Motel 6 Anaheim Disneyland

I accidentally posted about Motel 6 Disneyland in Anaheim in my Food Porn blog but don't go there.

It's the fucking worst. Motel 6 is such a shit company. Don't stay there and enjoy your vacation instead of dealing with dirty rooms, no wifi, and horrible staff. At check-in, the desk agent asked me to rate them all 10s.

Minus 10s, more like.

Orogold Finds Gold in Beverly Hills

Free facials in Beverly Hills? And you don’t have to be a superstar or silver spooner to get one.

Orogold has opened a new location in Beverly Hills. Expect to find luxurious comforts such as champagne, a harpist, and elegant treats to rejuvenate your spirits during your shopping day. For your skin, product specialists will guide customers through their line and offer a personalized skin care regimen. Orogold’s philosophy is for customers to experience their products as well as to learn how to properly use them. Thus they are taken away into private rooms where they can enjoy a facial and be taken through the application of various products, all while lying back in comfort and style.

Now my beautician was on the sharp side. That probably won’t fly well with the 90210 crowd. She said my skin was awful and for some reason called me Snow White, maybe because she thought her bio-whitening product did what it’s made for. But other than that, the peaceful surroundings will provide a relaxing getaway in the heart of BH.

The new Beverly Hills location is at 9658 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

ANA Plane Goes R2D2

ANA airlines has announced a partnership with Lucasfilm to get its plane R2d2 wrapped. It’s very cool. The routes and flight schedules have yet to be determined. Here’s how they describe it. I think it’s only the exterior, not the interior. And I don’t believe additional Star Wars themed happenings occur on the plane.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced today it will introduce Star Wars livery, with the iconic R2-D2, on its newest aircraft 787-9 Dreamliner to mark the beginning of a five-year ANA Star Wars™ Project and agreement with The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd.* This marks the first time a Star Wars character will appear on the exterior of a commercial aircraft. The R2-D2 design was unveiled to Star Wars fans today at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California, just months prior to the character’s appearance on international flights** in autumn of this year.   

The Star Wars livery is in line with ANA’s strategy to further enhance its international presence. Last spring, the carrier significantly expanded its international flight network from Haneda and Narita airports in Tokyo. With demand increasing around the world for flights to Japan and routes linking the United States with Asia, ANA is committed to raising the profile of the ANA brand in the global market through innovative partnerships and branding opportunities. The partnership with Star Wars, beloved by audiences in Japan and around the globe, is a perfect match as Japan’s largest airline seeks to connect travelers around the world through this project.  

ANA also launched its special website featuring the Star Wars collaboration. For more information on the ANA Star Wars Project, please visit: http://www.ana-sw.com

ANA Star Wars Project is a five-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. in Japan and spanning from 2015 to 2020. Routes and flights operated by the aircraft with Star Wars livery have not been determined

Los Angeles Travelers: Save Money and Get a Tap Card

If you plan to visit Los Angeles and intend on taking any sort of public transportation, it is now essential that you acquire a TAP card. It is a plastic card that you stores your ticket. Los Angeles no longer issues ANY paper tickets. 

You must have a TAP card to ride the metrorail—the area’s subway system—without a TAP card.

Buses DO accept cash. HOWEVER if you intend to transfer to another bus or take a bus to then take the subway, you will end up LOSING money if you don’t have a TAP card.

LA County recently instituted a $1.75 fare. In that fare, you get 2 hour of transfers. As long as you don’t get on the same number bus line or same color metrorail, you do not have to pay again. Your last boarding has to be less than 2 hours after your first boarding.

For traveling with the TAP card, if you got on the red line at 2PM, you have to get on the 460 bus by 3:59:59 or you will be charged again.

Remember you cannot get on the same number bus or same color rail again. You can get off the red line at Hollywood and Highland but you cannot take the red line again in either direction without paying again.

That’s all if you had a TAP card. If you have paid by cash however, you have to pay every time you board. So if you have 5 transfers within 2 hours, with a TAP card you’d pay $1.75. Cash, you’d pay $8.75.

See how you lose money if you don’t have a TAP card. A TAP card costs $1.

You do not throw the TAP card away.

Now if you are jumping on and off, you should think about getting a day pass. Or even a weekly or monthly pass depending on your stay and amount of travel.

Also, I’ll remind you again, on weekends, Metrolink is $10 good for all travel (with a few exceptions). Metrolink is different than metro rail or metro busses. You do get a paper ticket. That paper ticket is tappable at metrorail stations. It is valid for Metrolink as well as connecting buses (with a few exceptions).

The only drawback is that you cannot buy a Metrolink weekend $10 ticket until the weekend day starts. There’s no pre-buying. And the only place you can buy it is at a Metrolink station. So getting to one probably will cost you a $1.75 additionally. Still not a bad deal. After that, remember, the $10 weekend ticket works just like an All-Day pass. No 2-hour restrictions or off/on exclusions.

Metrolink tickets cannot be loaded onto a TAP card. They are a separate system so you do need to keep the paper ticket with you. When you board a connecting bus, you just show them the ticket instead of tapping it. At the metrorail stations, you DO tap it at the turnstile or kiosk.

It’s very simple once you start riding.

Note: While San Francisco is more environmentally conscious than LA, the city still issues paper transfers. However they do have a tappable card as well. For those with paper transfers, you cannot enter through the rear doors. Those with the cards can because there are tap sensors by each door.

Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show: Guam Special Fare

Los Angeles Travel & Adventure Show can receive a special fare for travel from LA to Guam. It’s all in conjunction with the Guam Visitors Bureau’s The Triple A Experience, a partnership with United Airlines and Mystical Tours & Adventures.

Designed to give US travelers access, adventure, and authenticity, GVB will promote direct non-stop flights from Guam to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Manila, positioning the tropical island of Guam as a sought-after getaway destination and gateway to those cities.
 

There’ll also be special fares for San Francisco, San Diego and Houston to Guam, including connections to Saipan, Palau and Yap for outbound travel February 23 – May 31, 2015 and September 16 – December 14, 2015.

Lunar New Year Festival at Port of LA

The Port of Los Angeles will host a Lunar New Year Festival celebration Saturday, February 21, 3-7 PM ending with fireworks. 

Expect: Petting zoo, featuring sheep and other animals from the Chinese Zodiac; Folk dancers from the Los Angeles Chinese Cultural Center and Korean Dance Academy; Wushu Shaolin lion dancers; dragon martial arts demonstration; and Japanese drummers Kokoro Taiko Kai of Long Beach, with special appearances by the popular Ni Hao Kai-Lan and “Baby” RubberDuckLA.

Downtown Harbor
504 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro, CA 90731
(6th Street and Harbor Blvd.)
Link to Google Maps