Car show stroll- An Entertaining and Free Weekend Activity

By Blasita J. Lopez

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See you in Laredo!

For more information on Arena Events call us at:

800-361-3360 or visit our website http://www.visitlaredo.com/

Laredo Pizza Factory has Grandly Opened

By Monica Andrade

If you find yourself on the northside of town, stop by. They’re located at 9652 McPherson Rd. at Ste. #4 (next to Average Joe’s) or visit them on Facebook. I had a great meal and I’m sure you will too.

Join us on our next adventure…

See you in Laredo!

For more information on Food & Fun call us at:

800-361-3360 or visit our website http://www.visitlaredo.com/

Books, books & books

Hi, my name is Aileen and I am the resident book worm at the CVB, I love reading!

For some years now I’ve been on a quest to read 12 books in 12 months, so far the closest I’ve been was in 2010 with 11, but I don’t lose my faith ;)

Now, if you are an avid reader like me, you know that reading is a lot of fun, but you have even more fun when you are able to comment about it with someone, it’s like the “guys” talking about last night’s game; so given that I moved to Laredo a couple of years ago and most of my friends & family are back in my hometown I was looking for a group of people that shared my interest, I was looking for a book club!

And one day checking the Laredo Public Library website I found out they have, not one but two that meet once a month! (www.laredolibrary.org)

So for May I went on and picked the Gateway City Book Lover’s Club book, The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead.  They were very helpful at the Library, almost every copy was checked out but they found one for me, then, book in hand I left the building confident I was going to finish reading on time!

I almost didn’t make it! You may ask yourselves, why?! If she had a whole month! Well let me share a little secret with y’all... I’m a bookaholic! I have to be careful not to walk too close to a bookstore or any other store where you can find this particular item because I know I will find one to buy and take home; which means: I attempt to read several books at a time or I pick the one I like the most, continue reading and forget about the others in line.

But going back to the book club… It usually takes place at the Library on the corner of Calton Rd. and McPhearson Ave. but every once in a while they move it to a different location (be sure to check the website before you go). In May they had it at Scholar’s Caffe Barista (1701 Peaceful Meadows Court) that by the way has an excellent hot chocolate and a delicious selection of bagels.

So armed with my book and a bagel I went in to the little library in the back of the coffee shop; Ms. Pam Burrell (the mind behind the book club) was there and a few other ladies, they were discussing the “Mystery” book and even though I didn’t read that one, the conversation was really interesting!

A couple of more people came in as we started discussing the second book, different people and backgrounds made for a really interesting conversation; Ms. Burrell guided the conversation with a few questions and allowed each participant to voice our opinion regarding the book and the author.

I had a great time!

The “Scene of the Crime: Mystery Book Club” meets first from 6 to 7, and then comes the Gateway City Book Lover’s Club from 7 to 8, you can choose one or both. The interesting thing about book clubs is that you get to read books you would never pick by yourself, Ms. Pam Burrell does a great job choosing the books (members of the club can also give suggestions).

Next session will take place at the Library (1120 E. Calton Rd.)on June 20, 2012

For more information contact:

Pam Burrell at 956.795.2400 ext. 2268

pam@laredolibrary.org

Join us on our next adventure...

See you in Laredo!

For more information call us at:

800-361-3360 or visit our website http://www.visitlaredo.com/



Kids wanted! Spend the 1st Saturday of the month at The Home Depot.

Well hello there, it’s Monica again. Monday through Friday it’s mainly work, work, work.
 Ideally, Saturdays are for sleeping in – that is, until the phone rings…
May 5, 2012, the phone rings and it’s my husband’s coworker on the line telling us there’s something going on at The Home Depot for kids. Sleeping time is over and it’s time to go investigate.  
We arrive and walk in. Upon entering, you’re greeted by some smiling faces staffing a table covered with an orange table throw that indicates The Home Depot hosts Free Kids Workshops the first Saturday of each month.

Here’s what you do: Sign your kids in at the welcome table and receive a project packet for each child. Next, find yourself a spot at the work tables and get to work.

 Today’s project, assemble a Planter Box. The supplies are spread out on the tables: hammers, paint, letters for decorating, flowers and soil. My husband and son got straight to work.

After assembling the planter box, it was my turn to help with the painting. In case I didn’t mention it, my 13 month old daughter also received a planter to work on, find her at the bottom right hand corner peeking through the stroller handles…

Looking around, everyone appeared to be having a good time. I thought they had a pretty good turn out. Once the paint was dry, the staff provided you with flowers to plant along with the necessary soil. When finished, you take your completed project back to the greeters with the smiling faces. They then present each child with a Certificate of Achievement.

Their next workshop will take place June 2. Next project: Construct an organizer.

Visit their website for more information on the FREE Kids Workshops. Make a trip out there… maybe we’ll see you there!

http://http//www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=HT_WS_KidsWorkshops

Join us on our next adventure…

See you in Laredo!

For more information on Weekend Activities call us at:

800-361-3360 or visit our website http://www.visitlaredo.com/

Monsters in Laredo?

Hello. Allow me to introduce myself… I’m Monica!

It often seems that there are not many things that call my attention, that is – unless it’s something I really like.

Back ground: when I was little, my Dad took the family out to mud races, monster truck shows and had us watch NASCAR. Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam came to Laredo Spring 2011. My Dad called telling me he was taking all the grandkids out there and my son, Alex, went along for the ride. Fast forward to 2012, my Dad called telling me Monster Jam was coming and I was invited!

We bought our tickets. The Friday before the weekend shows, the Monster Jam trucks were parked at various Advance Auto Parts locations throughout Laredo, but they were only going to be there until 6 p.m.! I clocked out at 5, picked up Alex, picked up my baby girl and we took off in hot pursuit for a sneak peek of some trucks.

First stop, store location on Guadalupe Street to see Superman. There were quite a few Laredoans stopping by to see the truck and to take pictures. Me being one of them of course… Next stop, store location on Calton Road to see Grave Digger.

Unfortunately, it was almost 6 p.m. and they were getting ready to transport the truck back to the Laredo Energy Arena (Monster Jam event location) to be there on time for the Friday night show. I was able to hang around long enough to see the tire changing to see how they load the Monster Truck into this other giant truck – look at the tires!

Well, that was the end of our sneak peek. There wasn’t enough time to make it to another location. But at the show, we were able to see King Krunch and El Toro Loco.  

 

The finale? Grave Digger, driven by Mr. Pablo Huffaker, ended up stuck on top of another vehicle – it was awesome! Take a look:  

According to the Monster Jam website, they’re coming back to Laredo March 8-10, 2013… and we’ll be there with our Monster Jam Tire Ear Muffs! http://www.monsterjam.com/  

Join us on our next adventure…

See you in Laredo!

For more information on Arena Events call us at:

800-361-3360 or visit our website http://www.visitlaredo.com/

I’m also an Aunt! - Dinos at the LBV Planetarium

It’s me again! Looks like I’m on a roll here. I’ve been to an arena football game, a concert and now it’s time to spend time with my nephew, Gabriel.

My nephew loves, loves, loves DINOSAURS!! He’s all about wanting to be a paleontologist when he grows up. I’m crossing my fingers and toes that he stays on this track because I don’t think I personally know anyone who ever grew up to be what it is that they wanted to be when they were a child.

I remember I wanted to be a nurse when I was young. Then I realized I was too squeamish to ever be around blood and sick people and the fact that I’m a cryer doesn’t help. I wasn’t born with the instinct to bring on super hero mode whenever I see someone who is hurt. I was born with the crying instinct. I get all teary eyed, worry and panic. I’m assuming those are qualities that don’t make very good nurses. Everyone should be able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing I’m not the person in the ER and instead I’m just the girl in an air-conditioned office behind a desk.

 So really, this is a win-win situation. OK, so where was I???? Oh yeah, DINOSAURS!

Did you know that Texas A&M International University has a planetarium on campus? Yup, it’s the Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium. My nephew calls it the “cemetarium.” When I heard that Paleo Paul was coming to town with some replica fossils, and educational presentation and there was going to be a screening of Jurassic Park this was a no brainer. I had to take the kid.

  Photo courtesy of TAMIU

I graduated from TAMIU back in 2002. Go Dustdevils! I try to make it back to the campus whenever I get a chance. I remember when I was attending, the campus was fairly new and now the place is absolutely amazing and still growing! If you’ve got a chance, stop by, take a stroll or take a virtual tour online. I can’t say enough of my Alma Mater and maybe one day if my nephew decides to begin his studies here in Laredo, he’ll attend TAMIU just like his Aunt. Paleo Paul brought some pretty neat replicas with him and even I learned a couple things from his presentation. I even noticed how some parents were more eager to partake in the question and answer session than the kids were.

After we were done with the presentation it was time to see the movie. My nephew and I were on total opposite pages. He was all about the exhibit and I was all about the movie. I had never ever seen Jurassic Park and seeing it inside the planetarium I was totally stoked. Unfortunately, the kid was over it. Half way thru the movie, he whispers to me and says “I want to go rest at home.” What 4-year old says that?

The Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium has different shows just about every weekend. You can go on a journey to the center of the Earth, deep sea dive through the ocean or catch a Pink Floyd laser show. It’s awesome! You can even book class field trips and private parties. Here’s their number 956-326-3663. I’m still not sure what I’ll be doing this coming week. Where do you like to go when you’re in Laredo? Thanks again for stopping by and reading about my adventures. And don’t forget, call me, tweet me, Facebook us, send smoke signals, whatever the case may be, don’t hesitate to contact my office if you need any help with an itinerary or hotel arrangements for that matter.