*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...

Do you consider yourself a curious person? I love this quote from The Girl Who Drank The Moon, although my curiosity has led me to a lot of non-clever places at times. My parents can vouch for that. But clever or not, curiosity has kept me rather busy either way!
SHE'S ALIVE! Yes, folks, I survived not only summer break, but also managed to travel to Seattle for PAX (a gaming convention) with my family without any of us getting sick. Huzzah! It’s nice to be home though. * Do you enjoy video games and/or board games? If yes, which are your favorites? If not (which is okay, we don't all have to enjoy the same things!), why not? * We love video games around here! There are so many great options that will make your kids READ, and COLLABORATE, and STRATEGIZE without ever realizing they are practicing those skills. We are also avid board game people, for all the same reason. Also, they're just fun! I'll go post some photos of PAX in my stories, if anyone wants to see.
Do you plan realistic goals or dream big? I've updated my blog with writing update, at last! I gotta tell you, 10k is not what I hoped my word count would be by August. On the other hand, it's summer break and I'm proud to have accomplished anything at all, really. Kids are exhausting! And summer isn't over, so I may surprise myself with some real progress soon? Meh, probably not, but I choose to believe there is hope for me yet!
Do you plan realistic goals or dream big? I've updated my blog with writing update, at last! (Link in bio, you know the drill.) I gotta tell you, 10k is not what I hoped my word count would be by August. On the other hand, it's summer break and I'm proud to have accomplished anything at all, really. Kids are exhausting! * But summer isn't over, so I may surprise myself with some real progress soon? Meh, probably not, but I choose to believe there is hope for me yet! Who’s with me?! Let’s make August count!
What's a genre you don't read much of? A friend recommended I read Greenglass House and the cover was so pretty I couldn't say no. I don't often read mystery novels so I wasn't sure what to expect, but this one had a touch of fantasy to it so it was especially fun! * I was hooked from the first line: "There is a right way to do things and a wrong way, if you're going to run a hotel in a smugglers' town." I mean, YES. I am IN. * The entire story takes place in one location (the inn), but all the characters were so quirky that it was captivating to see details of each of their pasts slowly revealed. Also, the main characters pretend they're in a role-playing game the whole time they are trying to solve the mystery, so much love from this fellow nerd!
When it comes to guilty pleasures, like watching TV or eating sweets, do you find it easier to abstain or moderate? After a month-long dry spell, I finally wrote words last night, woot! Prior to this I was busy watching American Housewife, which was too hilarious for me to choose being productive over watching it. So I figured the only solution was to binge-watch all 70,000 episodes (I may be exaggerating) as quickly as possible so I could be done with it and move on to being a productive member of society again. My husband was doubtful of my logic, being the moderator that he is, but he doesn’t always understand (okay, he never understands) how my brain works - obsessively or not at all. So now I’m done with it and it worked! My mind is American Housewife-free to pursue other leisures, like not giving up my writing goals entirely. The only trick now is not to start watching another show. I find it easier to abstain entirely than moderate!
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?