Aha! Disney has done it yet again with a completely new and sensational parade. Mickey’s Soundsational Parade is all new at the Disneyland Resort. From a marching band to Mickey blasting away at the drums like the pro he is, the parade is, simply put, outstanding. The talent in the parade is top-notch, the music includes most of the classics we all love, and the colors are brilliant.

Ready to go to Disneyland and enjoy this masterful parade? Get your own discounted Disneyland tickets and go smile.

Here are a couple of videos that will give you an in-depth, inside look at what you can expect to see at the parade:

Things can get hectic this time of year around the office with the holidays looming, fourth quarter numbers to meet and those annoying co-worker secret Santa gift exchanges to shop for. It’s only natural for the group to want to blow off some steam, and what could make for a better holiday party than to unload on your boss with a bucket of paintballs!!

Kijubi has just added a variety of great California group paintball activities to the site from Los Angeles County to San Diego County to the Inland Empire. Many of our sites, like the Castaic location, have themed fields so you can battle it out on the streets of Baghdad, have a lunar war on the face of the moon or have a post apocalyptic war just like the scenes of Mad Max.

Generally recommended for ages 10 and up our group paintball activities can accommodate up to twenty guests and are ideal for corporate and company picnics, private parties, church events, team building, large events, bachelor parties, school field trips, graduation nights, banquets, receptions, summer camp trips, birthdays, or any other occasion when you might want to have some competitive fun outdoors.

This Could Be Your Boss!!

The game typically works like capture the flag where two teams are put on opposite ends of a large roped off field or forested area. A referee signals the beginning of play as well as the end of the game when one team has successfully rescued their flag from the opponents base station and returned it to theirs without being sniped by a paintball.

The required eye protection, paintball guns, paint and other gear is all available for rent on site and advanced reservations through Kijubi are highly recommended before making the trip.

Check this out for a memorable way to celebrate:

A couple of Kijubi customers celebrated their anniversary and a birthday in style when they took part in our Running with Wolves Hummer Tour in Palm Springs.  On the tour, guests are taken to the only place on Earth where you can actually interact with wolves.

Keith Elderkin said of the experience, “…we were amazed by the whole experience, it really made a special end to our holiday to get so close to the wolves, my wife was completely overwhelmed.
THANK YOU!”

It’s not surprising really, as this tour has been featured on the Travel Channel, the Today Show, in Conde Nast Traveler, the Los Angeles Times and a wealth of other publications around the globe.  Other accolades include being awarded Attraction of the Year by the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention and Visitors Authority.

Perhaps why this particular tour has proven so popular is the attention to detail and the extra mile owner, Mark Farley, always takes for guests.  For the Elderkins’ special occasion, Mark provided two beautiful gift bags with mugs, aqua clips, cookies, a wolf statue, candy and more.  To top it off, he added two helium balloons, tied to each bag – one saying “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” and the other, “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!”  Awww, what a guy!

Kijubi meeting a friendly wolf?

To ensure our customers get only the very the best, Kijubi sends guests to the original Palm Springs Hummer tours; the only tours using authentic Hummers.

The Hummers provide luxurious air-conditioned comfort – what a way to see parts of the California wilderness that most people will never get to experience!  In fact, I think it’s about time the Kijubi Girls try it out…

Kijubi running with wolves?

Canyoneering - definitely one of Kijubi’s most popular activities and one for which we continually get rave reviews.

All summer we’ve been getting amazing feedback about this fast growing sport that has only become widely popular in the USA in the last few years.  One such glowing report came from a Kijubi partner, SCOA (Southern California Outdoors Adventurers) when they took 13 adventure-seeking Los Angelinos out to try their hand at scaling rock faces and rappelling down waterfalls.

Kijubi canyoneering in LA?

Kijubi customers’ comments on canyoneering included:

“When I posted the pictures of canyoneering to facebook I was baraged with comments like.. “you lead the coolest life of anyone I know.” This event ROCKED for those of us with beginner climbing skills for whom it was a real adventure to rappel, etc! ”.

“So much fun and excitement.  MUST do activity; experience of a life time!”

“Awesome time.  The guides, people, weather, experience – all worked together in perfect harmony and then I went and had yogurt.  What a perfect day.  Canyoneering is FUN!”



“The guides where great, very knowledgeable and always emphasized safety.”

“It will be hard to top this adventure. Thanks.”

“Great event, gorgeous weather, great people… rappelling underneath the waterfall was definitely a highlight.”

Kijubi rappeling down a waterfall this weekend?

With reviews like that, what are you waiting for?  Now it’s your turn… Kijubi canyoneering?


About SCOA: After first trying out canyoneering in July, Kijubi’s partner, SCOA, has hit the mountains several times this summer, bringing back group after group as demand for canyoneering continued. SCOA unites like-minded activity seekers to try out new and unusual outdoors activities.  So, for those of you who like the idea of trying canyoneering but are a bit short of fun folks to go with, SCOA is a great resource for you to be able to meet new friends and try exciting activities.  Check out what they have on here and, of course, if you don’t see your favorite Kijubi activity on their calendar, let them (or us!) know so we can get it set up!

Skydiving is probably one of the most thrilling activities you can do, and California offers some of the best jumps available. I have not personally been skydiving yet, but it will happen sooner or later. I think indoor skydiving was definitely a good start to get that first feeling and sensation of what it would be like.

So, now for the good stuff. Where exactly do we offer Skydiving in California today and what are the options? We offer both solo and tandem skydive jumps from Perris, Cloverdale, Marina, and San Diego.

Tandem Skydive Jump in Cloverdale, CA – We’ll start from the top of the state in the North Coast region. This 12,500 foot jump for only $199 offers some breathtaking views over the wine country. It comes with a full instruction, a DVD of the jump, and a great time, all included in the price.

Tandem Skydive Jump in Marina, CA – Coming down the coast, we come across Marina in the San Francisco Bay area. This facility offers 10,000, 15,000, or 18,000 foot tandem skydive jumps, starting at $169 (for the 10k). You can get videos and photos of your skydiving experience for an extra fee, which I would highly recommend.

Skydiving in Perris, CA – As we continue down we reach the Inland Empire. Starting at $209, our Perris location offers both tandem and solo jumps. There is also an indoor skydiving facility and you can purchase combo-tickets and experience indoor skydiving before the real thing.

Skydiving in San Diego, CA – Our final destination for skydiving is San Diego. We offer both tandem ($199) and solo ($339) dives in Southern California, which both are from 13,000 feet. You can add your video on DVD for an additional fee.

Kijubi Skydiving?

Hot Air Ballon Ride Santa Rosa, CA

How romantic is it to go on a Hot Air Balloon ride? Any of you who have done this activity know exactly what I am talking about. Add this breath taking activity with one of the most stunning areas in California, the Wine Country, and you end up with a trully unique experience. Think of it as a “Nature Walk in the Sky.”

You will see the Pacific Coast, Redwood Forests, the Russian River, San Francisco’s Skyline, plus so much more. Since you are moving with the air currents, you won’t feel any funny stomach sensations. Even those afraid of hights have nothing to worry about. There is no linear perspective to know how far up you really are (somewhere between 500 and 1500 feet). All you will feel is tranquility.

How much does it cost? About $250 per person. It’s not the cheapest activity, but it is most definitely one to remember.

For more information, visit our Wine Country Hot Air Balloon Ride page.

I definitely have the best friends in the world. When I moved to Laguna Beach from London as a newlywed, a few of them clubbed together and got us a helicopter trip over LA – can you think of a better gift?! It was such a great way to experience our new ‘homeland’ and to check out the area from the sky – Los Angeles is such a massive and sprawling city, it can be quite difficult to get your head around how it all fits together, so this was perfect. We flew from Long Beach and were up in the air for about an hour, flying over the Queen Mary and then up the coast past all the famous beaches that I’d heard about all my life (I nearly dislocated my neck whilst trying to see the bodybuilders at Venice Beach. Very disappointing), over Beverly Hills, Hollywood – I nearly peed my pants with excitement when I found myself eye-to-eye with the inimitable Hollywood sign – and then over downtown (where we flew so close to the skyscrapers that I could actually see in the windows on the 30th (?) floor and eyeball all the penpushers pretending to be working hard whilst looking at naughty pictures on the Internet)…then we were swooping along the freeways and over the crazy cement flyovers and bridges (I was flirting with cardiac arrest by this stage, as the pure scale of the metropolis that is LA was suddenly starting to sink in) and eventually back to Long Beach where we buzzed a container ship as we were heading back to the airport. Absolutely fantastic, an unforgettable experience. Thanks my darlings. Oh, and Woof, with regards to your comment (‘Next time I want you to fly it. Get married again and we’ll organise the lessons. Get married AGAIN and we’ll buy you a chopper’) – I have no intentions of multiple matrimony, but I do happen to have found a fellow boarderwho also happens to Fly Her Own Helicopter, so if I do ever find myself going Elizabeth Taylor-stylie, I may have someone for you to pay for my lessons.

In my next life I am going to be a helicopter pilot. Respect to fellow boarder Chopperchick, who is living my dream (I live vicariously through her fantastic blog). I’ve been lucky enough to have done two helicopter trips in my short life (okay, not that short, but let me at least pretend): one over Cape Town and one over Los Angeles, and I absolutely loved them both. The Cape Town one was a few years back and was a breathtakingly scenic flight around the peninsula of the Western Cape with the opportunity to view both the unique wonder of Table Mountain as well as the World Heritage Site of Robben Island. I grew up in and around Cape Town and thought that I knew the Mother City (as she is affectionately called) and surrounds like the back of my hand, but seeing it from the air gives a totally unique perspective, one that I will never forget. It was brilliant! I’ll write about the Los Angeles helicopter trip in another blog but for now wanted to post these pics of the Cape Town trip. I found a video of someone doing a similar flight but be warned: it is really shaky and I ended up feeling sick – ironic that I didn’t experience any motion sickness whatsoever in the chopper, but that sitting here on terra firma, watching that video, I thought I was going to do a Jaeson-on-top-of-the-mountain stunt. The only thing that distracted me from thoughts of barfing was the look of pure terror on the face of the kid in the video. Perhaps I should start doing some helicopter flying lessons…

Up until about a year ago, I had absolutely no interest in drinking wine. The look on my face the first time I tried wine must have been priceless. It just tasted like…. well…. old, bitter grape juice. Doesn’t sound very appealing when you think about it. I can’t quite remember the label, but I do know that it was red, maybe a Cabernet Sauvignon. Probably not a good idea to start off with a red, especially a Cab, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It took me a little while to really get into wine. I loved champagne/sparkling wine though, which was really the closest I would get to wine. But eventually, the champagne kick wore off and that didn’t seem to be my first choice anymore. Now I love wine and would order a glass of Pinot or Grenache any day over a glass of champagne (or sparkling wine). However since I’m still fairly new at this, I usually stick to the California wines as they’re nice and juicy.

I wouldn’t say I know a whole lot about wine, but I read an interesting blog from someone who seems to know quite a bit about different varietals and regions. You’ve got some of your common regions like Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, France, Oregon, Washington, Australia, Italy, Spain, etc. Would you ever consider Mexico to be a good wine-growing region??? I would’ve never guessed, but apparently some of the best wines are grown just 70 miles south of the border. There are three regions where the largest wineries in Mexico can be found – San Antonio de las Minas, San Vicente Valley and the Santo Tomas Valley. Some of the common reds grown in the Baja region are Cabernet Sauvignon, Ruby Cabernet, Zinfandel, Grenache and Mission. Whites include Chenin Blanc, Palomino, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Saint Emilion and Malaga.

I have never tried many of those varietals, so I think I need to make a trip down south and do some wine tasting!!! Who’s with me?

Man it’s shaping up to be an epic ski season in California! It’s only February and Mammoth already has a 100″ base, with more dumping! This is what I love about California. In a mere 5 hours you can drive from sunny SoCal to the Sierras where there’s some of the highest snowfall accumulation in these here United States. Whoa! You might even start with a surf or a kayak before hitting the slopes. How cool. And what else do I love about Mammoth? Let me recite the many things. First, the drive. While tedious, it’s also mind expanding as you travel the eastern Sierras through the Owens Valley. It’s vast and open and beautiful, with the mighty Sierras on one side, and the impressive White Mountains on the other. You’ll pass the true cowboy towns of Olancha (gateway to Death Valley), Lone Pine (gateway to Mt. Whitney), Independence (home to the ignominious Manzanar Japanese internment camp from WWII), Big Pine (gateway to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home to the oldest living things on Planet Earth – a 4,000 year-old tree??? Come on), Bishop (home to crazy wilderness outback mountaineers), and finally Mammoth, home of the the LA powder cowboys. How does Mammoth stack up against world class mountains like Vail, Aspen, Park City, Jackson Hole and Whistler? Well, it may not have the light, fluffy powder of Utah, or the swanky private jets of Aspen, or the sheer size of Vail, or the steeps of Jackson, but it has more annual snowfall than any of them, more sunny California days, more ski days (usually staying open through June and sometimes July), less crowds (see 5 hour drive), a gracious layout that allows you to traverse the mountain without skiing the same run twice, modest pricing, cheap accommodations, lots of high speed lifts, and, oh yes, thermal hot springs that are free (if you know where to look). They can be the highlight of your holiday. Imagine skiing all day, getting that major thigh burn, then driving 20 minutes into the Owens Valley where you will discover a perfect tub in the wilderness with 110 degree mineral water for soaking those tires bones. You’ll have a 360 degree view of the Sierras and Whites just as the sun drops behind them. Ahhh. Life is good!