Hello Santa Monica...Hello Kitty...

I've been "following" Sanrio oh since maybe I was about 8ish and been a fan ever since. I remember the moment I first laid eyes on a Sanrio store. I was still back in Philippines, roaming some mall with my Mom, Papa Ding and my brother Chester. It was the bright primary colors of red and blue that got my attention from afar. Of course I just zeroed into the windows displaying all the wonderful things Sanrio has. My first love was Little Twin Stars, Kiki & Lala (odd names but ok) then there was My Melody. I remember learning how to draw her with her one ear down. Through the years I've only indulged my Sanrio addiction with stationaries (that I never really used & still wrapped in plastic) and those ever so cute Pens and Pencils and Pencil boxes and Erasers Oh My!  And how could I possibly forget those plastic wallets which were the perfect size for storing our school friends' school wallet sized pictures that we traded like baseball cards!! Oh memories.

I remember the first time I ever skipped class (Jr High)...it was the last day of school...it was all planned out perfectly. We leave right after lunch and that would give us enough time to go "visit" the Sanrio Store on Redondo Beach Blvd and still make it to the bus stop to make it home on time...like nothing ever happened...hehehehe. I was so nervous along with my three other Filipino friends (Gigi, Joann and Thea - oh they are all on FB too "Hi"). As soon as we made it through the wired fence that kept the rest of the students in we made a run for it.....as fast as we could. My heart beating in my head I felt a pull on my shirt and I for sure thought it was a teacher or some staff that was trying to stop me...I had to fight the urge not piss on my pants due to fear. And as I turned my head to see who it was...I found my shirt caught in one of the neighboring house's fence!!! oh the relief!!!

Fast forward to the present time...and Sanrio is now 50 years old!!! WOW!!! Kind of makes sense because Hello Kitty just turned 30 something last year and THAT WAS A BLAST too!!

Thanks to FB and me following Sanrio through FB and checking out their website every once in awhile ( I swear I am not a stalker hehehe)  I discovered that there was going to be a week+some days of celebration going on for their 50th anniversary here good ol' Santa Monica...YEAY!!! Of course I don't remember driving there ever but hey I will do just about anything for Sanrio as long as its my day off. And it just so happens that I was.

Day 1: (Yes day 1 because there will be a day 2) Literally though it was day one to the public. The opening night was the night before (Duh!)

After getting the kiddies into their schools off I went with my Pink Point&Shoot and my trusty Jacob iPhone and headed on to the 405 north I think. Anyway I was thinking "wow the traffic is so light" until right about the LAX area and then it got slow but at least it was not a stand still. Bopping to Kids Bop and learning the actual words to the current songs I finally found my exit. Santa Monica (at least where I was driving by) was gorgeous. The houses reminded me of some East Coast Neighborhoods...and that brought a smile to my mind.

In about 10 or so minutes after exiting I found this:

followed this

and saw this

Be still my beating heart!!! 

Oh I think I might have squeeled like a baby pig about to become lechon...so glad that I was by myself...hehehe can't really embarras myself since its just me, myself and I and we all know each other.

What awaits inside was Sanrio Heaven...at least for me.

The Entrance (right about this moment I wished I had the new iPhone so I can take my own pic)

First thing that caught my eye. Funny I had a dream about a Smart car for 4 people the night before...a sign?

Next thing that caught my eye and my tummy...The Eats!!
I truly did squeel and probably hopped a couple of times when I saw this food truck. Been waiting to try it and thank goodness I had cash.

this food truck was offering Vietnamese food. Too bad I wasn't in the mood for some Pho.

And no Line...yeay!

What I saw after getting lunch

Beef & Pork Sliders with Crab balls-all made a happy fun party in my tummy. A little spicy and I'll pay for eating that later

Sat on the picnic table and saw this in front of me...how fun it would be for Celeste to ride that.

And the Beloved Beard Papa...of course it makes perfect sense for them to be here

Yeay until I saw the price...But cute photo prop.

Which way should I go next?

The Games people play

You need to get these to play

Oh so cute mini Golf ( I wonder if Celeste will do this...)

for sure Celeste would like this

I wanted this but you need a ticket first

a fun game...

I watched that lady scoop up like 5 or 6 at a time...WOW!

The object of the game is to scoop as many characters as you can with the water soluble screen

After debating with Mae-self (it was a hard fight buy I won) I went for it and ...

got 10 of these

Headed straight to this activity (there were only a couple of people in line)

The worker at this Tuxedo Sam game really got into the spirit. Each time someone got first prize, she would jump for joy and yell "You won first place Hooray!" I found myself jumping when I got first place. I just loved her enthusiasm.

My Loot!! In every game you play you get something. So everyone is a winner.

A definite day 2 is a must...with Celeste and some new friends to meet.