The Most Epic Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Itinerary (SF to LA)

Are you researching for an epic Pacific Coast Highway road trip itinerary? If so, you have come to the right place. This is one of our favorite road trips in the world, especially between California’s most vibrant cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. When we first moved to California we planned to slowly work … Read more

LA Sanitation Department Open House 2018

LA Sanitation Dept Open House
Surveying the area, making their plan.

It’s almost that time of year again! The day little boys (and girls) look forward to all year long – trash truck open house! My son equates spring and summer with several things and the opening day to summer in his mind is the LA Sanitation Department’s open house (and the Fire Service Recognition Day!).  This year’s events are a little more spread out meaning that you could reasonably hit all 6 open houses!

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Family Day at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro

Sarcastic Fringehead at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, San PedroMy son has been begging to go to the aquarium, but our membership recently expired and I wasn’t ready to commit to another year. To appease him, and my pocket book, I began looking for other aquarium options in the area, when I remembered the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium was on my to do list (along with a super awesome hike to the Sunken City in San Pedro) so we decided to make a day of it and check several things off of our never ending LA bucket list!

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Eaton Canyon Falls Hike

Eaton canyon FallsEveryone woke up early, ready to “go go go” as my little one likes to say. It was a cool foggy morning, so we decided to head out to Eaton Canyon Falls for a hike. It had been on my to-do list for ages and it looked like a perfect morning to check it out. And right we were. Seeing only 3 other cars there, we knew we would have the trails to ourselves.

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Switzer Falls Hike with Kids

We have tried the Switzer Falls hike a few times with friends, but have never made it very far (due to those pesky kids playing in the creek!). We were jonesing for a hike and decided to give it another go.  I had forgotten to check online to see how long the hike was before we set … Read more

Kids Workshop at Home Depot

Do you have a construction loving little one? If so, this is the post for you! My son gets confused with all of the large warehouse type stores, so when he sees Home Depot he says “This is my favorite Target!” very excitedly. It must run in the genes. His grandfather is a contractor and … Read more

5 Easy Hikes for Toddlers Los Angeles

Hiking is the thing to do in LA. Before moving here I didn’t think that hiking with kids was even possible, especially once they were too big to carry and no longer interested in the stroller. As a baby you can carry them and older kids can walk, but what do you do during those few years where your … Read more

Celebrating Holi – The Festival of Colors in Los Angeles

Celebrating Holi is one of our favorite Indian holidays. The yearly festival was the highlight of the spring for our family and so many in India. In our 8+ years in Mumbai, we never missed one Holi. This was one Indian tradition I felt we had to continue even after moving to the US. Holi, also known as the festival … Read more

Vasquez Rocks with Kids

My son woke up saying he wanted to go on a hike and I knew immediately where we should go. Vasquez Rocks.  It has been on our to do list forever. All I knew about Vasquez Rocks was that it’s great for kids who like to climb rocks and that an episode or portion of Star Trek had been filmed there. … Read more

Things To Do in LA over Winter Break (Updated 2015)

This upcoming winter break is the first break at my son’s school in over a year that we do not have travel plans. After our India trip and a very busy fall, we have decided to stay put and spend our break exploring areas of LA that we never have time for. Although I would venture to … Read more

Sand Sledding: Winter fun for the whole family

It is almost that time of year again — sand sledding!  This is my favorite part of winter in LA. What isn’t awesome about sledding in warm weather not having to worry about gloves and hats and frostbite. And showing off sand sledding photos to all of our east coast friends bundled up is sort of … Read more

Malibu Lagoon Bird Watching with Kids

I love nature, hiking and animals, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine taking time on a Sunday to go bird watching. But yep, this is what happens in my household every month.  The Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society hosts a kid friendly bird watching walk at Malibu Lagoon State Beach and after our … Read more

Travel Activities for Kids Without Using Electronics

We are not an electronic free family, but for much of our travel, our son has not been very interested in watching movies or playing on the iPad. This has meant coming up with lots of ideas on how to keep him entertained on our long trans-atlantic flights or our 7 hour car journey between … Read more

Monrovia Canyon Falls: The Perfect Family Hike

I have finally found the perfect family hike and I am so excited to share it with anyone who will listen! Monrovia Canyon Falls is my new favorite hike to do with my toddler (and his friends). It has everything you want in a hike: short and long options, wild animals, plenty of shade and … Read more

Sunset Ranch & Hollywood Sign Hike for Horse-loving Kids

Today I suggested my toddler and I get some ice cream after his nap. Shockingly, he said he would rather go for a “hike and see horses”.  Hmm. Yeah that’s what I meant! What better place to go for a short hike and see horses than Sunset Ranch at the top of Beachwood Canyon. It’s … Read more

Trash Trucks – LA Sanitation Department’s Open House

Does your kid love ‘trash truck day’? My toddler is obsessed with trash pickup, trash trucks, trash cans and all things trash. He was watching YouTube videos of trash trucks at a local diner one morning when a kid in the next booth began telling him about all of the different types of trash trucks. … Read more