Don't want to drive 45 minutes to the nearest zoo?  Well take the 15 minute drive over to Moorpark College to visit the student-run America's Teaching Zoo. 

This 5 acre zoo housing nearly 200 exotic animals is part of the college's Exotic Animal Training and Management Program and is open each weekend from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.  This interesting collection has included all sorts of animals, from alligators to geckos to elephants to emus to tigers, etc.  There are also camels and snakes and ocelots. 

Students in the program are required to work most days and weekends.  For a truly unique wild animal experience you must stop by and check it out.  Don't expect anything fancy.  This place is very low key.  But it is a lot of fun as it is not crowded and you can get really really close to the animals.  We visited and they had several shows in the span of an hour where students showed us an owl, chinchilla, coyote and several other wild animals.  There is a huge tortoise whose name I cannot recall but you can see below.

There is an admission fee of $5 for adults and $4 for kids and seniors.  This is very cheap, especially considering it would cost at least that much in gas just to get to the L.A. and Santa Barbara Zoos. 

Visit www.moorparkcollege.edu/current_students/teaching_zoo/index.shtml or call 805.378.1441.

The Zoo is located at 7075 Campus Road in Moorpark.  Take the 101 North to the 23 North to the 118 East.  Exit Collins and turn left at the stop sign.  Go through 2 stoplights and turn right into the 2nd entrance past the stoplights.  Turn right in the parking lot and continue up the short hill to the right.

Looking for something very different to do?  Tried skydiving before and looking for something new?  This is not for the faint of heart.  Air show aerobatic pilots Spencer Suderman and David Platt will take you for the ride of your LIFE on their Pitts biplane out of Camarillo Airport!  And check out the beautiful plane!

Spencer and David are both professional with many years of experience.  Spencer does things that my stomach can barely tolerate just watching, let alone flying ALONG WITH HIM!  Check out his personal website at www.spencersuderman.com to read about his about his routine, including the Inverted Flat Spin, Double Hammerhead and flying the biplane backwards doing the Torque Roll and Tailside.

The duo offers flights a range of flights, including:

"Cruise Control" - A low key yet incredible non-aerobatic scenic flight around the scenic mountains and beaches of Ventura County

"Barnstormer" - Thrill ride with a Loop, Roll, Barrel Roll, Wing Over, Humpty Bump, Zero G and Weightless (for those looking for an alternative to dieting I guess).

"Extreme Flight" - Includes Loop, Roll, Hammerhead, Cuban Eight, Humpty Bump, Immelman, Wingover, Split S, Inverted Flight.

"Insane Flight" - "Extreme Flight" plus gyroscopic maneuvers:  Avalance, Inverted Flat Spin, Torque Roll,  Snap Roll, Tail Slide, Tomcevak (Tumble).

They offer a DVD of your of your flight for an extra charge.  Click here to check out a sample video.

I love this from their terms and conditions:  "Air sick bags will be provided 'just in case.'  Failure to properly utilize the sick bag will result in a $200 cleaning fee."

Check out www.BiplaneThrillRide.com for more information or call 661.554.7194.

Today, Martin Luther King Day, my 5 year old and I visited the California ScienCenter in Exposition Park.  We left around 10 a.m. and the traffic wasn't too bad, probably due in part to this being a federal holiday.  It took us roughly an hour from Newbury Park.

It was worth the drive.  The ScienCenter was built roughly 10 years ago, in a space that originally housed the first State Exposition Building which opened in 1912.  The new building is modern and beautiful, with several floors of scientific exhibits of interest to all ages.  Entrance to the museum is free although donations are greatly appreciated.  Parking is $6.

The first thing we did when we got to the museum was eat.  There was a McDonald's and a cafeteria style cafe with Taco Bell options.  So of course we ate at McDonald's as chicken nuggets is one of my son's main food groups.  We then spent an hour in the museum and enjoyed the interactive nature of the exhibits.

Next we rushed next door to the IMAX theater where we wore 3D glasses and ducked from sea creatures popping up at us in a mesmerizing film.  Truly amazing and quite fun with kids.  This alone was worth the drive.  And I found the snack bar prices quite reasonable...an added plus.

After the movie we went back to the museum and visited the third floor "World of Life" exhibit where we saw everything from brains and lungs to live cockroaches to a kids' "Discovery Room" with additional fun activities.  We did a quick walk-through at the nearby Air and Space Exhibits Gallery and headed back home.

If you have more time and energy on your trip to Exposition Park, visit the adjacent Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California African American Museum as well as the Exposition Park Rose Garden (where apparently they have 16,000 or so rose plants).

California ScienCenter

700 State Drive (corner of S. Figueroa and 39th St.), Exposition Park

www.californiasciencecenter.org

Phone:  323.SCIENCE  (323.724.3623)

Since 1968, Island Packers has provided boat trips to all five of the Channel Islands, whale watching trips, wildlife cruises, harbor cruises, group charters and more.

Two locations:

Ventura Harbor

1691 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 105B, Ventura

 

Channel Islands Harbor

3600 S. Harbor Boulevard, Oxnard

Phone:  805.642.1393

Website:  www.islandpackers.com

Located in Lang Ranch, at the top of Westlake Boulevard near Avenida de los Arboles, the Chumash Interpretative Center hosts a museum with various Chumash artifiacts and history, nature walks and tours of the beautiful local Oakbrook Regional Park area.  The museum is open from Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Or just stroll around the 436 acre Oakbrook Regional Park that the Chumash Center is located on.  There are hiking trails galore back here.  Oakbrook is a County designated historical landmark (designated in 1983).  There are 11 protected archeological Chumash in a narrow canyon at Oakbrook.

Something really neat they often do is hold authentic "pow wows."  I used to live in the Lang Ranch area and would occasionally be mesmerized by beating drums on my local runs at sunset.  Sounded really fun.  Contact the Center for more information about these and other events, field trips, etc.

3290 Lang Ranch Parkway, Thousand Oaks
Phone: 805.492.8076

www.chumashcenter.org

chumashcenter@gmail.com

The Conejo Recreation and Park District  has served the Conejo Valley since 1963 and covers 65 square miles with a population of over 130,000 people in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and the Ventura County portion of Westlake Village.  The Recreation Division conducts over 3,000 organized recreation and leisure programs each year.  The Parks Division maintains 28 neighborhood parks, six sports playfields, five community parks and one district-wide park as formal facilities with a variety of recreation amenities.  The Parks and Planning Division, through the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, maintains 15,000 acres of open space and a 140 mile multi-use trail system.

Visit the CRPD website at www.crpd.org or call 805.495.6471 for more information or to access community class schedules, park listings, facilities, sports and other information about local Conejo Valley events and activities.  Conejo Recreation and Park District is located at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. 

Explore this local 33 acre retreat of hiking trails and natural habitat adjacent to Conejo Community Park off of Lynn Road and Gainsborough.  This is a good place to learn about and occasionally purchase drought resistant plants.

If you have small kids, they will love the Kids' Adventure Garden and treehouse, but it is only open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  They'll enjoy hiking through the trails, checking out the streams and bridges.

Conejo Valley Botanic Garden

350 West Gainsborough Road, Thousand Oaks

Phone:  805.497.3266

www.conejogarden.org

The Ventura County Farmers' Market is open from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays in Thousand Oaks in a temporary location, just up the street from the Oaks Shopping Center (until renovations at the Oaks are complete and the market can move back to the Oaks' parking lot vacation in Spring 2008).

The temporary location is at 403 Hillcrest Drive on the rooftop of the Thousand Oaks Recreation and Park District office.  Take McCloud Avenue north from Hillcrest and make an immediate right up Civic Center Drive.

This is an great place to buy fruits, vegetables, plants, eggs, nuts, honey and flowers from local California farmers.  And purchase delicacies like fresh tamales and other goodies from local vendors.  Well worth a visit.

There are other locations in Midtown Ventura on Wednesdays, Downtown Ventura on Saturdays and Santa Clarita on Sundays.

Visit the VCCFM website at www.vccfarmersmarkets.com for details.

Ceramics instruction and classes at Fire Your Imagination, 1400 North Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks.  Call 805.373.7242 for more information.  No website.

Gardens of the World is a 4 1/2 acre garden across from the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks.  It is free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The Garden is a gift from the Hogan Family Foundation.

 

There is a Japanese garden, a French garden and waterfall (shown above), a Mission Courtyard, an English perennial and rose garden and an Italian garden.  A beautiful place to visit and relax for a bit, right in the heart of Thousand Oaks.

Gardens of the World

2001 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks

Phone: 805.557.1135

www.gardensoftheworld.info