Tag Archives: California

Christmas in the Park

Posted on November 26, 2009 | 2 Comments

In our household, it isn’t Christmas without a trip to Christmas in the Park. This San Jose tradition celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and I hope it stays around for another thirty years. You hear that gingerbread people? Don’t go anywhere. Here are the reasons we love this holiday event.

1. The Christmas displays are the main event. The whole reason for going to Christmas in the Park is to check out all the retro displays. We love the Santa Claus train, Caribbean Christmas, and Gingerbread House displays. Keep your eye out for the winners of this year’s community-decorated Christmas trees that can be viewed throughout the plaza. The trees are sponsored by all sorts of groups, from Girl Scout troops to high school art classes.

2. The lights are pretty. While you can visit the holiday displays all day long, the best time to go is right at dusk. Have some hot cocoa with your afternoon snack and take a stroll trough the plaza when the lights start to twinkle on all of the trees.

3. And there are rides. Yes, be prepared for a little whining from your kids when they lay their eyes on all of the carnival rides. There are things that spin, things that go, and things that may clean out your wallet. The rides are located usually located on side streets by the Tech Museum and the Fairmont Hotel.

4. The festive decorations can also be found indoors. Stroll on over to the Fairmont Hotel right across the street from the plaza to check out the gingerbread house that’s big enough to walk through.

5. It’s all (relatively) free. There is no admission charge for Christmas in the Park. There are, of course, plenty of things around the plaza to spend your money on: the rides, the plastic reindeer toys, and the delicious churros.

Just the facts: Christmas in the park is in downtown San Jose at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park. It runs November 27 through December 27. Check out the website for more information.

San Jose Family Travel Tips

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Posted in Events for the Cool Kids, NorCal

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Today’s Tip: Recommendations From My Road Trip

Posted on July 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

IMG_2774We’re back from our road trip to Southern California and on the long way back home I had plenty of time to come up with a list of some important things to consider when planning a road trip in California. Lucky for you, I’m willing to share my top three recommendations:

1. Take some sunscreen and put it on your left arm. You’ll be spending so much time in the car, that you may begin to suffer from a driver’s tan, or worse, a sunburn. Add an extra layer for those driving hands.

3. Be beach bag-ready. It’s not over until there’s sand in your beach bag. Lots and lots of sand. I like to pack a beach bag with our swimsuits, sunscreen, travel towels, and even my beach book. So whenever we see a good beach, we pull over and make that our pit stop. Don’t be caught fishing in your luggage for your swimsuits.

4. Make the perfect California song playlist. This is a state that has gotten more than its fair share of songs written about it, so you’ll have plenty to choose from. When you’re driving through Los Angeles traffic, you’re going to want to be singing “Nobody Walks in L.A.”. You’ll want to break out into song, because the alternative is breaking out into tears. Trust me.

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Posted in Family Travel, Something Actually Useful

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Today’s Tip: Cheap Date at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Posted on June 29, 2009 | 3 Comments

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Ahh…sun, surf, and caramel apples can only mean one thing: it’s summertime at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This classic seaside amusement park advertises its free admission, but sometimes the best things in life aren’t free. You aren’t going to go all the way to the Boardwalk for your kids to just walk and watch all the other kids have fun. If you go on any ordinary day, you can expect to pay $2.25 to $4 for each ride, or if you’re staying for a while, you can get the unlimited rides wristband for $29.95. That’s not taking into account what you’ll pay for parking ($10 in the lot) and food.

Don’t throw in your beach towel just yet. There are some ways to make this California kid dream come true. During the summer, my favorite way to save money is to make this an evening affair by going on “1907 Nights” or “Pepsi Nights”. Every Monday and Tuesday after 5 p.m., you will pay only one dollar for each ride and also for hot dogs, Pepsi, and cotton candy. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings after 5 p.m. you can get an unlimited rides wrist band for $9.95 if you bring in a Pepsi can.

I save the most money when I go on “1907 Nights” because my young child can’t go (or won’t go) on over half the rides. It doesn’t make sense for me to buy the unlimited rides wristband when I’m going to be mostly hanging around at Bulgy the Whale or Cave Train Adventure. Besides, I can’t pass up one dollar hot dogs.

As a bonus tip, I’m going to let you know that they only sell the specially priced hot dogs and Pepsis in certain lines of the dining areas. This always bugs me, because if you want anything else besides hot dogs (I just gotta have my fried artichoke hearts) you have to stand in two lines. This is so not what a tired mommy wants to do when dealing with whiny, hungry kids. I find that the best thing to do is be there right when the big hand hits the 5 on your watch. That way you’ll get shorter lines for the food, and still have time give those hot dogs in your tummy a spin on the rides.

Parking Tip: The parking is also cheaper or free in the evenings. You don’t have to pay the parking meters after 6 p.m.

Good to know: “1907 Nights” are from June 21 to August 31 and “Pepsi Nights” are from June 23 to September 2.

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Posted in Family Travel, NorCal, Something Actually Useful

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Five Month Hurrah

Posted on June 4, 2009 | Leave a comment

mapsYes, this week marks the blog’s five-month anniversary, and I’m ready to celebrate. I would invite you all over for a killer fiesta, but since I can’t, here’s some of your favorite posts so far (well, at least that’s what the stats say).

 

  1. When Maps Fall Into the Wrong Hands: Who knew that the post I wrote in a hotel room, on a whirlwind weekend in San Diego, would take this number one spot. Maybe I should write in hotel rooms more often.
  2. Kids Go West Guide to the Best Campgrounds in California:  It seems that people love to the great outdoors. Pack up that gear everyone, and don’t forget the peanut butter (my secret ingredient) for those s’mores.
  3. Disneyland During Spring Break:  When people aren’t camping, they’re trying to figure out how they’ll survive the magical place that Walt built. I’ve lived to tell the tale, so I’ve got lots to share. Look for more posts about my Disney tips this month. I’m here to help!
  4. Guide to Inauguration Day Activities: What’s more popular than Disney? President Obama. I thought it was a bit amusing that one of my most popular posts for a while was the only one that had nothing to do with travel. It made me thinking about changing directions…nah.
  5. The Dole Pineapple Maze With a Side of Dole Whip:  I’m so glad I’m not the only person on the planet who loves pineapple soft-serve. Oh no, I’m part of a much larger dole-whip loving peoples.

It’s been (mostly) a blast writing this blog. Thanks for reading, I appreciate it more than you know.

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Posted in The Mush Pot

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The Boys of Summer at AT&T Park

Posted on May 18, 2009 | 7 Comments

b.gameThis weekend we went to our first Giants baseball game of the season at AT&T Park here in foggy San Francisco. Well actually it was actually quite sunny and unusually hot this weekend, so we thought there would be no better way to spend our Saturday than by eating garlic fries and watching some baseball.

This isn’t just one of my son’s favorite summer pastimes, but mine as well. We both love the game, the food, and this fabulous stadium. AT&T Park is one of those newer, fancier stadiums with some great view of the San Francisco skyline and the bay. Don’t worry if you can’t afford the club seats either, I think some of the best views are from the top seats. Another good place to sit with kids is in either the arcade or bleacher section. Both of these sections make it easy to get up during the game and take a break at the trolley car or the kids’ area by the Coca-Cola bottle.

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Most of the cheap seats go for between $20 and $25 dollars and on Monday through Thursday they have some $10 outfield tickets available. You’re allowed to bring in your own food and drinks to the park (no glass allowed). If you’re just passing through town as a tourist and want to check in on a game without actually having to buy tickets, walk up to the open archways of the right field wall and watch the game free of charge.

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Posted in Family Travel, NorCal

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Kids Love The Getty Museum of Art

Posted on May 4, 2009 | 5 Comments

img_0722_1There are only two reasons my son will get into the car for the six-hour drive to Los Angeles: 1. Disneyland, 2. The Getty Museum of Art. That’s right, my son loves an art museum as much as he does Mickey-shaped ice cream. So maybe he’s not your typical kid, but I think his love of the Getty has a lot to do with how this art museum gives families the red carpet treatment.

Here’s why your kids may grow to love The Getty as well:

  1. There is a ride. To get up to the museum, you can choose to walk or ride the Getty Tram. I’m guessing that most kids (and tired parents) will prefer to ride up. Plus, you can convince your kids it’s almost like Disneyland.
  2. There is a room just for them. The Family Room is housed in it’s own small building, and is obviously the most kid-friendly place in the museum. This room looks more like a discovery museum than an art gallery. It has at least five hands-on activity areas, where kids can make a mask, play with mirrors, look through “art” peep holes, and decorate an illuminated wall with their own manuscript designs. My son’s favorite area was the tube sculpture cove. He spent almost half an hour trying to make the perfect sculpture, but realized he had to share his sculpting space with other kids who didn’t necessarily share his vision. In the end, he did get a bit of uninterrupted play time to finish his sculpture. Because this room has limited capacity, we had to wait about 15 minutes to get inside. It was definitely worth the wait though. tube sculptures
  3. They will find engaging art galleries. The summer we went, they had a special exhibit about science and women, with paintings of flowers and insects. Inside the special exhibit, there was an area for kids to color their own flower prints. There was also Art Detective cards available, with clues that kids had to look for in the paintings. These cards are great because they provide kids with a way to actively engage with the art, and parents don’t have to come up with the activities themselves. You can use  Art Detective cards for other areas of the museum-pick one up outside the Family Room.
  4. They can roam the gardens. Art can be appreciated outdoors as well. Kids like to check out the garden paths and the sculptures of the Central Garden. Parents will appreciate that they won’t have to keep tiny hands away from any valuable art. Oh, and did I mention you can catch some of the best views of Los Angeles? The grounds, architecture, and scenic location of this museum are what make it such an unique experience.sculpture at the getty
  5. So many activities, so little time. There’s so much for families to do at the Getty, that we didn’t get a chance to try it all out. I would have liked to try the Family Art Stop to get a “hands-on gallery experience with a single work of art”. The workshop is free, but you do have to sign-up at the Information Center. Check their website for days and times, depending on the season you’re visiting. If you like to do the audio tours, there is one available just for families. You can rent the GettyGuide audio player at the museum’s entrance hall for five dollars.

I love the The Getty Museum of Art for all of these reasons and for the fact that admission is free. You will need to pay $10 dollars to park your car. The cafe has plenty of kid-approved food, and a beautiful outdoor eating area to enjoy some of that southern California sun. You are allowed to bring your own picnic to eat on the lawn next to the Central Garden, or any of the public seating areas.

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Posted in Family Travel, Geek Stops, SoCal

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Tulips and Tea Time at Filoli Gardens

Posted on April 13, 2009 | 6 Comments

img_0354Spot On: When I want to feel like I’m in England for the day, I speak with a badly executed British accent or I visit Filoli Gardens. Everything at these formal gardens-the beds of tulips, the historic house, the mazes, and the dove in the garden house-make you feel like you’ve been transported to another time and place. 

Smell the Flowers: Spring time is the best (and most crowded) time to visit the gardens. But there’s always something blooming, so I like to check the blooming calendar and weekly updates on their website to help plan my visit. 

Useful Tidbits: There are rules for etiquette and they are usually enforced by the dozens of volunteer docents wandering the garden. So if you have a small child that will have a hard time staying out of the field of tulips or the forbidden lawn, you may want to wait until they get older. The gardens are open 10:00 (11:00 on Sunday) to 3:30. The last admission to the gardens is 2:30, so don’t plan on a late afternoon visit. You can’t picnic inside the gardens. There’s a cafe that serves your standard northern california deli-style lunch and pastries. I usually eat before hand and take my tea (coffee) and pastry to the outdoor tables. DO NOT forget your camera. img_1974

Worth the Cost: Price of admission is $12 for adults, $5 for students, and kids 4 and under are free. I think it’s worth the cost, since you can spend a couple of blissful hours exploring the expansive grounds, and entrance to the house is included in the admission.

Where: About 30 miles south of San Francisco. 86 Cañada Rd., Woodside, CA 94062

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Posted in Family Travel, NorCal

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Learn a Few Things at the Jelly Belly Factory

Posted on March 8, 2009 | 5 Comments

Jelly B. FactoryThe Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California is a good place to get your kids all excited about both sugar and learning. You won’t feel so guilty about letting them dig into a bag of jelly beans, when you realize that they are also learning about food production and machines.

Smarten Up

The educational part of a visit to the Jelly Belly Factory is the free, 40-minute tour that takes you inside this working factory for a glimpse of the candy making process. You line up for the tour in the lobby area of the store, and are given paper “Jelly Belly Factory” hats to wear, uhmm, for health code reasons. You don’t ever get close enough to the jelly beans to actually drop a hair on them, as your tour guide will guide you on a walk of the factory from elevated walkways with large viewing windows. They were not at full production the day we went, but we still got to see a bit of activity in each area of production. The guide will occasionally stop, and you will be directed to watch television monitors for a short video on the history of the factory or on the production process. My son was mostly interested in watching the live process down below in the factory: the jelly beans being polished, sorted, and packaged. One of the highlights was getting a close-up view of thousands of jelly beans as they moved along on conveyor belts and dropped into sorting machines. Watching all the machines moving brightly colored candy around had an almost hypnotic effect on the kids. 

Useful Tidbits

The tours run daily between 9 to 4, check the website for updated hours if you’re going on a holiday. We went the day before Thanksgiving, and had to wait in the tour queue area about fifteen minutes for our tour to start. On weekends, you will not see any, or very little, production on the tour. This might not make it as engaging, or educational, for kids. You are given a small bag of Jelly Belly beans at the end of the tour, or a chance to sample some of the flavors at the store. If you are allergic to super-sugary, energetic tour guides you might want to steer clear of this place. Be ready to hear some chants from your tour guide. Ours went something like this: the guide yells, “I say jelly, you say beans. Jelly…”, the people yell back,  “…Beans!”.  I thought wearing paper hats and chanting was all part of the charm of a visit to the Jelly Belly Factory. You are not allowed to take pictures or videos while on the tour, so I didn’t get a chance to capture all of that for you, but you can take a virtual tour on their website.img_1153_1

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Posted in Family Travel, Geek Stops, NorCal

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Learn from the Masters at a Sandcastle Competition

Posted on January 3, 2009 | Leave a comment

In my last post, I wrote about my new year’s resolution to help my son build a better sandcastle. We are big fans of the Travel Channel at my house (no surprise), and my son gets a big kick out of the Sandblasters show that’s on from time to time. What 7-year-old boy doesn’t love to watch sandcastles blow up?  It got me to thinking about going to see a live sandcastle competition. And if it includes explosions, all the better.

I found a list at Travel Channel of the best sandcastle competitions in North America. Maybe I can go to the U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition held in July at Imperial Beach, San Diego. I’m bound to pick up some sandcastle tips. Who knows? I might get so good at the art of sand sculpting, we’ll be entering our own competitions soon.

O.K., I get a bit carried away.      Sandcastle

 

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Posted in Family Travel, SoCal, The Mush Pot

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