*Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy
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*Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy

Travel with purpose

Explore STEM & Arts in southern california and beyond

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Latest Posts

Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy
Santa Barbara Beaches 41 to 49
Santa Barbara Beaches 41 to 49
Santa Barbara Beaches 31 to 40
Santa Barbara Beaches 31 to 40
Santa Barbara Beaches 21 to 30
Santa Barbara Beaches 21 to 30
Santa Barbara Beach 11 to 20
Santa Barbara Beach 11 to 20
Santa Barbara Beaches 1 To 10
Santa Barbara Beaches 1 To 10
My #sbbeaches2018 Challenge: Visit All Santa Barbara County Public Beaches In One Year!
My #sbbeaches2018 Challenge: Visit All Santa Barbara County Public Beaches In One Year!

I set myself the challenge of visiting all of Santa Barbara county’s public, accessible beaches in 2018…49 in all!

How Do Tides Work
How Do Tides Work

You might remember that tides happen because of the moon, but how? Why? Geeklin’gs Guide to the Galaxy explores the finer details you may have forgotten!

UCLA Meteorite Gallery
UCLA Meteorite Gallery

Explore's UCLA's collection of ROCKS FROM SPACE! Also, learn that not all meteorites are created equal...Holy variety, Batman!

Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)
Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)

Whether hiking, exploring, or star gazing, you can't go wrong with the Griffith Observatory.

What Do Pokemon Go and San Francisco Have In Common?
What Do Pokemon Go and San Francisco Have In Common?

Or perhaps most importantly, did you know there are ships buried under San Francisco?

 
 

Make a SMALL impact.

Change the world.

 
 
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Places To Visit

Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy
UCLA Meteorite Gallery
UCLA Meteorite Gallery
Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)
Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles, CA)
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
 

Did you know?

Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy
How Do Tides Work
How Do Tides Work
What Do Pokemon Go and San Francisco Have In Common?
What Do Pokemon Go and San Francisco Have In Common?
What's So Weird About Pineapples? Everything.
What's So Weird About Pineapples? Everything.
 

PRODUCTS Recommendations

Geekling's Guide to the Galaxy
How We Survive Car Trips
How We Survive Car Trips
"Photo Doodles" Wins My Vote for Best Doodle Book
"Photo Doodles" Wins My Vote for Best Doodle Book
 
 
 
 

Have STEAM, will travel.

STEM+Art

FOR A

SMART START

Spoiler: It's about your brain.

TRAVELING MATTERS,

EVEN IF THEY

"WON'T REMEMBER IT"

 
 
 
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See what we've been up to lately...

This book was a total cover buy. And I was sold on the promise of sharks and marine biology and unresolved research. But despite the description containing sentences like "cloud of grief" and "look beyond what she’s lost" and "then another tragedy," I was somehow surprised about how sad this story was. In retrospect, I really should have seen it coming! But in any case, it turned out this book was captivating and moving and I enjoyed it even though it made me almost cry more times than I care to admit.
Do you ever have the best intention to keep up healthy/productive habits while on vacation, only to fail epically? I told myself I'd keep posting/blogging/writing/reading regularly while on vacation in Quebec. Ha! I also told myself I'd keep eating healthy. Ha ha ha ha! When traveling with little kids, vacation mode is survival mode. Objective 1: get the kids to sleep in a different timezome. Objective 2: get the tired kids to behave like human beings. Anything else gets pushed down the priority list. Showering? Meh. Exercise? Yeah right. Daily poutine and ice cream? ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
Help! I'm flying off on vacation to Canada this week. What books should I buy to read on my trip? This isn't an exotic vacation, but I'm still looking to read something vacationy... Something light and fun and easy to read on a plane with little kids. (+1 point if it's set in Canada or in forest/nature!) * I can't believe I read a book that wasn't meant for kids! I finished reading The Prey of Gods recently, a real book for real adults! Go me! It was a really interesting concept and I enjoyed it, although I remember why I prefer kidlit in general. Adult books contain some weird stuff sometimes 🤪
If you love Tahareh Mafi, put your hands up! 🙌 I don't know how she can rock so many different styles and genres. She's got the YA Fantasy, the MG Fantasy, and now this one was YA Contemporary and I enjoyed it so much! It followed the life of a teenage Muslim girl living in the US after 9/11 and it was heartbreaking and touching all at once. (New blog post with my weekly word count update is up, link in bio!)
Do you have any favorite family-friendly YouTube channels to recommend? We took full advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend, but my 9yo isn't feeling too hot today so we're binge-watching our favorite sciency channels on YouTube. There's Mark Rober's mechanical engineering awesomeness, The Backyard Scientist generally setting things on fire, Animal Wonders for some animal love, SciShow Kids, and Crash Course Kids.
New notebook reveal! Also, how are your goals coming along this week? I write everything longhand and I take great joy in picking out a notebook that fits my project or writing mood. This is the notebook I picked out for my new somewhat sea-based pirate-ish SciFi story that I've finally started writing on Monday! Word count so far: 3,341! Up on the blog (link in bio) I've got a new post where I talk plotting, word count goals, and time allocation tracking . . . showing you exactly what kind of data nerd I am. Are you guys crushing your goals this week?
How do you celebrate milestones? It’s my kids’ last day of school today... I’m not ready! It’s only a half day, so I might take them out to lunch after school to celebrate. Or I might take them to the grocery store to buy all the stuff for making sundaes and let them pick the ice cream flavor(s). Or both?! LET’S JUST GO CRAZY! Then maybe some beach time 😉
Who’s watching Good Omens and loving it?! I saw an article about some Doctor Who Easter eggs hidden in the show, have you spotted them? * I’m just adoring the dynamic between David Tennant and Michael Sheen, what an amazing casting choice! I saw Neil Gaiman talk in Santa Barbara last month and he was so wonderful. He talked in great lengths about Terry Pratchett and the new show with such genuine love. * Of course I had to feature our new pet tortoise named Tardis in some bookish photos, but the Terry Pratchett/Doctor Who connection was perfect for today!
What's your favorite thing about summer? I'm looking forward to mini road trips around coastal California exploring new beaches and old favorites. Picnics, summer reads, salty snacks, sandy toes... heaven!
I drove to Los Angeles last week to catch the end of Fran Wilde’s book tour for her new Middle Grade book, Riverland. My 8yo and I had just finished reading it as a read aloud so it was perfect timing for us to go see the author in person! * Riverland is a fantasy book about domestic violence, fair warning. Have tissues nearby! It's an amazing book, but it's a heavy topic. That being said, I'm glad that reading it exposed my daughter to the concept of domestic violence in a child-appropriate way. Hopefully if she ever finds a friend in this kind of trouble, she'll be better equipped to comprehend the gravity of the situation and empathize. * Fran Wilde and Rachel Hartman were touring together, so I grabbed a copy of Tess of the Road while I was there. I have yet to read it, but I've heard good things.
A) New blog post is up, link in bio! I reveal what my next book project is about! B) It's the end of the school year and I'm struggling to keep up! My kids' last day of school is June 6th and I'm trying to squeeze in all the boring chores before summer start because I'd rather do them alone than with the kids . . . like getting the cars serviced and oil changed, my doctor check-ups, etc. I’d also like to get as much prep work done on my new book project before the kids get out of school. Meanwhile, school keeps throwing events like "end of the year party!" and "end of the year recital!" and "end of the year open house!" Long story short, I've been doing only a little bit of reading and even less book photographing and now my Instagram feed and my Goodreads feed are all out of whack. I mean, I can appreciate how privileged my life is that my Instagram and Goodreads feeds being out of sync is the height of my stress, but I'd still like to request we put the world on pause until I catch up on everything. I can't be the only one who'd appreciate that! #bookstagram #wordboss #mustwrite #amwriting #folkandstory #womenwhowrite #amwriting #writersofinstagram #aspiringauthor #writerslife #momswhowrite #writingcommunity #writermom #writinganovel #writingspot #writingcompanion #sahmomlife #workfromhomemom #wfhmom #notebookaddict
Drumroll, please . . . I started a blog! Yay! Party! Celebration! 🎉 * As if I needed one more thing to keep updating! Good grief, what was I thinking! But as I gear up for my next book project, I decided I wanted a space where I can chat about the craft of writing and the great resources I find and share my own writing process. Essentially, it'll be a more elaborate version of what I post here. Sounds fun? Then go read the intro and say hi! (Link in bio.)