Day 23 - Geocaching on the Murrieta Creek Trail

Last Saturday was National Trails Day. They had a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new trail system here in Temecula called Murrieta Creek Trail. This is a totally paved trail (which is why we didn't do it last week). Today we wanted to use strollers so we decided to have a picnic, then try out a small portion of this trail.

The portion of the trail we walked was in full sun, not super scenic, and pretty full of trash (notice the shopping cart in the background of the picture above) BUT is was full of geocaches. We only walked 0.6 miles on the trail and were able to find 3 geocaches.

Can you see the tiny cache they're holding?

The geocaches we found today were all "micro" caches. They only had room for a small log. And they were tricky to find. We learn more with each geocache search. We are learning that our phone gets up in a pretty vague general area and we should invest in a handheld GPS. We are also learning tricky locations that geocaches could be placed. I thought they were always just up in trees or hidden under rocks. We are also learning the variety of containers that are used for geocaches. These tiny micro caches were all different from each other and totally different from our first cache, which was a huge, homemade black envelope. Kid one is really eager to place our own cache, but I want to see a few more first. Maybe when we get back to AZ...

Day 21 - Blueberry Picking at Temecula Berry Company

We love fresh fruit, and you can't get any fresher than right off the bush. My mom lives just down the road from Temecula Berry Company. Here they have U-pick blueberries and they happened to be in season. We looked at the weather for the week and planned the coolest temperature day to come down to the farm.

We loved our time here today. It wasn't too hot out so we were able to enjoy picking blueberries without getting overheated. The owners were helpful and friendly. On top of picking blueberries, the kids also got to feed chickens and pigs as well as help collect some eggs. The blueberries we picked were delicious and devoured in just a few minutes. To read my full review of Temecula Berry Co., visit Trekaroo.com here.

Last month we went to the Peach Festival at Schnepf Farms. We got a little overzealous in our peach picking and ended up spending about $40 on peaches. They were delicious and we did eat them all  but I did learn a few things about visiting U-Pick farms with kids.

1. Know how much your picking container holds and how much the full container would cost. A peach bag at Schnepf farms hold about 10 lbs of peaches and costs around $22. A small pail at Temecula Berry Co. holds 2 pints and cost $10.
2. Set limits before your kids start picking. We set the limit too high at Schepf so I set them really low for Temecula Berry Co. With the low picking limit, the older kids were very selective and picked really good blueberries. 
3. Supervise the little ones. They tend to get picking happy and grab whatever they see instead of fruit that is ripe.

Have you ever been to a U-Pick farm?

Day 19 - Temecula Valley Museum

Many towns have their own historical museums. Often times these are overlooked because they are small and don't have much of an advertising budget. I love to explore these local museums. Sometimes you find a real gem, like the Temecula Valley Museum. This museum is clearly laid out and has a fun area for children to play. Read my full review of the Temecula Valley Museum here.

From my experience, most local history museums are interesting for adults without a lot of hands-on for children. It does seem though that more and more places are trying to be family-friendly. We've been to the Gilbert Historical Museum in Gilbert, AZ and Teton Flood Museum in Rexburg, ID in the past, and although there wasn't much, they did both have special areas for children.

Have you been to your local historical museum?

Day 18 - Margarita Park Splash Pad

Hot day today in Temecula. We decided to take the kids over the the new splash pad.

Margarita Park Splash Pad was pretty cool. They had some fun sprayers and also water tables to splash in. You can read my full review here. We rarely go to splash pads because they are not my favorite. Probably in part because they are also not my kids favorite. But I so have some other reasons.

Splash pads are not my favorite for a few reasons:

1. Parents are left out in the heat (although I always get wet)
2. On busy days, they get really busy
3. Little kids get trampled by bigger kids
4. My friend once told me she saw homeless people bathing in a splash park (sad and also gross because of recycled water)
5. My kids never last as long as they do at a pool

How do you feel about splash pads?

If splash pads are your thing and you live in the Phoneix area, lucky you! I have a list right here for you. Phoenix Splash Pads

Day 17 - Walking and Geocaching

If the weather is nice, we like to enjoy a Sunday evening stroll. There happened to be a geocache hidden in the park right by Grandma's house, so we today we combined our walk with a treasure hunt.

Unfortunately, we did not find the geocache today. It was supposedly an easy one and we searched all over with no luck. We were a little disappointed, but it was fun searching for it. And we did get to enjoy the nice weather this evening.

Earlier this summer there was a geocache hidden by our hike at "A" mountain. It was more rewarding actually finding the hidden treasure. The kids are more into it if they have a gps or phone to hold and follow. I was nervous handing the iPhone over but luckily it didn't get cracked today. I think next time I will bring the otter box case to give it a little more protection.

Have you ever been geocaching and do you have any tips for newbies like us?

Day 16 - Dripping Springs Hiking Trail

In honor of National Trails Day today, we went for a hike on a new trail with extended family in Temecula, CA. To read my tip on hiking with kids go here. I've written a review about Dripping Springs Trail on Trekaroo.com.

We were in town the same time as my sister's family. We really wanted them to join us in this hike, but she didn't have a carrier for her baby. I let her use my Ergo baby carrier and quick improvised a wrap to carry Kid Five in.

How to quickly Make a Baby Wrap (like a Moby Wrap)

1. Find an old, flat sheet
2. Cut 2-12" wide strips, length-wise (so you have 2 pieces that are about 1' by 6'
3. Tie (or sew) together the two pieces at the short ends, so you have on extra long strip. I put the short ends of both pieces together and tied the top corners and the bottom corners so I had two knots and a open space between.

That's it. Quick and easy wrap out of stuff around the house. It was comfortable for me and baby. For instructions on tying a baby wrap check out this website.