Long Beach Events: Holiday Bone-anza!

Coming up on November 17th, from 10am-4pm at Good Neighbor Park in East Long Beach, Friends of El Dorado Dog Park are putting on the Holiday Bone-anza to help raise funds to complete the El Dorado Dog Park!  There will be gourmet food trucks on hand, a live DJ, Christmas music, dog training demos, a silent auction and raffle prizes, and they'll be making snow to play in.  Come on out and have some fun with the whole family with over 40 vendors helping to support the El Dorado Dog Park, opening this December!

SoCal Photos: Day 182

 

Alamitos Bay, Signal Hill in Background

SoCal Photos: Day 178

 

The LBC, with Catalina in the Distance

SoCal Photos: Day 175

 

Downtown Long Beach Transit Mall

SoCal Photos: Day 172

 

Downtown Long Beach & Boardwalk

Watering Hole Wednesday Recap: Agaves

We kicked off the initial #WHW last week at Agaves on Pine in Downtown Long Beach.  And while the ambiance was great, decor was stellar, and the Maestro Margarita was aptly strong and tasty, I definitely noticed the lack of folk not only here at Agaves during Happy Hour on a Wednesday, but pretty much most places downtown had sparse patronage.  And it's not that downtown Long Beach has nothing going on, or is seedy, or is inconvenient in any way.  Bus, train, bike, car, walk; it's all viable for accessing multiple entertainment venues in Long Beach.

And there are plenty of jobs downtown.  Granted, there is plenty of square footage to be absorbed, but it's hard to believe that a certain percentage of the workforce in the downtown core's high rises doesn't feel like taking a load off for Happy Hour on a Wednesday.  Old habits must truly die hard.

So come on out to Downtown Long Beach, or just stay after work awhile one day, and enjoy all the new goodness that is going on.  Agaves has small plates, awesome appetizers (we had some wings...legit), and a full dinner menu if you feel like staying a while.  They even have music and dancing on the weekends, so get out of your bubble and check out something new!

...And be sure to join us for this week's edition of Watering Hole Wednesdays as we head over to Ashley's Bar and Grill on 4th.

It's A Thing: Watering-Hole Wednesdays

In an effort to explore #LongBeach and have fun in the process, I've decided to start a "thing" which we're going to call Watering Hole Wednesdays.  Here's how it's gonna work...

Each Wednesday, we're going to pick a new "Watering Hole" to visit in Long Beach, which will be reviewed on the blog shortly after.  Cell phone photos of the most amateur quality will accompany said reviews, and we'll then disclose the next Wednesday's Watering Hole.  Sounds simple?  Sounds fun?  Feel free to join in.

This Wednesday, March 6, which is consequently a certain +Aaron Bucka's 21st birthday (and a most happy 21 run to you, cousin!), we'll be tipping off the tradition right next to the Gaucho Grill at Agaves.

Here's to Watering Hole Wednesdays!

SoCal Photos: Day 36

SoCal Photos: Day 20

Stand-Up Paddle Boarding in Long Beach Harbor

SoCal Photos: Day 17

Long Beach live shot.... Ocean Blvd this morning...

SoCal Photos: Day 15

The Queen Mary

 

SoCal Photos: Day 12

Downtown Long Beach Skyline from inside the breakwater

Long Beach's British Invasion

Okay, I get that Long Beach has the Queen Mary, so we're bound to attract tourism from the UK to our sunny Southern California destination.  And the Princess Diana exhibit that is currently showing at the Queen Mary is no doubt a big draw.  But my ears have noticed a rather large uptick in the King's English being spoken in Downtown LB.  Not sure exactly what gives....any reader insights?  Any Brits want to clue me in as to why my town is such a popular choice for UK tourism?  Any other specific spots in town that you've come to see?  The curiosity is beginning to get to me.

Did Anyone Else Notice?

Right under our noses and with no fanfare, justification, or marketing spin, something in Long Beach has changed.  A quick check at LBTrainsit's website leaves no clues as to how long this change has been in place, and the observant indivudual in me sure hopes it's only about a week, or so, old.

As can be found HERE, the Passport bus system in Long Beach has drastically changed.  There used to be an A,B,C, and D bus that connected downtown to some of the more frequented destinations in Long Beach like Belmont Shore, Alamitos Bay Marina, Long Beach State, the Los Altos neighborhood, Retro Row, and various other stops in between.

However, now only the "C" route, the one which serves the downtown core and tourist destinations (free of charge), is now the only remaining route and maintains the legacy name.  But yes, this route is still free, and is a great way to shuttle between Long Beach's most popular destinations in the downtown and waterfront areas.  Both the Aqualink and Aquabus are still mainstays, but run only during the peak months, from Memorial Day through Sept 30.  Those lines will be back up in May 2013.

Did Autumn Just Pull a Punxsutawney Phil?

It was getting crisp and cool at night.  There were morning thunderstorms last week.  We watched football broadcasts across the country talk about how Fall was in the brisk air.

And then yesterday happened.  It cracked 100 in parts of Long Beach for a few minutes in the middle of the day, and it's doing so again today.  Tomorrow's going to be almost as hot, and Wednesday is supposed to be even hotter before we get some reprieve in the LA basin.  Where the heck did Autumn go?

Actually, remember this time last year?  This exact week, even?  It was just as hot, and I remember the gauge in my dash reading 107 as I came down Bellflower Blvd.  So, while you may cry foul on global warming, just remember that this heat streak happened at exactly the same time last year....and then the real Fall finally started and we had a Windpocalypse.

Begin securing your trees...

A Piece of History

Saw something pretty cool at lunch today...

The Marathon is Coming!

The 2012 Long Beach International City Bank Marathon is just over a month away!  That's right, the 28th iteration of Long Beach's 3rd largest event is a little less than 32 full days from today.  The event includes a full marathon, half marathon, 26.2 mile bike tour (I'll be participating), a 5k run/walk, and a kids fun run.  Check out The Website for more details and to sign up!

Hospitality?

Perhaps 30 has already turned me into an old, griping geezer, but I've noticed a sad trend lately.  Since the month prior to my nuptials last year, I've had the opportunity to visit and stay at hotels in Las Vegas, San Diego, SLO, Surf City, Long Beach, Buellton (CA), Costa Rica, Fulton (IL), and Chicago; 14 different hotels in all (which I was not really aware of prior to writing this; my eyes just dish-panned).  No, I do not travel for work, and only one location (3 hotels) was for the honeymoon; my point being that I've stayed in 2-4 star hotels and not just the high or low-end places.

The disappointing trend I've noticed is in the Hospitality industry's increasing lack of knowledge of what their purpose is.  I understand that they are running a for-profit business, and I have zero qualms with that.  My issue is as follows:

When was the last time you opened a Webster's dictionary?  Thought so.  Dictionary.com defines hospitality as "the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way."  Many of my experiences have been left short of that definition.

But I don't want to drag down the good places, so I will say that my stay at all three hotels in Costa Rica was beyond expectation when it comes to hospitality, the Embassy Suites is a brand exception to the rule, so the SLO and El Segundo (tomorrow night's hotel; now we're at 15) are also exempt from my consumer dissatisfaction. The Best Western Plus in Downtown Long Beach is solid as well, though pricey for what it is, and the Comfort Inn in Fulton showed some true Midwestern hospitality.

My poor experiences were at two Hard Rocks two Hyatts a Marriott, and a boutique hotel in Chicago.  Mistake number one for a couple of these hotels (Huntington Beach Hyatt, $39; Hard Rock San Diego, $39; Sutton Place Hotel Chicago, $55, and probably the same at Hyatt Chicago, but we didn't have a car at that point) is that they charge for parking.  Look, the typical guest staying at any of those places in between the parentheses isn't really bargain-hunting, so if the price of everyone's room went up by $20 per night, I'm guessing the folks that didn't drive wouldn't even notice that they were subsidizing those that drove.  Wouldn't that be the friendly and generous thing to do, rather than profiteer from parking?

Other issues with a number of these hotels were related to the way the staff interacted with the guests.  At the Hyatt in Chicago, the employees at the front desk were not empowered to do anything to help the frustrated guests that were trying to check into their rooms at 4pm (which were supposed to be ready by 3pm), only to be told that the room was not yet ready.  To Hyatt's credit, when I sent them a rather terse email about the situation, they were highly apologetic and are sending a $50 gift card, but the point is that someone at the scene should be able to help diffuse the situation, because a number of the other guests decided to dictate their emails directly to the staff in the lobby.

Beyond a lack of employee empowerment, the Hard Rock brand embodies an attitude that does not have the word hospitality in its vocabulary.  For the prices that the place charges, you would think that they would treat their guests well.  However, in Las Vegas, when you stay in the poolside villa for 3 nights, that will only get you two, that's 2, admission wristbands for their "rehab" pool party.  When you have two other rooms in addition to the villa in the hotel, and you ask if they can be next to each other, they look at you as if you're speaking a foreign language.  On top of that, the minimalist look inside the rooms is designed to make it look nice, but the quality of the fixtures and furnishings did not warrant anywhere near their nightly rate.  As for San Diego, the $39 per night parking, the fact that they pay more attention to the incoming clubbers and pool-partiers than hotel guests says it all.  When you stay at the Hard Rock, you aren't staying for hospitality at all, I've learned.  Just for the party, and you should feel lucky to be a part of it.

Finally, and backing up the parking issue, why has the hospitality industry become as a-la-carte as the airline industry-- but only in the nicer hotels?  It seems counter-intuitive that of all the hotels that I've stayed at stateside in the past year-plus, the only one that provided a free hot breakfast, free parking, a free wi-fi connection, and a flat screen, not to mention a working ice machine on our floor, was the Comfort Inn in Fulton, IL.  Yes I paid $100/night to stay there but hey, inflation's a bitch, right?  So when I pay more, but a supposedly nicer place has an old-school TV, a broken ice machine, no ice machine on my floor, a $50+ per night parking tab, charges $15/day for wi-fi access, or can't provide compensation of some sort (heck,a free couple of drinks at the bar is an easy way to chill out upset customers), it really makes me wonder if the hospitality industry feels any obligation to be hospitable anymore.

Introducing Costa Rica to Southern California

It's been six months, and I still have not experienced a comparison.  Though Firestone Walker's new 805 Gold brew is legit, it still doesn't compare to the Tico tradition, Imperial.  That said, I'm on a mission....to find Imperial in Southern California...and introduce it to YOU!

Residential Lending is Still Stringent: Some Tips

Believe it or not, in most types of lending, credit standards are beginning to ease a bit.  Most commercial banks are no longer requiring their guarantors to have liquidity of 3x the amount of their business loans, credit scores by themselves are less and less likely to be the determination for a denial of credit (the litany of short sales and loan modifications can be thanked for that) on an overall basis, and Banks have expanded their LTV capabilities on commercial property-- especially multifamily housing.

But perhaps because of the proximity to disaster, mortgage loan standards remain as tight as they have ever been, and at some points can seem completely unnecessary.  If you plan on refinancing your mortgage, given the historic rates, or have realized that if there was ever a time to buy into the housing market it's right now, then here's a few things you should be prepared for.

Have three years' worth of Tax Returns available, first and foremost.  Not only that, but just be prepared to explain-- in detail-- the nature of your primary lifestyle activities of the past three years.  And by past three, I actually mean past four, given that the tax deadline was last month (if you're on extension, be prepared to have your EA/CPA prepare a draft return for you; this is non-negotiable with lenders still).  Also, be prepared with bank account statements, retirement account statements, and any brokerage statements you may have....heck, life insurance statements if you have them, too.

Take my experience for example:  My wife had no income to report in 2008 and 2009, as she was in school obtaining her doctorate.  Her 2010 return showed her employment, albeit brief (beginning in October of that year), and associated income.  Just stating that she was in school should have been enough to piece together the history, but that was not enough for our lender.  We also had to provide sealed transcripts and her diploma in order to satisfy the lender.

Not only that, but the lender required the most recent two paystubs from both of us...twice.  Once at the initial application, and once again when escrow closing was delayed due to the short-sale lender's process.  Even on top of that, the lender placed phone calls to both of our employers to verify our employment....twice! 

This is the kind of lender panic and fear that has led to the interpretation that its still impossible to qualify for a home loan still.  And while that's not the case, persistence and overwhelming willpower are certainly keys to success in seeing the process through. 

So get your ducks in a row; my advice is to get all of those documents into "The Cloud" as you start the process (we used Google Docs, now 'Drive'), and continue saving all of the lending info into the cloud as you fill it out and sign it.  More than once we had an issue where the seller's Bank (the Short Sale lender) asked a second time for the same set of info we had already forwarded.  Thankfully, since it was already "In The Cloud," I was able to immediately furnish the info to continue pushing our process forward.

And while I wish I could say that this was the only major headache in closing on our purchase, we also had to deal with the fact that we were buying a short sale, were buying someone's rental property that they had as an investment from out of state, a property that had tenants, and a selling agent that continually tried to get us to accept closing escrow before the tenants moved out.  Then our insurer decided to get snippy with us about occupancy, though we've settled every outstanding issue and are finally going to move into our little piece of Southern California this upcoming weekend!

While our situation is under normal circumstances "unique," today's environment is anything but normal, with distressed sales amounting to 1/3 of all home purchases.  So, that's the kind of madness you may be looking at in the real estate world.  Hopefully now you feel a bit more prepared.