Tide Pooling

Carpinteria State Beach

Tide pooling is a fun thing to do as a family appropriately distanced from others at this point. We normally camp at Carpinteria State Beach over spring break and this year we couldn't, so I promised the girls tide pooling soon.

To go tide pooling well, check the tide charts first. You want a low tide with the lowest possible number (negative is best) as well as the right time of day and weather. Wear sturdy shoes that can get wet. Touch gently with caution. We sometimes bring a bucket for things we catch or a toy sifter. We friend-sourced to get this list and looked at Yelp, Trip Advisor, and the Independent. If you have an iPhone, I found an app called California Tidepools that can make your trip more educational (a viewer says it is not currently available, but hopefully it will be back soon!). The King Tides website will let you know when there are exteremely low and high tides. (You can subscribe to their emails too!)

1. Coal Oil Point was the biggest suggestion and one we have been meaning to check out. It is located next to the Devereux Slough between Sands Beach or Devereux Beach. )

Coal Oil Point

We park at the corner of Camino Majorca and Del Playa, then walk straight down the path (directly off the end of the road) down the steps to the Devereux Beach. The best tide pools are closer to the point. Alternately you can go right on the path and head to the end at Devereux or Sands Beach. Coal Oil Point is to the right. (It also says clothing optional to the left for your planning information.)

As a former science teacher, I got lost in all the info for the Devereux Slough. There is a virtual tour. And a videographer that has created videos on the Devereux Slough or the Snowy Plover.

2. Tar Pits Beach is a spot near our spring break camping. Tarpits Beach is an interesting spot with huge rocks of asphalt that seep naturally out of the ground and the low tides uncover great nooks and crannies what sea life sits. I blogged about it here.

Take the 101S to the Casitas Pass exit (86A). Turn right onto Casitas Pass Rd and then left onto Carpinteria Ave. Turn right onto Arbol Verde St. Then immediately right onto Concha Loma Dr. Then a gentle left onto Calle Ocho. Follow Calle Ocho until it dead ends at the railroad tracks. You will have to cross the railroad tracks to get to the beach. Be careful crossing the tracks of course.

3. Campus Point has simple parking but it does cost.

4. Rincon Beach

5. Leadbetter Beach is accessible with plenty of parking we have reviewed it as a beach, but never gone tidepooling there.

Leadbetter Beach

We will add more details as we go but here are the top 5 according to our sources. Did we miss one? Where is your favorite tide pooling spot?

Nature Walks

San Marcos Preserve March 2020

In this strange season where we can't be within 6 feet of one another and all museums and playgrounds are closed, I still need to get outside with my kids. We had a summer where we hiked and walked nature trails. You can visit those posts for more thoughts but here were our favorite nature walks!

Santa Barbara
* Douglas Preserve
* Elings Park -- Sierra Club Trail
* Moore Mesa
Rocky Nook Park
Stevens Park

Goleta
* Ellwood Butterfly Preserve/Bluffs
* Lake Los Carneros

Noleta
Knapp's Castle
San Antonio Creek Trail
* San Marcos Preserve
Tucker's Grove Trails

SB County
Arroyo Hondo Preserve
Carpinteria Salt Marsh Preserve
* Carpinteria Bluff Nature Preserve
Nojoqui Falls

* Our Favorites

Related Posts: 

Nature Walks and Kid-Friendly Hikes

Summer of the Hikes and Nature Walks

Visiting Zion, Bryce and North Rim Grand Canyon with Kids

The summer of 2016 we took a road trip with the kids who were not quite 3 and 6 years old. It was adventurous and we definitely had some lows, but I am glad we went. My only regret is not getting longer at these amazing parks.

It was 9 days total with 1-1.5 days at each park. The longest driving day was 6 hours which worked with lots of audio books. If I did it again, I would want 2-3 days in each park (maybe more for Zion).
Lodging plan was 1 night in Las Vegas, 2 nights in Panguitch outside Bryce, 2 nights in Kenab outside Zion, 2 nights in Freedonia (which was not as close to the north rim as I would have liked) and 1 in Barstow.

This was our itinerary.

Day 1: Drive to Las Vegas (about 6 hours) If you leave early enough, you get some exploring time around the city. We just wandered Caeser's Place, the Venetian and the Belagio. There are so manu options for kids that we found, but here are some of the cheaper ones and ones outside of the main choices.
* M&M Store 9AM-12AM
* The Chocolate Factory 8 AM- 8PM
* Fall of Atlantis at Caeaser's Palace has a free 11 minute show on the hour from 11AM-10PM
* Explore the Street Scene of the Grand Canal Shops in the Venetian. You can even include a gondola ride!
* Belagio Gardens were free and the fountains of Belagio had a free show.
* The volcano at the Mirage starting at 6 on the hour.
* Children's Park at LV Town Square Maze, Tree House Sprinklers 10AM-10PM
* Aquarium at Mandalay Bay 10AM-10PM (8 Sun) $22/$15/Free
* Las Vegas Natural History Museum (Reciprocal agreement with the SBMNH!) $12/$6/Free 9AM-4PM
*  Nevada State Railroad Museum $10/$5/Free 9-3:30 7 mile train ride

Day 2: Additional Time in Las Vegas and drive to Panguitch, UT (3.5 hours)
We stayed at a great Air BNB because of the ages of our kids.

Day 3: Bryce Canyon (35 minutes)
We were less adventurous here than later in the trip because we were uncertain how the kid would do.
* Drive the Scenic Byway. There are many looks out worth getting out of your car.
* Hike the Navajo Loop trail (1.3 miles) or Queen's Garden Trail (1.8 miles). I can't remember which one we did.
* Visit Mossy Cave (less than 1 mile).

If we had been there longer (or with older kids), we would have added the Rim Trail (5.5 mile) and Bristlecone Loop (1 mile) as well as a ranger talk.

Day 4: Additional Time in Bryce and drive to Kanab (1:15)
For the middle part of the trip, we chose a more expensive place with a pool!

Day 5: Zion (35 minutes)
* Drive through the tunnel!
* Walk to Emerald Pools (1.2 mile) to see the pools and waterfall.
* Hike to Weeping Rock (.5 miles) which has a view of the waterfall and the canyon.
* Walk the Temple of Sinawava trail (1mile hike all paved) We ended up hiking some of the Narrows and then wading in the river.
* Complete the junior ranger program.

If we had stayed longer or with older kids, I would have added Pa’rus Trail to Canyon Junction (3.4 miles) and spent more time in the visitor center as well as doing more ranger talks. The rangers here were engaging!

Day 6: Additional Time in Zion and drive to Fredonia (20 minutes)
This was not close enough to the North Rim, but we stayed on the quirkiest little farm run by sisters. My youngest got chased by a turkey larger than she was, adding to the family lore.

Day 7: North Rim of the Grand Canyon (1:45)
It is especially easy to choose short trails here that are the right length for kids. However, this was the only time I was worried about safety. The 3 year old stayed in a carrier and the 6 year old held a hand basically the whole time.
* Walk to Bright Angel Point (.5 mile).
* Hike Cliff Springs Trail (1 mile), a nice wooded trail past a spring.
* Walk the Cape Royale Trail (.6 miles), an easy paved hike with great views.
* Walk to Roosevelt Point  (.2 miles), a ver short path with wooded trails.

If we had stayed longer, we would have checked out the Grand Canyon CookOut Experience. I do feel like we did all that worked for our aged kids in one day.

Day 8: Drive Freedonia to Barstow (5:15) 

Day 9: Drive Barstow to Santa Barbara (3:30)

Resources:
National Parks with Kids https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047018406X/
Las Vegas: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/awesome-things-to-do-with-your-kids-in-las-vegas#.kfmENzKVz
Bryce: http://www.activekids.com/camping/articles/plan-a-kid-friendly-trip-to-bryce-canyon-national-park
Zion: http://tipsforfamilytrips.com/national-parks/zion-national-park/
North Rim: http://www.zionnational-park.com/gkids.htm

Glacier National Park with Kids

We visited Glacier National Park on our 2019 trip along with Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. If you drive from Santa Barbara, you would drive from Yellowstone to Glacier (about 6.5 hours). Since we flew in to Bozeman, we started at Yellowstone and drove to Glacier from Grand Teton which made the trip 9 hours. We stayed in Timber Wolf Lodge in Hungry Horse through Air BNB (I was wary of camping in a place where is can snow in August). After 4 days in the park, we drove back to Bozeman (5 hours) and flew back to Santa Barbara. If you choose to drive, it is around 20 hours driving back to Santa Barbara. See my Yellowstone post for more information on the flying plan and the Grand Teton post for more information on the driving plan.

These people had the same overall plan.

Day 1: After entering the West Glacier entrance, we enjoyed the Apgar Visitors Center as well as the Apgar Nature Center where most of the ranger talks happen. We walked along Lake McDonald toward Fish Creek and circled back to the Visitor Center. We also drove the Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier along Lake McDonald (there are also some short trails near John's Lake). (It was raining this day so we didn't attempt more.)

Day 2: We drove the Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier to walk the Trail of the Cedars (.8 miles) then continued up the road taking in the lookouts and the Weeping Wall to Logan Pass where we hiked to the Hidden Lake Trail (about 5.5 miles), seeing mountain goats (but not big horned sheep). It is quite a hike (1300 foot elevation gain with many steps), but we did it with some complaining (ages 6 and 9).

Trail of the Cedars

Hidden Lake

Going to the Sun Road

Day 3: We drove the Going to the Sun Road from West Glacier heading to all the way to the St. Mary's Visitor Center. We stopped for both the Sun Point Nature Trail and the trail to St. Mary's Falls. We got thoroughly drenched in a rainstorm on the second trail, but saw a moose swimming. Rather than return the way we came, we drove on the perimeter of the park (89/49/2) through the Flathead National Forest. We got our closest view of a bear here!

St Mary's Falls

Day 4: After completing the junior ranger requirements and getting the Scout badge (see National Park comments), we headed back to the Trail of the Cedars which is also the starting point for the trail to Avalanche Lake (4.5 miles) where the kids waded and we wished we had picnicked. 

Avalanche Lake

 Glacier National Park is huge and the different entrances lead to more remote parts. We stuck to the main parts near the Going to the Sun Road because those are the parts written about most. 

Other Glacier ideas: The Going to the Sun Road: Lake McDonald Lodge and boating, Beaver Pond Trail 3.4, West John’s Lake Loop 2.4m; Medicine Valley: Running Eagle Falls .6m, Appistoki Falls 1.2m; Many Glacier: Swift Current Nature Trail 2m, Apikuni Falls 2.5 m; Waterton Lakes: Blakiston Falls 1.6m, Rainbow Falls 1.4m, Cameron Lake 2.2m

Resources:
National Parks with Kids https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047018406X/
https://www.dqtravel.net/glacier-national-park-with-kids/
https://www.letstravelfamily.com/things-to-do-in-glacier-national-park-with-kids/

https://www.crazyfamilyadventure.com/things-to-do-in-glacier-national-park/

Fall Snapshot 2019

It's time for my seasonal check in!

Life Hack: Canva is a great way to design your own morning and evening routine lists for kids!

New Product I Love: Turkey Stuffing Kettle Chips I wasn't convinced when I saw these that stuffing spice goes with kettle chips, but they are delicious. I even topped my green bean casserole with them (they are gluten free!).

Last Book I Finished: Atomic Habits by James Clear 
James Clear had a life altering injury in high school. Rather than let it limit his prospects, he battled hard to return to baseball and the classroom. He credits the habits he learned for working back to health. Now he makes the study of habit his life work with a weekly email list to thousands! He refers back to pivotal books like the Power of Habit and gives ideas for how to implement the key thoughts in them. The atomic refers to how a small change daily can add up to a huge difference in the long run (not the explosive atomic idea that I was thinking). This is a practical book for how to make small improvements for life.

Life Project: Blog Series on National Parks and fine tuning my morning routine. 

Related Links:

Fall 2020 Snapshot

Summer 2020 Snapshot

Spring 2020 Snapshot

Winter 2020 Snapshot

Fall 2019 Snapshot

Summer 2019 Snapshot

Winter 2019 Snapshot

Fall 2018 Snapshot

Spring 2018 Snapshot

40 Year Bucket List

Grand Teton with Kids

Another park worth visiting with kids is Grand Teton National Park (original post on visiting national parks). It is always mentioned in connection with neighbor, Yellowstone National Park (my post here). If you drive from Santa Barbara, you would probably want to start here. Here were my driving directions for our 2019 trip. We decided to fly after looking at the drive time (22 hours from Glacier NP to Santa Barbara!), but even though we ended up flying, I still made a plan). 

Drive Option
Day 1 Drive to St George, UT 8.5 hours
Day 2 Jackson, WY 8.5 hours
Day 3 Grand Tetons
Day 4 Grand Tetons
Day 5 Grand Tetons
Day 6 Drive to Yellowstone 1.5-3 hours
Day 7 Yellowstone
Day 8 Yellowstone
Day 9 Yellowstone
Day 10 Drive to Glacier 9 hours
Day 11 Glacier
Day 12 Glacier
Day 13 Glacier
Day 14 Drive to Idaho Falls, ID 8 hours
Day 15 Visit with family in Idaho Falls
Day 16 Drive to San Francisco 13 hours
Day 17 San Francisco
Day 18 Drive to SB 7 hours

This was our plan from Yellowstone: 
Day 1: Drive to Grand Tetons from Yellowstone (about 3 hours) and set up camp in the tent cabin at  Colter Bay Campground. This included the views from North Tetons Rockefeller Memorial Parkway.

Tent Cabin at Colter Bay (from website)

Day 2: Visit Colter Bay Visitor Center and walk the Lakeshore Trail. Rent a boat and explore the lake. 

Lakeshore Trail

Day 3: Hike trail to Hidden Falls (1.3mi) at Jenny Lake and take the boat back to the Jenny Lake Visitor Center. View the Teton Glacier.

Hidden Falls

Day 4: Drive to Jackson and take a river rafting tour on the Snake River. Walk String Lake to Leigh Lake (2 miles) (some people do swim here). 

Rafting on the Snake River

Day 5: View Oxbow Bend. Drive though Morman Row. Visit Craig Thomas Visitor Center. Drive up Signal Mountain and tour the Rockefeller Preserve (3mi to Phelps Lake). 

Mormon Row

Other Teton ideas: a sunrise or sunset drive on the Antelope Flats Road to see wildlife, go swimming at Slide Lake, visit the town of Moose and its visitor Center, visit Teton Village for the tram and playground, Visit Chapel of Transfiguration, or take a Jackson Lake Boat Tour. 

Resources:
National Parks with Kids https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047018406X/
https://www.crazyfamilyadventure.com/grand-tetons-family-friendly/

https://www.letstravelfamily.com/best-of-the-tetons-top-10-things-to-do-with-kids-in-grand-teton-national-park/

Holiday Events 2019

Westmont Pickle Tree from the Westmont Blog

Santa Barbara Holiday Events

**I begin this holiday season with sadness thinking about the sweet man responsible for the amazing lights show on Ontare, Tom Dalton. He passed away in February and is much missed by many. **

Ongoing:

Other ideas about the Christmas season with kids are in the original post.

Pictures with Santa at La Cumbre Plaza from now until 12/24 (10 or 11am - 7 or 8pm)

Candy Cane Train at the South Coast Railroad Museum Friday, Saturday and Sunday1-4pm  (11/29-12/22) $5 per person

Pictures with Santa at Paseo Nuevo from now until 12/24 (10 or 11am - 7 or 8pm) as well as (fake) snow at 6pm and 7pm.

Snowfall at Paseo Nuevo 6 and 7pm Daily until 12/31

Lane Tree Christmas Lot has tree for sale, but also a corn maze, hayride and farm animals to visit. 9 or 10am - 8pm 11/29 until 12/20.

The Trolley of Lights is already sold out, but you can find space on the Rockstar Trolley or you can make your own tours using these directions.  A house on Carlisle in Goleta have longer light shows with music (tune in on the radio).

By Date: 

Tree Lighting at the Rosewood Miramar Wednesday November 27 5:30

Christmas Pickle Tree Lighting at Westmont College Tuesday December 3rd 5pm

La Arcada Walk Photos with Santa, Christmas goodies and carolers Wednesday December 4th 5-8pm

Downtown Holiday Parade Friday December 6th 6:30-8:30pm

Pancakes, Santa and Reptiles a Fundraiser for the San Marcos Parent Workshop Saturday December 7, 8-11am

Hollister Village Carolers Family friendly activities, balloon art, music and more  Saturday December 7 &14 12-2

Snow Leopard Festival at the Santa Barbara Zoo Sunday December 8 10am-3pm (9am for Members)

Santa Barbara Wharf Parade of Lights Sunday December 8 Snow at 3, Boat race at 5:30pm

Jingle Jam at SBCC hosted by Mission City Church Bounce houses, face painting, dance party and showing a Christmas movie Friday December 13 6:30-8:30pm

Breakfast with Santa at Islands Saturday December 14 9-10

Holiday at the Ranch at Stow House Holiday crafts, caroling, hay rides and tours. Saturday and Sunday December 14&15 11am-4pm $5/$2

Hollister Village Carolers Family friendly activities, balloon art, music and more  Saturday December 7 &14 12-2

Waldorf Winter Faire is free with activities to stimulate your child's imagination Saturday December 14 1-5pm

Old Town Goleta Parade Saturday December 14 6-8pm

Christmas Shorts: A Christmas Party and Puppet Show at Community Covenant Church of Goleta Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15 6-7:30 pm $10/family

Living Nativity at First United Methodist Church December 20, 21 and 22 from 5:30-7:30.

Past events that may happen again: 

Storytime with Santa at Paseo Nuevo Thursday December 13 10:30

Milpas Holiday Parade Saturday December 1, 2018 5:30-8:30

Breakfast with Santa at the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara Saturday December 15 9-11am

Did I miss anything? What are your favorite local holiday traditions?