Oh! The lights and sights you will see
A tiny hike exploring habitats naturally sprinkled with green, red, and white
If you are a new subscriber: WELCOME! And if you’ve been here a while, you know I used to write a simple personal message to connect at the start of these emails followed by some Play Trip ideas. That got a little derailed as I switched over to this new email platform and learned to get the hang of writing the trail guides for paid subscribers each week. I’m bringing it back!
First of all, I want to give a shout out to all of you who are sick or caring for sick kids. From what I hear, it's a pretty nasty stomach flu and also colds of all kinds. Please rest and take care of yourselves. I hope you can get a little sunshine and fresh air once you recover.
I’ve also been thinking of those of you who are having a tough time with the holidays. Whether deeply grieving a family member(s) or struggling with responsibilities and cash flow or not feeling in the mood to celebrate anything, but feeling pressure to do something for your kids. You’re in my thoughts.
I know you are here for the play and parks and family hikes. And I’ll be getting back to the versions of that without holiday lights or Christmas references after today. I feel like you won’t need any more holiday content from me at this point — especially since I will have shared ALL the holiday advice I can think to give about outdoorsy and mostly free things to do in OC in this newsletter.
I hope you aren’t feeling this way, but if you do have any guilt about not doing enough I’m here to tell you that the overwhelm is real and you don’t have to do any of it!
Just remember when you look at that little one sitting at home: THEY don't know what they are missing out on!!! And they will be EQUALLY excited if you grab their hand and take them out in their PJs to see what the moon looks like at night (Did you see it tonight? It’s a little sliver of a new moon!). Memories can be made any time, anywhere.
You ARE doing enough -- and your kids love you no matter what!
Michele
Let me run down some of the holiday play trips you can take when you pair the holiday excursion with some nearby fun! As you know from last week, I have all my holiday stuff in ONE BLOG POST now — and I added A LOT more this week. Use this blog post as a guide to pair with the Play Trip ideas below. And feel free to hit “REPLY” if you have any questions or need suggestions!
We always try to make our nighttime adventures happen EARLY! When scouting things out for you, we arrive at the parks around 3:45pm/4pm. And then play — with time to watch the sunset — long enough for the lights to come on or for the 5pm/5:30pm shows to start. Then we grab dinner on our way home or just eat when we get home. Usually home between 6/6:30pm.
“Candy Cane” Play Trip
Lantern Bay Park (at 4pm for sunset) + Dana Point Holiday Lights + Dana Point Harbor Restaurants - you can bring a dinner picnic to the park or try Happy Hour Menu at 4pm-7pm on the patio at Harpoon Henry’s. There is also hot cocoa, ice cream, or sweet treats at Coffee Importers. The theme for this year’s boat parade of lights was “Candyland” so the candy cane columns fit just perfectly!
Burgers-and-the-Bay Play Trip
Dinner at Islands Restaurant off Bison Ave + (Food Court at Fashion Island & Nights of Coastal Lights Tree Lighting Show with Snowfall) + Newport Dunes Lighting of the Bay - I shared this idea with a mom via DMs on Instagram. I think Islands is one of the most kid-friendly restaurants around and it fit really well with our night visiting Newport Dunes. You can skip Fashion Island if it’s too much. Or you can tack it on at the beginning or end of your evening.
Merry-Go-Round the Holidayz Park Play Trip
Weekend play at the Great Park Playgrounds + Holidayz at the Park + Niko Niko Sushi or another Woodbury Town Center restaurant (CAVA, Chipotle, Chik-Fil-A, First Class Pizza, Panera, Flame Broiler) - Again, you can either grab something-to-go on your way to the park or get it to-go after to enjoy when you get home. Or bring your own picnic to the park.
Tiny Hike Teaser: I encounter OC families all the time who do not know about this place and are missing out on the feeling you get once you enter the trails here! This place has everything you could want in a nature encounter — from a scavenger hunt to a trail map to learning opportunities about indigenous tribes. Or you can skip all that and just move through the trails and connect with each other on the sights you will see!
To get this week’s exclusive OC Tiny Hikes Trail Guide (#11, plus access to Trail Guides #1-#10 in the Archives) and unlock the nature connection just beyond the paywall below, you must become a paying subscriber.
You can subscribe for $5/month or $39/year. It basically comes out to around $1 per trail guide or less! It gets delivered to your inbox every Thursday as part of this newsletter reminding you get outdoors & play each week! I appreciate you supporting this work so much! I am actively out scouting these spots each week and it takes many hours to craft these guides with photos + write-ups.
THIS WEEK ONLY: If you happen to subscribe this week, I will donate $1 from every monthly subscription and $5 from every annual subscription to the nonprofit caring for where the trails this week are located.
What Paying Subscribers Are Saying:
“HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO OUTDO YOURSELF EVERY WEEK?!” (After Trail Guide #6)
“OC Tiny Hikes are changing the way I look at the area I grew up in - places I’ve never visited & now will go back to share with my family. I feel clarity after every hike. The beauty, nature, and a whole new appreciation when I look around — from the sounds and views, from sea to inland. Orange County is very special. Thank you, OC Tiny Hikes!”