Exploring Our City: Living Coast Discovery Center

In the month of April we visited the nature center in Chula Vista also known as the living coast discovery center. The living coast discovery center is a small nonprofit zoo and aquarium. I first heard of it a couple of years ago at the annual Chicano park day celebration and forgot about it until I heard the name come up recently and immediately googled it since Maxi loves animals and had been asking lots about sea turtles.

I was surprised I hadn't ever heard much about this little place but when we arrived at the location it kind of made sense because of the fact that it's so hidden and in a not so frequented area. You even have to take a little bus into the place, after parking your car, which kind of adds to the experience if you ask me haha,

As soon as we arrived we saw the sea turtles swimming in their area and we loved watching them chill (ever since watching nemo, I just always think of them as hippies and picture them talking in that cool Australian surfer slang). We then moved indoors where we were able to see eels (maxi thought they were scary), sea horses and stars, beautiful jelly fish dancing elegantly, a variety of reptiles including a chameleon which was on Maximiliano's top list of animals he wanted to see.

As we headed outside they had a cool crafting table where they charged like 50 cents a project, everything looked so cool that I almost sat down and crafted myself but of course my active toddler would never sit for more than a minute, especially when he knows he's surrounded by animals he could be admiring. We headed past the table into the outside aquarium where they had sharks and sting rays you could pet and a larger tank with a variety of sharks and other creatures. Maximiliano is really afraid of sharks and he wasn't really into it, it's funny because he will say "I'm a big boy, big boys are afraid of sharks". They also had a bird watching area which we enjoyed.

On top of all the animals that they have, what I absolutely love about the living coast discovery center are the walking trails. They lead you to the shore of San Diego Bay where you can actually see the railroad tracks that where used to bring kelp to the gunpowder factory that used to exist there. They also encourage you to make a day of it by packing your lunch and enjoying it there, which we will definitely be doing next time we visit!

The admission tickets are $14 per adult, $9 per childern (4-17) & students (with ID).
They also have a great family membership (2 adults and up to 5 children) for $75.

29

I turned 29 the 19th of last month. 29. One year away from the big 30 and I still feel 18 sometimes... I like to think I'm just young at heart... Damian always spoils me rotten. He's too good.

He took the day off to have a family beach day, got me this amazing pecan praline cake, a really silly birthday card that made me lol, he also filled it with some scratchers (my guilty pleasure) and told me that unfortunately my big birthday present was going to be late buttt he had gotten me the rabbit mirror (pictured here) I had been wanting. I was the happiest birthday girl in the land.

We headed to sprouts to pick up some sandwiches, snacks and water before stopping by for an iced coconut latte (the best) from better buzzed.

We literally spent the whole day in paradise, lounging around in different areas of the beach. It was the most perfect day, the sun was out, the temperatures were high and it was just complete bliss.

We all agreed this was one of the best days we've had together, all we need to be happy is some sand and salty water. We took lots of walks, and climbed rocks, looked for seashells all day, admired the seals, took turns scaring away the birds (guarding our food), splashed around in the water. Maxi made some friends and they ran around, climbed rocks, fed squirrels and just had a blast together, he was so upset when the little sisters had to go home, it broke my heart.

I mean come on, can it get any better than this? This world doesn't stop amazing me.

My little beach babe casually posing with the seal. I want to print the picture below and frame it.

We watched the sunset and then stopped by in n out for some dinner before heading home to have some cake with my sisters. It was the most perfect day. 29 could have not started off better, I'm really grateful for my life, my little family, my mom, my sisters. Grateful for another year of life that I get to share with my little creation. So excited for new adventures to come.

18/52 | 19/52

18/52

"a photo of my child, once a week, every week in 2015."

Maximiliano: I always wake up about an hour before you, always rushing out of bed trying to not wake you, so I can have my alone time of the day. Yes,  at almost four, you still sleep in papa's and my bed, you refuse to sleep in your bed saying that it's a baby bed and you need a big bed. Go figure. We plan on getting rid of your crib-turned-into-bed soon and buying a real big kid bed. We really have no sentimental attachment to it since you never slept in it anyway. On some days I like to watch you sleep for a bit and think about the days when you were just a little newborn and I would watch you sleep all day long.

19/52

"a photo of my child, once a week, every week in 2015."

Maximiliano: This picture was taken the 14th of May. It was your first time at the movie theaters. We were always unsure that you would sit through a whole movie. We thought the jungle book was the perfect movie (although you wanted to be pictured with the ninja turtles) and you absolutely loved it. You behaved so well. As soon as we walked out you kept on saying how much fuuun the movie was and talking about how the animals were nice but the tiger was bad. I can't wait to take you to allll the movies!

April in Pictures

This is what April looked like for us, not counting my birthday, legoland and a trip to the nature center because those things have/will have their own post.

My favorite thing about this month was the intense hike Damian and I did together and all the family beach days we had! So looking forward to more beach days as the weather gets warmer.