Tag: California

Fun in the Sun and Trying New Things, Carpinteria State Beach, California

 

What I love most about traveling is experiencing the newness of it. Vacations are powerful parts of life because we get out of our everyday stresses and routines and open ourselves up to experiencing life a little differently.


 
My kids may get to learn and grow in new ways daily but for me, it takes breaking free from the daily pressures of life to try new things. On our beach trip to California, while the Big E and little g dug, swam, splashed and ran I tried a few new things of my own.

Now, it’s not as if I’ve never boogie boarded before, but since I live in the mountains and not the beach, the times I’ve gone have been few and far between. THIS trip to Carpinteria State Beach in California offered me a chance to put my rusty skills to the test. I caught wave after wave on my little piece of foam and each time I felt the thrill of slightly controlled speed.

 
That thrill of riding the edge of speed and danger is the same feeling I get snowboarding, the feeling that I’m truly alive for that short moment. Joy complete with happy smiling and shouts of glee accompany me in those moments. That is why I choose to be a Mountain Mom. To combine this joy with the joy my kids have given me. I hope you all enjoy it too.

 
More Posts:
 
 
Carpinteria State Beach from 2013. This one too.
 

Beach vs Mountains: Carpinteria State Beach Campground Review, California

I love the mountains, except for one thing – the ocean is a day’s car ride away! Because it’s so far, when we go to the beach, we stay at the beach. That’s what I like about Carpinteria State Beach in Southern California. There’s not many places were you can sleep so close to the big ocean blue. 

Even with 200 sites, Carpinteria State Beach Campground is busy place. Reservations are snatched up the moment they become available (six months in advance) so make sure you’re on the ReserveAmerica website early if you want a spot. Plus, it’s not cheap. An individual site runs 45.00 a night minimum, not counting hookups, extra parking or tax. 

With that said, Carpinteria State Beach Campground is one of the best places around for family beach camping. The mile long beach is sandy and beautiful, with a smooth, consistent break that’s great for boogie boarding. Plus the morning tide pools are amazing (more on that in my next post). When you’ve had enough sun for the day, kids can bike around the campground road and along the nearby community trail to the park’s playground. 

On our trip we stayed with Mountain Dad’s sister and several family friends at the Heron Group site, located next to the showers and with easy access to HWY 101 and the Carpinteria community. The flush bathrooms and showers were cleaned regularly, although with hundreds of people using them daily it was hard to tell at times. 
One word to the wise – lock up your food. Raccoons, seagulls, chipmunks, birds, and many other critters are fearless when it comes to raiding your cooler. We had a raccoon devour all the eggs from one cooler, leave muddy paw prints in another and while cleaning up the mess a seagull came and stole a string cheese right out from under us. 

The views from other beaches may be prettier (I’m not a huge fan of oil rigs in the distance, but I am a fan of driving so I guess I can’t complain too much) but Carpinteria State Beach Campground is still worth a stay. Even our mountain family had a blast.
Carpinteria State Beach Campground Info
Location: 12 miles south of Santa Barbara on US 101 take the Casitas Pass Road exit heading west. Turn right at the light, then left on Palm Avenue. Follow Palm all the way to the ocean.
Price: 45.00 – 290.00 per night depending on individual or group sites. 
Benefits: SO close to the beach, hot showers, flush toilets, picnic table, family friendly and the tidepools are amazing.
Drawbacks: Price, lots of people and fearless scavenging animals
MORE POSTS!
Our stay at Carpinteria State Beach from June 2013. This one too.

Hiking in Hetch Hetchy Valley

Location: Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park, CA
Destination: Wapama Falls
Date: May 2011
While going through photos for our 2011 photo album I found these gems.  More than any others these remind me of what it is like to hike with a two year old.  In the first photo Mountain Dad is wearing the hiking pack that we assumed Big E would ride in.  Big E vociferously refused complete with weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth.  Once we actually got on the trail Big E would run full speed toward the 15 foot cliff that ended in the lake so one of us was constantly sprinting after him.
When Big E wasn’t trying out for the Olympics in the 50 meter sprint he was examining plants, rocks, flowers and bugs with an enviable intensity.  Unfortunately for our forward progress he wanted to examine every plant, every rock, every flower and every bug we came across.  Our two speeds were full steam ahead or full stop.

 

You know the hike is in trouble when one of the members of the party sprawls on the ground and refuses to move forward at all.  This is where we decided to turn around.  We had been on the trail for an hour and gotten 500 feet or so.  My expectations had to be severely altered, even though I had gone into the hike not expecting much.  Looking back it was a fun experience but in the moment it was frustrating.  You know it’s bad when you feel like yelling at your toddler on a day that is supposed to just be fun.