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All Things German In California

Life in California

Enjoy the last days at the beach in tan-through swimwear

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I know summer is almost over but…have you heard of the wearable towel and the tan-through swimwear? I read about it in “The Week”, actually a while ago, but just came across these articles again today. 

While the designs and styles for the revolutionary swimwear seem actually quite attractive, I am not so sure about the wearable towel…

Also,  having no tan lines sounds somewhat promising I must admit,  at second thought, what about sunburns?? 

I guess I’ ll catch my last sunrays of summer with a traditional bikini and I am sure will be just as happy.

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Huntington Beach Street Fair and Movies at the Pier

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You missed the Orange County Fair this year?  Then check out the Surf City Nights Street Fair in Huntington Beach and you will not be disappointed. Thisweekly event doesn’t have the rides we know from the OC Fair but enchants with its European Flair.   

Along Main Street, which is closed for this funky street fair event, musicians impress from classical guitar to jazz and new age piano music. Different dancegroups give their best at one corner with hip-hop whilst on the other side breakdance is making the audience stop and watch along. Different food stands invite to skip making dinner at home and just eat out for the night.

There is definitely something for everyone in the family. We loved the barbecued corn ( at a stand in the middle of the Main Street strip)and the tri-tip steaks (at the very end of the fair). There were also Argentine empanadas, Mexcian tacos and all American hamburger and hot dog stands, and not to forget the major fair-food: funnel cakes!

While deciding what to have for dinner, we were walking past various produce stands selling the most delicious fruits, vegetables, nuts and home-bakedbakeries and honey. We couldn’t ignore the stand with several kinds of hummus and needed to buy not one but three different kinds! Very delicious! But the best part of it all: Everywhere you can try before you buy. You can almost satisfy your appetite as you stroll and ‘taste along’.

Once everyone is happy and the initial hunger has been appeased, don’t forget to visit the many merchants and sidewalk retailers . If you are looking for some special handmade soap, candles, jewelry or art, or would like a Tibetan mediation bell – you’ll find it right here. You are looking for a deal on Billabong shorts and shirts. This is the right place to go.

In August the city of Huntington Beach has yet added another fun factor: Movies at the Pier. The movies are held in conjunction with the SoCal Film Festival in Huntington Beach  www.socalfilmfest.com  So bring your food and just relax at the end of the day and enjoy a movie with the backdrop of a beautiful California sunset.

The Surf City Nights Street Fair is being held every Tuesday evening from 5 to 9 pm in downtown Huntington Beach on Main Street between Orange and Pacific Coast Hwy. Admission and entertainment is free. Free downtown parking (200 Main Street city garage). Go to http://www.hbdowntown.comto  find out more.

Movies at the Pier Schedule:

August 13th    Kung-Fu Panda
August 20th    The Wizard of OZ
August 27th     Finding Nemo

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The Orange County Fair 2009

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If you haven’t made it to the OC Fair 2009 yet, hurry up! This weekend will be the last one you can spend at the fair. The OC Fair’s last day is Sunday, August 9th.  Lots of rides and games await the whole family and don’t miss the 2009 OC Super Fair attraction of  “Al’s Brain: a 3D Journey through the Human Brain with Weird Al Yankovic”. It is an educational and entertaining attraction featuring a 3-D movie starring famed artist Weird Al Yankovic. ”

For everyone who is not interested in rides, there is still plenty to do and to see. Enjoy the fair food from funnel cakes to barbacued turkey legs and of course don’t forget to visit all the booths of all the various merchants. It’s always fun to stroll around. The daily schedule tells you in detail what’s going on the day you are planning to go, http://www.ocfair.com/2009/visitfair/visit_fair.html#.  TIP:  If you’ll be there on the last day, Sunday April 9th, look out for the presentation by the Club German Cultural Center on the Park Plaza Arts Stage at 10:15 am.

To get in the OC Fair for $2 this weekend, you need to be at the fairgrounds buying your tickets before 2pm and show the coupon below. To get the special closing weekend promotion got to: http://www.ocfair.com/2009/discount/discount_promotion.html

Have fun!

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Health Insurance in the US

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Finding the right health insurance in the US can be quite some challenge. If you are employed by a company and are part of a company group policy you are one of the lucky ones. But if you are self-employed and need to find health insurance that is somehow affordable and covers the whole family, it can become a critical endeavor. Especially if one of the family members happens to have asthma, which is apparently considered a chronic condition, you might run into some problems.

This is at least what I am experiencing at the moment. While everyone else in the family got accepted by the plan I had chosen, my child with asthma got rejected and is still without any insurance. Now, here I go again hitting the on-line road to finding some acceptable insurance that will be okay with the pre-condition of my teenager.  My Health Insurance Odyssey is far from over yet, it seems.

The article”Resources for the uninsured” by David Colker in the LA Times of June 21, mentions different options of what to do when being in this dilemma of trying to find a health insurance to cover you. One is apparently the web site of Healthy City, where one can find “…a search-able database of hundreds of organizations that provide various kinds of preventive, dental and eye care at no or low cost.” Check out www.healthycity.org. A child with a chronic condition can either “…stay on group coverage through COBRA, even if your COBRA eligibility has expired or can get coverage through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program”, according to Kathy M. Kristof’s article “Strike quickly to use COBRA”, also in the same edition of the LA Times.

I will be on my way to checking through this jungle of premiums, deductibles, Co-insurance and Out-of-pocket limits, since a teenager walking around without health insurance is a scary thought to me. How much easier it seems to me was it to have health insurance in ‘Good old Germany’. I don’t recall any of these hassles. You had one insurance that covered everything,  from preventive care to visits at your dentist and optometrist and no-one was rejected for having a pre-condition.

Here are some more resources on finding the ‘perfect’ health insurance: Check out www.ehealthinsurance.com or some of the county services below:

Los Angeles: www.ladhs.org/wps/portal/Patient ; Orange County: http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Health (click on “Clinics & Hospital Locations”); Riverside County: www.rcrmc.org; San Bernadino County: www.arrowheadmedcenter.org; Ventura County: wwwvchca.org/mc ;

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance program, www.helpingpatients.org , can help find reduced-cost or even free programs to get your medications.

Let’s see what the new health insurance plan by President Obama will have to offer. Hopefully it can make some difference.

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