Shoreline Park, Mountain View, CA

This was another favorite park of mine when we lived in San Jose. Not too far away was Shoreline Park, home to the Shoreline Ampitheater. The park is right on the bay and has a lake, so it can get pretty chilly but on this day, the sun was out and we were comfortable. There are miles and miles of mostly flat biking paths, so I would highly recommend bringing a bike to this park. Its a great place to spend an afternoon biking and making stops along the way to observe the wildlife and as you loop back to the parking lot, making a stop at the ship play structure, which is so unique and fun for the kids to play on. I think what I loved so much about this park was the fact that they play structure was so different than all the other playgrounds we had been to. Its fun for the kids to pretend they are out at sea. Be sure to bring your sand toys as the ship is anchored in sand. There are lots of geese at this park, so you kinda have to watch for the poop, but the kids will enjoy seeing them. There is also a small cafe that serves mostly lunch and snacky type stuff. There are large grassy areas to run around in and small hills to explore. Whats also really neat about this park is that it really isn't very busy, no matter when you go. Most of the people there are walking and there are a few families that stop to play, but it doesn't seem like too many people know about it, so its a nice quiet, calm, serene park to go to. There also seem to be quite a few lake activities, like paddle boating, fishing, etc. although we've never tried any of those out. But this is definitely a hidden gem!

Alum Rock, Inspiration Point, San Jose

This hike would have been perfect except for one tiny detail. Although I knew we would be out hiking in the afternoon, first thing in the morning I decided I'd work out for an hour and then spend the morning putting together packages to be mailed in time for Christmas. All fine and good except that this hike was on a significant enough of an incline that it pretty much rendered me useless for the rest of the day: i.e. not able to make dinner. Or maybe it was the fact that despite my already worked over body, I decided to play tag and hide and go seek with the kids as we climbed to Inspiration Point. Either way, keep in mind that this hike itself is enough of a workout and you probably don't need to do much else for the day. Anyway, on to my story.

My parents were visiting for the weekend and it was Friday. My husband was tied up at work for the afternoon so knowing that my kids needed to get out and run around, I suggested we head to Alum Rock which I knew would give my kids the opportunity stretch their legs. Along with my parents and brother, we decided to head to Inspiration Point, which I would totally recommend. It was another glorious afternoon complete with sunny skies! The hike was just long enough to fill the afternoon and give us a great view of the surrounding hills. Once at the top, we were able to sit and recoop for a while, which was really fun. There was a big rock in the middle of the staging area at the top and Caleb quickly proceeded to set up a taco stand and sell tacos to each of us! I must tell you they were delicious and would highly recommend purchasing one if you are ever so lucky to make it to the top!

I remember thinking on the way down how fatigued my legs were, but didn't realize how badly fatigued till we arrived home and I collapsed on the couch. Once collapsed, there was no getting up! I couldn't get my legs to move. It would have been helpful had I had an inkling about what to make for dinner, but I didn't so I just continued to sit too overwhelmed by my physical state and lack of dinner planning to get up. Thankfully, Macaroni Grill provides take out and we were fed. I felt badly having guests and no dinner plan, but its the way it goes sometimes and thankfully my family didn't seem to care. We had had another great afternoon!

Samuel P. Taylor State Park, San Rafael, CA

This was one of our very first adventures as a family after having moved to California! It was Thanksgiving weekend and after celebrating Thanksgiving Day with 14 friends and family at our house, we decided to spend the rest of the weekend as a family being outdoors. Our first stop was Samuel P. Taylor State Park outside San Rafael. It took us a good while to arrive, but it was worth the trip! There really isn't anything more magnificent than the redwoods. They are majestic and so regal with how tall and straight they loom against the sky! Since it was November, it was chilly enough to feel like fall, but not too chilly where we were too cold.

After arriving we first stopped to eat our picnic lunch. We enjoyed the quietness and coolness the redwoods provided. The kids ran around and as you can see, Cora was plenty happy in her backpack carrier watching the goings on.

Once we were fed, we headed out. Since this was one of the first times we were out, we weren't quite sure what we were doing: where to go, how long to hike for, which direction to head in, etc. We figured it out though and were just glad to be out enjoying the great outdoors, not something we'd necessarily be doing in Minnesota that time of year with three young children. As we walked along, I was beginning to realize how important this was for my kids. They were so happy being out: exploring, jumping, running. Everything was new and exciting. More importantly, they weren't stuck in front of some computer or tv screen, their mind being numbed by the images animated before them. They were using their minds, taking in God's creation and gaining an appreciation for His majesty and artisic passion as a creator. This is the hope I had for my children as we embarked on these adventures. That they would see and grow to love the God that so artfully and intricately created the outdoors.

The damp smell of the redwoods invited us deeper into the forest and we kept walking. The sheer size of the trees was mezmerizing. The kids got such a kick out of being able to step inside the tree and feel like they were within a secret fort. We completed the short loop trail just as the sun was setting even though it was only about 3:30. It is amazing how much the temperature drops the minute the sun starts to go down behind the redwood canopy. We arrived back at the car in time to hop in and and return home to a cozy crock pot dinner. Another day well spent!

Joshua Tree National Park, Cottonwood Springs ~ Spring Edition

So this was our second time at Joshua Tree within the span of a few months. Again, its one of my favorite spots! This time around, the weather was much warmer which was nice. I put the kids in pants, more to protect their legs from scratchy bushes, not so much for warmth. I tried to keep their tops light and cool so that they wouldn't get too warm. We packed up a lunch with my mom and headed out! This was early April and there were a few school groups out which was fun to see. It reminded me of my own field trip to Cottonwood Springs.

So we found a shady spot under a bush and had some lunch. We let the kids run around for a while and then headed out on a little hike. It was a little warmer than we had anticipated, but we found a nice place for the kids to climb rocks and they enjoyed themselves. I love the scenery here; the desert is truly a beautiful place! We will definitely return!

Redwood Regional Park, Oakland

If you haven't checked this park out, I would highly recommend you go! We had an amazing day in the Oakland hills. This park would probably be best visited in the summer as there is heavy tree cover which provides a ton of shade. However, we visited in November and although it was nice when we started out, towards the end of the afternoon it got really cold! We started out at the playground, which on its own would be a great outing if you didn't have a whole afternoon. It has an amazing play structure, with a walking path going by it so bring the bikes and scooters! The playground is set in a huge clearing, which is great for a game of frisbee or catch. Just having a picnic at this park would be a great day.

After letting the kids play at the park for a little while, we decided to head out on our hike. There was some great scenery as we headed out; I loved the moss that grew on almost every tree, the green color was so vibrant! I took almost as many pictures of the park as I did of the kids! We started out on the path that went around the base of the hill, then headed up. The path was mildly steep for most of the way and the kids did a great job heading to the top. After a little while, it got really steep and my husband carried Nyah on his shoulders and I carried Cora. We would have never made it to the top with them trying to walk on their own; it was just too steep. We passed some mountain bikers on their way down ~ scary, but probably lots of fun. Once we got to the top, we realized we were directly across from Mt. Diablo and had some amazing views of it through the trees! At the top, the path leveled out for a while which was nice and gave us a chance to to enjoy our surroundings before heading down the hill and into the shade and coolness of the afternoon. Once we got to the bottom, the temperature was in the 40's so we were hurrying to get to the car as we were all getting cold. On our way to the parking lot, we passed a small group camp. I have no idea how they were camping out with the chilly weather, but they seemed to be having a good time.
Another amazing day out with my family....we plan to go back as there were many parking areas where we can stop and head out on a hike and explore. Can't wait!

Bishop Ranch Preserve

This is a great short hike close to home. I think this was Cora's first official hike on her own, free from the restraints of the backpack! And as you can see, she couldn't have been happier! Thankfully, she made it to the top without any major calamity, although there were a couple of times I was sure she was going to take a serious tumble down the hill. It was a great starter hike for her. Again, this hike was short, we were probably gone a total of an hour and a half to two hours. Sometimes, though that is all we need to get us out and have the kids run around for a while. What was neat about this outing was the dead tree limbs at the top of the hill which provided the kids with a lot of climbing when we reached it. For my husband and I there was the great view of the valley below. We encountered a few people on the way up and there was one guy with his two dogs. I forget what kind of dogs they were, but they were running around like crazy which the kids found entertaining. It was neat to see the dogs enjoying the beautiful day and having the space to stretch their legs and run around. As for us, we enjoyed our time at the top, then headed home.

Ano Nuevo State Reserve, Half Moon Bay, CA

This was a great trip! We headed to beautiful Half Moon Bay, CA to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to check out the elephant seals on what has been deemed "loser beach". Now, elephant seals.....I didn't really think about it, I just thought they'd be your everyday run of the mill seals; I thought "oh this will be nice for the kids to see seals in their natural habitat.'' Boy, was I in for a surprise! When they named these seals elephant seals, they weren't kidding! These guys are monstrous! It was January which is apparently mating season. Unfortunately these guys were unable to find mates, so they beach themselves to pass the time. How we are able to get so close to them I have no idea, but you can! The sign as you approach the beach says to stay 25 feet away. I'm not sure why you would want to get any closer?? Even though all these guys do is lay around (they could totally care less that we are anywhere near them) I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to get any closer than 25 feet.
Anyway, there were probably 5-6 seals spread out across the beach, giving the kids plenty of space to explore without bothering them. Did I mention the weather? It was HOT! Yes, you would think the beach in January would be freezing, but no....it was probably 80 that day. Of course I had put the kids in long sleeves and pants (or at least the girls) wanting to make sure they were warm enough. So unfortunately, I think we were all a little on the warm side that day. But besides that, we really enjoyed the day. We hung out for about an hour or so and then headed back down to Princeton by the Sea to Barbara's Fish Trap for dinner. What a great place to end our day! A nice casual atmosphere and good food. We'll be back!

Dublin Martin Canyon Creek

This is definitely a gem of the East Bay! Located a few blocks off of Dublin Blvd west of San Ramon Valley Blvd, this trail is nestled right in a residential neighborhood of Dublin. Watch for the brown signs and park on the street. I would have never found this trail had it not been for my walking group. Its nice as its so close by yet feels like you're out in the hills. There is a creek that runs below the trail and although we've been here a few times, the creek has never been very high. In the summer, the kids like to follow the creek bed which can be kinda tricky as there are lots of low hanging branches and it can be hard to get across or back and forth on the banks of the creek due to rocks, etc. However, if you can manage to stay on the trail, it passes by nice houses and at the top of the first hill, we were able to see deer! So fun for the kids. As we continued on, we could see cows grazing on the hills.
There are lots of places to stop and rest or have a snack on this trail which is fun. Although it is quiet, there's quite a bit of traffic on the trail with a lot of people walking their dogs. The initial hill is a bit steep, but my kids were able to manage it with some prompting. There is a last part of the trail that we haven't done and have heard that it gives a good view. The trail is fairly short and should only take you about an hour or hour and a half round trip. Just a nice trail for the kids to run their energy out. Enjoy!

Joshua Tree National Monument, Cottonwood Springs ~ Winter

So there's one thing you need to understand about this place ~ it holds a special place in my heart. I grew up about 45 minutes from Joshua Tree and had a field trip to Cottonwood Springs in 6th grade. For some reason, I fell in love with it! The landscape is gorgeous....not a word you would think to typically use for the desert, but really...it is beautiful! We even celebrated a Thanksgiving in Joshua Tree and although I remember it being cold (another word you wouldn't think to describe the desert) I remember it being very fun and one of my more memorable Thanksgivings!
So again, this is the winter version of Joshua Tree and by that I mean COLD! It was one of those crisp clear days that although is sunny and bright, just chills you to the bone with an icy wind. We ended up not staying very long just because it was so chilly. I think had we gone earlier in the day, it might have been warmer.
In order to get to Cottonwood Springs, you enter on the South side of the park off of I-10. I think most directions tell you to enter on the North end of the park and that just means you have to drive through the whole park to get to Cottonwood Springs which I'm sure for some would be enjoyable as the whole park is beautiful! Also, there is a $15 entrance fee which seems a little steep to me and didn't even realize it at the time but a year pass is $3o and since we are at my parents a few times a year, I plan on getting a year pass the next time we go. Also, they don't take credit cards, only cash or check.
So anyway, during this particular romp through the park, the boys took off over one of the many hills and we lost them for a while but eventually reconnected and followed one of the paths to the left. I'm pretty sure we would have spent more time here, but the wind was just frigid and we didn't bundle the little ones as warmly as we should have so we decided to head back before freezing to death. Stay tuned for my spring version of Joshua Tree ~ its another story entirely!

The hills are alive!

I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but this was a gorgeous place to be! Totally reminded me of "The Sound of Music". Technically, this was Windy Hill Open Space Preserve right next to Portola Valley, CA. Again, a gorgeous spring day and although I'm not sure we entered at the main entrance, we got some great views from where we did enter. It was interesting as we started at the top of the hill and went down and it was STEEP! Due to that, we didn't make it too far down the hill because I was scared about going back UP with Cora on my back. So before heading off, we had a small picnic lunch oh and did I mention too that Nyah was potty training at this point with nary a potty in sight? Well, she was so I think it took us longer to get going than it actually took to "hike" but again, thats not the point....the point is to get the kids out and moving and they don't care that we only hike 2 blocks. If it takes forever it might as well be 2 miles.
ok, so we finally get going and the farther down we go, the more nervous I'm getting about making it back to the car. Thankfully, my sister in law was with us (props to her for most of these pictures!) so we saw kind of a plateaued grassy field below us a ways and decided to get down there to let the kids run around. It looked flat and inviting, so off we went. Unfortunately, it wasn't all that flat and poor Cora who wasn't walking at this point had a tough time crawling through the grass as it was taller than her, but we got some great shots of the kids playing, so I think it was ok.
The highlight of the "hike" was seeing a rider on horseback! The rider was so kind as to let the kids and I pet the horse which the kids really enjoyed. The horse must of had the same thoughts I did about getting back up the hill as the rider had a hard time getting the horse to continue to the top!
After some frolicking and playing, we decided to head back to the top as well. Not quite sure how we made it, but we did! Driving down the mountain back to the freeway was a bit freaky as we were following some bicyclists.....still don't quite understand the death wish these people have on mountain roads, but we all made it down safely and I was thankful for that.
Thanks for the fun day Tia Ellen! We had a great time!

Pleasanton Ridge

The Pleasanton Ridge is a bit of a hike, but if you can make it to the top you will have some breathtaking views of the valley. The hike up was pretty intense, but it was a gorgeous fall day and we were glad to be out! Cora was still in the backpack carrier at this point and she enjoyed the ride! About halfway up, we stopped and let the kids play under a huge tree. As you can see Caleb climbed and we just hung out and had a snack. After a bit of a break, we continued toward the top and almost made it. We decided to turn back after a while as we weren't sure the kids would make it all the way back down without a meltdown. There were a lot of other families and lots of dogs on this hike which is always fun. Halfway back down the hill, we discovered that one of Cora's shoes was missing! It had fallen off while she was enjoying her ride down the hill in the backpack. We did some backtracking to no avail, and since it was getting late and the kids were tired,we decided to just head back to the parking lot. Lo and behold, when we arrived back to our car a lady approached us holding Cora's shoe! I have no idea where she found it or how she knew it was ours, but I was relieved to have it back! All in all, it was a afternoon well spent on the ridge.

Apple Hill 2008

So last year was our first trip to Apple Hill. What a great place! We went at the very beginning of October so it wasn't busy and it was actually rainy that day, so I think that kept the crowds away as well. No matter, as I mentioned before my kids don't care if it rains, it just adds to their fun! So off we headed. We decided to take the shuttle once we got there and it was a good way to orient ourselves since it was our first time there. We stopped at a couple of orchards here and there but really had a good time at High Hill, which we had heard had great apple pies. There was fishing there as well as lots of craft booths which were fun to look at. My son loves to fish and we don't go often, so its nice to know of a place to take him even if it is only once a year!
That day we were also able to enjoy turkey legs, caramel apples and of course, hot chocolate!

Moss Landing, CA

Ok, so now its going to seem like we go to the beach all the time and we really don't! However, the kids do love the beach and its a great place to just let them hang out. Anyway, after catching an episode of "Throwndown with Bobby Flay" on the food network, decided that we had to check this place out since it was only an hour or so away. What we were looking for was Phil's Fish Market and we found it! After a great lunch, we headed to the beach to let the kids run off some steam. There really isn't much to Moss Landing; its actually kinda dumpy, but their beach is awesome! I think we ended up at Moss State Beach (?) and it was perfect! There was hardly anyone there and the beach was really clean. All of that made for a great day as I was kinda able to sit and read while my husband played in the surf with the kids. When they weren't in the surf, they were just digging in the sand, so I didn't have to be constantly watching them. My husband took Caleb to look at the rocky pier for a while and the girls just dug and dug. If I ever wanted to have a beach day on my own with the kids, this would be a beach I would consider as I feel I'd be able to watch all the kids without being overwhelmed by crowds and they would have plenty of range to roam around in.
What was really neat about this beach were the pelicans. There was obviously food in the water as these pelicans just kept dive bombing into it. I had never really seen pelicans in action like that before; it was really cool! They just kept circling and diving straight in. It was incredible that they could see the fish from that high up in the air.
When we returned to the car, there were sea otters in the bay along with kayakers. What a great sight seeing these playful creatures. I would totally recommend Moss State Beach just for its wildlife, tranquility and cleanliness. And for a good meal, Phil's Fish Market is close by!