Day #2 :Sanrio's 50th Anniversary

Monday couldn't seem to arrive fast enough. I was waiting all weekend for it. Just about the only Monday I was so happy to greet...because this was the day I was going to take Celeste to the Sanrio Celebration.

I was so happy getting ready in the morning for our afternoon together...felt like we were going to Disneyland. In a way it kind of was. I wonder if I will ever get to visit Sanrio Land? Hmmmm.

I went to get Celeste from school only to find her still napping but she woke up a few seconds after I was just staring at her as if she knew I was there. And I was greeted with her Angelic smile and "I love you Mama!" followed by a big hug...such a sweetie. Got her geared up with her Hello Kitty outfit (of course to match mine) & we were off. This time I knew a less stressful way of getting to our destination which consisted of driving through some neighborhoods with pretty houses to look at...and I was loving the scenery.

We got a good spot to park at since it was a lot less crowded than Friday. We were facing the front entrance. And as soon as we got out of the van Celeste yelled " Mama Hello Kitty!!!" full of excitement. And my heart jumped for joy.

She was oh so happy to pose here

EXCITEMENT

"What's in there?"

A glimpse into the future...possibly

" I want to play NOW!"

I'm not so good with action shots

"No more pics Mama!"

she continues to protest

finally made it the last hole

face painting

PhotoBooth App on the iPhone

Celeste was afraid to go close...

So...I got one with me taken by one of the staff with apparently a shaky hand :)

she got 3rd place: A red plastic cup

Free Play at Centipede (yea I "helped" her out)

Friends we met along the way...

Mia, Jocelyn and Natalie arrives

Celeste with the Bean

the two cuties

Meeting of great minds

my attempt at candid shots

Vizzi Food Truck: they had Bacon Grilled Cheese on the menu

Decisions Decisions

Playing Spin and Win: where everyone wins a prize

Me So Hungry Food Truck was the winning choice for dinner

NomNomNomNom!!

The Duke with some Sweet  Potato Fries ( I eat you now!)

"Its an honor just to be nominated"

What's in your mouth Celeste?

Can we take it home Mama?

I love Hello Kitty, See!

Come follow me home. You can sit on Kuya's car seat ok?

Yea...I coughed up a lung for this...its not like we need all our lobes right?

So Totally worth the trip the second time around. Got to meet friends (finally), the look on Celeste's face were priceless. These are the times where I wish I had a built in Flip Video in my brain so I can just replay it all over again and not miss a thing. Thank you to Mia and Jenny for meeting up with me. So who's up for round 3? Anyone...anyone...Bueller? Bueller?

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.