Cinco De Mayo Celebrated in OC Mini Mall in Santa Ana

I was in Santa Ana, CA today. It is not my favorite area of Orange County, CA. Santa Ana, Anaheim and Garden Grove which connect together have some nice and not so nice areas. They may not be my favorite Orange County cities... But a little place called the Santa Ana Mini Mall (located off the 5 freeway and the 22W freeway at 3412 Westminster Ave, Santa Ana, 92703 CA) there was a little bit of fun going on as well as Good Stuff deals.
Mariachi bands with loud drums played in the entrance area of the indoor mini mall as a group of people in full costume and outlandish headdresses danced around each other, some children also in on the act. People enjoyed themselves and watched the fun. The indoor mall is not upscale, but there are some good sales. I got a few pairs of jeans for a total of $36.00. Not bad and one pair was worth $39.99. I paid cash with that seller, though other sellers may accept other payments. There was a cell phone booth, speakers section that my man headed straight for, and many other booths. Adjacent to the mall is mexican food. The parking lot is not that big, though the store building is not that large, and not overcrowded. It is worth a look if you're in the area, for some deals. There are other outlet stores nearby as well heading into Anaheim.
http://www.santaanaminimall.com/
Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Nice Areas of OC are also Not So Nice -Orange County CA Review

There are many known cities or areas that are nice and not so nice, even within the city. The other day in Garden Grove it seemed to need a little helping hand as far as cosmetics go. It was interesting to see Vietnamese-American shops etc. but nothing too special. The area of the city I saw was not kept up that well and did not seem like a very good neighborhood. The neighboring city, Anaheim, CA. one might think that this "Disneyland city", or the famous past name of the Anaheim Angels (which is now for publicity reasons I think, the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" or something like that) must be a beauty, well it's not, at least not at every turn. There are nice parts of Anaheim, today I saw a very nice neighborhood with nice cozy homes, and outside the homes on the main streets only some gang related spray paint signs. But even the cities with good reviews have their share of gangs and riffraff. Illegal drug use, thefts and other crimes still happen even in posh neighborhoods, though most trouble occurs in the poorer, lower rent areas. That said, just because someone or a family for that matter is low income, does not mean they are probably a crime family. I have known many low income, hard working families that are trying legitimately to climb their way out of a struggling economy. California is in debt, and the expensive Orange County has it's own troubles, school budgets are tight, public bus system has also made cut backs in transportation, and health insurance for the poor is limited and little to no dental and mental health coverage for low income adults.

 If the states budget would help those helping themselves more, maybe they could get a step ahead and there could be less crime and less poverty. But the system designed to help through the social service system rarely rewards dilligent hard workers receiving cash or food assistance, for the earned income they make hardly gets them ahead of the low income game. It is not a game at all, but a struggle. Cash and food assistance gets depleated or stopped all together, so there is no getting ahead, but staying at a poverty level. Something to think about.


In the beauty of So Cal. there is also hardships, crime, and poverty.