Tips For Watching Movies at the Great Park

Last Saturday the Great Park kicked off its annual free summer movie series with “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2”.  We prepared by reading the book at home and checking out the first Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs movie from the library.  This was our first time going with the kids.  Last year D and I went by ourselves to watch Captain America.  Now that we have some experience, I would like to share some tips.

1.  How early should we get there?  If you care about where you sit arrive early.  Now, what is “early” you may ask.  That is actually a good question, because the start time of the movie is not clear—the website just says “dusk”.  In our experience, they start the movie just after 8 p.m.  This time we arrived just after 6 p.m. and there was a good number of people already set up.  My friend arrived at 5:45 and they got primo seating. 

2.  Where is the best place to sit?  This is also a tricky question.  It depends in part on your setup.  There are basically three sections you can sit in.  The front section, closest to the screen; the middle section, which is separated from the front section by a roped-off walkway; and the back section, which begins with the ledge.  The front section is limited to low back chairs and people sitting on blankets.  They really need signage to make this explicit.  We saw several people start to set up high back chairs, only to be confronted by people in the middle section who told them this was not allowed.  Lack of signage just makes it awkward for everyone.  We usually bring our ubiquitous Costco Tommy Bahama chairs.  Technically, I guess they would qualify as low back, but I prefer to sit in the middle section anyway.  I think the front section would be too loud because you are right next to the speakers.  I would say the ideal spot would be the very front of the middle section, so you are right next to the walkway.  That way, no one can set up chairs right in front of you.  Also, you are close to the walkway for easy access to the bathroom and at exiting at the end of the movie.  Another good spot would be the first row of the back section, as you are slightly elevated, guaranteeing good sight lines.

3.  What kind of food should I bring?  Since it is best to arrive early, there is plenty of time to eat dinner.  This is the most fun part, in my opinion.  Feel free to bring anything, as there are no restrictions on outside food, coolers, wagons, etc. 

This time, we opted for sandwiches from Capriotti’s.  We saw people sharing whole pizzas, as well as buying food from the food trucks parked nearby. 

For dessert we brought some of the mini pies we obtained at the Orchard Hills opening.  They were from I LIke Pie in Claremont.  These were so cute!  Yes, they got smushed, but they were still tasty.  Also, remember to bring snacks to eat during the movie, if you so desire.  Also bring something to entertain the kids during the waiting time—cards, books, etc.  Our kids had fun just running around the open grassy area.

4.  Are there bathrooms nearby?  Always an important question, especially with kids in tow.  There used to be portable toilets, but now there is a building with bathrooms two buildings behind the viewing area.  I would suggest waiting until about 7:30-7:45 to go, so no one has to go during the movie! 

5.  Remember to bring warm clothes and/or blankets.  Even though it was quite warm during the day, it cooled off fairly quickly.  The movies do not end until around 9:45, so be prepared! 

Grand Opening of Orchard Hills

New upscale neighborhoods seems to be popping up all around us.  We like to check them out and score some free food in the process.  This past Saturday was probably the biggest event we have been to yet: Orchard Hills in Irvine.  The key to going to these events is to arrive early, like right when it starts, at the latest.

 

The models in this particular neighborhood were so spread out that there was off-site parking and two different shuttle routes.

This was probably the nicest bus I ever been on.  The kids enjoyed the ride too.

It is always fun to check out the most expensive homes.  In this case, it was the “Trevi” models, starting at “the low 2 millions”—haha.

Model 2 was the most impressive.  Here are the kids checking out the crazy wine cellar.

Picture of the kitchen pantry—that one’s for my mom. 

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Baseball caps that sport the “New Homes” logo kept the sun out of their eyes. 

Everyone needs a bocce ball court, right? 

Now, onto to the food.

The majority of people checking out the homes were Asian, so there was orange chicken and spring rolls representin’.  (The spring rolls were from a Japanese restaurant, which did not really make sense). 

There were also bean and cheese burritos from La Sirena Grill.  Unfortunately, the burritos were a very poor representation of their food.  We’ve eaten there in the past and been really impressed, but the burritos that day had crunchy, undercooked beans.  Taco Bell/Del Taco bean and cheese burritos taste better, sorry to say.

We were able to try to flavors of Nekter juice, which some of D’s co-workers are a fan of.  The flavors were a little too “out there” for us.  We thought the kids would like the strawberry lemonade, but there was cayenne pepper in it!   This station also had hummus and pita bread from Zov’s. 

We saw other people holding coffee drinks, which is when we realized that the individual builders also had their own refreshment stations!  We ended up taking home various canned drinks, bottles of water, mini pies, biscotti, and popcorn from Popcornopolis.

We unexpectedly ran into our cute neighbors.

The kids’ favorite was the mango frozen yogurt from Pinkberry with fresh mango, strawberries and blueberries. 

There was an orchestral group that played contemporary music, such as Journey.

There were also activities for the kids, including decorating bird houses.

In all, we spent almost three and a half hours there, which is crazy.  We’ll have to go back another time to look at more of the homes.

k’s 1st Grade Open House

The school year is slowly winding down.  Last week, k had her Open House.  She was very excited to show us all of her classroom projects.  It was also nice that my parents were able to come along too.  The Open House felt kind of chaotic because it was SO crowded in her classroom.  I guess that means that there was a good turn out, which is a good thing.

This picture was taken in the very beginning, before all of the parents arrived.

k’s silhouette is in the upper left corner.

One of k’s projects required an ipad and app to scan a QR code.  Hi-tech!

Afterward, we ducked into a second grade classroom to see what lies ahead, as well as a kindergarten classroom to give n a preview.  Can’t believe we’ll have two in school come September!

Food @ Tahquitz Pines

It was nice not having to plan meals, cook, and clean up for a couple of days.  The food was better than we expected, and always served with a smile. 

The first night was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, cornbread, and a berry cheesecake dessert.

Sunday breakfast was certainly filling: french toast, country potatoes, eggs, and sausage.  I’m not sure if the berries were meant for the french toast, but they went well together.  There was also an assortment of cereals that I usually do not buy, so the kids were excited to try them out.

Lunch was beef taquitos (not really, but I cannot remember what they called them), beans, rice, salad, and a strawberry churro.  This was k’s favorite meal, but it was a little spicy for n.

Pork tenderloin, potato medley, mixed vegetables, salad, and roll plus cheesecake (not pictured).  This was our least favorite, mainly because the pork was so plain.  I dressed mine up with homemade tonkatsu sauce—ketchup + A1.  We were supposed to have a pie social after the evening session, but there was a mix-up, so we ended up with vanilla ice cream instead. 

Last breakfast: biscuit with gravy, country potatoes, eggs, bacon and fruit. 

Our last lunch was turkey burgers, salad, chips and a turtle brownie, of which I failed to take a picture.  We ate with the kids about half the time, and the other half they ate with other kids at their own table.  It is hard to believe that they are at an age where that is possible!  Seeing all the younger families with booster seats and baby food made me remember how difficult mealtime used to be. 

All-Church Retreat: Tahquitz Pines

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to Idyllwild to attend our church’s retreat.  This was the first all church retreat we have had in eleven years!  The retreat started after lunch on Saturday.  We ate a picnic lunch at the nearby Idyllwild Nature Center.  They were having a family event which included some crafts, booths, and hikes. 

We decided to do the guided nature walk, which was supposed to be “only 20 minutes”.  Well, it ended up being more like 45 minutes, but I must say it was quite informative.

Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics.

The “Jay Leno” rock.

Afterward we drove to Tahquitz Pines Conference Center.  This place has been around for a while, but the grounds are well-kept.

We checked into our room, and the kids were thrilled to find a bunk bed.  We let the kids play on the upper bunk, but n slept on the bottom bunk and k slept on the cot.

The private bathroom was very spacious.  (Toilet and shower were across from these sinks).  We had a room adjoining to family friends, so the kids had lots of fun going back and forth.

This is the auditorium where we listened to our gifted speaker, Pastor Wayne Ogimachi. 

Meanwhile, the kids were kept busy in a separate building.  There was also an upstairs. 

There were some high swings!

There was also a pool, but the water was really cold even though it was warm outside.  Overall, we had a really good time with our family, as well as our church family.  Tomorrow I will document the food.