Friday, April 28, 2023

Vacation Bible School 2023


Vacation Bible School offerings vary from summer to summer.  This is what I have found online so far. All ages are the ages children will be in this fall. If your church plans to do VBS this summer, forward me the info so I can add it!

June
June 12-16 9am-12pm Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21
Phone: 805-730-1400 Ages: Kinder to 6th grade Price: $80 Register at:
https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/unproxy/registrations/events/1717524

June 19-23 8:45-12 CEF Adventure Club at various trails in Santa Barbara
Ages: 10-12 Price: Free Register at:
https://childevangelismfellowship.regfox.com/adventure-camp-participants More Info: http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

June 19-21 9-12 Ignite Sports Camp (No Noah Camp) Montecito Covenant Church 671 Cold Spring Rd, Montecito Phone: (805) 969-0373 Ages: 1st-6th grade Price: $75 Register at:
https://www.mcchurch.org/ignite/

June 19-23 9am-2pm Victory Surf Camp at Santa Claus Beach (Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21 Phone: 805-730-1400) Games, Crafts, Bible Study and Worship Ages: 2nd-6th grade Price: $195    Register: https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1656096 (Waitlist)

June 26-30 9am-2pm Victory Surf Camp at Santa Claus Beach (Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21 Phone: 805-730-1400) Games, Crafts, Bible Study and Worship Ages: 2nd-6th grade Price: $195    Register: https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1656096 

July

July 3-7 9am-12pm CEF Lego Camp Location: Calvary Baptist Church, 736 Islay St. Ages: 5-12 Price: Free Register at:
https://childevangelismfellowship.regfox.com/lego-camp-participants More Info: http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

July 5-7  9am-2pm Victory Surf Camp at Santa Claus Beach (Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21 Phone: 805-730-1400) Games, Crafts, Bible Study and Worship Ages: 2nd-6th grade Price: $195    https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1656096

July 10-14  9am-2pm Victory Surf Camp at Santa Claus Beach (Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21 Phone: 805-730-1400) Games, Crafts, Bible Study and Worship Ages: 2nd-6th grade Price: $195    https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1656096 (Waitlist)

July 17-21 CEF Soccer Camp 9am-12pm CEF Soccer Camp at Kellogg Elementary School, 475 Cambridge Drive Ages: 5-12 Price: Free Register at: https://childevangelismfellowship.regfox.com/soccer-camp-participants

I couldn't find info for camp at Ocean Hills, Reality or Trinity Lutheran. I am sure I missed something so feel free to comment below or message me through Facebook at www.facebook.com/goletamom.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Pinnacles National Park

 


Spring break 2023 we visited Pinnacles National Park! It is only 3.5 hours away, making it an easy destination. It is north-west of King City. The closest hotel accommodations and restaurants are in King City, but camping in the park makes it much more affordable and means you can get the best parking early in the morning before the crowds hit. The best time to visit the park is in spring or fall because summer can be hot (and some of the trails are partially closed in summer). There are 2 parts to the park which do not connect by road (but you could hike it). East Pinnacles has the campground and most of the trails.

The campground has tent cabins and tent sites. We stayed in a cabin which did have electricity, 3 cots and a heater/fan. It was chilly at night the week we were there (low of 29 degrees the first night!). We stayed for 3 full days and 4 nights, coming in late the first night. This was longer than necessary to see the park! I would recommend 2 days and you could get the highlights in 1 day.

Kid friendly trails include (listed in recommended order):
Bear Gulch Trail (East Pinnacles, 1.5 mile loop and connects to other trails):  This moderate trail goes through caves where bats nest and mate. We never saw bats but hiking through the cave was my 9 year old's favorite part of the trip. Bring headlamps or flashlights for the cave.

Condor Gulch Overlook Trail (East Pinnacles, out and back 1.8 total): This moderate trail leads to an overlook where you can look down on the condors!

Balconies Cliffs-Cave Loop (West Pinnacles, 2.4 mile loop): This loop trail goes through the cave, but there was too much water when we were there to enter safely. This hike is only reached from the east by a longer rim hike or a drive 65 mile (1 hour, 20 minute) since there was rain in the forecast we ate lunch in King City and hiked, driving back while it was raining.

Other Attractions:
Junior Ranger Program: We did not find any talks or places to visit a ranger, but downloaded the booklet to complete and send in.

Bear Gulch Nature Center was closed when we were there, but it looks like an interesting spot. It is located near the entrance to the Bear Gulch trail (Moses Spring Parking Area).

There is a viewing area for condors in the campground.

West Pinnacles Ranger Station looked big and modern but was only open on the weekend when we were there. (Although we read about an East Pinnacles ranger station, it was a store with someone to answer basic questions and had no displays.)