Memorial Day Events 2019

Are you looking to honor memorial day with your kids? Santa Barbara does not have very many events, but here are a few:

Monday May 27, 2019

The Goleta Cemetery has a ceremony at 9 am.

Santa Barbara Cemetery has a ceremony at 10 am at 901 Channel Dr with a speaker and a fly-over.

The Carpinteria Valley Cemetery has a ceremony at 10 am at 1501 Cravens Lane.

You can also remember those who has lost their lives defending our country by walking the Eling's Park Veterans Memorial Walk. There are plaques for the different wars and those from Santa Barbara County who lost their lives.

Museum Quest 2019

This blog started 4 years ago today! I know a few of you have been wondering what the 2019 quest is and it is Museums! We have so many great outdoor locations we have covered and this quest takes us indoors.

This year's quest has been one that as a former teacher I have wanted to do for years, but didn't feel that my kids ages would work for it.  I start this quest with some question as to how it will work for my kids, but we are up for a challenge. Some of these are places we go often and have memberships for but many places are new to us. My goal is to visit some new places and share about others. We won't make it to all the ones on the list, but we will share what we do find.

I have included a list of resources where we found these at the bottom. As I get more information, it may not be practical to get to some of them because of time or cost.

Main Museums
MOXI Museum of Exploration and Innovation
Old Mission Santa Barbara
Rancho La Patera & Stow House
Santa Barbara Carriage and Western Arts Museum
Santa Barbara Historical Museum (El Presidio)
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Barbara Sea Center
South Coast Railroad Museum

Lesser Known in Santa Barbara
Ablitt House
Bellosguardo Estate
Casa del Herrero
Casa Dolores
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
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

Farther Away

Carpinteria Valley Museum of History
Elveroj Museum of History and Art
Guadelupe-Nipomo Dunes Center
Guadelupe Cultural Arts Center
La Purissima Mission
Neal Taylor Nature Center (Lake Cachuma)
Santa Maria Discovery Museum
Santa Maria Museum of Flight
Santa Maria Valley Historical Railway Museum
Wilding Art Museum

https://santabarbaraca.com/plan-your-trip/arts-and-culture/museums/

https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=museums&find_loc=Santa+Barbara%2C+CA

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g33045-Activities-c49-Santa_Barbara_California.html

https://www.10best.com/destinations/california/santa-barbara/attractions/museums/

http://www.sbac.ca.gov/museums/

Goleta Mom Give Away

In anticipation of the 2019 Quest (keep your eyes open--it's coming soon), we have a giveaway!!

We have family passes for the Maritime Museum, the Art Museum and the Natural History Museum. To be eligible to win a pass, do one of the actions below (or double your chances by doing both!):

1. Like Goleta Mom on Facebook. Write an honest review of Goleta Mom on the page (Click Reviews > Click an answer to 'do you recommend Goleta Mom' > write a review). When you're done (follow+review), be sure to comment "done" on the Facebook post to be eligible!

2. Follow Goleta Mom on Instagram. Share a screen shot of your favorite blog post, tag @GoletaMom and comment how you use the Goleta Mom site. When you're done (follow+screenshot), be sure to comment "done" on the Instagram post to be eligible!

Those of you who have already written a review of Goleta Mom on Facebook are already eligible!

I will use the random number generator at Random Name Picker to choose the winners on or after June 3rd!

Top 15 Posts So Far

I was wondering recently which posts are the most read on the blog and (not surprisingly) that data is tracked in the blogger platform. Here are the top fifteen posts of the past (almost) 4 years. These posts all have hundreds of reads--amazing!
Note: I took out the time sensitive posts like Easter Events 2018, Kid Friendly Fiesta Events 2018 and Patriotic Events 2018.

1. Birthday Freebies

2. Parks with Baby Swings

3. Summer 2018 Quest (Easy Day Trips)

4. Santa Barbara Blueberries

5. Parks with 2-5 Play Structures

6. Parks with Bathrooms

7. Extensive List of Santa Barbara Area Parks (Part of Summer 2015 Quest)

8. Nojoqui Falls

9. Kid Friendly Hikes and Nature Walks (Summer 2017 Quest)

10. Where to Go First

11. Parks for Siblings

12. Toddler Friendly Parks

13. Tierra de Fortuna Park

14. Sunnyfields Park (Solvang)

15. Bella Vista Open Space

Vacation Bible School 2019

Vacation Bible School is one of my kids favorite weeks each summer! A friend suggested I compile a list as a blog post, so here's for you Marissa! 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! (I will add Trinity Lutheran and Living Faith when I see the info come out.)

June
June 10-14 9am-12pm  Calvary Chapel SB at 1 N Calle Cesar Chavez #21
Phone: 805-730-1400 Ages: 4 years to 6th grade  Price: $75 for the week  Register at:
https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/231532

June 10-14 8:30-12 CEF Adventure Club at various trails in Santa Barbara
Ages: 5th and 6th grade Price: Free Register at:
http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

June 24-28 8:45-12 Montecito Covenant Church 671 Cold Spring Rd, Montecito
Phone: (805) 969-0373   Ages: K -6th grade Price: $45/$55 per child Register at:
http://www.mcchurch.org/noahs/

June 24-28 9am-12pm CEF Soccer Camp Hope School 3970 La Colina Rd
Ages: 1st-6th grade Price: Free Register at:
http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

July
July 8-12 CEF Lego Camp 9am-12pm CEF Soccer Camp at Calvary Baptist 736 W Islay St
Ages: 1st-6th grade Price: Free Register at:

http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

July 22-26 at East Beach (through Ocean Hills Covenant)
Ages: K-4 Price: $100/$150 Register at:
https://oceanhills.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/142/responses/new

July 22-July 26 9am-12pm CEF  Drawing Club Westside Boys and Girls Club 602 W Anapamu St, Ages: 1st-6th grade Free Register at: 

http://cefsantabarbara.org/programs/5-day-clubs/

July 29-August 2 9am-1pm Coastline Christian Academy 5950 Cathedral Oaks Road
Phone: (805) 967-5834 Ages: k-6th grade Price $75
https://www.coastlinechristianacademy.com/vbs2019

August
August 5-9 9am-3pm at La Mesa Park (through Calvary Chapel SB) Phone: 805-730-1400
Ages: 1st through 6th grade Price: $175 Register at:
https://calvarysb.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/231530

I am sure I missed something so feel free to comment below or message me through Facebook at www.facebook.com/goletamom.

Jonny Wallis Park

Wallis Park is the area's newest park and opened March 2019. It has so much variety and will be great for kids of all ages. The park has an adult exercise area, a bocce ball court, handball court, pickle ball, ping pong table, chess board on some picnic tables, basketball court as well a multi-hoop play area, tennis court, and shaded picnic tables. The kid area has a skate park as well as 2 play structures, a merry-go-round/climbing sphere, a double teeter-totter and swings (2 kid, 1 toddler and 1 accessible swing).  A 2-5 play structure has a straight double slide, tunnel, log steps, a climbing ladder and wood balance beam, tic-tac-toe and a hand spin toy. The 5-12 play structure has a climbing tree and logs, twisty and curved slides, climbing pole and ladder, as well as a bridge

Pros
There is so much to do that every kid will find something they like.

This one isn't just for the kids. There are lots of activities for adults too. 

Bathrooms are near the playground and very clean.
There are nice shaded tables near the playground.

Cons
If you bring a lot of children, or they are "runners," this park will be hard.
There is a small parking lot, but street parking is extremely limited.

It is still new, so it is very crowded at the moment. 

Merry-Go-Round/Climbing Sphere

5-12 Play Structure (Front)

5-12 Play Structure (Side) 

5-12 Play Structure (Back)

2-5- Play Structure (Front)

2-5 Play Structure (Back)

5-12 Play Structure (Other Side)

Shaded Picnic Tables

Balance Beam

Swings

Teeter-Totter

Multi-hoop Game

Tennis Court

Adult Exercise Area

Walking Paths

Soccer Field

Ping Pong Table

Piñate Holders

Skate Park

Skate Park Rules

Easter Activities 2019

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 for 2019!

Egg Hunts

Calle Real Shopping Center Saturday April 20 10am-12pm
Cambridge Drive Community Church, 550 Cambridge Dr, Goleta Saturday 4/20 10am
Elings Park Saturday 4/20 9am
Girsh Park Saturday April 20 10am
Goleta Valley Church Saturday April 13 10:30am-12:30pm

La Cumbre Plaza Saturday April 20 10am
La Mesa Park (sponsored by Free Methodist Church) Saturday April 20 9am-11am

Other Events
Goleta Bunny Express, South Coast Railway Depot Saturday April 20 11am-4pm t

Montecito Country Mart Saturday April 20 12pm-3pm
Tenebrae Service, Multichurch Service at Living Faith Church 4597 Hollister Ave April 19 7pm 

(Paseo Nuevo had a Hoppy Hour Hunt the Friday 4-6pm before Easter last year, but I can't find it for this year.)

Outdoor Church Services
Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens Sunday April 21 9:30 am
Free Methodist Church, Sunrise Service at Ledbetter Picnic area Sunday APril 21 6am
Santa Barbara Community Church, Santa Barbara City College (Easter morning, 9:30 am)

Church Services with Easter Events
Community Coveneant Church of Goleta, 5070 Cathedral Oaks Rd 10am service and egg hunt
OceanHills, Santa Barbara Junior High 9am/11am with a "big party" between services

Reality Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara High School, 700 E Anapamu  Easter activities 9am and 11am

Please message or comment other activities you find!