At the beginning of this summer, my MOMS Club friends and I gathered to create summer bucket lists for our families. We all have young children elementary school-aged and younger. Without preschool or after-school activities, the summer seemed to stretch out interminably.
But also full of opportunity! And fun! We just had to be strategic to make it happen or the summer would be over before we could say “Fourth of July.”
I made a list of 12 things I wanted to do as a family. The summer is halfway over, and I am only halfway through my list. So here’s a mid-summer’s dose of inspiration for those of you who still might be looking for fun opportunities with your kids!
Go on a Seal Tour: You’ve seen them before, those open-air tour buses that turn into boats and putter around the bay. My friends and I decided to take a group tour, and together we rented out a whole bus one Tuesday morning and became tourists in our own town! The kids loved the ride, the water, the high-up perch, the pirate hats, and especially the sea lions we saw barking at us from docks just a few feet away in the bay.
See a “Movie on the Bay”: My husband and I went on a date to one of these outdoor movies last week. We joined a small group down at Tidelands Park to see Some Like It Hot, the Marilyn Monroe movie that takes place in the Hotel Del Coronado. It was so much fun until the Tidelands sprinklers came on! Don’t miss the upcoming showing of Frozen on Friday, July 31.
Visit Suzie’s Farm: I wrote about our trip to Suzie’s a couple of weeks ago here. We love Suzie’s and always enjoy a reason to go back! We visited three times this summer to go strawberry picking, and we’re looking forward to more visits in the fall when the peppers, squash, and herbs are ripe.
Explore the Tijuana River Estuary Visitors Center: This quiet, free reserve is a gem in Imperial Beach. Take a picnic lunch, let your kids and dogs roam around, and watch the tide roll out and the seabirds search for food in the marshy grasses. Here is a full recap of my family’s visit.
Ride the Coronado Ferry to the Splash Pad: Even though I’ve ridden the ferry many times, I still managed to get my two kids and mom onto the wrong ferry last month. We got on in Coronado and got off at the Convention Center and realized we were two miles from the splash pad! Take the 5th Ave/Broadway Pier ferryif you don’t want to walk along the entire esplanade. However, even though the outing took a lot longer than we expected, we really enjoyed our leisurely walk, and we were able to more thoroughly appreciate Seaport Village, the Midway, and artwork and parks along the bay because we weren’t zipping by on our bikes. Another bonus: we were extra glad to see that splash pad when we finally arrived!
See a Free Kids’ Show at the Community Center: Every Wednesday at 12pm during the summer, the Coronado Community Center offers free, educational shows for kids. We went to the Exotic Animals Show last week where we met a baby alligator, a hedgehog, a tortoise, a kinkajou (I’d never heard of it either), and more. The audience was full of camp kids, so get there early if you want a good seat.
Go to Nighttime Zoo: Here’s a bucket list activity I haven’t done yet! Have you been to Nighttime Zoo this summer? The musical line-up looks wonderful, and this is a fun way to see the zoo at a different time of day and with a different vibe. There are plenty of activities and musical performances starting at 5pm, early enough even for little children. We’re hoping to go in a couple weeks!
What’s on your summer bucket list? If you’re a seasoned pro in exploring and enjoying San Diego in the summertime, leave suggestions in the comments for the rest of us!
——–
This column is written by one of eCoronado.com’s writers, Becca Garber. She blogs about choosing simplicity and practicing hospitality with her family at home in Coronado. You can read more of her writing on her blog.
——–
Becca Garber
Staff Writer
Have a story you want to share? Contact us.
