A Special Thank You to a Really Cool Correspondent
La Mirada~A special thank you goes out to Christian Covarubias, 13-year old 8th grader from Los Coyotes Middle School who provided us with daily updates from his east coast trip he recently concluded with some of this classmates.
Having two sons of my own who took these trips, I realize that these trips literally keep the kids running from the moment they touchdown.
I know how tired Christian was every evening, but he provided us with his daily journal, regardless, providing us with a unique insight.
Christian's enthusiasm for America-its history, culture, values-speaks volumes for his generation.
From the La Mirada Blog Network Family, Christian, thanks again, and keep up the good work! We're watching you!
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For Almost 20 Years-One of the Best Kept Secrets in La Mirada Area
RESTAURANT REVIEW
This family owned business right off the corner of Valley View and Rosecrans is a definite MUST TRY! They make pastas from scratch in their kitchen, and everything tastes like it's straight from Italy! The best part of all is that you don't even have to travel all the way to Italy to get it! I just can't stop raving about this fresh Italian joint.
On a typical day, you will see owner, Tony Agrusa cooking in the kitchen; son Carlo Agrusa will be managing the front counter, and daughter Maria will be seen serving up the dishes. Tony says he knows almost every customer by name, since they have been at the same location for the last 19 years. Tony's exuberance for what he does each day can clearly be seen through his smile, and he says his favorite part about cooking is inventing and changing up dishes - as well as experimenting as much as he can in the kitchen!
If you're wondering what the best selling thing on the menu is, it's definitely the pizza. What I didn't know before my visit was that Tony Agrusa is brother to the owner of Gondola's -which 
makes it a big competition to see who makes the better pizza! Looks like it's up to you to decide! They even have a motto that says, "If for any reason you are not happy with a pizza from another place, bring it in and we will replace it with a free delicious pizza". What a deal!
The Pasta Riviera is another favorite dish on the menu with fresh linguine tossed in cream, chicken, capers, and marinara. If you don't try anything else on the menu, you just have to try this! This dish is priced around twelve dollars and I must say is totally beyond worth it. The Veal Piccatta is also delicious with its fresh cutlets of veal, capers and lemon juice. Agrusa's offers many traditional Italian dishes and is open for lunch and dinner. They offer pick up or you can eat in their casual eating area.
For dessert it's a toss up on the fresh tiramisu or the homemade Spumoni. I was shocked when I tasted their homemade Spumoni. I can't remember a time when I have ever liked it until I tried this one, and its unlike anything you have ever tried. This Spumoni is absolutely award winning!
Agrusas is located 14156 Rosecrans Ave. in Santa Fe Springs.
Day 7- Boston, Lobster, and Flying Home
Day 7 - Boston, Lobster and Flying Home
Today I woke up at 5:30AM for our trip from New York to Boston. The weather was overcast when we left and sprinkling when we arrived to Boston.
It was yet another spectacularly filled day of activities. Our motor coach left for Boston at 7AM sharp because it was a 4 hour long drive to Boston. We stopped at McDonalds in Connecticut for breakfast around 9AM. The line to be served was long - again - because the restaurant didn't expect over 100 people coming in for breakfast. We quickly swallowed our food and got on the road. I slept half of the way, but we saw a movie called, "The Patriot," about the American Revolution which made the trip quicker.
We arrived at Boston around 12:30 in the afternoon about 1 hour late due to an auto accident on the freeway. We met our tour guide at Quincy Market Place. She totally had a "Bawston" accent. All of her letter o's were pronounced "aw" and she didn't use the letter "r". Our time was so short in Boston that we immediately started walking the Freedom Trail. We visited an Old Cemetery that that had famous people buried there including four of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (John Adams and John Hancock were 2 of the 4).
We then went to Old North Church which was the lookout for the Red Coats remember, "One by land and two by sea." We then walked to Paul Revere's House, the famous horse rider that said, "The Red Coats (not British) were coming (they were all British)." We were at Paul Revere's House for and hour. Did you know that William Dawes also rode the "Midnight Ride" but didn't get as much credit as Paul Revere because his name didn't rhyme with the famous poem. This ended our official and incredibly short 3 hour tour of Boston. We then walked back to Quincy Market Place for another quick lunch.
Day 6 â Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Chinatown and the Phantom of the Opera
Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Chinatown and the Phantom of the Opera
Today's weather was perfect. It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit and almost clear. This was one of the busier days we've had and I can say that everyday has been very fast paced.
I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and again was very exhausted. My eyes were red, in fact someone told me if I had pink eye, but it was only because I was so tired. Our group walked to Connolly's for breakfast which I think was a famous restaurant in New York because it had pictures of the owner with Mayor Guilliani. We then got on the motor coach to take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty was awesome. We actually got tickets to walk all 200 plus steps to the base of the statue. I was tired walking the steps and so was everyone else. We got some really cool pictures and left around 11am.
Free Art Demo at LM Arts Colony Meeting
La Mirada~The public is invited to attend a free art demonstration at the Arts Colony of La Mirada meeting on Monday, May 2nd from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Sandi Candiotty, an art graduate of UCLA, will demonstrate oil painting in the Impressionists' style. Ms. Candiotty's specialty is capturing subjects in brilliant colors, including landscapes, seascapes, floral subjects, figures and portraits.
The meeting will be held at the La Mirada Resource Center, 13710 La Mirada Blvd.
For more information, call Madeline Thomas at 562-941-4116 or Paula Newman at 714-994-3535.
Day 5, Los Coyotes School Trip-Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House and New York!
Philadelphia,PA~Today is Tuesday, April 26, 2011, and we woke up at 6:00 am, to a clear day in Philadelphia and the temperature reached 83 degrees Fahrenheit.
I quickly packed my luggage and went directly to breakfast at 6:30 am. I really wasn't too crazy about the food this morning. We were given foam plates to eat from and the eggs were
soggy, the bacon was soft and the potatoes were not too tasty, but I guess it was OK. We then took our luggage to the motor coach and left for Independence Hall.
I really enjoyed being at Independence Hall and looking at the location where the Declaration of Independence was signed by all original 13 states, but I was really tired during the presentation and was falling asleep, but I was able to listen to most of it. Everyone in my group was also tired but we stuck it out. I learned that the Declaration was actually signed on July 2, 1776, ratified on July 4, 1776, but not announced to the people until July 8th to avoid revenge from the King. The tower of Independence Hall was being renovated and it was tarped to make it appear that the bell tower was still there so some of my pictures still came out nice.
We then walked into see the Liberty Bell which is an incredible symbol of our freedom to our country. After, we walked to the Independence Museum where we saw a theatre presentation on "We the people." I enjoyed the performance, but didn't learn anything new at this point, but it was a good show.
I then walked to the Betsy Ross House a block away, but stopped by the cemetery first to see the head stone of Benjamin Franklin. At the Betsy Ross house, a lady played the part of Betsy Ross with a British accent and explained that George Washington came to her to create a flag for the United States of America. She made it fun and we were able to ask her some questions.
Day 4 Filled With Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Burrito Supremes
Day 4 - Gettysburg
Today is Monday, April 25, 2011, I received my daily wake-up call at 5:30am to visit historic Gettysburg. I was very tired and had difficulty climbing out of bed.
After we had breakfast, we began our long two hour drive to Gettysburg. My eyes were red from the lack of sleep, but I took advantage of the drive and fell asleep during the trip. The chaperones told us that the whole bus was asleep and everyone had some rest before the tour.
I didn't know too much about Gettysburg, because I am more of a World War 2 buff, but that changed today. When we arrived at Gettysburg, we first went to Cemetery Hill, the location where Abraham Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation. There were thousands of people who came to listen to Lincoln at that time, and since they didn't have sound speakers, they hired "shouters," to yell the message to the audience that came to listen to Lincoln.
Easter at Ford Theatre, Museums, Memorials, & National Archives
Day 3 - Easter Sunday
The weather cleared up today. It was no longer raining and the sun was out for the first time during our trip. In fact, it got up to 84 degrees Fahrenheit-a difference of 41 degrees cooler when we originally arrived. We were greeted with candy from the Easter Bunny in front of our rooms.
I woke up at 6:30 am to our daily wake-up call (our phone is very loud). After 7:30 am breakfast, we boarded our motor coach to Ford Theatre. The coach driver was very surprised at the limited amount of traffic, but she remembered that it was Easter Sunday and she said the roads were very empty. We were dropped off at Honest Abe's Souvenir Shop for some quick shopping. I got my sister a pink Washington DC shirt, my big brother a Vietnam Memorial statue, my little brother an Air Force One airplane and my mother a gold White House coin.
We then went to Ford's Theatre where they gave us the story of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. I was shocked to learn that Lincoln was left alone by his bodyguard just before his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. Did you know that John Wilkes Booth was a respected actor in that very same theatre which made it very easy for him to access Lincoln as a VIP? The timing of the murder was very concise and a lot of planning went into it. I thought that was very interesting, because I didn't know John Wilkes Booth had so much hate for Lincoln, but then again, I guess that's why he assassinated him.
Day 2 of Los Coyotes DC Trip
NEW! Day 2 - Proud to be an American
Today, Saturday, April 23, 2011, we woke up at 5:50 AM, which is too early for me, but we had another awesome day.
We started with breakfast at 7:00 am, and then our tired bodies jumped on the "luxury coach" and went to our nation's Capitol. When we arrived, the rain started to come down in sheets. Those of us who forgot our umbrellas (me), got soaked. Once inside the Capitol Building I was in awe of how gigantic our Nation's Capitol building is. The main theme was E. Pluribus Unum, which means, "Out of Many, One." We took a school picture in front of the Capitol right after our tour.
After lunch, we went to the Pentagon Memorial. This was kind of touching as I learned that out of the 184 people that perished, the youngest was three years old from American Airlines Flight 77, named Dana Falkenberg. Everyone in my group was very sad to see someone so young die with her family.
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