Little Patch of Earth

Monday, June 11, 2018

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park

The Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park is 110 acres of ocean front prime real estate saved as open space for walking trails and preservation. One end of it is a small park with walking trails that is adjacent to the UC Reserve that can only be accessed with permission. There are public tours currently on Saturdays at 10am. The other end is a larger set of walking trails I will review separately.

Directions: Take the 101S to the Linden exit. Turn right onto Linden Ave and follow it through the downtown area. Just past the Spot burger stand, turn right onto 3rd St. Turn left onto Ash Ave an park along the road there. There are several entrances.

Trail Rating: Easy
Distance: .9 miles to do the whole trail and back
Time: 1/2 hour with exploring time
Nearby Attractions: Carpinteria State Beach, Tomol Interpretive Play Area and Carpinteria Nature Park (Part 2)

More information: http://www.carpinteriacoast.com/salt_marsh.html

Friday, June 1, 2018

Truly Toddler Friendly Parks

Bath Street Pocket Park

When I first started my park quest, I had a 1.5 year old climber. When she learned to walk, she went from walking to running to climbing faster than her coordination could keep up. So there were certain parks we went to and left very quickly for my sanity. Eventually as an off site PEP coordinator, I learned which parks were good for my kid and early toddlers in general. Here are some I would recommend for those early walking days.

Santa Barbara
Bath Street Pocket Park
Eastside Neighborhood Park
Elings Park (Upper)
Escondido Park
Hidden Valley Park
Hilda McIntyre Ray Park
Los Baños del Mar
Mackenzie Park
Shoreline Park
Willowglen Park

Santa Barbara County
Manning Park (Montecito)
Rhoads Open Space

Goleta
Evergreen Open Space
Tierra de Fortuna

Summer 2018 Quest

Summer approaches, y'all. It is time to share my 2018 quest. (Drum roll, please.)

This summer I will be sharing easy day trip activities from Santa Barbara. This is one I have wanted to do for years, but since I have no nappers, this feels like the summer for it. But this summer I am also moving and so I don't expect this to go smoothly. I like my quests now though so I have a fun goal and I will share what I have time to find. There is some overlap with previous posts on parks and hikes too. Here are my ideas:

Carpinteria
Tarpits Beach (tidepools)
Carpinteria Salt Marsh
Carpinteria Nature Preserve (Seal Viewing)
Tomol Park
Carpinteria State Beach
Canzelle Alpacas
Padaro Beach Grill (Summerland)

Beyond Carpinteria
Lake Casitas Water Park (Ojai)
Sky Zone
Golf N Stuff
Pump It Up
Playplace Pacific View Mall (Ventura)
Splash Pad at the Collection (Oxnard)
Chuck E Cheese (Ventura or Santa Maria)
Marina Park (Ventura)
Kellogg Park (Ventura)
Ventura Aquatic Center

Santa Ynez Valley
~~Knapp's Castle (off 154)~~
Riverview Park (Buellton)
Sunnyfields Park (Solvang)
Ostrichland (Buellton)
Quicksilver Miniature Horse Ranch
Santa Barbara Blueberries (Buellton)
The Farmstead (Buellton)
Noquoi Falls (Buellton)
Solvang
La Purissima Mission
Seein Spots Farm

Beyond the Valley
Lompoc Aquatic Center
Santa Maria Discovery Museum
Avila Farm
S LO Creek Farms
Chuck E Cheese (Ventura or Santa Maria)

Did I miss anything? What would you add to my list of ideas?

Related posts: 2017 Summer of Hikes, 2016 Summer of the Beaches, 2015 Summer of the Parks,

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Climbing Parks

Dwight Murphy Climbing Area

I met a mom recently whose big kid wants to climb. So for Melissa, here is a list of Santa Barbara climbing parks. Some of these have one climbing feature (like Tucker's Grove has a climbing tower separate from the playground, look across the field), some have more (like Shipwreck Playground) and most parks have some climbing features (like the rock wall at Goleta Beach Park).

Chase Palm Park (Shipwreck Playground)
Alameda Park (Kid's World)
Ortega Park
Oak Park
Bohnett Park
Steven's Park
Rocky Nook Park
Tucker's Grove
Dwight Murphy Fields
Wallis Park

Did I miss any? Share your favorites in the comments!

Spring 2018 Snapshot

* This was my April 2018 post which got derailed by a child.... and bubbles.... and my laptop. Big oops. ( I do try to post at least once a month during the school year and this is my first miss since May 2016!)

Life Hack: Getting Gas
I have chosen a time in my week that is not rushed where I am out and about with my kids, I always get gas at this time every week. For me it is Sunday morning--the gas station is not busy. This sounds simple, but it means I am almost never rushing to the gas station in a panic and making me late to something else.

New Product I Love: Trader Joe's Facial Wash
I was looking for a mild face wash and this one is awesome. It has tea tree oil which smells amazing and most of the ingredients are natural things I can actually pronounce.

Last Book Finished: Little Paris Bookshop
This was a charming 3.5 star book for me. Jean Perdu runs a unique book shop where has prescribes books like medicine for the people who visit his boat on the Seine shop. His success hides the secret that he is hiding from his life and emotions. When a new friend forces him to read an old letter. He sets off on a journey to find answers from long ago. His journey gathers new friends and healing from old wounds.

Life Project: Decluttering
We have a move coming up. I started the year doing the 30 day #declutterlikeamother challenge with Allie Casazza. It turned into 90 days with 15 trips to the thrift store and 36 grocery bags donated (I didn't even attempt to keep track of trash.) It has been amazing. I don't talk to my stuff like Marie Kondo, but it has clarified what I need and what I don't and will for sure make it easier to move in a couple months.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Easter Events

Easter brings many fun activities in the Santa Barbara and Goleta area! Here is a list of what I could find for you: egg hunts, Easter train, outdoor services and all!

Egg Hunts
Cambridge Drive Community Church, 550 Cambridge Dr, Goleta (10 am the day before Easter)
Elings Park (10 am the day before Easter)
Girsh Park (10am the day before Easter)
La Cumbre Plaza (10am March 31, 2018)
La Mesa Park (9am the day before Easter)

Other Events
Goleta Bunny Express, South Coast Railway Depot (11-4 the day before Easter)
Hoppy Hour Hunt, Paseo Nuevo (Friday March 30, 4-6)
Easter Bunny Visit, The Stationary Collection, 1470 E Valley Rd. Montecito (12-1 March 31, 2018)
Tenebrae Service, Multichurch Service at Living Faith Church 4597 Hollister Ave (7pm Friday before Easter)

Outdoor Church Services
Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens (Easter morning 9 am)
Reality Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara High School, 700 E Anapamu (indoors, but has Easter activities, Easter morning 9 and 11)
Santa Barbara Community Church, Santa Barbara City College (Easter morning, 9:30 am)

Please message or comment other activities you find!

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Kid's World Updated

Kid's World at Alameda Park got a facelift! It still had the castle play structure with bridges, slides, tunnels and climbing areas. They kept the over all feel of the orginal park but replaced wood and repainted where needed. They also added gates to get in and out as well as making the slats in the wood fencing closer together (no escaping kids--yay!). They also replaced wood chips and added rubber mats under walking areas and swings (tire, toddler and regular).

Directions: Take 101 to Mission and turn towards the mountains. Turn right onto Anacapa St, then a left onto Micheltorena St. Find Parking on the street.

Pros
The structure is huge and has a great variety of equiptment.
There are areas for the little kids and older kids.
There are bathrooms nearby.

Cons
You will lose signt of your kids. It is inevitable.
The younger kids will want to go in the big kid area and the structure is a large place to follow a kid.
Street parking can be hard to find.