Earth Day

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We are ever appreciative for Mother Earth and all that she provides for us, that's why we were so happy to celebrate her in so many ways this year on Earth Day. We celebrated Earth Day twice this year on Saturday April 22nd.

First we went and played at one of our favorite FREE events of the year Earth Day in Alameda which is located in Washington Park. I capitalized free because it is one of the events that we attend every year that is truly FREE. Everything is free; the jumpy tents, the petting zoo, the art projects, and so on. Most events you attend have free aspects but then when it comes down to the things kids want to have fun on you have to purchase tickets- lots and lots of tickets. The first year we found this event I went up to one of the attendants and asked where I could purchase the tickets for the jumpy tents at and he said there were no tickets. Puzzled I looked at him and asked well how did the kids pay to go in the jump tents and he smiled and exclaimed that it was free. And we have been back every year ever since! This year they added a petting zoo which my baby was thrilled about because she loves animals. This was the nicest mobile petting zoo I have ever come across. All the animals were super friendly and looked very well cared for. There are all types of activities going on at the park. Jumpers for the kids, art projects, petting zoo, bike races, relays, bounce balls, hula hoops, and lots of booths addressing a sustainable future for Mother Earth. Plus it is located in Washington Park so there is a nice playground to play at after the event is over or you can stroll down to Crown Memorial Beach.

For our second round of Earth Day celebrations we ventured out to Rodeo Beach to take a hike with Nature Bridge's night hike program. Nature Bridge Program is a program dedicated to connecting the youth to the outdoors. They have six different National Park locations including the Golden Gate branch in Sausalito. By chance I found out about this event and signed my family up for their night hike. It was about a two hour program where we journeyed to their location on Rodeo Beach and enjoyed several different facets of the program for the evening. First we got to start out visiting their educational center which had some indoor tide pools with several different sea creatures including small crabs, starfish, and sea anemones. Next we met at their group circle to split off into hiking groups. We immediately walked over to Rodeo Beach to take in the views. I was so happy the hike was over to the beach because as we drove in it looked so beautiful! We had the opportunity to sit on the beach for awhile and the leader of the group gave us all paper and crayons to draw what we saw. My oldest daughter made some new friends and started building with driftwood with them. After sitting for a nice amount of time we took off up the hill of a nearby mountain for a better view of the location. Luckily for my crew- my one and a half year old and my mom (who needed a walking stick) the hike was not too grueling. We held up the back end of the group up much to my 7 year old's dismay but we were able to at least do it all. After the hike we met back at the circle with the other group for a campfire and s'mores. That was probably the kids favorite part.

All in all a very fun day celebrating and being grateful for Mother Earth!