednesday