Socal Stuff: Reviews by Donna Schwartz Mills

Sea World: A First-Class Destination for the Entire Family

Kids in Southern California are blessed with an abundance of family attractions and activities. It's a pretty short drive from our San Fernando Valley home to Disneyland, California Adventure, LegoLand, Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor and more. My daughter and I love it.

I wish I could say the same for my husband. He HATES amusement parks, with a passion. Getting him to agree to a Disneyland trip is like pulling hair (and if you've seen my husband, you know he doesn't have a lot of hair to spare).

Thank goodness for Sea World. The San Diego marine park is one of the few places in SoCal that offers something for everyone in our family: Animal exhibits, entertainment and rides -- with the added attraction of comfortable ocean breezes.

I've been enjoying the park since right after it opened in 1964. My husband and I visited before we were married, and then again on our honeymoon. It continued to be a favorite destination after our daughter was born and we discovered that it contains one of the best children's play areas I've ever seen.

So I was delighted to receive an invitation to the grand opening of the play area's newest incarnation, as the Sesame Street Bay of Play. It has all the wild and wonderful features we enjoyed when Megan was a toddler -- with the addition of three gentle rides and Sesame Street characters. And now that our daughter is in her "terrible tweens," I am nostalgic for those sweet days when I could rest my feet after a long day of shows and animals, and sit on a shady bench while husband and child climbed nets as high as the sky.

Here's some video I took of the Bay of Play's unveiling:

And here's Megan's kid's eye view of the Bay of Play:

Don't you love the way she protests that she's only there because her mom is making her... and then proceeds to have fun despite herself?

At least, she was not too cool for the park's other attractions, which include amazing animal shows and opportunities to get up close and personal with sharks, whales, dolphins, penguins and seals.

The Memorial Day crowds (combined with the fact that we got up at 5:00 a.m. to drive to San Diego) prevented us from seeing EVERYTHING there was to see at Sea World, but we managed to sample quite a bit of the park (including two times on the Journey to Atlantis ride). Want to see how we spent the rest of our day?

Our Day at Sea World from Donna Schwartz Mills on Vimeo.

Some day, we would love to do the Breakfast with Shamu or the Dolphin Encounter. Sea World also offers an amazing camp program where your kid can spend a week interacting with the marine biologists and trainers who work there.

Wanna know how we spent the rest of our time in San Diego? Visit me at my main blog, SoCal Mom.

Releasing Your Inner Hitchcock with the Flip Camcorder

People who meet me today might be surprised to learn that my college major was Radio-Television-Film. I was one of those kids who liked to make my own little films with my dad's 8mm home movie camera (these were the days before the invention of consumer video camcording).

Movies, music and television were my passions, and I could not think of anything else I wanted to do with my life. This became a problem for me when I got older and realized I'd gone as far as I was going to go in the entertainment business (my friends and I used to joke about how we'd clawed our way to the middle).

So you can see why I've had my eye on the Flip camcorder since I first heard of it through some of my blogging friends. (Note to PR people: In my case, reading about this device on blogs TOTALLY sold me. Just thought you should know.)

I received my Flip over the weekend as a birthday present, and it's everything I'd hoped for -- and more. I've been putting it through the paces, and you can see some of the results here:

Megan at the Gym: 5/19/08 from Donna Schwartz Mills on Vimeo.

FLIP PRO'S:

• The camera is small and light enough to fit in your handbag.
• Simple controls - this is really the easiest video camera I've ever owned.
• Works well in low light.
• Records to built-in flash memory, so you never have to fumble for a cassette.
• Direct USB connection to your computer; no need to carry around a separate cable
• Shoots broadcast quality video that you can output to a television.
• The built-in video software makes it amazingly easy to create professional looking videos, in several different styles. You can even add music.
• Post to YouTube and AOL within the Flip program.
• Inexpensive: The top of the line Ultra model retails for $149

FLIP CON'S:

• Not much of a zoom, so this is not the camcorder to take to your kid's sports events.
• Record/Stop button a little tough to engage - but that could just be me.
• Can't expand the flash memory; advise buying the Ultra model with 2GB (60 minutes)
• The interface for the built-in Muvee software can be a little bit confusing.
• Hard to edit clips shot out of sequence.

50-50:

• Uses AA batteries (some people like that, some would prefer a proprietary rechargeable option. You can use rechargeable AA's).
• You can upgrade the software for under $100 and get more features (such as the ability to edit clips shot out of sequence, save to other video formats or add titles).

The quality of the raw video I shot looks a lot better than what you see in the clip. This is because the software automatically prepares the video for use on YouTube. I am going to experiment with editing the videos with some other programs I own to see if I can upload to Vimeo in a higher quality format. If that doesn't work, I will be sorely tempted to upgrade the Muvee software that's built right into the Flip.

I loved the fact that Pure Digital Technologies packaged the camera with a little pouch, so I can carry my Flip in my handbag without getting it all scratched up. It's quick and easy to whip it out, turn it on and start recording the moment you have an inspiraton.

The bottom line: I can't decide which of the two new toys I got for my birthday is my favorite (the other one is a Wii Fit, which I will be reviewing here tomorrow). In fact, I'm going to shoot some video for that review so you can see both toys in action!

In the meantime, catch my first attempt at vlogging at SoCal Mom here.

Cruzor Gator Contest Winners

We've had our drawing and we have our winners!

The following readers will be receiving cute Cruzor Gator flash drives:

Florinda of Reading, 'Riting and Randomness

Lorna of Lorna in Wonderland

Kelly from West Coast Grrlie Blather

Glennia of The Silent I, Kimchi Mamas, and the MOMocrats (to name a few!)

Congratulations, ladies... and stay tuned to this spot for the next contest on SoCal Stuff!

Reader Amanda, who did not leave a blog URL...