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Catalina Island

Want to do something fun for your birthday but don’t want to spend a lot of money?

Consider a staycation at Catalina Island, where you can get a bunch of free or discounted stuff on your birthday. That even includes a free trip to the island on the Catalina Express. You have to travel on your actual birthday and preregister online, but then you get to save up to $76.50 roundtrip. Score!

And once you get to Catalina, more freebies await: BOGO parasailing flights, free admission to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden, a free meal at Buffalo Nickel Restaurant (online reviews are mixed) and more. Take a look:

~ Rent a bike for two hours from Brown’s Bike and get the rest of the day free until 5 p.m. plus a bottle of water

~ Two-for-one climbs at the Descanso Beach Club climbing wall (open weekends and holidays only)

~ Free cup of coffee at Catalina Coffee and Cookie Co. (must show Catalina Express birthday ribbon)

~ Free scoop of ice cream, buy one pound of salt water taffy and get an extra 1/4 Pound free, and buy any iced coffee drink or smoothie and get a second of equal or lesser value 50 percent off at Lloyd’s of Avalon

~ Buy the mani-pedi special at Island Breeze Spa and Salon for $50 and receive a 50-minute Swedish massage or facial for $69 (M-Th) or $79 (Fri-Sun), or a 25-minute massage or facial for $45

If you’re staying overnight, check out these discounts at Catalina Island hotels:

~ The Avalon Hotel: Receive a free bottle of wine or sparkling cider.

~ Hotel Vista Del Mar: Get a complimentary bottle of champagne or wine, celebratory balloons, continental breakfast, and evening milk and cookies

~ Hotel Catalina and Courtyard Garden Suites: Get 10 percent off one night; 20 percent off two nights

~ Catalina Island Inn: Receive a complimentary box of Lloyd’s of Avalon chocolates plus your choice of champagne or sparkling cider

~ Hotel Metropole: Get 20 percent off on any room and save $50 on a couples massage at the hotel spa

From S/V Rapture

The Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau is holding a digital photo scavenger hunt called Hit Me With Your Best Shot. Cute, huh?

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know much about MDR other than it’s a beach town, so I think doing a scavenger hunt would be a good way to explore and learn more about the area. And the visitors bureau is giving away some great prizes to the winners, too.

To participate, you’ll have to take photos of yourself in front of or next to the “iconic, unique and quirky” items listed in certain categories representative of the MDR community — family, foodie and wedding. You’ll need to collect at least five photos to qualify for prizes; if you collect all 10 photos in a category, you’ll be entered to win grand-level prizes.

Each category has prizes with values up to $2,200, including:

To enter, upload photos either to Facebook, Twitter or by email to marinadelreycvb@gmail.com. The deadline to submit all photos is Oct. 27, 2010. The grand prize and runner up winners will be announced via Facebook, Twitter and the Visit Marina del Rey Blog on Nov. 10, 2010.