Tag: Ocean

Carpinteria State Beach, California

Big E and little g examining anemones.
Our family vacation this summer was a week long camping trip to Carpinteria State Beach in Southern California. With the gentle surf and long stretches of sandy shore, it was easy to see why Carpinteria has a reputation for one of the best family beaches in the nation. The tots were thrilled not only with the ocean, but all the wildlife they saw as well. 
Not only is this giant starfish doing some amazing acrobatics, it’s in the process of eating a mussel.
As a Mountain Mom, the ocean is an unfamiliar place to me, exotic and powerful. In previous trips to the sea I had never explored tide pools; I hadn’t even realized that was something I could do. But on this trip to Carpinteria State Beach, observing the amazing sea life was the highlight of the vacation. 

Watch those toes!
A few days before our trip, I took the tots to The Living Planet Aquarium and got a preview of what to expect. At Carpinteria we saw hermit crabs, sand crabs, star fish, brittle stars, anemones, sea slugs and sea snails in person. It was awesome. 
The starfish were plentiful, and beautiful.
Tide pools are explorable only during low tides, which happen first thing in the morning. The gentle rhythm of the waves and the diversity of sea life helped wake up me and the tots, not to mention the cool waters soaking our feet. Big E and little g loved seeing all the cool creatures, except for the sea anemones, which would curl into themselves if the tots touched them. When they were done watching creatures they enjoyed climbing on rocks and digging in the wet sand, even in the early morning hours. 
I’m not sure what this was, but it looked cool.
The whole family enjoyed exploring the tide pool creatures at Carpinteria State Beach. If you’re headed to the ocean this summer, you don’t want to miss the tide pools.
I love that Mountain Dad is wearing a flannel shirt and fleece vest at the beach. 

The Living Planet Aquarium, Sandy, Utah

Happy World Oceans Day! 

The official World Oceans Day was Saturday, June 8, 2013, so the tots and I (and their cousin) celebrated with a trip to The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, Utah.

The Living Planet Aquarium is an awesome excursion for kids. They have lots of great animals including penguins, otters, sharks, sea turtles, sting rays, jelly fish, sea horses, an electric eel, giant octopus and an eight foot long anaconda. One of the prettiest fish we saw was this Lion Fish, fully arrayed with all his feathery fins.

A big attraction at The Living Planet Aquarium is their touch pool.  One of the dreams of my life was fulfilled at the aquarium when I was able to pet a sting ray.  It was sooooo cool.

In addition to petting a sting ray, the tots and I got to touch a star fish, sea urchin and small reef shark, although Big E was reluctant and mostly just watched.

After the touch pool, our favorite exhibit was Animal Superheroes! where each animal got to show off their super powers, comic book style.  We saw transparent fish, glow in the dark scorpions,  a heat sensing snake and cameoflauge flat fish. The information on all the animals was designed with excitement and I was very impressed with the whole display.

Now, if you’re planning a trip to The Living Planet Aquarium, be aware that they are moving this fall to a new location. The current location in Sandy, Utah closes in September 2013 and the new location at 12033 S Lone Peak Parkway in Draper, Utah is set to open in December 2013. 
If you have a chance to get to the aquarium before then I highly suggest it. The tots were thoroughly entertained the entire time and I really enjoyed it as well.  

Seashore Babies

My family had a big reunion at Laguna Beach, CA. First you must know that I came from a large family which has grown exponentially. Little g is less than a year old and is one of four babies born in the last 10 months. With such a large group it’s no surprise that there’s a lot of cousins.

We loved our trip! Mountain Dad loved body surfing, swimming and body boarding. Big E loved cousins and digging in the sand. Little g loved grandma, and trying to eat the sand which Mountain Mom did NOT like. Overall we loved the sand, sun and family. Can’t wait till next year! Continue reading “Seashore Babies”