Splash pads and shade for a 90° Saturday
Plus, celebrating & sharing mom-isms from my mom on Mother's Day
Thank you for being here! Did you know that you are a big part of my week? In fact, everything I do on social media and the blog feeds into this FREE weekly newsletter. It’s a place where we can share, communicate, get inspired with park tips + play trips — and also for us to take action in the planning and protecting of our parks.
In that spirit, I just wanted to just rundown what you will generally find here each week! Mostly simple stuff that’s free or low cost.
Free Section
Fun Question of the Week
Park Tip or Play Trip Idea
Musings on PLAY
Parks and Play News & Events (not EVERY newsletter, but some)
Paid Section with Play-Filled Extras (2025 only)
A little extra value for your investment with extras for paid subscribers.
Random exclusives and behind-the-scenes
2 hand-picked weekly tiny hikes from the archives each week
For 2025 - you get 3 seasonal printable downloads (Winter, Spring/Summer, Fall) to help you get out to make nature connections. So far, you should have received the 130+ page Winter guidebook of “Paved Tiny Hikes: Stroller-Friendly & After Rain Routes.” Two more seasonal guidebooks to come!
In play,
Michele
As a friendly reminder, make sure you ALWAYS check official sources when you are heading out to any of the locations I share. These are merely suggestions. Only you know what works for your family. Plus, your experience may not be the same as mine — and there can be changes to the hours or unforeseen circumstances or conditions at the suggested locations.
Fun Question of the Week
What do you think? No need to research or anything! Just pick the one that comes up first or feels right for you.
LAST WEEK’S QUESTION: The most important amenity/extra for a family-friendly hotel is (fill in the blank):
A pool or waterslide
Food options on-site
Childcare, kids club, entertainment
An affordable nightly rate
All of the above
Loved having one of you reply to the email to tell me: “It wasn't an open-ended question but for the hotel - a kitchen in the room/suite!” Yes! I should have added that to the poll.
“All of the above, please” was the big winner at 39%. Followed by:
An affordable nightly rate (25%)
A pool or waterslide (18%)
Food options on-site (14%)
Childcare, kids club, entertainment (4%)
One of the extras this week for paid subscribers is coverage of a spot that checks a lot of these boxes.
Parks and Play Trip Ideas
It’s going to be surprisingly HOT this weekend compared to our last weekend where I felt the need for freshly-washed blankies to snuggle up indoors while the misty rain fell outside. Not complaining about the return of sunshine, though!
A Few Splash Pads Open Right Now
Rancho Santa Margarita Central Park Splash Pad (pictured above)
Irvine Spectrum Splash Pad near the carousel is open year-round
Irvine Heritage Park Splash Pad open year-round
Yorba Linda Adventure Playground - no reservations necessary on weekdays in May, non-resident reservations available 2 days ahead (for residents, it’s available 2 weeks ahead). Always, always check their website ahead of time.
Don’t forget the beach before the crowds come! School is almost out and it will start getting progressively more crowded as the weather heats up.
45+ Parks with Shade Covers
PLAY: Sharing My Mother’s Mom-isms
This is the section of the newsletter where we muse about PLAY or connecting to nature each week. I might share a video, an article, a book, or something inspiring. Just trying to help keep you empowered to prioritize play to benefit development and preserve childhood!
I thought I would celebrate my mom in this space today — since she’s kind of like everyone’s mom. When you meet her, you feel it.
Of course, the reasons I love play so much goes back to my parents! I thought you might like to learn some of her Mom-isms. It has been fun building on this list as the years go by.
Do you have any mom-isms that are uniquely yours or your moms? Would love to hear them! Just hit REPLY and send me an email.
Parks and Play News & Events
3 Things I’m Reading & Doing
Read: Why PBS Still Matters (The Enthusiast by Brad Montague)
Take Action! Tell your congressional leaders to support public media funding. You can do so immediately by going here.
Read: They Just Dismantled the Endangered Species Act (More Than Just Parks)
Take Action! Go to the Regulations.gov website to leave YOUR comment! https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001
If you need help on how to craft your comment, @DevonTheNatureGuy from Instagram has suggestions on how here. Just flip through his photo carousel for simple tips!
Read: Public Lands and Waters Deserve Better Than Reconciliation Package (Outdoor Alliance)
Take Action! “Read the Outdoor Alliance full letter to lawmakers and take two minutes to write your lawmakers about this bill. Leadership hopes to move a final bill by Memorial Day, so there is little time to prevent the worst affronts to public lands and waters, and it will take our voices to get there. The outdoor community was instrumental in stopping direct land sales from being included in the reconciliation bill, and we can act again to defend public lands and waters from the worst outcomes in this bill.”
Summer Camps
Play-Filled Extras are waiting below this paywall each week for all paid subscribers.
Extras for This Week: 2 tiny hike trail guides near the beach from the archive + one hotel idea that checks a lot of boxes for a playful family-friendly road trip.