SeaWorld Visit!

One of the great benefits of living in San Diego is having one of the great SeaWorld locations right in our backyard! When we lived in Michigan we had the chance to visit the SeaWorld in Cleveland before it ultimately closed. It's a fun place to visit on vacation, but for the locals it's the place to go at any given time!



On our first visit to SeaWorld in San Diego, we decided to get 2 year passes. We've certainly gotten plenty of use out of those passes, as we visit about once a month. Of course it is a place you can spend the entire day, but we prefer to go for a couple hours at a time. No reason to rush or exhaust ourselves - we go on our terms!



For the most part, our frequent trips are planned with purpose. Sometimes we go to see specific shows, and for a truly romantic evening we attend the night shows. Other times we like to walk through the aquariums, look at the exhibits, feed the dolphins or go on rides. During the holidays there are also special shows and attractions, which keep us coming back as well.



Summer time is definitely the busiest season of all for SeaWorld, and we found that out once again when we decided to see the new Shamu show, One Ocean, last weekend. A month earlier we went to a members-only sneak peek at the new Sea Turtle Reef. There really is always something new to do and we've yet to grow tired of visiting. Right now I am looking forward to the opening of Manta, the new roller coaster currently under construction!



Of course I realize that not everyone is as fortunate to have a SeaWorld close by, but with locations in San Diego, Florida and Texas, it's definitely worth visiting the closest location to you. Summer vacation is always ideal, but any time of the year will do!



Photos courtesy of SeaWorld

Visit Your Local Patch!

If you've followed this blog for any length of time you know how much we promote community and local events. Most towns have lots of fun things going on, but it's easy to miss out if you don't know about it. Here to change all that is a relatively new website from AOL called Patch that is bringing a sense of community back to the residents. Below is a little more info from the About section of their website:

What is Patch?

Simply put, Patch is a new way to find out about, and participate in, what’s going on near you.

We’re a community-specific news and information platform dedicated to providing comprehensive and trusted local coverage for individual towns and communities. We want to make your life better by giving you quick access to the information that’s most relevant to you. Patch makes it easy to:

• Keep up with news and events
• Look at photos and videos from around town
• Learn about local businesses
• Participate in discussions
• Submit your own announcements, photos, and reviews

Who’s Behind Patch?

Patch is run by professional editors, writers, photographers and videographers who live in or near the communities we serve, and is supported by a great team in our New York City headquarters. Patch also gets advice from our Editorial Advisory Board and from many members of the community.

We hope that our sites will strengthen communities and improve the lives of their residents, but we can’t do it without you. We’ve built Patch so that you have plenty of opportunities to comment on stories, share your opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar. So get to it! And if you’re a business owner who wants to be listed, just let us know.

Giving Back

You can’t truly serve a community unless you provide the help it needs most, which is why giving back is so important to us. We do it as part of our coverage — in a dedicated space that lets local charities and volunteers find each other — and with a program called “Give 5,” through which we donate free advertising space to charitable organizations and contribute our own time as volunteers.
Patch.org

The Patch.org Foundation was formed in March, 2010 to improve the quality of life in underserved communities across the globe through access to trusted local news and information.

What We Do

The Patch.org Foundation plans to partner with community foundations and other organizations to fund the operation of Patch news and information sites in communities that need them most: inner-city neighborhoods and underserved towns around the world.
What we look for

We will look for communities of 15-100k population that are underserved by media and would benefit by having access to local news and information about government, schools and business. These could be inner-city neighborhoods or distinct towns.

Although Patch is only available in select states and cities at this time, they are constantly adding to the list. If yours is not yet available keep checking back because this is quickly becoming a valuable resource to all communities!