Beach town parks without ocean views
A tiny hike that works rain or shine
Thank you for being here! Don’t you love these visits where we can focus on play and outdoor fun for just a moment? Our kids need this, no matter what is happening in the world. They need play — and it’s okay for us to step away and stay in the moment with them.
I hope this helps us find a little dose of joy (tough right now) to handle everything else coming at us! I see the grief, depression, frustration, activism, news impacts, holiday rush, sick days, and family stuff. It’s a lot. I hope you reach out if you are hurting. You are not alone. Sending sincere hugs your way.
THANKSGIVING WEEK SCHEDULE: Next week’s email will come out on Wednesday instead of Thursday to give you time to take a new Tiny Hike with your family or out-of-town guests!
I cannot tell you how many times I had to re-visit this park to get this update to you! I never want to disturb any play going on and respect your privacy by capturing playground photos WITHOUT the kids (so I strive to visit early before you show up). This is a neighborhood park, so it seemed there was always at least one family playing! On other occasions, the neighborhood streets were completely jammed with construction vehicles on a HUGE re-paving project and, of course, the street was even roped off at the park site on of the times. I prevailed, though! After 4 or 5 trips (I kid you not!). The thing that kept me going was that I know Sea Canyon Park is worth it — and there is a great story of Girl Scouts approaching the city to make a difference in their community with suggestions for improving the toddler play area.
Then, this park is a NEW one to the blog. It used to be called Boat Canyon Park at Riddle Field. This one brought me down a really fun path looking up some history of Laguna Beach locals which I put into the blog post. It’s now called Riddle Field Park and it has a baseball theme. Read my blog post where I talk about the local history and what makes Take Me Out the Ball Game notable for Laguna Beach.
Breakfast + Park Play Trips
I also am still putting together my Breakfast + Park Play Trips on Instagram. Here is a list of ones I’ve featured so far:
Huntington Beach: Pattinson Park + The Local Nod Cafe
Aliso Viejo: Acorn Park + CHUPONcito (or I heard that Acorn Park is undergoing renovations so try Ridgecrest Park or Aliso Viejo Community Park)
Newport Beach: Uptown Park + Moulin on Bristol
San Juan Capistrano: Breezy (order online for takeout) + Los Rios Park breakfast picnic (coming tomorrow on Instagram, but you get to hear about it first since you are a subscriber!). I’m obsessed with the Longanisa Breakfast Bowl and my daughter likes the Eazy Breezy with an Ube pancake. It is tough to find a table because the restaurant is small with long waits, so I highly suggest getting it to-go and enjoying at the park!
Holiday Lights on at Dana Point Harbor
Shine Illumination has done it again! The lights at the Harbor went on November 15th. I wrote all about it in my blog post.
Thanksgiving Buffets
And this is my last week to share Thanksgiving restaurant options. Thanks for sharing your ideas! I think I included them all.
Tiny Hike Teaser: This week’s hike takes us to a paved path near the ocean with views for the ENTIRE tiny hike! This one has probably been hardest to keep a mystery because every photo I took felt iconic, but if you’ve been before I think I might have some surprises that you may have never noticed once you dig into the trail guide.
To get the trail guide just beyond the paywall below, you must become a paying subscriber. I was going to raise the annual rate on November 10th, but decided to extend the 35% off special through the end of the year. So you can subscribe for $5/month or $39/year until December 31, 2023. It basically comes out to around $1 per trail guide or less! And it gets delivered to your inbox each week!
What New Paying Subscribers Are Saying:
"We watch our 3 year old granddaughter and like to take her to new and fun places. Looking forward to your mini hikes!"
"I love your blog posts and all the detailed information you provide for your readers. Thank you!"
"I am a Gramma looking for outdoors adventures with our granddaughter."