I love living in Southern California. Mainly because I love that we are experiencing Spring weather in the middle of February. Yesterday was such a beautiful day, I just wanted to spend the entire day outside. I texted my friend, Jennifer, yesterday morning to see if she and her daughter, Julia, would like to accompany myself and my son to the Victoria Gardens to go for a walk.
We arrived at the Victoria Gardens, an outside shopping mall in our area, as the stores were opening. Even though it was only 10:00am, it was already extremely warm outside. Gotta love the I.E.. First thing was first though, we had to stop by their playground so the kids could play a little before we started our walk. Their playground is very cute, it consists of a little doll house, a jungle gym, and a couple of other little misc. things. The only problem with their playground is, on a hot day, the slide is entirely too warm to slide down. Julia was lucky though, she wore jeans so she could slide down. Unfortunately Logan was wearing shorts and refused to go down that thing. There is also a little water fountain by the playground that spills water over the sides. Kids are allowed to lean up against it, and splash the water. This is something Logan usually does, but yesterday he didn't seem interested.
After we left the playground we decided to walk off some calories. But of course, being 2 ex-Starbucks Batista's, we had to stop in and get our fix first. Lucky for us, and all parents, the Starbucks at Victoria Gardens is located right next to the park. I wonder if that was planned?? Once we got our drinks, and the kids snacks, we were on our way. We walked around the mall a few times. It was so nice just soaking up the sun. We had plenty of girl talk, but then we could tell the kids were getting bored being pushed around in strollers. We decided to stop in the quad area to let the kids play in the big fountain.
Every time that I go to Victoria Gardens, it is essential that I bring a change of clothes for my son. Unless it's freezing outside, he never leaves this place dry. The Victoria Gardens has a huge fountain in their quad that spits water up from the ground. In the middle of summer there are usually swarms of kids hovering in the water. Luckily, yesterday was a school day so there were only a few toddlers out there. Logan and Julia had a blast out there playing in the water, while Jen and I stayed off to the side and watched and took pictures. The kids splashed in the water, stomped in the water, chased each other; it was a good time. We let them play in the water for a long while, but eventually it was time to go, although the kids could have stayed all day.
At the Victoria Gardens, they also have a train, The Choo Choo Monga Express, that you and your kids can ride around the quad. It only cost $3.00, and although we've never gone on, it always looks fun. Logan loves to wave at the kids as they pass by.
If you live in the I.E., and you want a cheap, fun play date with your kids, I recommend bringing them to The Victoria Gardens' mall. There is something for everyone. Just pack a lunch and head over, just make sure to bring your young ones a change of clothes, or a bathing suit, You'll likely need it.
Photo Credit: My Camera
3 comments:
We had a lot of fun yesterday! Julia really loves Logan :)
I need to go there more often. The few times I have been, I just go directly to F21, never browsing around. You should come to The Shoppes sometime, it's also outdoors and there is water to play in and train rides =)
I'll have to add that to my list Leeann! Thanks.
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