Monday, June 24, 2024

Eastside Neighborhood Park

Eastside Neighborhood Park

Eastside Neighborhood Park got an overhaul! The new design leaves plenty of green space for running around, leaves the community garden, replaced the little kid playground and created a big kid place area. It also added a big kid play area and adult exercise equipment. The new play structures are built in the new style that gives kids freedom to explore in different ways rather than use it for one intended design, but it does keep the rubber mat for impacts. 

Little Kid Play Area

The little kid (2-5) play area is now fully fenced with one entrance and exit. This area is nicely shaded under oaks. There are two baby swings and a larger bucket swing for multiple kids. The play structure has a regular slide, a tunnel slide, and several climbing places. There are multiple benches as well as small picnic tables here.

Big Kid Play Area

The new big kid play area (5-12) is also fully fenced with one entrance and exit. It does not have trees to shade it but it does have a nice shade canopies. There are no swings, but a number of different climbing parts are much more explorational play. The benches in this prayer are often in full sun.

There are now bathrooms with a cool mural on the walls. Bathrooms were clean and well stocked on the day we were here.

Pros: 
*my big kid really loved the new climbing structures 
* there are bathrooms
* 2 divided areas for big and littles have plenty of space
* there's still plenty of green open space.
Bathrooms

Cons: 
* the little kid play structure might not hold the attention of kids for very long. 
* People looking for a sandpit or big kid swings need look elsewhere.











Related posts
Old Eastside Neighborhood Park
Eastside Library
Ortega Park
Franklin Park












Saturday, June 15, 2024

Choose Your Own Adventure 2024


With our quests, I have discovered that it is harder to try new things with my older kids! So this summer we are repeating last summer's quest: Choose Your Own Adventure. We have a few more beaches I would like to try as well as day trips, museums and hikes we didn't get to on our previous summers. We have a busy summer with things unrelated to my blog, but I will try to sneak in a few places on the list. I am aiming to share a new thing every week, a list that might be useful and a place we love. Here are some of the ideas for the new things:

From 2015 Parks
Armitos Park got new play equipment 

From 2016 Beaches
See 2020 below

From 2017 Nature Walks
Wind Tunnels at Gaviota State Park
Cheltham/Westmont Trail
Allan Road Footpath
Ortega Hill Loop
Ennisbrook Trail

From 2018 Day Trips
Lake Casitas Water Park got a facelift!
Canzelle Alpacas
Pump It Up (Ventura)
Marina Park (Ventura)
Ventura Aquatic Center
Quicksilver Miniature Horse Ranch (Santa Ynez)
Solvang
La Purissima Mission
Seein Spots Farm

From 2019 Museums
Old Mission Santa Barbara
Rancho La Patera & Stow House
Santa Barbara Carriage and Western Arts Museum
Santa Barbara Historical Museum (El Presidio)
Ablitt House
Bellosguardo Estate
Casa del Herrero
Casa Dolores
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
Reagan Ranch Center
Ridley Tree Museum of Art (Westmont College)
Santa Barbara Art Museum (UCSB)
Santa Barbara Surfing Museum
Santa Barbara Veterans Museum
Susan Quinlan's Doll & Teddy Bear Museum
UCSB Multicultural Center
Elveroj Museum of History and Art
Guadelupe-Nipomo Dunes Center
Guadelupe Cultural Arts Center
La Purissima Mission
Santa Maria Museum of Flight
Santa Maria Valley Historical Railway Museum
Wilding Art Museum
UCSB Marine Science Institute

From 2020 Beaches Part 2
Adding a few beaches beyond the Haskells to Miramar set we did 2016 and 2020
Rincon Beach
Sandyland Beach ?
Padaro Beach ?
Loon Point Beach *
Finney Beach *
Summerland Beach
Gaviota Beach

From 2021 
Zodos
Lotusland
Lompoc Aquatic Center
Art from Scrap

From 2022 Hikes
Gaviota Wind Caves
Lizards Mouth
Tangerine Falls
Lizards Mouth
Rattlesnake Canyon
Parma Park
San Ysidro falls
Seven Sisters
Skofield Park
Tunnel Trail

Related Posts
Summer of the Parks (2015)
Summer of the Beaches (2016)
Summer of the Nature Walks (2017)
Summer of the Day Trips (2018)
Summer of the Museums (2019)
Summer of the Beaches 2 (2020)
Summer of Kid's Choice (2021)
Summer of the Hikes (2022)