Pismo Beach!

This past summer, my mom wanted each Caleb and Nyah to spend a week with her and my dad at their place in Palm Desert. So, one Sunday afternoon, we decided to meet them halfway in Pismo Beach so that Caleb could go home with them and spend the week. The kids LOVE the beach and I love taking them as its such easy entertainment. I don't have to do anything but sit there. They entertain themselves pretty well with just the water and sand. And of course, it doesn't matter if its cloudy rainy and cold, they still love it! We weren't at the beach for very long, but no matter, the kids had a ton of fun! While my dad and Hammi talked, my mom played tag with Cora and Nyah and Caleb didn't waste any time making their own collection of seaweed. As you can tell by the sheer joy on their faces, they had a blast and didn't care that mom forgot their jackets!

Crissy Field ~ San Francisco

This was a really fun adventure! I had hesitated going into the city just because I am nervous about the traffic and finding parking on my own with the kids. However, for this adventure we went along with our walking group! Our walking leader gave me very specific and easy to follow directions and I was able to find parking very easily and right away. I was so excited to have made it in to the city on my own! Of course, the was horribly foggy and overcast, but that just added to the adventure. I came prepared with extra clothes, towels and jackets. After parking and hooking up with our group, we made our way to the flat gravel path and enjoyed the views of the Golden Gate Bridge as we walked along. The wind was blowing pretty strong, but we charged ahead! There were lots of bikers, walkers, runners and dog walkers going back and forth despite the chilly weather. At the end of the path, we came to what is called the warming hut which is a little gift shop and cafe. Bingo! We quickly got in line to invest in some hot chocolate (lets keep in mind we were in the middle of July....55 and rainy it was not in the East Bay, so after a half hour of walking, we were pretty frozen!) We sat outside the warming hut chatting and sipping our hot chocolate. After a few minutes we decided to head back to the parking lot. As we got closer to where our cars were parked, we headed toward the beach to give the kids a better view of the bridge and let them splash in the water. Yes, no matter how cold it is, my kids still want to play in the water! Caleb was able to guide Nyah (he is such a good brother!) to a sandbar a short distance from the beach. They rolled their pants up and off they went. Thankfully, Cora stayed glued to me, too cold and scared to venture away from me. This is when I took the pictures of the kids with the bridge in the background. If the weather had been just a bit nicer, I would have stayed the rest of the afternoon to let the kids play at the beach, but I could tell they were getting cold, so we decided to head back to the car and have our lunch. I wanted to get the kids changed out of their wet clothes, but they wanted to eat, so we ate quick and then changed. Then we headed out. I saw signs for Ghiradelli Square on our way out, but wasn't sure the kids were up for it. I may try that when we have family out next week! This is a really fun place to show visitors the Golden Gate Bridge and take a nice walk as well!

Tilden Park ~ Little Farm

Ok, we all know Tilden Park is awesome: steam trains, carousel, farm, etc. if it would just be a little easier to get around. The signage is not very helpful as you maneuver through the Berkeley hills which makes things even more frustrating, but if you can manage to find what you're looking for, I guarantee its worth it! So this day, we decided to hunt down the Little Farm. I had heard about it numerous times and although my sense of direction is pretty good, I was not sure I could find it on my own with the kids. So, I decided to wait till my husband who has an amazing sense of direction could go with me.
Although we had directions that seemed pretty clear, it still took a few wrong turns and a stop at the Lawrence Hall of Science to ask for directions, but we did eventually find it! Yeah!!!! Again, it was around lunch time when we arrived, so we sat at a picnic table and had lunch before venturing to the farm. What an great place! I had read on the website that we could bring lettuce to feed the animals, so I grabbed a bunch of romaine we had in the fridge before we headed out and the kids really enjoyed feeding the animals food that we had brought ourselves as opposed to buying something there. There were cows, goats, chickens, etc. The farm is built against a large hill and you climb the hill to get to the goats, etc. We wandered around the farm for a bit, reading about the animals and feeding them. After enough wandering, we walked back across the path leading to the farm and hiked a loop through some gorgeous greenery of the park. It was a very easy, flat hike that the kids really enjoyed. The path loops a small pond where we saw some ducks and turtles. The kids are always excited to see any kind of wildlife, so this was really fun. Some of the path was dirt and some was a wooden path that sat on top of marshy ground. It probably took us an hour to hike the loop, but we took our sweet time and studied lots of cool animals, plants, etc. The Little Farm is another gem where the kids can discover, learn and just as importantly, be kids!

Berkeley Marina

One of our best days this summer was the day we spent at the Berekely Marina. I had tried taking the kids there last summer, but got my directions mixed up and never made it. Thankfully, this time I had a map and found it. I loaded up the kids bikes, kites and a lunch and headed out. When we arrived, we drove around a bit and found a place to eat. I had brought a bag of peanuts and boy was that a good thing. As we sat on the grass, the kids noticed ground squirrels (?) scurrying in and out of the rocky embankment that leads down to the bay. Of course, they had to check it out, so off they went. These squirrels had obviously been fed before...the kids were thrilled with how close they got to eat the peanuts and how fast they shelled them once they were dropped. I figured we probably shouldn't be feeding them but the kids were getting such a kick out of it. So after about a half hour and with all the peanuts gone, I talked the kids into going to fly their kites. We climbed to the top of a nearby hill and discovered that this is an amazing place for the kids to fly their kites as there is so much wind (or at least it was so windy that day) that the kites go up and stay up soooo easily! It was perfect. I barely had to help them! So we just hung out for a while watching the kites fly really high in the air.
Once the kids were done with the kites, we headed back down the hill to our car and traded our kites for the kids' bikes. This part wasn't nearly as fun as my middle daughter isn't quite as fluid on her bike as her older brother. We didn't go too far as her constant wales of "help me!" got to be a bit much. However, my son was able to stop and chat with a fisherman and at least we made it a little ways. I have to remind myself that it isn't how far we go, just that we make an attempt and get out.
So, the main reason for heading to the Marina was to find the famed Adventure Playground. I had heard and read about this playground in various places and it got rave reviews in every publication. Thought we should check it out since we live so close to it. When I checked out the website, I found that that day was the last day they would be open during the week. From then on out, they would only be open on the weekends. This would either be good or bad....I was also a little worried about the hammers, nails and paint that they described as being left out for the kids to play with but thought, "what the heck." My kids surprise me all the time, you really never know. After driving to the other side of the Marina, I found it! It was funny that to get there, you first had to walk past a "real" playground and I had a hard time convincing the kids that that wasn't where we were going, that there was another playground just on the other side. Somehow I managed to get them to the Adventure Playground and ta-da...there it was! We walked in and I signed the waiver and we headed to the building area. There are about 4 tables with scrap wood, paint, hammers, nails and saws. This is what I was worried about, but the kids did a great job! They each took to their own project, sharing what they had and asking for what they didn't. Caleb discovered a cool magnet hung on a string (kinda like a fishing pole) that allowed him to "mine" the park for nails.
I'm always worried going to a place like this by myself with the three kids, cuz I'm never sure how I'm going to keep track of them, especially if its busy. We were very lucky that day that although it was their last day being open for the summer, it wasn't too busy. I was able to let Caleb troll the park looking for nails, while Nyah worked on her project in the project area and Cora and I explored the park some, climbing the various wood structures. Each structure has been restructured and repainted a few times by kids, which is really unique and fun. What Caleb liked most though I think was the zipline. You had to be 6 in order to ride it and he had just turned 6. So off he went: he climbed up the ladder, grabbed a hold of the rope and zoomed down the line! I could tell it made his day! What an amazing day with my kids. This will definitely be a yearly trek we make each summer.

Lake del Valle ~ Livermore, CA

Although this is my 2nd post on a park in Livermore, Livermore is new territory for us and is quickly becoming one of our favorite places to hike and explore nature. Lake del Valle lies in the foothills that surround Livermore and has a ton to offer. As I mentioned before, my son loves to fish and Lake del Valle is a great place to do that as there are a ton of spots along the lakeshore to stop and fish. This is a man made lake that also offers swimming, boating, kayaking, camping, a dog run, boat tours, pontooning, hiking, you name it and it can be done at this park. On our first trip over, we found a spot on the dog run trail to settle in for the afternoon while the kids played in the water and fished. The water was clean and cool on this hot Sunday afternoon which was a great relief. I love nothing more than finding a spot where the kids can play freely and just explore their surroundings and be kids. This allows me some much needed down time, but more importantly, I feel like it allows my kids to learn about the world around them on their own terms without me or another adult directing or redirecting them whatever the case may be. Either way, Lake del Valle is a great place for families to explore.
On our 2nd trip out there, we decided to try kayaking. Unfortunately, when we got to the park, there were gale force winds and there was no hope of me being able to keep the kayak from being thrown about by the wind. Thankfully the kid working the kayak rentals let us know that it would be pretty rough out on the lake and that he was already thinking he was going to have to save some people that had gone out in kayaks. We appreciated his honesty and heeded the warning. We then went out to the swimming area to try to let the kids play in the water some, but the wind was so strong that it was not enjoyable and we ended up just going home. We expect to return to this park soon to continue exploring the many activities offered!

My favorite park ~ Alum Rock Park, San Jose

This is definitely a hidden gem of the bay area. When we lived in San Jose, I found this park in a book called "Babies by the Bay." We were new to the area, so I was just trying parks listed in the book. Was I blown away by this park! It sits right in the foothills of San Jose and was only about 15 minutes from our house. I believe it is one of the oldest and largest city parks in California. It has the feel of a state park with the close proximity of a city park. The first time we visited, I think we were there all day. There are endless miles of hiking trails and an incredible play ground, complete with a picnic area. We have seen many wildlife here including deer and turkey. We have climbed to Eagle Rock and Inspiration Point, hung out at the visitor center and the Youth Science Institute which is a habitat for raptors that are unable to live in the wild on their own due to an injury. Come to think of it, there are 2 playgrounds, one larger newer one and another smaller one for smaller kids that my older kids still enjoy due to the large stone spider and eagle they can climb.
What I like best about the park is the peacefulness that you feel as you enter the park. All of a sudden it is quiet and the noise and clamour of the city is gone despite the fact that it is only 5 minutes away.
This last time, the kids their cousin, aunt and I were able to spend 2 very enjoyable hours just at the main playground. This playground is large, so there is plenty of room to play tag. We also saw deer on the hill behind the playground as well as in the field surrounding us. It was a peaceful ending to our day and we so look forward to going again!

Sycamore Grove Park ~ Livermore, CA

So we had passed this park about 3 times and it looked perfect for our family to go biking in. Most of the paths looked flat and although it didn't look very shady, we were headed into fall and the need for shade was no longer as strong as it was a couple of months back. So finally we decided to go! While my husband got our bikes prepped (it had been a while since we had been biking), I got a lunch together for us.
We aren't very good about leaving much before lunch so by the time we get to where we're going, we're usually ready to eat. So while I made sandwiches and ants on a log, my husband pumped up tires, adjusted seats and got the bike rack on the Trailblazer. Finally, we were off. About 45 minutes later, we arrived at our destination, pulled into the parking lot and payed the $4 parking fee. We found a nice table under a tree nearby and sat down to feast on PB & J, Capri Sun and raspberries. After a few minutes my husband asked me if I had remembered our son's bike helmet....."No." I said. I then asked him if he had remembered HIS bike helmet. He said "No." I didn't think much of it since the paths seemed flat and I didn't think we'd be doing anything death defying. So we finished our lunch and headed back to the car to get on our bikes! My husband gets his and my bike off the rack, gets my son's bike out of the back and starts to set up the bike trailer for the girls. Easy enough if you don't have three super antsy kids waiting to get going, in a parking lot no less where I am trying to keep them from getting run over. As he's getting the trailer hooked up to his bike, he asks me if we have the pin to connect it to the bike.....??? "Isn't it on there?" I ask him? Apparently not. So after a few fruitless attempts of trying to figure out how we can keep the bike trailer connected to the bike, we come to grips with the fact that after all this, we're not going biking after all! Seriously, sometimes its like the harder you try, the more fruitless your attempts turn out to be. ugh!!!!!!
We then spent the next few minutes convincing the kids that walking will actually be better than biking! They didn't believe us at first but you know, we saw a lot more walking I think than we would have biking. At the first bridge the kids of course had to look at the creek and of course there were fish! My son is an avid fisherman and has declared in the past that he wants to be a "fish taker" when he grows up. So of course the fish fascinated him.
We kept walking and after a few minutes, saw a couple of deer grazing under the shade of a huge tree! I'm pretty sure we would have speeded past them on our bikes and not even noticed they were there.
What we saw next was really cool. We kept hearing a the rap, rap, rap of a woodpecker. It took us a few minutes, but we finally found him pecking away at a tree covered in holes. It was so cool to see his resplendent red head. Our two oldest were able to glimpse him as well, but I think my two year old wasn't quite sure what she was looking at. Maybe in a couple more years.
On our way back, we decided to deviate from the paved path and take a dirt path along the creek. There were a couple of places where we heard a waterfall type sound, but couldn't actually see the water flowing over rocks because there were reeds that hid the creek. I know it sounds weird....
So about 2.5 hours later we were back at the parking lot. Totally exhausted, but glad to have spent such a glorious day outdoors. We will so go back this time with our bike helmets and pin for the bike trailer and maybe we'll be able to get deeper into the park!