California Day Trip - Things to Do with Kids - Visit Alcapa Ranches

California Day Trip near Central Valley - Things to do with kids :

Visit Alpaca Ranches this weekend during their open house for National Alpaca Farm Days

Who:

Alpacas is a cute face animal with very pricey fleece

When:

This weekend, Sept 26 and 27, 2009

Where:

B. Lilly of the Valley Alpacas 2912 Church St, Modesto 209-577-3638 | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days

C. Macedo's Mini Acre 17405 Letteau Ave, Delhi 209-648-2384 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

D. Big Country Alpacas 18835 Cherokee Road, Tuolumne 209-928-3294 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What:

• Alpacas are part of the camelidae family

• Long long time ago, Incan people reserved the fleece for royalty

• Before the early 1980, they are found mainly in zoos. It is not until that time people started raising them in ranches

• If you want to buy one today, each might cost as much as $9,500 to $18,000. If that's too expensive, buy the fleece instead. It's about $30 a pound. After getting the raw material, you can spin yarn and make fleece jackets. Since I don't know how to do that, I would just roll it up in a hair ball and throw it to my cat and let her play catch all day long...

• Read more about fun facts on alpacas in the Modesto Bee article by staff writer John Holland

How (to get there):

See Map (please verify addresses before you go)


View Alpaca Ranches - California Day Trip in a larger map

Personal Training Modesto CA

This is my first day back at group personal training with ProFit's Lori Avila in Modesto, CA. I started personal training / boot camp in 2008 and stopped after an ankle injury last summer (the injury was unrelated to my training).

I first met Lori at Gold's Gym when she was the trainer for boot camp. I followed her when she started her own training program and used the gymnasium at Calvary Temple on 1601 Coffee Road (the corner of Briggsmore and Coffee).

Each group personal training session is an hour long, consisting of cardio exercises, strength training, balance training, endurance, etc. She uses bosu balls, free weights, steps, jumping ropes, hurdles, even tires, just to name a few. There are numerous exercise routines and Lori rotates thru' the routines. I found it amazing how she can come up with so many different types of exercises. The groups are usually anywhere from 4 - 6 people. Today there are seven.

Her training schedule: Mon/Wed/Fri 5:30 a.m. , 9:00 a.m. Mon/Tue/Thur 5:45 p.m., 7:00 p.m.

Fees: Very very reasonable. She also offers corporate discounts.

Her phone number (for my future reference) 277-1124. I actually lost her number and today I just stopped by the gym and see if she is around. She was surprised to see me after my whole year's absence.

Retirement Benefits Websites

Some info on retirement benefits:

IRS Retirement plan navigators link:

• http://www.retirementplans.irs.gov/choose-a-plan/
• http://www.irs.gov/retirement/article/0,,id=178044,00.html

Plan comparison table:

http://www.retirementplans.irs.gov/plan-comparison-table/

To summarize:

For IRAs 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plans, the contribution limits of 2009 is up to $49,000.

Catch-up contributions - employees can contribute to their own retirement. Employees at age 50 or older may make additional (catch-up) contributions to plans. The amount depends on the type of the plan.

Loan and hardship withdrawals allowed for 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plans.

Defined Benefit Plans allow higher retirement benefits of up to $195,000 a year.

Tax-Exempt Plans.