August 2018 14 A Summer Art Exhibition & Sale July 28 - October 29 at the Cultural Crossroads Learning Center of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum Corner of Hwy. 60 & Tegner in Wickenburg AUGUST ART DEMONSTRATIONS Saturdays 1:00-3:00 Demos free to public Gayle Siegfried 7/28 Water Color John Heckman 8/4 Pastels Nancy Anderson 8/11 Acrylics Shirley Bartell 8/18 Mixed Media Gina Hebert 8/25 Weaving Presented by the Wickenburg Art Club and The Desert Caballeros Western Museum The Pony 2nd Hand Store We Collect & Deliver Your Merchandise FREE LOCAL DELIVERY AVAILABLE 662 W. Wickenburg Way Wickenburg • Open Monday–Saturday thepony2ndhandstore.com 928-231-2730 • 928-232-2019 We Carry Quality 2nd Hand & New Merchandise Your Home Furniture Supplies Store Specializing in Appliances Jane and Peter Kibble pony2ndhandstore@outlook.com The Rustic Lifestyle This summer I am living by the motto of work hard, play harder. If you’ve read my articles before, you know I’m an event producer. I LOVE work and am constantly in development with my brands and the growth of my company. I have just shy of 1,000 events I’m responsible for this year, and well over that in 2019. That equals long hours, and non-stop multi-tasking. When summer hit this year, we had almost every week designated to some sort of fun! The kids and my husband went camping the first week. Then we hit the road to California, where I helped produce a luxury car auction event. I may have experienced complete insanity when planning this part of our vacation, as I crammed four major tourist attractions in four consecutive days. On a semi-related note – if you suffer from chafed legs from walking 40 miles in amusement parks four days in a row, solid deodorant is your best friend. Rub it on the area and no more problemas! I wouldn’t know anything about that of course… By Desiree’ Byrne, Founder of Front Porch Pickins The Rustic Lifestyle column is dedicated to sharing about all things related to country living: home décor, travel, fashion, family, faith, and more. Jim Byrne, SurrealMediaAZ.com “Cause she’s in love with California, and that West Coast sunshine dream.” Big and Rich CityWalk, the entrance to the park. Security and ticket lines moved quickly. We got the Universal Express tickets, which allow you a one-time, front-of-the-line pass on each ride. My son struggles with waiting…who am I kidding, don’t we all? With the time we saved on waiting in lines, we were able to visit every attraction in the park before it closed. The magnitude of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was overwhelming! It’s so authentic in its presentation, including snow- covered two-story homes, chilled ButterBeer, a full-size train engine with conductor, all accompanied by singing toads. If you’re a fan of the movie in the slightest, you’ll enjoy it! My daughter purchased an interactive wand, which she used to “do spells” throughout Hogsmeade and see magic in real life. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was by far our favorite ride of our vacation. It was very disorienting, and unlike anything I have ever ridden on in my life. The DreamWorks Theatre featuring Kung Fu Panda, was again a wow-moment, as the theater comes to life in a 360 presentation. It was VERY unique! My kids loved meeting characters from Despicable Me, Shrek, Scooby-Doo, and more! I tried to avoid Jurassic Park – the Ride, as I didn’t want to get wet, but to my surprise, I loved the ride and it refreshed me so I could keep having fun for several more hours! Tips and tricks for Universal Studios: Visit the lower lot first and ride everything at once in that section. Everyone initially rushes to Harry Potter or the Studio Tour. By going to the lower lot, you can get on everything quickly We visited Disneyland two years ago, so we wanted to explore other venues the state had to offer. Being so close to Arizona, the five-and-a-half-hour drive is a breeze! LEGOLAND was our first stop, and drastically exceeded our expectations! The day we visited was Star Wars themed, which immediately won my husband over. Star Wars characters were EVERYWHERE and there were no lines for the meet and greets! After a ridiculous amount of selfies, and taking in all of the Lego displays, we made our way to the LEGOLAND and CHIMA Waterpark. We could have easily just spent the entire day at the waterpark – it was THAT GOOD! From very short lines to a variety of attractions for all ages, this park was definitely a family favorite! When we left, we decided LEGOLAND is a must-do when visiting California. A few tips and tricks based on our experience: There is a charge for parking. Lockers are available to rent daily, and we considered it a basic necessity for the visit. If you’re on a budget – be sure to eat before you arrive. Food is pricey, but it was actually good. They also offered healthy options, which is abnormal for theme parks! We brought a change of clothes, but that seemed to be unnecessary in retrospect. We’d give this stop a 10 out of 10! Day two, we ventured to Universal Studios Hollywood. The first thing we liked about our visit, was that the parking lot was immediately adjacent to Universal and avoid crowds. Bring your own water bottle. No refills are allowed on soft drinks, without a more expensive day cup. Leave to eat. CityWalk is a quick escape and has standard restaurant prices. Plus, you may see JoJo Siwa at iFly and apparently that is a HUGE DEAL according to my daughter, who gives Universal Studios Hollywood two…hundred thumbs up! Be sure to read my column next month as I share about our visit to Knott’s Berry Farm, the San Diego Zoo, and our annual trip to the Midwest for some good old junkin’ and pickin!