Holiday Boat Parade In Redondo Beach

On Friday night we took my son to the Annual Redondo Beach holiday boat parade in Redondo Beach harbor. It was the first time I have been to it but I have been to the boat parades in Newport Beach and Huntington Harbor. The parade started at 5:30 and end around 7:00...but we did not stay the entire time.

We Love To Fly In The South Bay In LA

Ok...maybe everyone in the South Bay doesn't love to fly...but I do. On December 14 we were invited to a United Airlines ribbon cutting ceremony at LAX to celebrate United's first non-stop flight from LAX to FRA [Frankfurt, Germany].

First we were invited to the United Airlines First Class International Lounge in the airport to have some German wines, cake and apple strudel then we went down to gate 76 where the flight was going to leave from and there there was 2 large cakes and cider for all of the passengers flying this first flight.

Much to our friend's surprise the airlines asked him to participate in cutting of the ribbon (he is a frequent flyer, Global Services, member on United and he is also Swiss German and flies to Frankfurt often.

Did I mention that we didn't have a ticket to fly but were allowed to come into the airport with a special pass?

Fun...ok...I am a dork.

Holiday Office Parties in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach

I went to two office parties this week. One for my office at Beaches in Manhattan Beach and the other was...don't tell anyone...another brokers office party. A friend was invited to the OB party and asked if I wanted to tag along so I thought why not and apparently I was not the only one from my company that attended this party.

Both parties had lots of food and drinks and everyone had a great time!


There are photos but I am going to be nice and not post them. :)

Clippers Viewing Party in Hermosa Beach

Several times a year the Clippers have a viewing party and invite their season ticket holders to come and enjoy some food, drink and they raffle off items with some of the Clipper Spirit and Clipper staff.

Last night they had it at the North End Bar in Grill in Hermosa Beach so we decided to stop by since it was close .

They had complimentary food, drink specials and prizes raffled.

Holiday Cheer in Manhattan Beach

Oh the holidays....

Last night was the first of the holiday parties I will attend this year. My friend usually has her party the first Friday of December but there was a scheduling conflict so her party was the last day of November.

We had friends from all over the US here as well as one or two from abroad. There was a lot of eating and drinking which plays havoc on my diet...

Kiwi's and Aussies

Flyertalkers at Mudbrick Vineyards Restaurant On Wiaheke Island, New Zealand

Sydney, Australia

Auckland, New Zealand (I took this photo...really)

Left last Saturday for Auckland with some Flyertalk friends of ours from DC, Chicago and Kansas City. In New Zealand we did a lot of sightseeing including taking a day trip and tour to Waikeke Island. On the island we did a wine tasting tour including a special trip to Goldwater Estate Winery the first winery on Waikeke where we had a private tasting and met the owner Kim Goldwater.

After 3 short days we hopped on a plane to Sydney for 2 night. Many things were going on with a lot of publicity such as the finals of Australian Idol (the Australian version of American Idol) where they were setting up at the Opera House. The LA Galaxy was in town with Beckham and this was going to be the largest exhibition game in Australia's history. Also, the election of the Prime Minister was the day we left and from what I read this was a huge deal because the current PM had served several terms so the city was buzzing the entire time we were there. Met up with another Flyertalker friend and his girlfriend for dinner.

I think I walked about 7 miles a day in Auckland and Sydney both. I need to go back and actually spend some time there.

[note] Upon arrival we heard that the current PM lost the election.

STEPS TO THE SAND IN MANHATTAN BEACH

209 38th Place Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Upstairs 2 Bd, 1 Bath, 940 sq. ft. $800,000

Down stairs 1 bd, 1 ba, 460 sq ft $600,000

Living in the South Bay is great but the cost can be a bit higher. These units are less than a block from the beach, restaurants, and shops and less than 5 miles from LAX. (not on MLS) www.SouthBayinLA.com
http://shorewood.com/ListingDetail.cfm?ID=116966
http://shorewood.com/ListingDetail.cfm?ID=116976


Ok....enough about real estate. I am headed to New Zealand tomorrow so I should have something interesting to blog about soon.

I LOVE LA

Last night we went to a special invite only cocktail reception, dinner and Rod Stewart concert at Staples Center. We had two extra tickets so we brought a couple friends. The tickets were given to Staples Center suite holders, Grand Reserve Club Members and those with floor seats for the Clippers, Lakers and King's glass seat holders.

I don't care to go to too many concerts but Rod Stewart did a fantastic job. Right before the Hot Legs song Rod shared a photo of himself on the megascreen. He was dressed in a nurses dress with a biker hat and stilletos.

It was quite an evening.

Beyond The South Bay In LA: The Big Island of Hawaii's Fires

When I left for Hawaii I was looking forward to being in the islands but I was mostly looking forward to being able to breathe again. In Los Angeles and throughout Southern California we have been having awful fires and the air had been still, hot and there was ash floating. I could no longer stand being outside and I kept all the doors and windows closed to keep out the bad air.

When we arrived in Hawaii the air was clean, clear and beautiful. I could breathe!!!!

Then the day after the wedding on Sunday October 28th, 2007 arsonist did what they do best and started several fires on the island.

We were having a nice champagne brunch with the wedding party when the alarms sounded off and we were asked by the hotel intercom to get our belongings and return to our cars and head South.

We continued to eat and the servers continued to work until the hotel called a mandatory evacuation.

We headed to a friends villa nearby but the smoke got so bad so we headed to Waimea for the day.

We ended up going to the Waipi'o Valley lookout which was beautiful and head back to Waimea for lunch by that time the fires near Mauna Lani were under control and people were allowed to return to the hotel

Beyond The South Bay In LA: The Big Island Of Hawaii

If you have ever landed at KOA airport you will know that it is like landing on Mars. From the view from the plane [above] the ocean is blue and beautiful but when the plane lands all one can see for miles is black lava rock all around you.

We to the Mauna Lani Resort for a few days to come to a friends wedding at the hotel. It was a beautiful ceremony and every thing was just perfect including the reception at the Beach Club nearby.

Beyond The South Bay in LA: New Fontana Listing

I will try not to bore you with my real estate work but this weekend I picked up 3 listings. Two are in Manhattan Beach (will blog soon) and one in Fontana.

My friend decided to sell her home and she gave me the listing but living in LA and not knowing the market in San Bernardino County I co-listed with a local agent. I wanted to give her the best service possible.

The home is well kept and we hope it sells soon.

8562 Mango Ave.
Fontana, CA 92335

2 bed
1 bath
896 sq. ft.
$320,000

Wanna buy a house?

More info click on link to the right of my blog for my website.

Californication

While we were slumming it in the Grand Reserve Club at Staples Center before the preseason Clippers game across the street the GRAND OPENING of the new Nokia L.A. Live was beginning to get busy with the limo arrivals of those coming to see the Eagles and The Dixie Chicks

Private parties everywhere with the Hollywood stars.

Just another day in LA.

Flyertalkers in the South Bay in LA and Santa Monica

I guess I first should tell you what www.Flyertalk.com is. Flyertalk is an online group of frequent flyers and I have been a member for about 9 years now. People usually join to find out how to get award seats on planes or exchange upgrades but they have forums for hotels, car rentals, cities and many more.

One forum is Community where travelers post when they are going to and people get together. We have what we call Flyertalk Do's where we all meet up in various cities. Over the years I have met hundreds of people from around the world in places like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Narita and Dusseldorf.

On Saturday there were several Flyertalkers in town. Most were taking advantage of a airline and/or hotel promotion to earn miles and points.

We met up with a few for lunch at In-N-Out near LAX for some hamburgers. 2 of them were from NYC, 2 were from St. Louis and one was from Chicago and the rest of us are locals.

Later that evening we met up with a Flyertalker that who was from Austria. He decided to have a get together in Los Angeles to celebrate his birthday. The couple from NYC were also here as well as people from Finland and Germany as well as others more locally.

We started off with some wine and cheese at the birthday boys hotel near LAX and moved on to dinner at Locanda Del Lago in Santa Monica.
[more photos here ]

Manhattan Beach's Mira Costa High School College Fair 2007

The first guests arrive

Mira Costa High School ASB Student Volunteers

Last night was the College Fair hosted by Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. This event is for all Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach high school students. Every other year it is hosted by Redondo Union High School.

I volunteered as Dinner Coordinator for the event which ended up being a great success thanks to the local restaurants and parents that donated 100% of the food and drinks.

The dinner is for the 90+ college reps from across the nation just before the College Fair begins.

BTW I spoke to many of the college reps and they said they ALWAYS look forward to coming to Mira Costa High School because WE have the best dinners of ALL high schools across the nation...but of course. :)

Redondo Beach Safety Fair and Police Open House

There is nothing like teaching safety to the good citizens of Redondo than doing some good ole shooting. There were SWAT demonstrations and a weapons training simulator as well as many booth such as the one I was volunteering. My booth was the Redondo Beach Fire Department Community Emergency Response Team and I have been a trained response team member for about 6 years. www.rbcertaa.org

Hometown Fair in Manhattan Beach, CA

Hometown Fair in Manhattan Beach is a once a year event. All of the food booths are 100% ran by non-profits mostly fundraisers for Manhattan Beach schools such as Mira Costa High School's Football, Lacrosse, Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Water Polo....

It is mostly a family event with games for kids and craft booths but the beer garden is the hot spot as seen above. Sorry...no children allowed.

Oktoberfest in the South Bay

In Torrance, CA there is a place called Alpine Village with little shops selling many item made in Germany and they also have a restaurant there too. In the far end of the parking lot is a huge outdoor area with picnic tables where during September and October they have Oktoberfest celebrations every weekend.

The bands are flown in from Germany so the music is authentic. There are many young and old people that come here and many wear there traditional German clothes. Everyone sings and dances and of course drinks from their steins.

It was really busy last night and I have never seen so many people do the chicken dance.

Beyond The South Bay In LA: HALF MOON BAY, CA

A couple weeks ago my SO and I flew up to SFO to go to a wedding in Hillsborough. We decided to stay in Half Moon Bay because all of his friends moved out of the city and moved to HMB.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton and ass you can see it is absolutely beautiful there.

Beyond The South Bay In LA: MALIBU, CA

No Miley Cyrus aka Hannah Montana was not at our party but at the party next door

LG HOUSE Next Door

Elton Brand On CrutchesThe Courtyard Between The Main and Guest House

The Backyard Pool, Deck and Ocean

[left to right] Clippers Owner Donald Sterling, Coach Mike Dunleavy, Vice President of Basketball Operations Elgin Baylor, and Executive Vice President Andy Roeser

Last week was the owner of the LA Clippers, Donald Sterling's, White Party at his summer home in Malibu. It was appreciation to some fans but mostly supporters of the Clippers including their major sponsors and KTLA.

Now if you are not a sports fan you can still appreciate the hoop-la (ha ha). First you came down the street and you see a line of 15 - 20 valets. I think the valets were working two parties, ours and some Hannah Montana party at the LG House next door.

Since it was a "White Party" everyone was required to where white but at the check in table they had white Clipper T's if someone forgot but from what I seen no one forgot.

This home has a guest home on the street side, a huge court yard twice as big as the guest and the main house, then the main house and a back yard with pool a with a deck separating the back yard from the sand.

They had several bars throughout all, food, dancing, band and an announcement about the upcoming season, introduction of the players there, the coach and vice president and the executive vice president of the Clippers.

The weather was beautiful and it was a great evening.

[more photos here http://southbayinla.shutterfly.com ]