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!

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!