Favorite Kids Activities Around Ventura County as Voted by CVG Facebook Fans

Yes, it actually rained here in the Conejo Valley last week!

Last Sunday, we ran a drawing on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page and asked entrants to indicate their favorite activity with the kids around town. On that rainy Sunday we had quite a bit of response. So with no further ado, let us highlight activities receiving the highest number of mentions. Do take note that the question was asked in open-ended fashion; we did not mention any of the hundreds of kids' activities compiled here on Conejo Valley Guide.

In the upper echelons of popularity, the most frequently noted family favorite activities were <drum roll> Underwood Family Farm in Moorpark, the Thousand Oaks Library, Sky High Sports in Camarillo (CLOSED IN 2018), the Santa Barbara Zoo and local parks. Underwood was the clear top mentioned activity, with the others close on its heels. Some of the specific parks called out included Conejo Creek Park North (including the popular duck pond), Thousand Oaks Community Park (near TOHS) and specifically the "Ant Hill" at that park, Borchard Park in Newbury Park and Gates Canyon Park in Calabasas.

The Ant Hill at Thousand Oaks Community Park. Bring cardboard to slide down on!

The following activities were mentioned by CVG followers at least several times: Scooter's Jungle in Simi Valley, hiking and nature trails, As You Wish Pottery Painting Place (formerly Paint a Dream) at the Simi Valley Town Center, the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden, Lazertag Extreme in Simi Valley, Chuck E. Cheese's, Oak Canyon Park Duck Pond and Splash Pad, Rockin' Kids Play Center at the Simi Valley Town Center and Kids World in Oak Park. Also called out by several parents as a great activity was the Conejo Youth Basketball Association.

Other mentions by the family friendly Facebook crowd included bowling, Lowe's/Home Depot kids' workshops, Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, My Gym Thousand Oaks, Kids Club at The Oaks, Pump It Up Ventura, Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena, Create Studio in Westlake Village, Gymboree, Reagan Library, Camarillo Airport (the Waypoint Cafe is a great place to dine and see the planes) and Patriot Airsoft in Newbury Park (which closed in 2016).

Rounding out the list are Clubhouse Fun Zone in Ventura, playground at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks, horseback riding, the beach, Ventura Harbor Village, Wildwood Park, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, playground at The Village at Dos Vientos Ranch, California ScienCenter in Los Angeles, Conejo Rec & Park District programs, geocaching, We Rock the Spectrum in Agoura Hills and the Kids' Adventure Garden in Thousand Oaks.

Who doesn't love "Cosmic Bowling" pictured here at Harley's Bowl Camarillo. Especially with the bumpers up!

Local Family's Marathon Toy Making Session Captured on This Time Lapse Video

Simi Valley resident Tony Pinto captured this time lapse video of his boys putting together a Starcraft II Mega Bloks BlizzCon 2011 Exclusive Limited Edition Set Battlecruiser during the recent Christmas break. This LEGO-like, 1,738 piece spaceship took an elapsed time nearly 10 hours over two days to put together, including a little help from pop. This explains the change of clothes mid-way into the video. This time lapse also captures a cameo appearance from their sister, one beverage spill and clean-up and a 90 minute period where younger bro takes a video game break. Looks fun!

Christmas 2013 Residential Holiday Light Display on Gemini/Waverly in Camarillo

As in years past, many homes on Gemini Street and Waverly Avenue south of Dunnigan Street in Camarillo are lit up and decorated with cartoon characters, trains, Santa, snowmen, and plenty of lights and other decorations this holiday season. Drive the route or park and walk. It is worth going out of your way for! From the the 101, take Arneill north past Ponderosa to Dunnigan. Turn right on Dunnigan and Gemini is the 4th street on your right.

Here are some scenes from this display in prior years.

Thousands Enjoy Annual Christmas Tree Lane Display in Oxnard Historic District

We stopped by the 2013 Annual Christmas Tree Lane Display on F and G streets between 5th and Palm in the Oxnard Historic District and had a great time, along with thousands of other local residents. This is the biggest residential display in Ventura County and makes for a great family evening. And the music and light show at nearby Plaza Park is another thing you want to check out. More information at www.oxnardhistoricdistrict.com. Video below provides some snippets of what's in store.

The Pumpkin Chucker at the Pumpkin Patch at Faulkner Farm in Santa Paula

A trebuchet is a catapult that works by using the energy of a raised counterweight to throw a projectile. It was popular in medieval times for hurling large stones and missiles. It became obsolete in the 15th century with the introduction of gunpowder.

However, in recent years, the Pumpkin Chucker at the Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patch in Santa Paula has brought this ancient projectile thrower back into the spotlight!

For $5 (or 3 for $10), visitors to the pumpkin patch can select a small pumpkin that is carefully placed into a launch position on the Pumpkin Chucker, ring the Pumpkin Chucker bell, then pull the rope that triggers a 500 lb counterweight that projects the pumpkin 200 feet away towards a target.

In our recent visit, I was surprised to experience about a 45 minute wait for the Pumpkin Chucker! But that didn't seem to bother anyone, as everyone enjoyed watching the airborne pumpkins and cheering as they came close to the target. It was so popular in fact that I think this could be a great year-round business opportunity...flinging pumpkins, watermelons, canteloupes and other worthy produce!

Pumpkin commencing its 200 foot flight from the Pumpkin Chucker

The Faulkner Farm Pumpkin Patch, run by the Rotary Club of Santa Paula since 2007, is typically open on weekends in October each year. Learn more at www.faulknerfarmpumpkinpatch.com.

Pumpkin Chucker target area and post-flight remnants of pumpkins at Faulkner Farm

New LEGO Store is Now Open at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park

Please, don't tell my kids that there's a new LEGO Store at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park! I've lost track but I believe my house contains a college education's worth of LEGOs!

Yes, for several weeks now, the newest and now closest LEGO Store to Ventura County has been open. It is located on the first floor of the Topanga Mall near Target and across from the Baby Gap store. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m on Sunday. Call 818.884.8597 or visit stores.lego.com/en-us/stores/us/topanga for more information. The mall is located at 6800 Topanga Canyon Road.

Previously, the closest LEGO Store to us here in the Conejo Valley / Greater Ventura County area was at the Glendale Galleria. My kids have an insatiable appetite for LEGO sets and nearly every room in the house shows signs of LEGOS.

Roughly 1% of the LEGOs in my house.

But wait...you can celebrate the grand opening of the LEGO Store at Westfield Topanga on September 27-29, 2013 with a huge LEGO Master Build event!

Join in and help a real LEGO® Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall model of Yoda™ completely out of LEGO bricks! You'll receive a free Certificate of Achievement for participating! This event will take place on Friday, the 27th from 11am-7pm, Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sunday from 11am-7pm.

Be one of the first 300 people each day to make a qualifying purchase at the LEGO Store and you will receive one of the following giveaways:

• Friday, September 27: Free Collectible LEGO T-Shirt with a $50 Purchase!*
• Saturday, September 28: Free Limited-Edition LEGO Store Set with a $75 Purchase!
• Sunday, September 29: Free Exclusive LEGO Minifigure Set with a $50 Purchase!

Offers valid while supplies last only. *T-shirts are available in child sizes only.

Interesting and Amazing Facts and Tidbits About LEGO® Blocks

Experiencing the Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak Hike with My Kids

On the President's Day holiday I took my boys to the Sandstone Peak trailhead in the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu for the six mile Mishe Mokwa Trail to Sandstone Peak.

I've discovered that many, perhaps even most, local residents have never heard of Sandstone Peak. They know about the prominent Boney Mountain overlooking the Conejo Valley, but the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountain range at 3,111 feet is something new!

Well Sandstone Peak is something that you must explore at some point. Not exactly for the faint of heart, this peak provides panoramic, 360 degree views stretching from the Channel Islands, Conejo Valley, San Fernando Valley and beyond.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting to the trailhead. While only 12 miles from the Westlake Boulevard/101 freeway juncture, it take close to 30 minutes to get there via the winding, Decker Canyon, Mulholland Road and Yerba Buena Road. The main dirt parking lot has room for perhaps 25 cars, while there are several smaller dirt lots and some street parking available.

Once we parked, I made sure we had water and snacks packed. We started our trek around 2pm on a cool afternoon, so I also made sure to pack a second layer for us. The first section of the hike from the parking lot to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead is probably the steepest stretch of the entire hike. So of course about 27 steps into the hike my youngest (age 7) wants to stop and take a break. Uggh. But after finding some distractions on the trail, we made it to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead sign. Yippee!

View of Balanced Rock from the south.

The first half of the hike is mainly north/northeast facing and was almost entirely shaded. The trail is fairly moderate all the way to Split Rock, though there are a couple slightly "dicey" sections where the kids made my blood pressure go up a bit.

Within a few miles, you'll see the famous Balanced Rock (pictured above), a display that has you staring in amazement. How the heck that large rock balances on the smaller one is beyond me. And the photo (as well as this closer view from the north on Pinterest) does not do it justice.

Navigating one of the more narrow sections of the trail overlooking Balanced Rock

Just west of Balanced Rock is a small stream and Split Rock, a large boulder with a crack in it large enough to walk through. There's also a picnic bench here, where you can relax and replenish. In the canyons between Balanced Rock and Split Rock are the Echo Cliffs...aptly named as the echo effect in that area is quite fun to explore. Many folks hike to Split Rock, enjoy a picnic, then head back. Or you can continue onward for the full 6 mile or so loop to Sandstone Peak and back.

Split Rock, about 2 miles into the hike

The section of the Mishe Mokwa Trail between Split Rock and the Backbone Trail intersection is about 1 1/2 miles or so.

The sign telling us we are (finally) almost at the Backbone Trail, which will take us to Sandstone Peak and back to our car on Yerba Buena Road

Views from Sandstone Peak looking north towards the Conejo Valley/Ventura County

We had been heading north/northwest on the Mishe Mokwa trail and now we were heading east on the Backbone Trail. A couple times I was slightly confused by offshoot trails, but we found the way by staying on the main trails.

It's a bit of a challenge and rock climb to get to the actual top of Sandstone Peak once you reach its base (CLICK HERE for more details). And once you reach the top, looking down at the canyons below, with the kids running around, can be quite unnerving. (In fact, if your kids are really "active" you may not want to bring them to the top...kind of scary...and dangerous.) But we made it up there and survived!

Views from Sandstone Peak looking towards the Pacific Ocean

Find out more about this and other hikes on the National Park Service Circle X Ranch website at www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/circlexranch.htm, where you will find a detailed pdf map of the various hikes in that area.

Circle X area map excerpt courtesy of National Park Service. Full map with detailed information at www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/circlexranch.htm.