We all deserve some time to go away, reflect, and bond with loved ones.  Of course, I spend time with my loved ones everyday, but it’s refreshing to go away and see things differently.  My husband wanted to go fishing in Santa Barbara, so we decided to pack up “a lot” of bags, and take a nice drive to the coastline.  First, the weather couldn’t be any more perfect, and the sun hitting the ocean waves with the mountains in the backdrop, was divine.

Santa Barbara- Central Coastline

I think it’s amazing to see things through my children’s eyes.  My daughter loves being near the ocean and loves playing with sand (what kid doesn’t).  It brought me back to those days of making sand castles, having my friends bury me under a huge pile of sand, and splashing around in the water.  Watching my own daughter run around gathering sticks, shells, rocks, and trying to make her own sand art concoction, was fascinating.

start of a sand castle

The baby was fascinated by the water and the birds flying above, she was stimulated in so many ways (all 5 senses).  Seeing how she played was incredible to me because she was at ease, just like the rest of us.  It amazed me how the ocean waters could be calming, soothing, and quite stimulating to all of us. Within that short time period, as a family, we were able to get back in touch with our own individuality, and connect together as a family.

baby looking out into the water

We live in such a busy, constantly-moving, on-the-go society and sometimes it gets the better of us.  Sometimes, we need to slow down, reflect, and take care of our own needs as well.  If you have the opportunity to take a mini-vacation, I would highly suggest it because it did miracles for my family.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money and or time.  We drove an hour and a half north, packed up some lunch and snacks, and spent about a half a day there.  We had so much fun and was able to reconnect to our own needs, which in turn let us see the important things in life.