@DowntownRob’s Guide to Valentine Weekend Planning

In the hopes that you’re already well underway in planning for a romantic Valentine weekend, I’ve compiled a list of recommended options for your consideration, to weigh against your current planning. And if you’ve yet not started, this list may save your ass – call now to make reservations. Prices are listed, with a good variety of price ranges – romance doesn’t need to break the bank, and it is indeed the thought that counts.

Oh, need a date? I suppose a Valentine weekend is a great way to get a first date and make it memorable and lasting… choose something comfortable and pleasing – not over-the-top. Or, go on the single’s cruise: http://bit.ly/ga11K2

Without further ado, my offerings of romantic adventures:

Catalina Pavilion Valentine Package: $685 per couple. This package includes a 2 night stay at the new Pavilion Hotel which comes with complimentary continental breakfast, an afternoon wine and cheese social and many extras such as an outdoor fire ring, iPads for check-out and daily newspaper. You will also get 2 tickets to the Valentine’s Dance in the historic Casino Ballroom on Saturday night, February 12. The dance will feature music by ‘Ace of Heart’ and a “Death by Chocolate” dessert bar.
http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/avalon/pack_valentines.php

Catalina Beach House Package: $505 per couple. Two Nights at the Catalina Beach House Hotel, Two RT Boat Tickets on Catalina Express via Long Beach or Dana Point plus Two Tickets for: Mini-Golf; Undersea Semi-Submersible Tour (to view the abundant marine life 5′ underwater in a climate-controlled semi-submersible cabin); Wrigley Botanical Gardens, and your choice of Two Tickets to EITHER: Avalon’s Movie of the Week (in the beautiful Casino theatre) OR a 1-hr night-walk Ghost Tour (learn about some of Avalon’s unexplainable historical tales).
http://www.catalinabeachhousehotel.com/promotions.html

Catalina Valentine’s Weekend Package: $422 per couple. Includes Room with pillow-top bed, Couples Swedish Massage at “A Touch of Heaven” Day Spa. Round Trip Boat Transportation, Courtesy Shuttle to and from hotel/boat and Continental Breakfast.
http://www.glenmoreplaza.com/PackagesAndActivities/index.html

More Catalina Hotel and Spa packages listed here:
http://www.catalinachamber.com/specials/value

W Hotel San Diego Romance Package: $229 and up per night. Sneak away for a racy rendezvous at W San Diego. Your perfectly pleasing experience includes: 2 Cool Cocktails per day, & Chocolate Body Paint.
http://deals.whotels.com/W-San-Diego-Hotel-1433/so.htm

Coronado Gondola Valentine Packages: $145-225 per couple. Indulge in the magic and tradition of Venice as you gently cruise in a private gondola through the enchanting canals of the Coronado Cays. This cruise includes a complimentary plate of chocolate dipped strawberries and souvenir wine glasses. Blankets, an ice bucket, and wine openers are provided. An option to add a professional violin or mandolin player is available. Guests are invited to bring their own beverage. Each cruise is about one hour. (VIP Tip: Gondola massage services are available as well. It’s amazing.)
http://www.gondolacompany.com/valentines.html

Romantic Valentine Helicopter Tour of SD: $199 per couple with VIP coupon.
http://www.corporatehelicopters.com/staticpages/index.php?page=helicopter-tour-coupons

Horseback Riding on the Beach: $199 per person, 3 hour ride on the only beach in SD where horses are allowed.
http://anothersideofsandiegotours.com/i-366999-horseback-ride-to-the-beach.html

Romantic Dining in the Dark, at the US Grant: $198 per couple. Dark is never black, just a deep, deep shade of red… Imagine that you are recognizing your loved one by the voice; sounds tell a story, aromas come alive and elegance is felt. You are abandoning vision in exchange for a new, multi-sensual dining experience. Opaque is enhancing our senses of taste, smell, touch, and hearing by abandoning one that we often take for granted. Food is served by our experienced visually impaired waiters who will guide you through the evening. We offer a 3 Course menu, Drinks and Gratuity is not included and charged after your dinner.
http://sd.darkdining.com/

Hornblower Valentine Dinner or Brunch Cruises: $55 – 129 per person, depending on cruise. The ultimate place for romance is on San Diego Bay. Enjoy a perfect night with your sweetheart on a Hornblower Dinner cruise. Or surprise your Valentine with dining and dancing to live music under the stars, with a 4-course dinner, ever changing views, champagne and romance on the water. Or enjoy Sunday of Valentine’s Weekend with a picture-perfect morning on San Diego Bay.
http://www.hornblower.com/hce/port/category/sd+valentines

Kayak in La Jolla Shores: $149 per couple
http://anothersideofsandiegotours.com/i-4948919-kayaking-experience-in-la-jolla.html

La Jolla Shores Tidepool Guide: $85 per person
http://anothersideofsandiegotours.com/i-2893760-tide-pool-tour-with-personal-guide.html

Whatever you arrange, plan best you can, make reservations ahead of time, choose unique places, be spontaneous – have a fun and memorable romantic adventure!

Thread Show is this weekend!

The Thread Show is this weekend!

Website: http://www.threadshow.com
Twitter handle: @threadshows
Hash tag: #threadshow
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/threadshow
Date: December 5-6, 2009
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets: $8 if you RSVP (here: http://threadshow.com/show_info.php?show_id=78&show=rsvp) or $10 if you don’t RSVP. You can also get a $2 discount if you bring a bag of clothes to donate to charity.
Location: Wonderhaus (171 14th Street, San Diego, CA)

Highlights at THREAD:

· 100+ designers
· Fashion shows both days at 1 and 3 p.m. hosted by Gordana Gehlhausen of Project Runway
· Live screen printing from SEZIO
· Spin the Creativity Wheel with Holiday Matinee
· A complimentary hair and makeup style lounge from A Style Concierge
· Wine tastings on the hour from Vin De Syrah (@SyrahWineParlor)
· Lounges from 944 Magazine, DiscoverSD and W Hotel
· A Tweet Wall sponsored by SignOnSanDiego!
· Pin the Tail on the Hipster with Yelp!

A bit of history:

THREAD Show has been happening in San Diego for almost seven years. It started as a trunk show in Lara’s garden at her home in Golden Hill and now it’s exponentially larger. The event has also been held in San Francisco, LA, Miami, Seattle and Las Vegas.

What the heck happens at THREAD:

From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can shop from local designers for clothing, art, books and more. Why should you shop THREAD and not the shopping mall, you ask? Because purchasing from the designers at THREAD allows you to save money by purchasing at wholesale prices and skipping the retailer middleman, you lessen your carbon footprint because your items aren’t being shipped all over and many of our designers are also eco-friendly and, finally, you support your local economy (and I don’t know of a better time than the present to start doing that!). Plus, where else can you bang out your holiday shopping with a cocktail in hand, sushi in your tummy and listening to some of the city’s top DJs?

See you there!

@GlobalPatriot Monday Mixer #gpmm

I attended a @GlobalPatriot Monday Mixer (#gpmm) last night, where we all get together to discuss world change, the issues at hand, and how we remove the country/political borders, support those making a difference in the world, and contribute in any way we can to further their work. The event last night was at EC Gallery in Downtown San Diego, and was a great location to enjoy some spactacular works of art, drink some great wine (from Mark’s own wine collection usually), and talk with some great friends. @skovi and @egoddess recorded a series of video interviews, and can’t wait to see the results of all those interviews, the diverse nature of the responses, and use it as a great example to further the cause of global thinking.

Here’s a great video from the last #gpmm in May at Arterra in Del Mar:

Igniting the Cycle of Interactivity on your own Web Site

Oh, the joys of having a web site. Like the cobbler’s children have no shoes… I am terrible at maintaining my own damn web sites. LOL! A key reason is I’m working on tons of other people’s web sites, coding or customizing, setting up and configuring, upgrading or installing. I enjoy being the guy people can turn to for all things Web related, and owning Web Wizards for the past 12 years has allowed me to work with amazing clients and sites.

However my own sites suffer from neglect sometimes, sad but true. I need to spend more time on them, but seem to have trouble motivating myself to focus on them. There are a few ways to change that, re-prioritizing things is the most direct way, but easier said than done usually. I’m also looking into outsourcing, partnering, and leveraging with others so that the ideas I’d like to make reality are moving forward at an increased rate compared to doing everything myself.  More news on that soon. But through changing the process of updating a site, and making the initial steps shorter, quicker, and easier, it makes it easier to get started yourself.

One method that seems to help get the content in your head to become content published on your site is to create many short draft posts, with just the outline of what your post is about. The main thoughts or ideas written down in short list format. Once a few drafts are written and saved, you can go back to each one and more easily write the content, replacing each outlined idea with the expanded content. Refine the body, then rewrite the title based on the clear message in your newly created post.

Once the post is completed, publish it to your site. If you have the time to do a few posts, schedule the others to be published on a schedule, spread out over a few days.  New content to your site regularly will generate traffic if you link your Twitter and Facebook sites to your site, and with traffic comes comments, and the cycle of interactivity begins, which can in turn create ideas and motivation for more posts!

I’m sometimes my own worst enemy at implementing the advice I give to clients that host their sites with me. I enjoy helping people with their sites, and it’s not work to me when doing so, but implementing it myself seems less fulfilling… mostly because I haven’t started my own cycle of interactivity yet.

Consider this ignition.