Tag: Beach

My Best Outdoor Moments of 2014

This year I snowboarded with Olympians, saw the eighth wonder of the world and fulfilled my lifelong wish of seeing a bear in the wild. Our mountain family has done numerous camp outs, hikes, bikerides and other adventures. We’re looking forward to our next adventurer joining our family in March of next year but before we say goodbye to 2014 I wanted to look back at a few of my favorite things. What were your best outdoor moments of the year?

Last winter I loved hitting the slopes with Team Utah Snowboarding and Sundance Resort. Meeting the amazing athletes on the adaptive snowboarding team, as well as the hard core racers on Team Utah’s Boardercross crew inspired me to compete in my first ever banked slalom snowboarding race. It’s great to try new things!

Motherhood had some emotional ups and downs this year as Big E started kindergarten and I found out I was expecting again. Surprise!

Our favorite vacations this year were seeing the jaw dropping wall of dinosaur fossils at Dinosaur National Park, RZRing in Moab, Beach camping in Carpinteria and a couples’ trip to the great state of Alaska. There’s nothing like taking the tots to wild spaces to enjoy all the variety the world has to offer.

As 2014 comes to a close it’s nice to look back and realize that I have spent my time in a way that is important to me. With my family. In the outdoors.

What were your best outdoor moments of the year?

5 Activities for Kids on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Over the Thanksgiving Break the whole mountain family drove out to Bainbridge Island, Washington. While there we got to experience a full day of heavy downpour, freezing temperatures and snow. But even with the less than ideal weather we had a great time. It’s always good to visit the ocean.Here are five fun things to do with your tots on Bainbridge Island.

1 – Take the Ferry
The trip started off with the ferry ride from Seattle where little g asked “Are there real fairies on board?” Sorry honey, not that kind of fairy. Walkers, bikes and cars all get on the boat for a 35 minute cruise across the water. My tots loved it except for the wind.

2 – Go Shopping
Bainbridge Island’s main drag is full of boutiques and restaurants. It’d be a great day trip from Seattle for a little adult shopping, but the nearby Calico Cat Toys had a great selection of kid toys and games. With the kids we opted for some ice cream at Mora’s  where we enjoyed great flavors like blackberry and lemon bar. Frog sculptures around the island are fun for kids to find.

3 – Fort Ward Park
Being who I am, I was on the hunt for green space. And for an island they have plenty. Fort Ward Park is right on the coast with a paved hiking, biking trail that borders the rocky beach. Big E and Mountain Dad was in heaven looking for shells and sea glass, even in the breezy weather. Little g on the other hand wanted nothing more than to be held and have a snack.

4 – Lytle Beach
Since I live in landlocked Utah I tried to spend as much time at the beach as I could, even with freezing temperatures. Lytle Beach could also be described as Little Beach, an end of the road strip of rock and sand surrounded by a residential area. On the small section of public access Big E and I found a huge jelly fish, but the cold weather cut our trip short.

5 – KiDiMu
The tots loved the Kids Discovery Museum, and I did too. The upstairs exhibits were my favorite – A giant litebright, puppet theather and adjustable golf ball roller coasters were fun for both adults and kids. On the main floor, imagination abounds with a pirate tree house, kid sized shopping center, doctors office and boat.

Bainbridge Island was a quaint place to visit with lots of fun activities and beautiful forests and beaches. Next time I’ll plan a trip in the summer, but even with bad weather it was a great trip.

I Love the Mountains, I Love the Rolling Hills

In this week of gratitude I would be remiss to ignore the natural beauty of the world. Living in the mountains has been an amazing adventure for the last three years, but the beauty of the mountains would not be as amazing without all the variety in the world. Desert, plains, hills, mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, forest – the options are endless for outdoor exploration. I am especially grateful for this nation’s National Parks and the outdoor opportunities they present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leo Carrillo State Beach, California with MommyHiker.com

The sun, sand and sea are rare for me and my tots. We spend our days in the cool mountains of Utah most of the time, but once a year I find myself craving the sound of waves hitting the beach, salty sea air on my face and a long stretch of sand for me and my kids to play in.

And no summer vacation would be complete without friends to share it with. On this excursion to Leo Carrillo State Beach in California I met up with Jennifer Fontaine, blogger and editor at MommyHiker.com and her lovely daughter, V.  I’m a fan of her blog, a follower of hers on twitter and facebook, but actually meeting face to face – chasing our kids in the water and looking for hermit crabs – helped me realize that all those words on a screen actually came from a human being, a great one at that.

It’s great to get to know the locals whenever you go, but even better when you have something in common. Jennifer’s commitment to having the outdoors part of her family life inspires me to do the same, to take time to explore through the eyes of a child and enjoy what nature has to provide.

And Leo Carrillo State Beach in Southern California has plenty of things to explore. V and Big E hopped from rock to rock chasing seagulls and searching the tide pools for crabs, I watched pelicans soar overhead, while little g contentedly made sand cupcakes. 


Located 28 miles northwest of Santa Monica, Leo Carrillo State Beach is unique with a protected cove toward the north and rocky tide pools that can be explored at almost any time of day (low tide obviously allows for more wildlife). It’s a great family beach and with the Leo Carillo State Beach Campground just a stroll away, it can also be a great place to stay. The parking and campground area is located just under the highway, accessed by a pedestrian tunnel decorated with all sorts of amazing sea life.

My one complaint of Leo Carillo State Beach would be the scarcity of good boogie board space, but with nature you can’t be choosy.

All in all, the beach was great, the sun warm and company stellar. It was so fun to enjoy a day in the sun with MommyHiker.com, I may just need to plan a visit to the ocean more than once a year.

Leo Carrillo State Beach Info
How to get there: Take Hwy 1 in California 28 miles northwest of Santa Monica
Features: Tide Pools, Protected Cove, Beach Combing, Surfing further off shore
Tips: If you want to camp at Leo Carrillo Beach Campground make your reservations early!