callousedwings

[callousedwings]

Tips n Resources: Solar Eclipse 2017

Partial totality from Southern California

A solar eclipse is one of a lifetime event. Even an eclipse chaser will tell you that there is and will be something different for each solar eclipse they witness.

The places, the crowd, the weather, the temperature (we’ll talk about it below), the animals, even the hotel, and food arrangement (again, below).

But eclipse only lasted several hours, and some of us will not be able to experience the totality, which btw will be our next dream travel destination in 2019. Hello, South America. So how do we make it extra special?

Image of path of totality by Xavier M. Jubier.

Free knowledge and learning resources for Solar Eclipse 2017.

For worldschoolers and travelers of all ages. However, we cannot guarantee the secularity, if you could help us and leave it in the comment section.

A day with two dawns, an e-book.

Solar eclipse mini book.

NASA eclipse kit.

DIY Binocular and monocular sunspotter apparatus.

Construction paper sun print.

Solar eclipse live streaming apps.

Solar Eclipse info and happenings held by NASA (there’s even how to make a 3D eclipse shadow viewer).

Mystery Science Solar Eclipse lesson.

Brainpop Solar Eclipse lesson.

Ted-Ed Solar eclipse.

PBS crash course: Eclipse.

NatGeo video with scale of Sun, Moon, and Earth on a dried up lake bed.

Tips for maximum experience in Solar Eclipse.

Get NASA approved ISO solar eclipse glasses. Most of the one Amazon sold for a lesser price are not @nasa approved.Since the solar eclipse glasses don’t usually have children’s size, you can make sure to attach or glue it on a paper plate so they won’t ended up peeking from the sides of the glasses and ruined their eyes forever. Ran out of the glasses?

Use #13 and #14 Welding lenses

Or make sure your telescope have solar eclipse filter.

Using professional sunspotter or solarscope so more than one people can view the eclipse simultaneously.

Apply sunscreen! You will be out from the shade for this event.

Watch the weather, if you near the beach, the marine layer might obstruct the viewing, so choose the viewing area wisely.

Bring a thermometer and watch the temperature dipped within 15-20 minutes pre, during, and 15-20 minutes after. Bonus point if you make a hyperlapse of the recording.

Bring a chair or better, get a picnic blanket and lay down. You don’t want to go home and having to visit the chiropractor after. And while at it, bring snacks and beverages. Or you could bake something in your solar oven and enjoy it as the solar eclipse happening.

Bring a camera and leave it alone to record the event. You need to enjoy the eclipse instead of bothering about your camera. Better get an extra charger because it will last at max about 2.5 hours (the totality will last about 2-less than 3 minutes). You can also DIY your filter if you get solar film sheet.

Make sure you have the filter and take precautions. You can also use the filter and press it against the camera in your phone.

This one included tips on prepping for the event and personal experience. Update:You don't need filter for your action camera such as GoPro and also your newest cell phone might already be equipped for it.

Bring a colander or something with a lot of holes and have it against the sun, you will see multiple eclipse shadows.

Find a bathroom and take a preparation bathroom break. Or bring your own potty box.

Watch for the moon’s movement before it starts covering the sun. It’s going to be super fast.

Try to watch from the higher ground so once the moon covers the sun, you can take a peek at the horizon. You’ll be in for a treat to see the sunset color surrounding you.

Record your and your friends’ reaction (FB live anyone?).

Have a plan to get out of the viewing area safely. There might be accidents or traffic everywhere.

If you are in the path of totality, make sure you have food for the day before, during, and after. The grocery might be out of supply, days before (this is the precautionary warning in cities where the 2017′s totality path located). Update: In totality cities, advised to stay put for days leading and after the event. In Oregon, Madras there are road blocks and detour everywhere.

Safeguard your belonging, including your house, vehicles, and anything else, especially when you are visiting and unfamiliar with the area. A mass event like this will, unfortunately, invite opportunists.

Be off the road pre, during, and post the eclipse. At least about 2-3 hrs. It’s safer for everyone.

Or check this stats by one of Eclipse pro chaser, and look at the traffic. (maybe staying at home is not such a bad idea, where’s that livestream app again?)

So have at it!

Do you have any other tips or willing to share your pictures? If you do, we will update the list and credit you.

[callousedwings]

Laughing Chicken Stock : PokeCo, Gaslamp

First thing first, we are extending our thankfull, thank you with a full stomach to Melissa at Making it Sweet for including us in the special opening of PokeCo

Want to check out other places to eat in San Diego?

Then, of course, a shout out for PokeCo (check their facebook page for specials) for sponsoring our post.

Content :

Ratings and location

Tips

Our Experience

PokeCo Gaslamp Ratings

Presentation: 4.8/5

Location: 2/5 (Parking in Downton is the bane of our existence)

Hygiene: 5/5

Taste: 4.5/5

Price: 5/5 (very filling)

Staff: n/a (they know this is a sponsored post, we tend to not give reviews when the staff know they’re being watched. However, everyone are very accommodating, two thumbs up)

Stroller/Wheelchair friendly: 5/5

Overall: 4.4/5. However! This Poke bar has what others don’t. CHOICES! Read below for more info. So we added .2 into the overall.

Ending Overall : 4.6/5

423 F St, San Diego, CA 92101

Tips for PokeCo:

Come ahead of the meal time if you can. It is downtown, nuff said. And start looking for parking spot about one to two blocks away.

Don’t worry about coins, the curbside accepts credit card. Unless you want to rid of it and your bank decided to remove their coin machine (We are staring at you Navy Federal!) or you could catch a trolley, the nearest stop is Civic Center Station.Worse come to worse, go to Horton Plaza, free for an hour, then $2/15 mins after that, or $8/hour for a maximum $48. But an hour should be fine right? We don’t know if going out then in again for an hour will cheat the system but do it at your own risk.

Look for seats first, if you have a partner in meal. The space is spacious (which is great for stroller and wheelchair, but it has limited seating.

Read the ingredients on the glass separator right at the assembly bar. Some of us are visual-object oriented so written menu, which located on the flat screen upper left of the bar, might be less than helpful. There’s also pamphlets/menu cards right on top of the glass separator.

Important for PokeCo rookies!! Ask for their sample cup. They have those similar to any froyo place. Try the dressings, not at the bar ‘cause you don’t want to hold up the line to decide on your base dressings (the one they shake in with the ingredients) which bring us to our next tip.

Do not ask the employees their opinion, when they said, “It’s hard to choose.” They were not lying. We tried the dressings individually and mixed and it’s still delicious. Just please heed our next tip.

Hawaiian, G, OG, Furious sauces.

Do not overload the dressings and seasonings. They have puhlenty of options, which what PokeCo boost, but that also means if you did a mistake on the concoction, it’s all your problem, not theirs (genius!).

You don’t have to bring your own alternative chips. There are Doritos, Fritos, and Hot Cheetos. But, you can also get it to go and eat it with any kind of chips cocktails you want. If you do either or, the spring mix base will be your best bet. But bear in mind, do not complain that it is not as healthy or as yummy as they promised, again it’s all your decision.

Ask to soak the base with the dressings. We personally prefer brown over white rice for this reason. The brown rice didn’t get soggy and it didn’t absorb most if not all of the dressings leaving the rest a bit bland.

Check out the frozen gelato/ice cream on the fruit shell (Mango, mango, mango), it’s da bomb.

Dessert line up for PokeCo. Let’s shake our bowl!

PokeCo Gaslamp, Downtown San Diego.

Coming out of the river of rolling motorized chassis, the glistening yellow four wheeled drive entered the jaw of a beast. Downtown San Diego was drowsy from the busy weekday. Perhaps a long nap was needed before serving up lunches for local and visitors in the last office-work day of the week. When the sun was sliding down the horizon, it would need to get the weekend preparation set up.

Even with its drowsiness, welcomed spots were rare. The yellow car passed a historical landmark that is Balboa Theater and turned around the corner. Laughing Chicken Stock had spotted their destination so they were careful not to disturb the beast and hoping for the mercy of a curbside rest for the yellow car. Somewhere close, preferably only a block away.

Score! The last spot before the glaring red zone. An hour and a half should be enough? Right?

First one in San Diego for PokeCo fan.

The colder temperature of PokeCo was a welcoming break from the heat and grime of downtown. The openness of the place was enhanced by large mirrors that reflected the minimal design of the joint. And that corner, by the end of their view, was somehow less familiar than other places. A soda fountain with lots of seasoning. Hmm, something definitely new. Choices, choices.

The all you can dress and top section of PokeCo.

The menu was simple, but the options were a bit off the usual. Chips on our bowl? Nacho style? Oh no, no cheese. It’s no nacho without the queso. Ceviche! That’s it! And a sample testing for the sauce? No hand touching involved? And buffet style seasoning near the soda fountain? Mix and match? Oh wow! Wait! Dessert too? With Boba and gelato? No...Focus! Stop pecking around!

What’s more than more for PokeCo? Pantry seasonings more.

Distraction, distraction. But with all those toppings and freedom, the main character of a Poke bowl was the raw seafood, unless of course, you’re vegetarian then we would have a disagreement. But one word to describe it was firm, almost as firm as the still moving fishes that just been caught with no hint of its morning meal. As firm as those salmon who leaped and danced in the air, seducing a mommy bear and her wild offspring nearby. Unfortunately, the vigorous fishes possibly spent their day too much in dancing in the air than hunting for that yummy plankton. Priorities.

Something was missing. Something on the tip of our tongue. Something called, flavor. That sweetness of perfectly cut tuna. Even though the bowl itself was excellent from all the choices of seasonings and other fresh ingredients, including Hass avocado, it lacked the punching force of natural taste. Just a couple steps from the finish line.

Stubborn soda fountain @PokeCo

The similar opinion could be said about the STUBBORN soda fountain. With its option of using cane sugar, PokeCo boasted its healthier option against other brands, but the taste was just almost. For disclaimer though, Laughing Chicken Stock was never a fan of soda, so for us, it was still pretty impressive. Suicide style anyone?

On the other hand, their dessert pulled us back to the memory of our childhood, sitting on the tree, after climbing against all the ants, picking the first ripened mango and peeled it with our teeth and bare hands. The only difference was, this time, it could give us a major brain freeze. Fresh and delicious.

Didn’t manage to save it from Masked Explorer’s appetite, or fork.

In midst of flour based food around the block, Poke.co stood strong. A more than great alternative, or addition to various choices around Gaslamp. Bravo for the fisherman turned entrepreneur who owned and welcomed us in their newest ventures.

Who are they? Stay tuned for our next post, Let’s Ask the Expert, Restauranteur, when Masked Explorer shared the table with Anthony and Leann of PokeCo.

Have you been to other branches of PokeCo? How was it?

[callousedwings]

Laughing Chicken Stock: Saganaki by Meze 'n Smoothie Rider

Premiering our brand new corner, cuisine reviews by the Laughing Chicken Stock. Who? Our own GrumpDoc and bro, ShinoTheWeevil!

First and foremost we want to give a shout out to Saganaki by Meze for sponsoring our post. This joint is the baby sibling of Meze, greek fusion in Gaslamp, Downtown San Diego. We bought two other meals that are featured in this review. Which one, Mushroom & Garlic, Shrimp, and Chicken Pita Wrap?

Content :

Ratings

Experience

Tips and location of Liberty Public Market(or what we used to mistakenly refer as Liberty Station) could be found in our previous tips and hacks post. And don’t forget to tune in to our FB live for more reviews.

Dishing out Ratings

Saganaki by Meze

Presentation: 4/5 Location: n/a (we review this on Liberty Public Market post)

Hygiene: 5/5 (Their kitchen is open to see anyway)

Taste: 4.3/5

Price: 3.8/5 (too pricey for the portion)

Staff: n/a (they know this is a sponsored post, we tend to not give reviews when the staff know they’re being watched. However, Brandon and Diego are very accommodating, two thumbs up)

Stroller/Wheelchair friendly: n/a (we review this on Liberty Public Market post)

Overall: 4.3/5 (treat this like a supper or lunch. Unless you prefer light dinner.)

Smoothie Rider

Prep time: 3/5 (need to crank up the gear)

Taste and presentation: 4/5

Ability to customize: 4.3/5 

Overall: 3.8/5

Let’s unfold our silver ware and dig in!

Apologize for the glare, we couldn’t avoid it no matter the angles.

Saganaki by Meze with an intermezzo by Smoothie Rider.

Was Monday the first day of the week? Working day, yes? Then why was the parking lot looked more like the fairground overcrowded lot. One word sunk into their being. Dinner.

Four bobbing heads followed the guidance of their legs and empty stomachs to cross the busy street, into the repurposed military training building. Looking around the familiar hallway, their eyes wandered to find the new establishment.They were looking for the unfamiliar word of Saganaki, which a quick Google search presented them with loads of recipes for pan fried, or seared cheese appetizer. At least there will be pita wraps if all else fail, hopefully.

Entering Saganaki by Meze.

GrumpDoc and ShinoTheWeevil of Laughing Chicken Stock.

Dunno how they missed it, the word Saganaki by Meze was only a couple feet ahead of them. Passing the opened doorway, they dived head on into the delicious smell of the Greek rotisserie meat. At least, their last comment rang true. Then they were just hoping the taste was as good as the smell.

A second question popped into their head. Ouzo. Which according to the accommodating cashier/waiter, Brandon, was a type of liquor. What he forgot to mention was that it was an aperitif. A what now? The short definition was an appetizer in a form of an overchilled shot of liquor which would form crystal upon agitation as it was poured to serve. Ok, we lied, that’s pretty long definition.

Let’s get back to the accommodating host for the day. Brandon allowed Laughing Chicken Stock to have an easy access, front row seat, sorry stand to watch the tongue of flame hungrily licking the Ouzo off their dish. Shrimp, Mushroom & Garlic, and the Chicken Pita Wraps. There, they settled on those.

The view of Saganaki’s Kitchen 

Diego, our cook for the day. 

The preparation was quick but perhaps a little painful for Diego, the cook, since who like to be watched over their shoulder for cooking something that was for a hungry, possibly very judgemental customer. Mushroom & Garlic Saganaki was the last dish and it really gave a wonderful heated performance. “Opa!”

In midst of our wait, we turned our attention to the Smoothie Rider only a couple feet away. And of course, a spark of ideas struck us for a custom drink. 

Try this with your own discretion, we are not held liable for any nausea inducing concoction, nor the inability for the server to do justice on your particular order. 

We were trained professionally as a juicer, GrumpDoc and ShinoTheWeevil were a manager and shift leader in a more popular juicer chain, Robeks. Thus the ability to risk it all and try new mixtures.We ordered one shot which consisted of OJ and ACV. A much-needed boost for our recovery from flu, a strawberry lemonade, staple drink from Masked Explorer, and an acai customized smoothie. 

A lovely glass jar for the Smoothie Rider’s shot.  

Time to dig in. As the last member of judges sat, the other dishes were already half way inhaled. Rude. There went that photo ops. Or is it? Talking about the dish, it was fresh, and the flavor of Ouzo was not overwhelming. It gave a really nice bump in otherwise just good fresh ingredients. We didn’t even need to spritz a little lemon on top. It was great. The mushroom though retained most of its original flavor and since button mushrooms were pretty much mostly water, for those who don't favor the taste might want to skip this dish. We? Chanted this very word in our drive back home. 

The Chicken Pita Wrap.

But if we were to give favoritism, the shrimp would win maybe about 10-meter dash. It still had that springs when we bite into it yet without a hint of air-dried seaweed. Yes, there’s such thing. And yes, it is delicious if it was handled gracefully. Yes, we eat odd food.

Amazingly, for us, the supposedly main character of this joint, saganaki, did not take the gold crown. The pita wrap did. So for that, we would give this 4.3 out of 5 for taste if you do not know what saganaki is. If you do, you might be a tad bit disappointed (or a lot if you’re native to Greece, dunno). Beware tho, it’s a tad bit oily, thus the Smoothie Rider accompaniment. As we quoted ShinoTheWeevil, it cemented the flavor like the ashes of Pompeii.  

Have you eaten a saganaki or drink an Ouzo? Where and how did you come to meet this particular dish?

[callousedwings]

Tickling Taste Buds: San Diego’s Liberty Public Market

Content :

Ratings and location

Directions

Experience

Tips

Liberty Public Market Ratings

Presentation: 5/5

Location: 5/5

Food/drink: 4.5/5 $$-$$$ (delish but pricey)

Parking: 4.5/5 (It is quite easy to find parking spots that are walkable distance, but the reason for less than 5 is because there are spots right in front of the main entrance that ended up contributes to the traffic around the public market and that’s a minus point for safety.)

Safety: 4/5 (no break in, but there are lots of stop signs and crossings with only two-way lanes and small shoulders, so there are plenty blind spots. And your car might be scratched, just to give you a heads up.)

Entertainment: 5/5 (there is a temporary ice rink in winter and local concerts in summer, not to mention very family friendly events.)

Stroller/wheelchair accessible: 4.5/5 (really 5/5 if there’s no crowd)

Seating: 3.5/5 (Most public markets have limited seating anyway but here? Hmm yeah.)

Overall: 4.5/5 

Directions to Liberty Public Market

Take I-5, then exit #20, Rosecrans St, (If you’re coming from East, take 8west to 5 North & Rosecrans St, but exit stays on the two left lanes, then exit right away.)

Follow Rosecrans St. until intersection to Lytton St. Stay on the furthest lane from the left curb to turn SouthEast or left onto Lytton St. (this part has the most traffic so if you want alt. road skip the next three steps.)

Go to the furthest right lane which will lead you right turning into Truxtun Rd.

Follow the road to the right and road sign directing to Liberty Public Market or turn left on Sims Rd. 

Pass two buildings and Liberty Public Market will be on your right. 

Alt way : 

Pass the Lytton St and turn left on Roosevelt Rd. 

Turn left on Truxtun Rd.

Turn right on Sims Rd. 

Liberty Public Market will be the third building on your right.

2820 Historic Decatur Rd, San Diego, CA 92106

Experience the San Diego’s Liberty Public Market

Rolling into the complex of historical brown buildings, passing rows of traffic lights and busy somewhat grubby streets, the old Navy training center transport anyone to a seemingly opposite part of the city. Inside here, people stroll under California sun, whether it’s summer or winter. The occasional roaring sound of flying airplanes above reminded them of the airport someone might see around the corner on the map. There’s always a breeze here, being so close to the bay so an outer layer might be a necessity by winter, or really depending on one’s locality. 

Welcome to the Liberty Station, where food artisans walked around the museums, art, dance, and music studios to juice up their inspiration. The place is full of family friendly recreation and enrichment activities. On one corner of it, the familiar red sign served as a background for a small vegetable garden which marked the location of San Diego’s Liberty Public Market that opened its front door in May 2016.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 20, 2017 at 11:13pm PDT

Public Market Brand. See it everywhere in US, they’re very similar.

Wonder if we can pick these fresh veggie.

It took 13 years from Navy’s decision to close its facility and 9 years from its last farewell to San Diego for the Public Market to finally fulfill its dream. She might not be comparable to the one about 400 miles away yet, but she is growing, at an exponential rate. A landlady with high demand.

The rental price is reflected in the cost seen up on the menu board. Visitors and foodies come here for the taste, the presentation, the events, oh forget, the ambiance, yes that too. The food portion on the other hand, better look more east or north. El Cajon or Convoy and the growing Mira Mesa maybe more on your wallet’s palate.

The place is not a maze. Pretty straightforward, 2-3 choices each block.  Even inside, the photo ops are plenty. Go to town with it.

Industrial inspired, rustic and open.

See, not a maze, just a puzzle. 

Tips for Liberty Public Market

Check the opening of each vendor, generally the public market open at 11 AM but you can still catch breakfast.

While you check the website for the opening hour, don’t forget to visit Liberty Public Market Facebook page for events. 

Main/east entrance.

We don’t really like the parking spots right in front of the main/east entrance, especially in peak hours. On down time it’s perfect but when it’s crowded, you might have to wait more than 5 minutes to back up and get out with the traffic. We suggest once you get on to Truxtun Rd. to turn onto Sims, pass the main entrance, which will be on your right then turn right at the stop sign. You will see more spots on your left side of the road. Don’t stress too much on parking really close. It’s all walkable distance.

Come ahead of meal breaks, compared to other public markets, this place feels more like a bunch of cafes and kiosks huddled in together. Better get your hunt game on for tables or seating. 

Yard seating, by the main entrance facing east.

Tables by the main entrance.

Grab a seat on the “front yard” as early as you decided your meal choice ‘cuz one, it will get crowded, two, you’re in San Diego, you pay for that sunshine tax, might as well enjoy it. Note to add though, do it in winter months or when the breeze is generous. When it’s midsummer, seek for the table in the hallway or the South side (left side of main entrance/yard seating) where the breeze is usually more generous. This is especially important when you have stroller or wheelchair. DO NOT go in weekend peak hours. Spare yourself, and do a tag team. 

Get your planning game on, because of course the lines. There are so many options you’ll get overexcited and once you decided, there’s a line around the block. Not fun. Unless of course, you want to get that dessert first? Maybe?

Dessert?

Main dish? Look below for the back of this shop. 

If you’re fine with standing up option, roam around to see the local sea urchin/shrimp tank or peep on the glass behind some of the shops. It gives a glimpse to the underbelly while your food is being prepped. Masked Explorer especially loves these feature of Liberty Public Market. Or maybe tasting some cold pressed juices after burning your tongue on artisan’s hot sauce are more in your alley? Cheese is better for that actually.  

Liberty Public Market’s raw bar.

Plenty fresh selections.

The back of the pasta shop.

If all else fails on your quest to find a table, you could always sit on the grass field scattered around the Liberty Station. Find a nice shade area and get your picnic on.

Wanting to do some grocery after looking at that fresh succulent fruits? Better do it after the meal. We made a mistake of carrying it around, or you could leave it in your car if you have cooler, but our grocery buying session here was always on the spot decision. However, good news! The new Liberty Public Farmer’s Market is starting up so maybe you could plan your grocery. 

Get ready to empty your wallet, or put a scratch on your CC. The food here is delish but we considered it more of a supper. Without the ice cream, or fruit tart, perhaps appetizer, maybe a little bit of that smoothie or crepes, the meal is not as satisfying. But that’s the genius of Lady Liberty Market. She knew exactly how to entice your taste buds, or should we say, your wandering eyes. 

Thank you, come again.

Do you have any other tips to add? Let us know in the comment so when we update the post we’ll give you a shout out.

[callousedwings]

Let's ask d Experts: engineer @GreatWolfLodge

First and foremost we want to send our utmost gratitude to Tam, one of the hospitality pack and our interviewee Evan, the engineering maintenance management of Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove for volunteering his morning and giving us the tour on the waterworks

Tips and location of the waterpark could be found in our previous tips and hacks post. And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel to watch other videos of our rides in Great Wolf Lodge. Camera check? Cue card check? Costume check? And Action!

Content :

Q n A

Backstage tour

Let’s ask the expert.

It was a silent morning. Exhaustion could still be traced inside their smaller frames and the prospect of doing an interview induced a small nervousness as their eyes fluttered open. But the promised of being the firsts to be inside the water park fueled them to get up and dragged themselves to find their cue cards. By the time the elevator’s door opened and delivered them to the lobby, they were already giddy to start it all. 

They saw a glimpse of him while doing an intro for the session. As they approached, a welcoming smile and a friendly voice greeted them. Evan, the good-natured maintenance manager/engineer was more of a morning person than they expected to be. Not a full charged caffeinated style. His laid back personality made everyone at ease. How he could stay carefree while working on one of the busiest seasons in one of the most popular waterparks in SoCal might have to do with him working in a place where he could combine his knowledge with his love of the wave riding and water sport. 

Q: Hi. Nice to meet you, we are the Masked Explorer and Cousin. And you are? A: My name is Evan and I'm the Maintenance Manager over at Great Wolf Lodge. It's nice to meet you too. You guys are having fun? Q: Yeah! A: Alright. Q:  Can we ask you several questions? A:  Yes ma'am. Q: What is the hardest thing about your job? A: The hardest thing about my job would have to be walking the slides in the morning. Every morning, me and my guys, we have to walk the slides physically to make sure that there's no cracks or bumps or anything so that when you guys go down the slides, it doesn't hurt and it's safe. Q: What do you like the most about your job? A: The most I like about my job is seeing you guys happy. If I'm doing my job that means you guys feel safe and could have some fun.  Q: What is your favourite ride and why? A: My favourite ride would have to be the Flowrider. That's the fake wave out there. Anything that has to do with the boards, surfing, skateboarding, wakeboarding, anything like that I love and that incorporates all into one thing so it's a really fun ride. Q: How does this all work? A: How do they work? Well we have about 9 different pools and each one has their own filter system, so they clean the water itself. And what happens is they go through the filter and gets cleaned and we put chemicals in the water so that the chemical can clean out the water even better, so it's safe for you guys. And then the pump pushes the water through the pipes all the way to the top of the water slides and down. And that's how you guys can go down. Q: What's the most complicated machine here? A: It's hard to say, I honestly would say almost every machine is probably the hardest machine to take care of, but the hardest one I have to say is the actual wave machine. What it has is it has an air compressor which then pushes a lot of air into the pneumatic arms, like pistons in a car, they move up and down and it shoots air into it allowing to go up and down, thus creating the wave inside the water. So have you ever been in a pool and you have like a mat and you push it down and you have like a wave going? Pretty much the exact same thing with it but supersized. Q: Our last question is, what is the most hilarious thing when you work? A: That one is a hard one to answer. I'd have to say the funniest thing was when I was working outside and I went to change the filter and I forgot to turn it off and the water started spraying all over the place. Practically knocked me out so it was pretty bad. Q: Was it in winter? A: Well, I mean here in winter time is not too cold so fortunately, I wouldn't be freezing but it was during summer time. Q: Alright. Thank you! A: No problem! You guys ready to see the water park? Q: Yeah! A: Let’s go.

Check out our channel Callousthenics Wings for more behind the scene like below and first POV of all the rides!

Where the grit and grime of the magic.

The Backstage Tour

Looking up and away from our finished session, there was only a handful of crowd around the lobby. Still, more than we had earlier, but that didn’t faze Evan at all. He led us down to the ground floor as we made small talks on the rides. 

Being able to pass the red flag sign for all visitors, Employee Only always invited small smirks on our faces. It was like being anointed to be a part of a secret club. Perhaps one day we could be part of an intriguing one. Dear Club 33, hints were dropped already.

Behind the scene was a grey hallway with no carpet and colorful lights. Just another industrial side of the magic, but still exciting nonetheless. This was where the magical cauldron operated. 

We entered the waterpark with a feeling of private ownership. It was just us, and our private guide. Then we noticed it. No smell of chlorine in the air. At least not for us. We didn’t notice it yesterday, so that morning it was a revelation, especially with no running and scurrying around us. 

It was one of those systems the Great Wolf Lodge implemented from the beginning. Chlorine could induce nausea and headache, so to keep the visitors happy, they counted that into the equation. Must have been a chore for them to figure it out at first, but it was all worth the trouble. 

Special room for the wave machine.

Evan showed us around without the feeling of being lectured. It was him inviting us to his home, or maybe second home. He explained the support system of the waterpark as if it was his thesis, he owned it and he delivered. There was no trace of boredom on the three masked explorers. They even threw additional question or two. 

One very mysterious machine was the wave machine. It was not just a machine, but an amalgamation of different limbs that worked into one cooperative engine. It would have thrown the explorers into confusion frenzy but Evan explained it well in the earlier session. Car pistons, pedals, and mat in the pool. Hey, we can also make our own wave machine!

Uh oh, better get out before we got drowned by the deafening noise when this giant came alive. No wonder they made a special cave for it to dwell because not long after, we heard the morning grunt of the big player in the house. Waking up and ready to go. 

Showing the filtration system.

But of course, none of these would play nice without the glue that connects it all. The filtration system. This smaller giant was a slim looking one, but one of the most vital as Evan referred to. This one very lanky machine kept the water, which was the most vital part of the operation, clean and safe. They even equipped it with its very own sunlight ray, UV light. Gotta make sure those pesky bacteria and foreign material didn’t leak away to the whole system. One very particular common one could be dubbed as natural ammonia? Hah, no, Evan didn’t mention that, be we all know when we had our own leaky accident in the pool. Good thing they don’t have that blue color detection. Talking about an embarrassment. 

On a side note, is that a myth, or a real thing? We never encounter it in our lifetime. Any reader care to share?

Update : Our Behind The Scene tour with Evan is up here!

There were more corners of the backstage that we don’t cover here but you can certainly watch and hear about in our vlog. So head over to our YouTube channel above and you too can know more about our adventures with Evan as the guide.  

Thank you from MaskedExplorer and Coz for tuning in and subscribe for our future Let’s ask the experts!

Want to be featured as an expert in our blog and vlog? Contact us Callousthenicswings@gmail.com or in our Facebook Page Callousthenics Wings and receive thank you ATC from us.

Front view for Tam and Evan.

Back view with title and messages. 

Make sure to check out our hacks and tips for Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove. 

Any other experts do you want us to interview? Let us know in the request link!

[callousedwings]

Let's Ask d Experts: Milk farmer #CloverTastingRoom

First and foremost, we want to thank Clover Sonoma for allowing us to do the interview without an appointment. This post is not sponsored by Clover Sonoma which was formerly known as Clover Stornetta (we love their milk btw!).Here’s our vlog of the day.

This part of project interview was done by MaskedExplorer and cousins, known as M.E. and Coz in our vlog. Coz will become occasional guests in our channel! So exciting!!

Content :

Visiting Tips

Q n A

Location of the pop-up tasting room :

330 Fell St. San Francisco, CA 94102

Tips for visiting pop-up milk tasting:

Come early in the beginning of the scheduled day. Find more events here. 

There will only be curbside parking spots. A block ahead (one-way street) there are spots across the street from the houses, get ready to be in the far left lane, ( We almost witness an accident, a small SUV crossed from far right) passed the playground on the right side of the road.

Ask for children’s area and goodies.

There were yogurt and whipped cream when we were there on the right-hand side while the milk varieties booth was on the left-hand side. 

You could bring home the plastic wine inspired milk glass.

Post your pics in Social Media. 

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jul 13, 2017 at 12:33am PDT

Let’s Ask questionnaire process for #CloverTastingRoom

Weekend at Downtown SF, what were we thinking? Curbside founding was almost a miracle. Not to mention the house owner complaints. If polygloting was a skill, we just aced it right then there. Thankful for multilingual ability that ease our way out of trouble. 

“Just half an hour, uncle.” We spoke in Tagalog. 

“Half an hour, yes? Promise?”

Pheww, we got out of the Tasting Room after only 23 minutes, but who’s counting. In between that, the fun of field tripping trailing us all the way home. Moooo!

Our welcoming hosts @Cloversonoma #CloverTastingRoom.

Let’s ask the Experts with #CloverTastingRoom

We stepped out of the traffic. The three bobbing heads peeled their eyes away from the playground and looked forward, fussing with their masks. Was it nervousness? Even when this was their second time doing it, there would always be that jitter arising within them. It’s just part of the game.

The place was quaint and reminded us more of a small cafe, or was it froyo and boba joint nowadays? Straight in front of us were two pairs of eyes, already smiling and inviting. Body languages sure spoke volumes. After a couple sips, or more like gulp of milk, which seemingly calmed the nerves, the three masked visitors took a deep breath and jump in.

Q: Thank you. Do you mind if we ask several questions?

A: No problem! So what was the question? 

Q: Why is the company called Clover? 

A: Because the cows eat clover, clover green grass and the cows are out on the green grass. So I think that's how it's started a hundred years ago. Clovers have good protein. 

Q: How can you become an expert at milk farming? 

A: Well, a lot of hard work and practice. Practice makes perfect. So, when we were younger, we would like to follow our parent and watch our parent and we started to help them. So, you just need to learn and you listen and you talk to other people who have been doing it for a long time. You talk to other farmers, and you ask them, What do you do everyday? and follow them around, shadowing and start practicing. For farmers, there are different trainings and meetings to learn new things too.

And a lot of us farmers have older family members who taught us about farming. Then going to college and taking classes to learn about food, nutrition, and husbandry. So, there are lots of ways you can learn to become an expert farmer, and you know what? You never stop learning.

The very knowledgable featured farmer family’s matriarch. 

Q: Is there a special grass that makes the milk taste good? 

A: Yeah, actually, clovers. So that probably back to how Clover got its name a long time ago. 

Q: What is the funniest thing that ever happened on your farm? 

A: I don't know, there's too many. When I was little and learning how to drive the tractor to feed with the hay, 'cause sometimes when the grass isn't growing very good in the summer when it gets really hot, we have to feed them hay.  I was driving and my dad was on the back. And I was never supposed to press the pedal. I was only supposed to steer out at the big field. I decided that I was gonna try to press the pedal and when I press the gas pedal, he fell of the back riding behind her. It was pretty funny. 

Wish we could bring that mask home, mohoho!

Q: Two more questions for you. 

A: Two more? Ok.

Q: Is there different cow's milk, if there are, can you name some? 

A: So there are different varieties like fat-free, 2%, and whole fat. So like all cows make the same type, then from there, they can be different flavors, so we have regular milk, and then there's chocolate milk, and there's also some places that started to do root beer flavor milk and strawberry milk. But the black and white cows are called Holstein, the browns are called Jersey and the Jersey has a little bit of higher fat content than the milk that comes out of Holstein, make sense? 

Q: Yes. Who decided to do the milk tasting?

A: Well, we renamed our company from Clover Stornetta to Clover Sonoma, and when we were making these ideas about how to launch the brand, we decided to compare milk because it's a craft like wine, and we decided as a part of that, we would create pop-up milk tasting room, like a wine tasting room. So it came from our team, our marketing team. 

So any other questions? No? Well, I really, really appreciate your questions, they are awesome. 

Q: Thank you for having us and answering our question.

A: If you have more questions, you could post on the Clover page and we can answer those questions too.

Or click here and subscribe to see more of our adventures!

Do you hear that? Go moove over to Clover’s FB page and milk their answer!

Do you want to be featured on our interview as an expert? Shoot us a request!

[callousedwings]

Tips n Hacks Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove

Content :

Ratings

Tips

Meal recommendation

Great Wolf Lodge Ratings

Presentation: 5/5

Location: 5/5

Hygiene: 5/5

Food/drink: 3.5/5 (more than edible in some area, a lil more delicious in others but pretty pricey)

Room: 4.5/5

Amenities: 4.5/5

Staff: 4.8/5

Stroller/Wheelchair friendly: 4/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Urgh, life happens to the best of us. With full of despair, we announce that our main camera is broken, thus we apologize for our lower quality photography, *cries.

We will do our best to replace it, but in meanwhile, please enjoy our experience in Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove to celebrate M.E.’s cousin’s birthday. Whooooohouuuuuuuuw.

P.S. Check out our next post for M.E. and Coz interview with the Aquatic Engineer Maintenance Manager, Evan in our Callousthenics Wings channel! So subscribe!

What an experience

Live from our FB page. 

Personally, we would never think we’d say, there’s too much water. And turned out there wasn’t too much water as we ended up dehydrated in midst of all the water wealth surrounding us. From the tip of our toe to the root of our hair had been raisined, but oh the fun, and soreness for days beyond.

As addicting as the ride was, the line must have been one of the turnoffs. But, after two days in the place, we picked up a tip or two for our loyal readers. And yes, we will come back, but so far we think we had enough for maybe about half a year, but we could be wrong.

12681 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840

Tips:

Come early in weekday. Early check in WILL BE AVAILABLE, trust us. We got there before 12 and by 12:15 we are in babeh! And we are in midst of summer, which they said is the high season. Regular check in time is at 4 PM.

Bring two swimsuits. One for each day, at the very least. You don’t want to hairdry it at the end of the day when your ankles are already sore from lining up or was it stairing up. 

Photo op must-have at Great Wolf Lodge.

Drink plenty of water even when you don’t feel thirsty. SlothChef got dehydrated and pretty much suffer a mild hangover.

Don’t grab too much spare dry towel. The warm ones are those that just came out and being placed on the counter near the entrance/exit.

However, you should grab extra towel to be put on the chairs that you will need. If you leave the chair(s) empty, trust us, it will be public property. 

We also recommend to bring extra towels from the room since “supposedly” the waterpark towels cannot leave the pool area (although we accidentally took it) and walking back to the room might be equivalent to minor hypothermia.    

If you can, go on slow season such as mid of fall and go in groups. The price that you first see doesn’t include the resort fee and parking fee.

Bring your own food to the room. The food inside the resort albeit yummy could be very pricey. Plus there are plenty, and we mean puhlenty of good food around. See below for restaurant recommendation.

They don’t let you bring outside food to the waterpark (no cooler), but they do let you bring drinks, so maybe pack up in smoothies, as in thick creamy (doesn’t have to be dairy based) smoothies and if you want to be super safe, buy 1 fountain drink from snack bar then reuse that to take your personal drinks through the hotel and swim area.

Get in line early in the morning, maybe around 8:30 because the waterpark opens at 9:00 AM and just have breakfast on the line.

Once you get in, we recommend going to the seats that overlook the wave pool, on the top, near the lockers, only on your last day. Why? You will be sitting right by the bathrooms, and these bathrooms are not busy compared to the one right by the entrance/exit. However, it is further away from the slides. So If you decided to sit by the slides, make sure you move closer to it toward the end of your last day (when you already checked out). According to SlothChef’s bro, the men's bathroom by the entrance/exit flooded a lot.

The seating area inside the park are mostly very wheelchair friendly and they have special wheelchair for the waterpark, just ask before you book and it is on first come first serve. There are certain floors that is more wheelchair friendly, we believe it’s the 5th and 8th but don’t quote us in that. The carpet though might gave a great workout session on wheelchair user because its heavy pad making wheeling very difficult.   However, bear in mind this is what the Great Wolf Lodge said,

Waterslides and our elevated attractions are not wheelchair accessible.

If you get in early and love to surf or boogie board, go straight to WolfRIder Wipeout, they open the divider in the morning and will let you surf standing up. Just make sure to be ready to sign your life away, ahem, j/k. They will ask you to sign a waiver and for a guardian to sign for each rider below legal age.

WolfRider Wipeut’s waiver signing.

If you get in early and have yellow band height limitation, make sure you get the life jacket at the towel supply “bar”, right in front of the entrance or by the wave pool, because it will ran out. No inflatable toys allowed but you can bring your own life jacket.   

Check out is at 11:00 and it’s automatically unless you ask otherwise, but you can still stay until closing time. We left at 7 PM after we checked out. Yeah, we were wondering when the kiddoes will decide to end the day too.

Two nights stay might be too much unless you want to enjoy the additional experiences such as bowling, arcade, and the RPG like scavenger hunt, but you gotta buy the magic wand to play for the game. Even though it’s not virtual reality, it is still electronic based.

There is no quiet area in the waterpark so beware of over-stimuli. 

The places where they do the scavenger hunt still interesting even without the wand. Check level 4-6 for additional entertainment.

If you want a break from the water, there are story time and entertainment at the main area. Depend on the lodge near you, but in this particular one is right next to the sitting area, left to you when you enter from the main entrance. If you enter from the parking lot, which a lot of us do, go straight pass the restaurant and stairs on your right and check in are on your left and then go behind the “photo op” wall where the mascots usually pose. It will be overlooking the big clock inside the water park. 

Pay attention to lunch time and dinner time and EAT BEFORE it! These times are when the lines are the least. Especially the Alberta Falls & Coyote Cannon. Those have the longest line (one line split in three at the end) and the WolfRider Wipeout, which has the slowest line (the more unexperienced you are, the longer ride you have, SlothChef learned that the hard way, :P.).

Alberta Falls, both shown in the pictures. The Orange one on the far right is Coyote Cannon.

(UPDATED) Hunt for the charging “station”. It’s not really a station but there are wall plugs throughout the waterpark area, the most obvious ones are by the picture above (end of Alberta Falls and Coyote Canyon) on the left side between it and the Chinook Cove/Big Foot Pass (where you can play water basketball/hoops). There are some wall plugs covered with white/grey coverings. Use it while you have your lunch or breaks. 

Food and Beverages recommendations around Great Wolf Lodge, Garden Grove

This area is wealthy with good food. So stroll out since your parking fee is already included in the room charge anyway. Yelp is your best friend but there are several that we tried ourselves.

Fa - Sai Thai Cuisine

12910 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840.

Rate : 4/5

Pretty lightweight for the wallet, considering the size. Plenty of veggie for each dish. The last time we were there, they have vegan dishes, just make sure ask to sans the fish sauce. They’re pretty quick and have selections of ice cream by the counter.

Plenty of seating and plenty of ingredients in each dish. We ordered three kinds of rice noodle dishes and curry and all are satisfying. This is one of the food that we get to go and eat in our room @Great Wolf Lodge.

Mon Ran Gak, Korean BBQ and other traditional dishes.

9651 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844.  

Rate : 5/5

What to eat after a full that of exercising, well not so much working out but you catch the wave. PROTEIN and lotsa good carb, but not too much tho. Mon Ran Gak food could be a little pricey. However, their free banchan, or appetizer, and free hot drinks are more than enough to cover that. You wonder why Korean food is usually in the expensive side, because of those free banchan.

The hot drinks are coffee and black sesame tea (mildly sweet). Find it near the front door on your right. Check before drink, if it ran out a.k.a only hot water is served, ask the server. There are lines, so come early. 

The great thing about this place is that they also serve free bone broth on every table. Those warm kettle? Not tea, so make sure you are not vegan, but you are in Korean BBQ restaurant, so maybe another option?  Which brings us to the Thai establishment.

Phoenix Food Boutique, Chinese cuisine, and dessert.

13345 Euclid St, Garden Grove, CA 92843  

Rate : 4/5

We didn’t come here for the food. Their food is not very fulfilling because dessert is their specialty. Have you ever heard of durian? Some said custard fruit with a strong scent of damp socks. We beg the differ. It’s sweet but the fragrance might knock you off your feet. 

However, that’s not their only dishes. They have freshly made Chinese dessert with small tapioca pearls and coconut milk. Most of their drinks and dessert are dressed with plenty of fresh fruits. Watermelon, limenade, honeydew, strawberry, and durian, of course, *wink are some of their selections. They also have wonderful flans and fruit puddings, daily made. Craving some sugar after the exhausting day at the water?

If you really have to eat there, grab their anchovies chicken fried rice and their stir fried string bean. The only disappointment of this place is the parking lot. Only one way in and out that fit two cars almost grazing each other. Thus the 4 rating despite the heavenly dessert. 

Let’s howl away!

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jul 1, 2017 at 8:15pm PDT

Pass band for kids, Great Wolf Lodge.

Pose like us and tag us in Facebook and Tumblr @callousthenicswings in Great Wolf Lodge.

Fort MacKenzie At Great Wolf Lodge.

A familiar scene at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Want free printable for your own scavenger hunt? Subscribe to our newsletter and get access to our upcoming printable resources! We also have the backstage tour with the wonderful and informative Maintenance Manager, Evan in our next post. 

Do you have any other howling experience to add? Let us know in the comment when we update the post we’ll give you a shout out. 

[callousedwings]

Tips n Experience: San Diego’s 2017 Adventure Hunt

First and foremost, we want to say utmost appreciation to Adventure Hunt. THANK YOOOOH! for collaborating with us! Click here for our unboxing experience. Remember to check when is your city’s Adventure Hunt will commence. There are still more until August so get your tickets.

This post is sponsored by Adventure Hunt.co, all opinions are our own. 

Content :

Ratings

Tips

Our Experience

How’s it?

It was the first question everyone threw at us. It was exhaustingly exciting. We can finish a whale-size buffet right around now.

It is addicting! It’s a boost to our ego for every time we solved it without a hint or just a second after receiving the clue.

It is weird! Because we came in as strangers to other teams and came out still not knowing their names, or some of us seemed to not care anyway, but since we all have the same goal, we help each other, albeit some of us are more reluctant than others.

We’ll come back for more! No seriously, we also have recruited some more people. So Adventure Hunt.co, what can we say except your welcome!!

Adventure Hunt Ratings

Game clarity: 3.8/5 (it is super easy once you know what to do but the app or website doesn't spell the details, see tips below)

Challenge: 5/5 (balance between hard and easy, teamwork and singles)

Distance: 4.8/5 (doesn't need to spend too much on gas)

Location: 2.5/5 (would love to be directed to places that doesn't have too much traffic and parking difficulties)

Overall: 4/5

Tips on how to Adventure Hunt

One thing that we would like to be improved is putting these posting directions in the

How To page

1. Hunters have to post the intro challenges in Instagram and most if not all of these challenges need to be videos, not pictures. They also need to be tagged @adventurehunt.co and #adventurehunt (type these in your Instagram caption!) to be confirmed. Then once hunters involvement is confirmed, the app will send the first clue.

2. One app is enough to confirm, but if hunters want to do it faster, check different intro challenges in different apps to save time.

3. Once the hunt begins, the hunters wouldn’t be required to post on Instagram anymore. However, hunters need to be sure to stay on the point of interest until they receive the next clue. If not, they will have to go back at the point of interest (we wasted time going back and forth to the car). Hunters are recommended to take pictures (cuz it’s fun) and videos as personal documentation. But highly recommended to share the video of the hunt or reaction in snapchat for votes on transportation fee to Panama (free ticket anyone?)

4. Think outside the box, we meant words. The clues are meant to be confusing. Names are usually not a person or a place. Numbers are usually not meant to be read as numbers. And get your history right. Yep them British is coming. 

5. Watch those distance alert. “You are in XX feet of the next clue.” Some of these are in walking, or running whichever you inclined to, distance.

Additional tips for hunters.

Bring an extra person. Seriously, unless you’re a very highly experienced videographer or you have 4 arms and hands and two brains in additional to what your team have or you have the lady luck on your side to get parking spots for everytime you get to point of interest (if not, one of you need to stay in the car because duh), we could not emphasize this more. It will help you enjoy the fun and care less of the stress. Your extra person doesn’t have to buy the ticket and be in the hunt, but they also will not be in Panama, so that’s that.

Do not rely on other teams to tag you in Instagram or videotape you. They have their own hunt to think about. Don’t you?

Be considerate! Don’t stop in the middle of a two-way street kay? Especially when those two-way streets are smack dab in the middle of public recreational places. Go around and make sure all of your phones are on so you can let the other know, “Where you at?”. If one of you is in the car, your app will tell you when your partner managed to stop scurrying around and stand still on the point of interest, so then you can go back to pick your partner up. Or something else better is..

Bring an extra phone that you don’t use for your app. The app is a voltage guzzler. You will add opened map app, and google app on top of it. Or just bring an extra person and use their phone as a form of communication. Divide and conquer.

Without further ado, let’s hunt!

Adventure Hunt San Diego 2017

She opened her eyes and saw two big dark brown eyes staring back at her.

“Hunt day!”

Urgh, too loud too early.

“Stop it,” she whined and closed her eyes.

She no longer felt the bed on her left arm. Then a slight tug made her slid over the sheet.

“Where are the bags?” She heard the second voice, further away from her.

“Car and the other room.” She felt the bed shook. “Wake up or buhbye.”

That was it. She’s not gonna be left behind for this big day. Grabbing the avatar Korra’s costume, she marched to the bathroom and got on with her morning routine.

“Red bags...” Mom’s voice trailing off to the garage.

“Charger...” Pap’s voice followed.

Oh noes, she gotta get out soon because the next sound was the growling of their car. The trip to their first stop was not that long, but they didn’t leave the house on time.

“I want a real nice breakfast. Not greasy fast food,” Pap complained.

No time for that though. They smashed the breakfast burrito and burger into their mouth and jumped out to the park. There were already people racing with the other teams. They were late.

“Nine oh one,” Mom dug the phone out of her bag. “How do we do this?”

“How am I suppose to know?” Pap said.

Mom approached the other teams and soon she was recording her and Papa before getting busy with whatever she was typing. Hashbrown? Hastag? Hashtag? Something like that.

“Wow, everyone is on their phone,” she remarked.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 24, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

#Mannequin challenge

Mom and Pap just mumbled in agreement. Adults. Well, at least they had fun. Doing whatever YMC dance, racing, tug of wars, and climbing on 5 adults.

“She was so tiny, I barely feel her,” one of the adults commented. Mom laughed, so it must have been a good thing. Then it was the drive to the rock climbing place. It was familiar and it was great to be in her zone.

“Where is it?” Pap grumbled at first. When they finally found it, another team arrived next to them. Having the same thought, she heard Mom said.

It matters not. They finally got the first clue.

“What the heck are we suppose to do?” Mom raced to ask the other team that borrowed her red Adventure bag after slamming the door by the first clue’s area.

She breathed hard. Her body felt warm under the sun. But it was the running that squeeze her diagphram and lungs together. She could feel hot heavy brick weighed down on her chest. Pap, on the other hand, run like a gazelle even without cheetah on his back. Maybe he was the cheetah. One minute he was in front of her, next he teleported. She heard Mom’s ragged breath. Both were trying to keep up.

“We need to train.” Mom’s pant was drowning her voice. Or was that her loud breaths.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 24, 2017 at 11:01am PDT

Bloopers on the hunt.

“Hurry slowpokes!” They heard his voice but not even his shadow was in their peripheral.

They finally decided for Mom to stay in the car. As for her? She’s holding for dear life on Pap’s shoulders.

“URGH!” Pap spat to the ground. Running left and right to find the next clue. He was frustrated at his app. How he had to go back to the last clue. Good thing the car was close by. Not to mention Mom’s phone decided to give up right at the perfect time.

“We just have to stay long enough!” They finally found out. Watching over Pap struggling to punch those words into the screen of his then cracked phone was entertaining, albeit a little scary. His face was about to blow just like those boiling anime character’s head. Thankfully they stopped using the Instant something. Sounded a lot like Instant noodle, useless at time like this. Although, instant curry noodle sounded very delish right then.

“Somebody won.” Mom sighed.

Pap reached out to pet her head. “I have fun. We have fun. It’s ok.”

Mom cracked a smile. A weak smile.

“Let’s grab a lunch and finish it. Ok?” Pap encouraged us.

“Panama?”

Pap grabbed his phone back and glanced at it. “We can still get Panama. In the future. Maybe in a couple days.”

“As long as we finish it. Yes?” Mom asked.

“Yes, yes. Let’s finish it.” Pap closed his eyes. “Just need food now. My brain’s fried and my body is running on fumes.”

“Ok.” Mom relented. “Grab a big lunch and finish this.”

And they did. A big pot of hot steaming garlicky stir fried monster protein dish and two stops with a side of running around for the last clues later, they arrived at the last stop.

“I saw plenty of holes near the spot.” Pap was chuckling. “Somebody really tried to find that treasure chest.”

“We’re done?” She stared at Mom and Pap.

“Yes monster, we finish it!” Mom smiled.

She knew Mom’s competitive streak might be her downfall at this particular day, but she also knew they had fun together, catching their breaths, and maybe catching a curse word or two that Pap was vomiting inside those random long mumbles, but they were done and they did have fun.

“Next year for sure!” Pap said.

They all agreed with a loud high five all around.

Any other tips you would like to be added here? Are you looking fwd for next year?

[callousedwings]

Tips and Unboxing: 2017 pre-Adventure Hunt

Our hearts are racing. The increasing twist in our stomach also tightened our diaphragm. Our breaths are choppy, ragged, and shot. But we are smiling, from ear to ear. Even days before the hunt, we picture ourselves running, jumping, and gliding from challenges to challenges. Why?

We are getting ready for the hunt and scouring the Youtube for tips. Nevermind that Adventure Hunt already post all the necessary answers on their site, nothing beats watching the real race. And nothing prepared us for the excitement bubbling within our muscles. 

The only thing we are prepping is our sheer anticipation, oh and maybe our costume for the H-day. Although we are still missing our swag bags, where it bears the mission of the day, nothing can stop us. ADVENTURE HUNT commence!

Content :

What to bring

Unboxing video

What to bring for Adventure Hunt?

This is what we bring for the day:

1. Extra battery/charger.

2. Extra clothes, towels, swim suits, shoes, sandals, goggles, maybe flippers? And snowboards, longboards, skateboards, bikes, rollllller blade?

3. Extra action camera and gears.

4. Extra snack.

5. Reservoir in our backpack.

6. Sunblock, sunglasses, umbrella, just in case if your place has 4 seasons, rain coats and or with the windbreaker or on the opposite weather, spray bottle.

7. Trowel or hand shovel.

8. Vacuum bag for our dignity so we can get it back after the hunt.

9. Extra pack of SMILE!!!

Stay tuned for our unboxing video!

Here’s MaskedExplorer unboxing our swag bag.

or click here.

Care to share anything else we are missing?

[callousedwings]

San Diego International Boat Show

Three words about the show, hot but cool. Confused yet?

First of all, we want to thank the San Diego International Boat Show and Synergy Communication l.l.c for giving Callousthenics Wings the opportunity to cover their events and had so much fun! This event is still going until Sunday June 18th at Spanish Landing East.

Content :

Locations

Tips

Experience

Entrance is by the Sheraton in Harbor Island Dr, across from San Diego International Airport Terminal 2.

The Tower (Rook) icon is where the bulk of the show located, while the pin drop is the entrance. The free parking located near the Hilton San Diego Harbor Island.

Places to go for breakfast before the show or dinner after (because there are yummy food truck and shaved ice truck inside) are located in Little Italy, near the waterfront park seen on the right side of the map above. Parking is curbside, coin/card. Another option is to Liberty Station on the left side of the map. There are plenty of food options inside their Liberty Public Market (which is still expanding) with free parking everywhere.

This is what Sara, our giveaway winner said about the show, 

“Callousthenics Wings was very generous and sent us to the boat show this year. The kids and I had a blast looking at the boats and gear. My 4 year was trying to talk me into bringing a boat home! The kids and I shared a huge shaved ice to beat the unusually warm weather and it was the perfect way to top off a great day.”

Secretly, we are with the minions about owning a boat.  

Tips for San Diego International Boat Show:

Water, water, WAH-TAAH!. Preferably inside a thermos or anything that keep it cold. Or do what we do, we bring packed ice inside our insulated bottles and use the water reservoir (camelbak) to refill.

If it’s still too hot, use cooling towel, or do what we do for our desert hike, get a small bathing suit (better with tankini than bikini or one piece) wet it and put it around the neck just like cooling towel, voila!)

Make sure not to touch the bed inside the boats and have the lil ones travel on the sofa with their knees. You have to take off your shoes and their feet will leave a mark on the sofa.

Don’t be afraid to ask, but don’t keep on opening stuff. Collect all your crew and have them in one spot to see what’s inside the drawers and or cabinets. The last thing you want is a dirty look from the seller. (They won’t let you touch the button and console, be aware of that)

Get into the boats on the water, most of them have their AC blasting. Just make sure not to keep on getting in because it’ll take for--e--vah to go around.

Get the free samples, of course, mah horse!!

Ask for children’s or hands-on area, special boats, and workshops area before hand. We missed it all because the younger crews started to complained about the motion sickness (the platform on water swayed) and heat.

With that squared away, let’s just dive into it.

San Diego International Boat Show

Only several seconds after the car shut down, she felt the heat crawling on her skin. She hurried to open the car, but it didn’t help. Should she pant? Her mouth felt the cold icy beverages, oh she just imagining that. With a loud sigh, she resorted to the hose out of the camel bag and sipped.pant? Her mouth felt the cold icy beverages, oh she just imagining that. With a loud sigh, she resorted to the hose out of the camel bag and sipped.

“Mom, hot!”

“Let’s get closer to the bay.”

She dropped the hose back in the car and sprinted ahead. Her eyes scoured the park for any shade to make the waiting bearable. “Can we get in now?”

Mom approached her. “It’s still 20 minutes, plus we are waiting for aunties and coz.”

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 17, 2017 at 7:22pm PDT

@slothchef in Instagram.

She knew they were waiting. If they weren’t, Mom would’ve park straight in the hotel, instead of waiting for the others then move. “How much longer?”

Lucky for her, really not that long. The appearance of her buddies made her threw away any beef she had with the weather. After parking again, the gate was just right ahead, passed the lobby, followed the red arrows, and into receiving a bag full of goodies. Was that sand toys?

“Where’s the simulation?” Mom asked after peering into the bags full of books or was it magazine?

They followed the guide’s pointing finger to the booth. Curiosity invaded everyone around her. She only remembered about driving a boat but not real. Adults were weird, why wouldn’t it be real when she’s driving it?

A game! That’s what it was. Mom could’ve just said it. Twice! Everyone wanted to go twice, or maybe even more if they could’ve. She knew Mom would have jumped onto the seat too. Even she was so impatient to go. Line, line! But at least she knew them. Despite the growing urgency, she wouldn’t want to be the jerk who cut in front of her buddies. 

She narrowed her eyes. Buoys. Where’s the yellow buoys she saw from behind her friend’s head. Around the lake too. What happened? She looked around the screen. Sailboats, water, water, speed boats, sailboats. Where are they? Should she try looking for it? The answer was not what she wanted. “We’re just by the entrance, lots more to see,” said Mom.

They’re going, FINE, they’re going, only after she got the life jacket. “Blue one please.” She shoved the red back into the box. Pheww.

No bigger ones? But why?

“All same size,” the nice lady said. 

Oh well, at least she got a bag for herself. Mom had one, so must she.

“Something smells good.” Whatever Mom was walking to, she saw smoke coming out. Definitely wanted some too.

“Careful dear, it’s hot.” A long dark maroon sausage came out smoking and did she say smelled wonderful too?

The older man was so nice. She got more than one slice and even bread too. A triple sandwich? Oh, Mom, right, shouldn’t forget one for Mom.

“Do you want to eat something else?” Mom approached her as she relaxing at the swing. She turned to her buddies. They left the adults because between organic fruit and vegetables to giant swing to sleep on, we all knew which won.

“Nope.” She went ahead and pointed at the boats. “Can we get up there?”

“Ask.”

Of course, how could she forget to ask the right person?

“No shoes.” That’s all they got from all the sellers and off they went.

Three questions. She only wanted three questions, “What kind of boat is this? How fast does it go? Is it easy to drive?”

She thought, if she remembered correctly, Monterey speed boat? Yeah, that sounded right. That one went all the way to 30 is mph? There were bigger ones. Looked fancier too. Must’ve been more expensive.

“Right Mom?” Mom pointed at the numbers. Yep, that was more numbers than she cared about.

Central Console Fishing Boat? Is that the bigger ones? Should be, it got those boxes with transparent lid for the catch, the seller said. She really thought it even as big as her. At least everyone said it was easy to drive, just like cars. She couldn’t even drive those yet.

“This one? Goes to about 60-70 miles per hour.” That must have been fast. Although per hour sounds slow if her memory served her right. Maybe take notes? Nope. Mom should record this. Like last time she did the interviews for the art festival.  Not her problem.

Speed boat is just like driving a car? 

Where they store a smaller catch in the fishing boat.

It’s actually comfortable!

With fancy buttons too. No touch though.

“There’s more on the water.” She thought it was the last boat. Hearing the word water made her hopped down as fast as she could, ignoring the scorching heat from the concrete baked sun.

She and her pals sprinted down to cross the bridge. Wait! Yellow life jackets of course, the fashion statement of the day. Whoops, didn’t expect the swaying platform. It’s swaying everywhere. Fun! Like in an actual ships!

“Ships...”

“It’s not ship. A ship is much bigger, these are boats,” corrected the man on the boat.

She could feel her face warming up. Or was that the sun? Alright, boats. It’s kind of hard to jump onto the boat from the platform when both sides were swaying. She gotta time it right, but Mom didn’t help either.

“Whoooo, careeefuuulll. You fall, you swim.” 

“Moom!” She could hear Mom were still chuckling. 

Even the bridge swayed a little.

Aaah! Could’ve stay here forever, if only...

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 16, 2017 at 9:22pm PDT

If only she could drive. This steering wheel even almost as big as her.

She rolled her eyes, but that’s after she landed on the other side. One boat, two, three, four, so nice inside she would just stay in. However, she really loved going around. Really couldn’t refuse the free stuff, as she shouldn’t anyway.

“Where’s the paddle boarding?” Mom voiced her question, but right about then all she was thinking about is the melting ice she could’ve have right at that instant. The sun is mighty high in the sky and it’s summer, so that didn’t really tell her how late it was. There still one booth she really liked.

“Visit Mexico!” That was THE booth. It reminded her of her Puerto Nuevo’s visit with Mom and Pap. One word, no actually two, go again. Yep, anytime soon preferably.

“I wanna go back,” she begged Mom.

“We will.” Mom smiled. 

Yep, they will but for that day, shaved ice truck by the bridge sounded mighty exciting.

The Boat Show is held usually in the midst of summer about a couple weeks after the end of school year.

Have you been to any boat show? How was your experience?

[callousedwings]

Let's Ask the Experts artist @SD Fest. of the Arts

Silk Resist Dye painting. We fail not the get it on the clothes!

First and foremost, we want to thank AIM communications for working with us. This post is not sponsored by San Diego Festival of The Arts, but we love it so much we posted it anyway.  Here’s our vlog of the day. 

Content :

Locations

Tips

Experience and Interviews

Location of the festival is on the north side of the Waterfront Park, away from the playground and Star of India. Plenty of curbside parking on regular day. Might need to use parking garage near Kettner Blvd, $5 per day, or coin parking near and around Star of India.

The Waterfront Park.

The park also held Cinema by the Stars, an outdoor movie experience where the audience can have a family picnic in the outdoor park. Held in summer, around or after the Festival of The Art. To find food around the area, go to Little Italy or Gaslamp Quarter. There are also a couple of trolley stations parallel to Kettner Blvd. The cost for a day pass is $5.00 per person.

Tips:

(it’s more so for when bringing younger child but it is not limited to it.)

Do not get stuck on the beginning. Plenty, plenty places to go.

Try to look at the artists beforehand if you or anyone with you have an affinity to a certain type of art and artists.

Ask for freebies and samples areas to take a short snack and break (these are the sponsored table, most likely located closer to the building).

Ask for children’s or hands-on area also to take a short break from appreciating and shopping. With all the inspo around, you or a member of your crew might need a channel to let it out.

Look for the bathroom and drinking water fountain. This one is rather close to the play area with water fountain (not to drink!) so if weather’s hot bring extra clothes or swimming suit.

Get a pencil or crayon to mark the artists you want to revisit. The arrangement is rather confusing so this helps a lot.

Ask the artist, what’s their booth number, some of them are easy to miss.

Let the creative juices flow.

Interview of the Artists

It was a day like any other weekend in Downtown. Full of people, from all walks of life, at least on that day. The LGBT pride parade had just finished, and rainbow flags were waving everywhere. But that’s not what they were here for. 

In midst of the cold breeze, their exasperation flowed out of their frustrated frowns. Five drives around the gated festival were enough. GrumpDoc dropped SlothChef and Masked Explorer by the playground. 

Distraction was imminent as M.E.’s eyes glued on the slide and the climbing wall. After much encouragement, SlothChef managed to peel M.E. off to wait by the front gate. Sitting on the grass field, they waited until GrumpDoc arrived. SlothChef whipped her phone out and showed the gatekeeper their tickets. 

Anxiety sneaked up on them as the keeper was unable to scan. They didn’t drive all the way here just to turn around with heads hung low right? As kindness has it, the keeper let the Callousthenics family in. From then, the fun had just begun.  

First interview with John Conroy a.k.a Coool Cats.

Cool Cats has one of the coolest painting M.E. saw in the festival.

Q: Hello, can I interview you? I’m M.E.

A: Sure! I’m John, nice to meet you.

Q: Nice to meet you too. How do you practice?

A: I started when I was three. And I did the doodle all the time. Scribbling about the things I’m looking at, so eventually, after 50 years, that turns into this. 'Cause you know when you're young, you know what you're interested in right away. You just know it. Are you an artist too?

Q: Uh huh. I like drawing.

A: You’re an artist, just like me. This is your future, my dear. Tell me, what's your next question.

Q: What is the scariest thing that ever happened to you?

A: Gosh, that's kind of an interesting question. I don't want to say anything that will scare you, but I would think that..the scariest thing that ever happened to me, this is funny. When I went to Wisconsin, I parked my car in the dark, 'cause I was late, and then I turned on my light, and cows had come over the fence and stuck their heads on my windows. So when I turned on my light, I thought they were monsters on my windshield because they were looking at me with their big eyes and big faces and their tongues were sticking out. I almost had a heart attack. That's the scariest thing that ever happened to me, waking up cows.

Q: I have one more question. What superpower do you want to have?

A: You know what, I want to have superpower to look at people and make them all friendly. 

Q: Why?

A: Because there are not enough friendly people in the world, we need to make more friendly people don't you think so?

Q: Yea.

A: I feel like I'm gonna win Miss America's crown. Thank you for interviewing me.

Q: Thank you.  

To see more of his mixed media creations visit CooolCats on Facebook, and check out our video interview at our Youtube Channel, Callousthenics Wings.

Second interview with Ming Chu (Michelle) Oye.

The pressed flowers and plant mixed media made and interesting landscape of the pieces.

Q: Hello, can I interview you? My name is M.E.

A: Yes, my name is Michelle Oye. 

Q: Nice to meet you.

A: Nice to meet you too.

Q: How do you practice doing the art?

A: I just grow my flowers then I press it to dry. After dry, I paint the background then I do an arrangement.

Q: What part of making to you enjoy the most?

A: When I created it. 

Q: How do you get out of being out of ideas?

A: I just stop, enjoy my life, refresh my brain.

Q: Thank you

A: You’re welcome.

Contact Ming Chu Oye for her mixed media creation michoyeart@yahoo.com.

Third interview with Mr. Redfield from Andrea Haffner Studio

The artist used small plants and shells to create their pieces.

Q: Hello, Can I ask you a few questions about your pretty art? I’m M.E.

A: Hi, I’m Redfield. I’m glad you think that these are pretty.

Q: How do you practice?

A: Oh the work? Kind of experimentation, right. Just like in the kitchen and you’re trying to make cookies. So you make them and might think that they’re good but how to make ‘em better, right? More sugar, more salt. So even with creating artwork, you have the similar idea. So you’ve got a kind of blue and you think what if this could be darker, maybe I’ll add a few more drops of blue and see that one is blue but darker, so that’s kind of experimentation, practice, and see what’s happened. So you learned from experiments, even from mistakes. 

Q: Is there a special event that inspired you to make art?

A: I guess going to museums when I was little. Go to the art museum, even going to an art show. 

Q: What kind of superpower do you want to have and why?

A: I guess to grant wishes. 

Q: Why?

A: Just then you can make people happy. If they need food you could give them, or clean water, or find their missing dogs. All kinds of things like that. So everybody could be happy and healthy. But I like the idea of being super fast and super sight and all those cool things too. Or to fly right?

Q: Yea! Thank you.

A: You’re welcome.

To learn more about the mixed media jewelry visit the studio’s page Andrea Haffner Studio.

Fourth interview with Adam Homan.

The artist used a variety random object that reminiscence of Tim Burton’s creation.

Q: Hi, do you mind if I interview you? I’m M.E.

A: No, not at all. My name is Adam.

Q:  How do you start to do it?

A: To do this? It’s a lot of tools, like welders, grinders, and all kind of noisy stuff. I just started playing with that when I was twenty and I just started making these strange creatures. 

Q: Which part of the making do you like the most? 

A: I think I like the beginning when was just start making it. 

Q: Is there a special event that inspired you to make art?

A: Well, when I was a ‘lil boy, I saw StarWars and that really spark my imagination so probably that.

Q: That’s all, thank you.

A: You’re welcome.

Follow Adam’s latest creation at his page, Adam Homan Metal Sculpture.

Last interview with M.E. by SlothChef (SC)

SC: What do you think about the festival?

ME: A lot of amazing stuff. Very creative, I love it. They’re beautiful.

SC: How’s the interview?

ME: Good, every interview I had, I asked three questions. It was scary every time I started but it got easier. It was good to know about the artists and how they did it. I really like interviewing the first artist. 

SC: Why?

ME: Cuz I like his cat painting. 

SC: Oh, ok. Would you do it again?

ME: Well, I...maybe would. 

SC: Did you have fun?

ME: I had fun Having Naked Juice sample, someone drawing us, and got free stuff too, aah, nice. What’s next?

SC: The Boat show?

ME: Aah, the captains.

SC: Yes.

The front of the Kettner Blvd parking garage, $5.00 perday on Sunday.

So see you all in the next Let’s Ask the Experts at Great Wolf Lodge!

Have you been to a citywide art festival in your area? How’s your experience? Any tips for us next time?

[callousedwings]

Shadowban and 9 tips to celebrate it

Congratz for the milestone in your career. Image above was credited, post is original by Callousthenics Wings.

Content :

The heck is Shadowban?

Letter to IG

Tips to recap

Shadow banned, shadowbanned? Shadowban? What in the world of media is that?

Let’s see, is it being shadowed, like being shoved into the corner for a time out? Then being banned? Whoa that’s extreme. Must have been heartbreaking. Isn’t that right, our readers? What is a shadowban? Sounds like a name of a great villain to us. An anti-hero? Or maybe one of the antagonists of our social media life. Shadowban Ninja, yeah that sounds legit. 

By now you might have heard this new term, courtesy of our resident persnickety platform, Instagram. When IG shadowbanned you, it is pretty much throwing shade at you, preferably at your back, because nobody knows they’re being shadowbanned until it was too late. Too..damn...late. 

Don’t let the other names of it such as stealth banning, which words offer a better explanation, ghost banning or comment ghosting fooled you. It’s all the same. Let’s count it as one more thing you could cross out of your life accomplishments. Warning, masochistic delights ahead.

To: Instagram@instagram.com Subject : In the matter of Shadowbanned.

Dear Instagram, 

My love for you has grown a thousand folds ever since I first saw you. Your beauty has beseech me to take your open arms and entangled my life with you. There’s not a day passed by without me locking my eyes on you, regardless whether you gave me your precious time or not.

I am truly attracted to your attention hoarding nature. You grabbed my life by the beans and never let me go. Prying myself from you was an idea I never juggled with. 

I apologize truly for pouring my heart out to somebody else ahead of time instead of straight to you. To share my daily delight with all the necessary hashtags that made you burn with jealousy. Trust me, my darling, all the Buffer, Hootsuite, and KUKU couldn’t replace you, ever.

I didn’t know what had come to me when I decided to play games with you. I assumed you would laugh it off when I sent you a mock representation of mine. I was caught up with my tasks and afraid that I wouldn’t have time for you. I honestly thought a computerized clone of mine would help to give you some quality time and conversation.  Was it because of my mistakes of giving you vague details about my daily live? I know how you demand to know my whereabouts, every, single, minutes, just because you care so much about my wellbeing. No matter how you avert your eyes because you’re such in demand everytime we suppose to have our alone time. 

I admit, I was too jealous of your divided attention and it triggered me to do the unthinkable. Pushing away and ignoring most the others in minutes that has been in our circle was immoral. I promised you it will never happen again, if you would give me another chance. Did I bore you with all the same sweet special nametags I always called you with? You were beaming with pride when you paraded me around the platform for everyone to see. I met such wonderful acquaintances of yours, but now everything I do seem to have wronged you. 

But even so, the honest truth is that you still have my heart and our brainchild, the fruit of my laborious work. I could not leave you, and shall not ever, until the end of your days or I passed from stress. You have given me the chance to see the world through your beautiful eyes and you are my sugadaddy/mommy. 

So tell me my darling, what makes you turn your back to me and kept me in the corner? Shadowed by new lovers that came to woo you? They don’t know you as well as I do. They haven’t proven their loyalty as long as I do. What can I do to win back your favor?

Sincerely, Your extremely addicted fan.

PS : please don’t take all my hard work away and leave me with nothing but zero likes and bot’s comments. I will give you a 48 hours space all for your amazing self as I spend this time to personally reevaluate my poor behaviors. 

Instagram announcement on “Shadowbanning”

Tips in recap:

Avoid scheduler, unless it’s only for reminder.

Do not use comment bots. 

Type in the caption words that is directly related to the post. A pregnancy announcement without a pregnant mother or a baby or ultrasound or maybe baby showers is a no go. 

Lighten up any frown upon activities. Unfollowing plenty of accounts in one time/day will trigger a red flag.

Mixed up those hashtags by throwing in new ones. Do not repeat for more than a couple weeks (at most two weeks), and pay attention to banned hashtags. Delete these hashtags from previous posts too.

Be inactive for 48 hours. Silent the reminders and alerts and take a break.

Switch to personal account.

Check Shadowban.azurewebsites to confirm your account’s shadowban.

And wait. Maybe, you’ll gain IG’s favor back. Cheers.

Did we warn you enough? Are you running for the life of your Instagram? What have you done?

[callousedwings]

15 free Social Media Scheduling Apps

Time is ticking away.

Content :

Native Scheduling

Prologue

List of free scheduler

First scenario: Imagine having extra pairs of arms, then hands, growing out of you every-time there’s a new social media on the horizon?  

Second scenario: Imagine your newest blog post walking into all social media and get ‘em all up in line to post or else whipped them up to shape, while you’re sipping your fave cocktail (or anything you like really, we don’t judge).  

Third scenario: Imagine having all the social media platform you’re in following you around and nagging you to feed them the newest idea in your head, like hungry hungry hippos, no seriously, hungry hippos.

Nope? We’ll take the second scenario really, but until we make ourselves an AI blog, guess not. So that brought us here. Social Media Schedulers, as known as, another thing we gotta do but at least we got it squared away, capiche?

What is Native Scheduling? 

Posting straight from the platform or called Native Scheduling is still preferable. 

One immediate platform that screaming on top of their lungs is Instagram. you might get blacklisted a.k.a shadowbanned if you use an automated scheduler. An option is to make a draft and go live each day at a specific time. Or use pinboard for content (hashtags on the first comment) using Trello and just copy paste, because now that IG launched their Desktop version, it is easier to copy paste (and they’ll be watching even closer, those persnickety AI). 

Another platform is Facebook. Even when Facebook never claimed that 3rd party app influenced the alogarithm, according to this author, who run a side by side testing, there are differences (keep in mind this article was written in 2015).  There are also still attribution to third party apps. One of the FB grp that we are involved in always show Hootsuite as the posted app from one of the admin (looking at from mobile version).

Twitter now also jumping into the bandwagon of scheduling tweet. Personally, we just decided that Twitter is best used for on the spot rant or dry jokes with occassional promotions. But that’s just us.

Prologue for the list:

Obviously, the social media scheduler has been compared to the stars in the sky. Unless you have days off doing nothing at all, there will be too much to be listed here. So there are those that is excluded from this list.

Those that doesn’t provide free plan or only offer free trial: Sprout, ViralTag, PromoRepublic, PostCron, Followed, etc,

Those that only for a specific platform: OnlyPult, Grum, PinPinterest, Unum, SNUG, etc (most of these are for Instagram),

Mobile App exclusively,

And them bots.

Since we have a primarily English-speaking audience, we will not include other languages, for now. And last but not least, we received no compensation, although we won’t refuse, for providing this info for our loyal reader.

List of Social Media Scheduler with free forever options or until a certain limit.

All pricings are per month unless stated otherwise.

Buffer 

Used across all major platforms with Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App.

Free up to 9 profiles.

Upgrade : $10 - $399.

Dlvr.it 

Used across all platforms with Chrome Extension.

Automate hashtags and short links

Free up to 9 profiles.

Upgrade $9.99 and $149.99.

DrumUp

Excluding: Facebook groups, IG, Pinterest. Includes Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App.

Provide Custom offer

Upgrade to $15-$159

EveryPost

Excluding: Facebook groups. Includes Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App. 

Free up to 9 profiles.

Upgrade $9.99 - $99.99.

Friends+me

Used across all major platforms with Google+ profiles, pages, collections, and communities, Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App. 

Free only on Google+ Collection & Community, Pinterest Board, Tumblr Blog accounts.

$3/ Social Profile/ month. 

Hootsuite

Using Tailwind for Pinterest

Used across all major platforms excluding LinkedIn groups but with Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App. 

Upgrade $19 - $499 - contact for pricing. 

No affiliate program as of 2017

Kontentino

Excludes Facebook groups, Pinterest, and Google+ and only in iOS App. 

Provide posts preview. 

Very limited for free pricing (1 social acct), upgrade to $9 - contact for pricing.

KUKU 

Used across all major platforms with upcoming Android App but no date on iOS.

Upgrade $9.99 - $49

MavSocial 

Excludes Pinterest and Google+ without Android nor iOS app

Multilingual: Chinese, Russian, and Arabic

Free stock images.

Upgrade $19 - $149 - contact for pricing.

RecurPost 

Excludes Instagram and Google+ with upcoming Pinterest. Only with Chrome Extension. 

Boasting simplicity.

Upgrade $25- $50.

SocialChamp

Used across all platform with incoming Instagram, with Chrome Extension, Android, and upcoming iOS App.

Free up to 2 profiles

Upgrade $10 - $ 100 with 10% if paid yearly.

SocialPilot

Used across all platform with Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App.

Free up to 3 connected profiles

Upgrade $10 - $30 with 2 months free if paid yearly.

StatusBrew 

Excludes Facebook groups, and only serve Google+ pages, with Chrome Extension, Android, and iOS App.

Upgrade $25 - $50 or discounted if paid yearly.

Repost Elokenz 

Excludes Instagram and Pinterest with Google+ upcoming. 

Free up to 10 profiles

Upgrade $10 - $26

Tiempy

Only Facebook profiles, LinkedIn, Twitter, and with Chrome Extension.

Unlimited profiles

Upgrade $5 - $50

Additional apps that didn’t quite make it to the list.

Klout

Used on Facebook profile and pages, and Twitter with Windows, Linux, and iOS app

Pricing upon request

Recommended content

Tailwind 

Only for Pinterest and Instagram

SmarterQueue

Not on market yet so it’s open for testing.

Used across all major platforms.

There you have it, still thinking the second scenario isn’t betta? We can dream, right? Sooo, ready to choose yet? Do you have any other scheduling app you used? Do you have tips on using any of these above?

[callousedwings]

The Almost Time Giveaway to Adventure Hunt

Adventure Hunt’s Villa in Panama! (Picture provided by Adventure Hunt. We will update the rest of the picture after our own hunt.)Please click here to go to our experience’s post.)

It’s that time again! Another Giveaway!

We are teaming up with Adventure Hunt to bring you the amazing race of your cities! Callousthenics Wings will be reviewing Adventure Hunt San Diego and will be replacing some of the pictures here with our own. Want to know if this adventure is one you can take as a family, with younger adventurers? Stay tuned!

What’s the tickets good for?

The winning tickets can be good for whichever city the winners are closest to (that is still available. It’s been known to sell out.)

If a minor participates, the parent or legal guardian needs to sign the waiver found on the "Waiver and Rules" page  and then send a picture of the signed copy to letsgo@adventurehunt.co (email). However, there isn't a special price for minors.

Follow their page on Facebook or Instagram for updates on their events.

The winning team will be getting GoPros, gear from KZ, Stance, RedBull, GoScope & MissionBelt + FREE trips to Red Frog Beach, Panama shown above. The winning team could also bring another team along with them!

It is so easy to enter.  First, this is only open to our page followers. We do check, and users that are not subscriber will sadly be disqualified. Are you ready??!

1 team = 2 tickets for Adventure Hunt.

The raffle is open to residents of the United States aged 18 years or over. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition. Enter only if you are traveling to USA in 2017. Entry form will close on June 21st 23:59. After this date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted. Winners will be contacted on 22nd. The winners will have 12 hours to respond or prize is forfeited and a new team is chosen.

By entering this raffle, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. Route to entry for the raffle and details of how to enter are to subscribe to our blog via Facebook Page. Some bonus entry options can even be done every day, so make sure to come back.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The promoter (Adventure Hunt) reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter. The prize is as follows: 2 tickets for 1 team to Adventure Hunt.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

More information could be found in our Facebook page pinned on the very top.

Exciting isn’t it? And we will be having another giveaway for Adventure Hunt once our Instagram page reaches 1K. So invite your friends and follow us!

Tag a friend! Have more questions? Or have you experienced the hunt? Let us know!

[callousedwings]

7 lab/projects from dumpster dive pantry

Dumpster is our science lab and project silo.

Content :

Dumpster Dive?

Tips

Safety

Visit our Facebook and Instagram page then you’ll see how many times we have science projects, mostly laboratory-based. But how do we have enough finance and why in the world would we “waste” these?

Enter the dumpster dive. 

What is dumpster diving?

Do I have to dive into the dumpster head first with swimming equipment? Nah, but you do want to wear rain boots or wellies, disposable gloves, and have a crate or cardbox next to the dumpster. 

Isn’t it trespassing? 

No, according to here and here, these links are explaining the law from both point of view, the diver and the individuals who their dumpster are being dived.

What if it’s locked?

Well, breaking something is illegal, even if it’s public property. So decide on your discretion. We do not promote it. 

Is there another alternative?

Yes. You can ask you closest store, supermarket, grocery store, restaurant, etc and tell them what you are intended to do with their disposable item or trash. Most of them might refuse because they don’t want to lose their job, while some of them don’t care.

Now with that squared away, let’s get into the project ideas!

7 Dumpster Dive Project Ideas.

1. Dissection.

Let’s get straight to the point. It is violent and savage. After you are done, you’ll be covered with...sap and most likely pollen. So if you’re allergic, make sure you’re covered. Eye goggle, face mask, and gloves. Yes, we are talking about plant dissection. Flowers are usually the prime suspect that we caught in the dumpster. Then there are fruits, vegetable, mushrooms, and sometimes a whole plant. The good news is, you can always compost it.

2. Painting.

Have you seen those potato stamp painting or celery that are circulating around the internet? Or mushroom stamps? We used to think, why. Even if the painting is edible paint, we don’t think it will taste that good anymore. And wasting a perfectly good bought potato is such a crime. But when we get it from the dumpster, we are saving them from not being used at all.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Apr 20, 2017 at 6:15pm PDT

But the best painting we did was to smash the food on the canvas, put plenty of salt over them, clean the excess (or not if you want texture), bake it under the sun, and spray sealant over it. Bonus point if you also spray shaving cream that you find in the dumpster. 

3. Craft.

We found those collapsible plastic crates and boxes, sometimes even papers in the dumpster. Unwritten, semi-dirty, but still usable. We make our ATC, Art Trading Card, from gift boxes that we found in the dumpster. You can also make a bookmark out of dried up flower, after you dissect it from #1. Paper mache mask was one of our craft projects from the dumpster also.

4. Chemical science experiment and observation.

Not for the faint of heart, but we found meat and fish in the dumpster before, of course, that we used to do chemical experiments on. This also included dissolution, with pineapple. Yes, since we can use pineapples as ameat tenderizer, we can also dissolve the meat, once it’s submerged long enough. Or we also did decomposition rate, if you have made a special container, away from the house. 

But if you don’t want to use meat, use plants instead. We submerged plants in different solutions, ranging from colored water to homemade saline, and even acid (pickling too anyone?). We also observe how it was burned in different conditions. Or learn how not to burn it. It’s a really great practice for beginner or aspiring cooks by having them cook different plant material. 

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Mar 5, 2017 at 12:41pm PST

Or you want the easiest experiment? Grab a loaf of bread and exposed it to the open air for it to get moldy. Then observe it under the microscope.

5. Math

Especially statistics and graphing. We use our data from the amount of trash on several points of the week to learn about data collecting and interpretation. We also use this method when we are doing the science experiments in #2.

Not just that, we got into Fibbonaci number and golden ratio, thanks to Brussel's sprouts on the branch that’s growing spirally.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Apr 21, 2017 at 11:19pm PDT

6. Literary art.

What else to do with all those information you have? How about writing it down? We made a report on waste management and consumerism after discussing our statistic on the amount of trash. Yea, not really the most exciting thing of all, but it could be a project idea for those who are looking for a topic. And last but not least. 

7. Engineering and building.

Seen those wooden contraptions called pallet? There are plenty of them near dumpster around business area. You can look at freecycle.org and craigslist too for free pallets in your area. Just make sure if you are using it for permanent fixtures such as furniture, plant’s pot, giant jenga, or treehouse, the pallets came from nurseries or places that sell food. Food grade means they are not treated by hazardous and toxic chemical.

Tips:

Don't forget to bring gloves, rubber boots, and boxes (you can get free crates in you dive if you lucky).

And one last thing. If you want to know for sure your region’s law about public properties and dumpster diving visit Municode and click on their library button 

The real website doesn’t have the button dancing around just letting you kno.

Which project idea(s) is your fave? Did these suggestion spark an idea in your head? Share with us!

[callousedwings]

Almost twice : The Nighthawk Tale of Black Mountain

Black Mountain open reserve, Nighthawk trail. Less than 5 miles.

Directions :

Take 56 freeway, closer to I-15. Take Black Mountain Road exit. Go north on Black Mountain Road and turn right on Oviedo Street, then turn right onto Oviedo Way. Follow to the end to Hilltop Community Park, Oviedo Way, San Diego, CA

The trailhead is on the opposite side of the playground (northern side).

There are other ways to reach the summit from the same side.

Trailhead by the park.

Level : Half a day school. Moderate, mid intermediate hike.

Feature : very little flat, mostly pebbles, and muddy incline. Little to no shade.

Tips :

Water, water, trail mix, maybe snack to enjoy at the top.

Enjoy the California Sage and cowboy’s eu de toillete.

Can take the service road to go back down but it will lead to the bottom of the hill, Rasmussen way (on left) or Laurentian Dr (straight) and need to walk on the pavement to the park.

Lower Mines Trail was closed by Spring 2017.

Want to thank our hiking buddies at The Pinky Project for winging it with us.

Almost Twice

Because the second time, their hiking buddies weren’t feeling it. That day was sort of uneventful, that was until they met with the Rangers. Apparently, water was even a hotter commodity at old cowboy times, because bathing was a luxury or a hunt to the nearest river which could cost a day or two. Instead, they rubbed their face and skin with a sage plant. They even called it Cowboy’s Cologne. Have they heard about dry shampoo?

It was not cloudy and chilly as her first time here. Although second time was a bit muddier, maybe the rain was about two days before. Heavy rain. They also started all the way down at the canyon nearby the houses. Farther than the first time to the trailhead, but who’s counting the steps.

Was it relief or disappointment that she felt? Mattered not. Broken pottery near the trailhead, which she missed on her first time made it worthwhile.

“We are the archeologists.” Her friend dug the soil.

“Look at this ancient broken piece, from old time,” she chimed in.

“Broken ceramic plate from Pottery Barn,” Mom whispered.

She glared at Mom. Party pooper, mouthed her. Mom stuck her tongue out a bit.

She wasn’t interested in finishing the trail when the mood was not there. After all, she’s done this one before.

So she sat. Basking in the warm sun. Although not cold, the breeze was still crisp. Playing with the pebbles, she looked around and saw the hills around them. Last time she was there, she didn’t remember that view. But again, she was looking up this hill she was sitting on.

She turned around, to kneel and push herself up. Yeah, she remembered that day. The first time they were here and it wasn’t planned at all. Like most of her and Mom’s hike, unless it’s the long Iron Mountain.  Usually, it’s more let’s go grab the camelbak and hiking shoes. Which explains how they ended up getting lost and stumbled into stranger’s backyard. 

It was maybe was her third hike of the year and her first time with friends. Mom’s got her friend too, so she would count that as a win-win. While Mom would say that she’s showing off.

Don’t think so

It was nice to take different ways with different friends. She got to see other plants. Mostly still sage, but Mom said at least it wasn’t brown and dying like the last couple of years. Drought. She wondered if any of these greens were edible.

“Watch out for rattlesnake huh.” She remembered that words. How about poop? Shouldn’t she watch out for that too?

“Make sure you keep left. Ok? Don’t go on...Sundevil trail err way.” Mom’s eyes danced from left to right. Reading the cell’s screen.

“How much longer is the top?” She remembered her friend asked.

She chimed in.

“Wait.” Mom pulled out her cell. “Weak signal...ooo no signal.”

Uh oh.

“Let’s just ask those people.” Three strangers were approaching them. Not that they could help. They didn’t go up further enough. Then there’s a pair of hiker. This time for sure they’re about more than half way. Then she and her friend strolled ahead. 

“Where?” She and her friend stopped. So many splits in the trail. 

“Left, just keep left.” Mom approached them to read the sign. “’Lil Black Loop. You want to take the loop?” Mom asked.

After a quiet moment, her friend’s Mom glanced at the cousin. “Maybe not this time.”

“Let’s leave them.” She and her friend snickered and they left the rest behind. 

“Oi! Don’t get too far ahead, please. It’s his first hike.” It was the cousin, who was much younger than her and her friend. Got to admit, the younger boy was pretty strong. He didn’t complain. Well neither did she.

“Keep left. Don’t go to Miner Ridge, it’s closed anyway,” Mom reminded them.

The path was full of puddles. Did it rain the night before? Dunno. Nobody remembered. But it was fun to throw the big rocks to the water. Staring at the brown reddish cloud in the water rising up. Pretending there’s a weird magical essence that would jump out of the water.

And there went that. “Stop! Don’t throw to much, it splashes everywhere,” Mom said. No fun.

“Then there will be no more dry land for us to walk on,” friend’s mom added.

“Fine,” she and her friend grumbled before whispering to each other, “Let’s do it on another puddle.” A quick nod and they left.

A post shared by Callousthenics Wings (@slothchef) on Jun 2, 2017 at 9:53pm PDT

But their attention was not on it anymore. There’s an odd dark grey box, strapped to a pole, and locked with a padlock. Looked too interesting to avoid and pass. “What’s that?” Her friend asked.

“That’s a QR code.”

She followed Mom’s finger to the puzzle looking doodle squares on the sign. It was a Research Camera Box By Courtney Larson. Who?

“She’s a wildlife research,” Mom read from her cell after a scan. She guessed there’s signal then. They won’t be lost anymore, for a change. But when were the summit.

Another split. Well, this was different. She narrowed her eyes to see a weird tower on the top. 

“What do you think that--”

“Dunno.” Her friend shrugged. 

She’d ask Mom later.

Finally, they saw and reached the top. The summit was just a bunch of electronic antennae. Radio, Mom said. Still, the view was great. Not so much the smell though. But it wasn’t bad compared to their descent.

“It’s easier going down?” Friend’s Mom asked, still glancing to the cousin.

“It’s a service road. More paved I guess,” Mom answered.

“Might need the bathroom break.”

“Let’s go!” She and her friend ran down.

“Hey! Hey! not too fast. The loose sand and pebbles could be--”

“Whoa!” She and her friend almost slipped. Good thing they weren't holding to each other.

A hard tug was on her arm after a loud ruckus behind her. She felt the airborne sand before seeing a familiar shadow and voice.

“Told you.”

Mom.

"Ooh, gross. What’s that smell!” Her friend commented.

She wrinkled her nose.

Smells like--

“Urine.”

”What?” She looked up to Mom.

”Wildlife perfume.” Mom wrinkled her nose too. “Pee.”

”Eugh.” They hurried along and turned left for the last time. “Civilization.” Mom chuckled at her own joke. Well, her friend’s mom appreciated it, but that didn’t count.

Have you been here? Where did you or are you planning to start? To share click the share button on the right bottom corner next to heart icon.

[callousedwings]

Almost lose it : The Tooth Rock Tale.

Toothrock trail, Poway. Less than 2 miles from Golden Sunset. 3.2 miles from Rattlesnake Canyon.

Directions : 

Do not go to Tooth Rock Road!

Head to Espola Rd. Then find Golden Sunset Ln and the gravel “parking spots” are on the corner of Golden Sunset Ln and Orchard View Dr. 

Golden Sunset Ln is a small street, doesn’t have a traffic light.

Or go from Rattlesnake canyon. Head to Espola Rd. and Twin Peaks Rd intersection. Drive east on Twin Peaks (away from the freeway and beach) toward the dead end then right on Range Park Road. Continue south until a slight dip in the road, Rattlesnake Canyon’s entrance sign will be on the left. Park curbside.

Pin drop on the top is the trailhead, the bottom is approximate location of Tooth Rock.

For Rattlesnake Canyon refer here. We will update when we redo this trail which includes the Canyon.

Level : After school. Easy to introduce Moderate, beginner hike. 

Feature : very little flat, passing by a private driveway, and only several boulders around. Cakey when wet and plenty horseshoe prints. Little to no shade. 

Tips : 

Water, water, water, even though it’s a short hike, there’s barely shade.

There will be an intersection toward the top, take the right turn to go to tooth rock and make sure to pay attention when in returning hike. We took the wrong left turn to climb down and ended up in someone’s backyard.

Almost losing footsteps

She thought it was canceled. The sun was not baking her head, which was a plus but it still smiling brightly in the sky. She wouldn’t mind if they’re going swimming, but the wind just whispered to her. Still chilly. She sighed, couldn’t wait for beach season.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Remember when aunty R told us about that one weird boulder in our last hike together with everyone?”

“You mean walk to the swing?” 

“Sure walk. Remember?” Mom asked again.

“Nope.”

“Maybe that’s her telling me. Well anyway, we are going there.”

“Urgh. Where is it anyway?” She saw the map on Mom’s phone and curled her lips. “You don’t know?”

“I’m looking. It’s nearby here.” Mom was chicken-heading left and right.

“You don’t know.” 

“Here, here.”

They turned to a small street surrounded by houses with plenty of yard acreage. Why have such big yards when it’s full of yellow tall grass. Except for that one. Oh and that, oh nevermind. Must be nice to have a large yard. 

“Ooh, not here.” Mom turned Tuinky, her best bud who is a yellow car, around. Surrounding them with a cloud of dust and ticking noises from jumping pebbles.

“Are you lost?” She grumbled.

“No, noo...there.” Mom pointed at the other side of the fork.

Doesn’t feel like the beginning of a good hike. She looked up from the car window and clicked her tongue. They finally arrived at the gravel curb or was it a parking lot. Look very unofficial, next to a fence of somebody’s house. She shook her head and opened the door. Heavy. She strained to push it.

“Just go this way. That side is going against the hill.”

She didn’t understand why the door is against the hill when there’s nothing next to it, but she guessed what it meant. Once out, she grabbed the camelbackpack from Mom and started to head toward the what suppose to be a trailhead. Which right then looked a lot like no trespassing wooden gate.

“You know what those are?” Mom pointed at an upside down U shape on the ground.

She stepped on it. Almost her shoe size in width. She looked forward and saw another one, but with indentation by the edge.

“Horseshoe,” Mom said. “This is the equestrian’s path.”

“That’s horse path?”

Mom nodded. The soil was reddish brown and soon it has wooden poles laying every couple of feet. She saw that a lot around here. It really helped, even when the ground in each hike was different.

She held on a small boulder and continue climbing until the view stopped her.

“What?” They were staring at a concrete path.

“Driveway.” Mom pointed up at the end of the curved path. A house. Felt like they were trespassing. But this wasn’t their first violation if it was. Mom shrugged and continued on to cross.

There’s more of that wooden pole, so they must be on the correct path. She passed more and bigger boulders, before taking a minuscule break to sat on a flat one. The view was nice, but it’s hot.

“Come on.”

She followed Mom, meandering between agave plants and its flowers. Some looked super dead. Some looked burned to crisp.

“I remember the one in the visitor center. The Natives eat the flower right?” She said.

“Oh yeah! The one that tastes like artichoke.”

“Should we get some?” She reached out and yelped.

“Nah.” Mom grabbed her hand and luckily found nothing. There’s so much branch on the path until they get to an obvious T intersection.

“Left? Right?” Mom mumbled.

They looked around. The right one seemed to be steeper so it could be.”Right?” she asked.  

“Yeah. I trust you.”

Not long after, she looked down at her feet and felt the dust on her skin. Dry. Much drier up here.

“Look! That’s it. Isn’t it?”

She followed Mom’s finger. Huh! Don’t look so interesting. Just a single boulder on the top.

That uninteresting boulder looked so close, yet the climb up felt long. She gulped her water from the hose, like what she had been doing and frowned.

“Come on, a little more.”

Sure. The tooth looked bigger this time though, but every turned made her think they were there already. Until finally.

“Urgh! DIRTY!”

The boulder side which was facing them was full of graffiti. She could feel Mom’s shoulder slumping. She agreed. It looked sad, but at least it gave plenty of shade.

She ventured further before reluctantly turning back. Mom was sprouting warning about sliding off the cliff and how scary to live at the foot of this hill. The rock might not have impressed her but the view was a whole other story. She could stay hours on that edge.

“The tooth could roll off and buhbye.”

She agreed which prompted her to retreat. She also agreed that the air was getting colder. After a couple minutes, they headed back out to the sun. And looked like they weren’t alone on the mountain. A horde of black ants was busy swarming a hill. But she couldn’t stay for long. Away they went again.

They were back on the intersection, but she could see Mom’s steps looked random and slow. Was Mom hesitating? For what she didn’t know. But that wasn’t hard to figure out. Once she looked down toward the bushes, she realized. Which one? Oh, they shouldn’t have stayed long on the top because going back took much longer than hiking up.

“Was it this way?” Mom walked ahead of her, raising one hand to pause her from following. “Think so.”

She turned right to follow Mom. Still quiet, careful not to make it worse. Everything looked the same. Almost. She didn’t notice the horseshoe trail anymore. “Mom.”

“We’re lost. Oh no, we’re lost.” Mom held her arm and went left and right with no precise destination.

She looked up and decided to stay quiet. Mom’s eyes were big, her breathing quickened just a tad bit, and her arm, she could feel gentle repetitive squeezes on her arm.

“Here?”

She followed. Going through several branches. Some were pretty long and sharp if it poked her. She avoided it. She looked down and no horseshoe track.

“Nope.”

She followed Mom’s finger and saw the boulder cluster. She knew from Mom’s voice, they gotta move faster. But they might be ended up really trespassing.

“That’s someone’s backyard.” She pointed at the gazebo.

They skirted the neat yard and followed the man-made drainage.

“There! There!” Mom pointed at the driveway.

They followed the driveway and finally spotted the wooden poles on the ground. “We’re here.” Mom sighed. “Right?”

She made a u-turn to approach the higher side before running back.“Yeah.” She held Mom’s hand and tapped it. “Let’s go.”

The sky was changing and the wind was picking up. She should be shivering but after running around between the bushes, it wasn’t cold anymore.  She looked back up at the hill and smiled. Yep, they were lost and almost lose it.

Have you been to the tooth rock from another path? How was it?