To kick off our three day weekend we went to the Asian American Expo in Pomona. The only reason we went was because D was able to get free tickets from work since Mazda was a sponsor.

According to the website, they expected 100,000 attendees over the weekend–crazy! I’m not sure if they hit their estimate, but it was certainly crowded when we arrived at 11 a.m. Our first stop was the food pavillion, of course. There were free samples of soy milk, instant noodles, various crackers/cookies, and coffee/tea. We ended up buying a couple of boxes of soy milk and two jars of Kikkoman sauces for $1 each. It would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t so difficult to get through the crowds of people with a stroller.

Afterward we bought lunch at a couple of stalls outside. We didn’t know where to go, but I guess we should’ve just stuck with the places with the long lines. A lot of the signage was in Chinese, so it was kind of difficult figuring out what to get. One thing that grossed us out was the “octopus on a stick” we saw people walking around with. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.

D took k to look at the elephant rides.

Then we went to the other halls where there were various vendors: steam irons; all- you-can-catch goldfish, $1/minute; beauty products; black fermented garlic and ginseng, etc. One of the samples we brought home was a full size can of white gourd juice and black soy milk…interesting.

Mazda had a display with the 3 and the 6. One of the Mazda dealers (Alhambra, I think), was giving out free tote bags with a Mazda car shade, red envelopes, and a calendar (all with Chinese writing on them). That was probably our best freebie of the day.

The highlight of k’s day was the frozen lemoande we had for dessert. She kept on smiling and saying “Sour!” after each bite.

We were able to listen to various bands, including a high school jazz band and a worship band from a Chinese Christian church while we ate outside.

I’m glad we checked the expo out, but we probably won’t go again anytime soon. It was a bit “too Asian” for us, if you know what I mean.

Didn’t you guys just go to the San Diego Zoo? Yes, but since we were recently offered free tickets that expired in January 2009, we decided to do a quick day trip. It took about an hour and a half to get there. The traffic was not bad since we went the day after Christmas. We arrived before the 9 a.m. opening time.

The Christmas decorations were still up.
As soon as the chains came down, we headed for the Sesame Street play area. There were three rides that k could go on with D. (According to the signs, I wasn’t supposed to go on them since I’m pregnant).

This was taken before the ride attendant told D that k should ride on the inside.


k didn’t have much of a reaction to the first two rides. I think she was still tired from the car ride. She did smile, however, on this last one. It was nice not to have to wait in any lines. We were done with these three rides in about twenty minutes!

Afterward, we went to Penguin Encounter and Shark Encounter.

We also went to the new Elmo 4-D movie. k wasn’t scared, but she didn’t want to wear her 3-D glasses.

Our first show of the day was Shamu’s “Believe”. D got really excited about this one…he’s still doing the Shamu “chant” at home!

For lunch we ate at the Calypso barbecue. We shared a sampler plate and a pint of milk between the three of us. It came with 2 ribs, 2 pieces of brisket, a sizeable piece of chicken, corn on the cob, biscuit, and fries. The food was surprisingly good, and not too bad at around $15, since we all ended up full.

After lunch we watched the Pets Rule! show (“Who let the dogs out?”), and the dolphin show. We also walked around a couple more aquarium exhibits. By this time, k was asleep in her stroller. On our way out we stopped at the ice cream place and ordered what was supposed to be two scoops in a waffle cone. We chose chocolate chip and chocolate, but it turned out to be more like two gigantic scoops of each kind! Again, not too bad for $4.

We left around 2:30 and felt like we had seen everything we wanted to see. The park is much easier to navigate than the zoo (smaller, stroller-friendly, relatively flat). All in all, a nice family outing, but I wouldn’t have wanted to pay full price!