Some of Our Favorite Kid Places In California

I've been meaning to post about these places for a while (thus the old pictures of my kids that make me nostalgic and miss Dominic's curly locks!), and I figured right now is a great time since it's Memorial Day tomorrow, which means it's Blue Star season! What's Blue Star season? It's a collective list of TONS of museums nationwide that are free for military from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Last summer we benefitted greatly from this program, and I plan on utilizing it again this summer and hopefully check out some new places!

If you're not military, you should still check out these great places for kids (and adults). Happy beginning of summer!

The New Children's Museum in Sausalito

This place takes the cake for the best children's museum I have been to. Fantastic stuff for all ages, and would you check out that view?? The "museum" is a collection of exhibits in old Army barracks. It's so cool. I drove all the way up here from Monterey really wondering if it would be worth it and it was (helped that I saved like $50 thank you blue star!)

 ^^Still am obsessed with the view^^

The San Diego Botanic Gardens in Encinitas

 My other favorite place! My kids ask to go here all the time. Year round it's free for residents and military the first Tuesday of the month, and at Christmas they have such a fun Christmas festival complete with a sledding hill of man made snow. The gardens are gorgeous, and the children's garden is fantastic. We all love this place. Just writing about it is making me want to go this week and I think I will ha!

^^look at his hair. i miss it :( ^^

The New Children's Museum in San Diego

This place is fun--- a little difficult to manage a lot of kids since it's spread out on multiple floors, but it's right in the heart of San Diego so it's fun to come here and then walk around Seaport Village.

San Diego Children's Discovery Museum in Escondido

 This is a smaller children's museum--a morning here is enough and it's more ideal for younger kids which is why we like it. They have a cool outdoor area with a chicken coop that is fun.

On my bucket list this summer is all of the San Diego ones of course, but I also have a few on my list to go to in Utah like the Treehouse Museum and maybe the Natural History museum. The St. George Children's Museum is also a participant--love that spot too.

I also hope to check out more of the museums in San Diego that are on the list, so stay tuned!

By the way, here is the complete list of Blue Star participants organized by state.