This guest blog arrived in my email box last night and I am so grateful it did because I did not have a post ready for today! Emma got hit with a bad respiratory virus early this week, then baby Morgan got it a few days later. Awful! The only thing worse than one sick kid is two sick kids! So thank you Katie from OC Mom’s Activity Guide for saving my day and giving me a fabulous guest post!
OC Mom’s Activity Guide is a fabulous local blog dedicated to {you guessed it!} fun activities and favorite finds for OC moms and their families. Katie wrote some great tips on taking your kids tide pooling in Orange County.
Here is what Katie writes…
“The beach has always been a destination for our family. To be honest my oldest sons’ first trip to the beach was when he was less than a week old, ok… so he never left the Baby Bjorn, but still he was at the beach.
Once the boys were steady on their feet and able to explore a bit, we found ourselves venturing in to the world of tide pooling. We absolutely love checking out the tide pools to see what kind of sea creatures we can find, whether it is a sea anemone, a crab or some other fish, there is always something fun to find and the boys never get tired of it.
We have fabulous beaches to explore here in Southern California, places like Aliso Creek Beach, Crystal Cove (on the border of Newport and Laguna), Montage Beach and more.
The biggest piece of advice I have is to be sure to check when low tide is (you can do this on any weather website or weather App for your phone), it will make or break your adventure. If you can time it just right to hit the beach at low tide, you will have the best opportunity to scope out the best tide pools.
Items I recommend you bring…
* Sunscreen (even on cloudy days)
* Water sandals or flip flops for those with sensitive feet
* Towels, swimsuits, etc. in case you get caught off guard by a wave
* I also recommend a life vest for the little ones if you are taking more than one kid. It will give you peace of mind; this is from first-hand experience!
This picture above is from our recent trek to Crystal Cove Beach. It’s quite a walk down (and parking costs $15), but even in the peak summer months, it isn’t super crowded. At low tide there are TONS of exposed tide pools that the kids love exploring.”
Thanks again Katie!!! We actually just visited Crystal Cove by the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages for a beach day last weekend. See Wednesday’s post with our adventures at the beach with a one-year-old! I also did a post eons ago about this beach…One of our favorite kid beaches in OC! Next time we will have to check out the tide pooling with your great tips!
Where’s YOUR favorite beach in OC?
Katie is a full time working wife and mother of two active boys. When they aren’t riding the roller coasters at Disneyland or exploring the beaches, you can find Katie writing over at OCMomActivities. Find her on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.
How fun….and the picture is gorgeous!
Thanks Caryn! I can’t believe I actually got a decent picture from my um not so decent camera! I actually normally have good luck at the beach with pictures… tough to go wrong I think! 🙂
I was looking for kids pool information, and didn’t expect to find one about tidal pools, but yes, what a lovely and super fun learning experience for kids.