One of my favorite activities is geocaching. I can be a bit fanatical about it, as described here when we scramble to be “first to find” a new geocache in our neighborhood. For those of you who don’t know what it is, geocaching is high-tech treasure hunting. We use our iPhone to seek out containers of all sizes (from ones the size of your pinkie fingertip to huge boxes, see pictures below) in various locations (from within our neighborhood to across the world, in great urban sprawls or deep in the wilderness).
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- Very micro cache with rolled up log
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- Micro cache
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- Very large cache!
Sometimes we just sign the log and replace it. Other times we also trade trinkets or we may pick up or leave a travel bug or geocoin. Then we go online and share our experiences with the geocaching community. It’s a great family activity. It adds some fun and excitement to what could otherwise just be a “boring” outing according to the kids. It also often brings us to places we would otherwise not have visited or even known about.
This past weekend a friend and I had the opportunity to introduce geocaching to a few families from our school. We planned the event at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. It’s the perfect setting for such an activity. In the middle of our urban sprawl is this beautiful escape into the wilderness. Continue reading
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Halloween is no longer a one-night event that occurs on the last evening of October. It now seems to last all of October with the grand finale happening on October 31. The list of possible things to do in LA in the month leading up to the big night is endless. There are all sorts of possibilities for all ages, such as Halloween-themed events at theme parks, zoos, aquariums, and museums; haunted houses; carnivals and festivals; pumpkin patches, just to name a few. But with full days of school and sports on the weekends, I find it’s hard to find time to do much of it! We still managed to do a few special things this year, though nothing too out of the ordinary. 
This past weekend, our family did something totally new for us. We participated in 
Reactions by family members varied. Sonny, the oldest, was the first to join me as I started opening it. When I started telling him what was in it, he said, “Spinach?! Ew!” “Do you know what spinach is? Can you pick it out for me?” I asked. He started picking through our box, totally overlooking the spinach that was laying on top. When I explained it was a leaf, like a lettuce, and showed it to him, he was surprised and asked, “Can I taste it?” Just that moment was worth the $15.