Muir Woods National Monument

We hadn't been here in years! Before we had kids, this was one of our favorite places to take family and friends when they came to visit us. It was really inexpensive and was just a good way to give visitors a taste of the redwoods. It used to be only a $2 entrance fee, now the price has gone up to $5. Still affordable, but thats quite a jump in price! Anyway, we decided to bring my husband's grandma here since she hadn't been to California before. It was still a great place to visit, but a little trickier with the kids....for some reason, although it is an outdoor park, it was so quiet and our kids aren't quiet! So we had a bit of a hard time keeping the noise level down as it seemed like everyone was trying to enjoy the quietness. The walking paths here are pretty level and best if you have a jogging stroller, although a regular stroller would work just fine. Again, the redwoods are just amazing and there is a ton of history in this park as it was declared the 10th national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. There is also a nice stream running through this park which is fun to watch. It gets pretty busy on the weekends and especially in the summer at this park, so be aware of that. Parking can be an issue. Stinson Beach is right nearby which is also a good stop.
There was a Dad here with his 3 young active boys, so it was good to see that we weren't the only ones with little ones, but it was still a bit awkward. I felt sorry for the Dad as you could tell he was a little worn out and these boys were just all over the place. We didn't stay as long as we might have before, but we still had a nice time and it did get pretty cool so be sure to bring jackets.

Mt. Diablo State Park

So I hadn't been to Mt. Diablo for years and when we had family visit, we decided to head up the hill! One thing to keep in mind: if you are scared of heights, this is probably not the place for you! I did not remember how high up this park goes and how steep the drive is! There is a $9 fee to enter the park if you don't have a park pass, so that is also something to keep in mind. I've heard that Rock City is a good place to take the kids to go rock climbing and my husband has taken the kids there, but this time we just drove about halfway up the hill to Copper Peak. There was a great flat path that we followed for a little ways. I'd like to take the kids back to just kinda spend the day and wander around. This is a fabulous place to go in the winter as there isn't much shade; just a great wide open space to get lost in and discover!

Big Basin State Park, Santa Cruz Mountains

So we are in the Santa Cruz mountains again....but there is so much to do here! This is another redwood park that is really gorgeous. It was a sunny day which was fabulous, but in the shade it was really pretty chilly. Before heading out on our hike, we had a nice picnic in a shaded area that was again, kinda cold. Be sure to bundle up! The kids enjoyed running around the picnic area taking bites of their lunch here and there. The hike we did was kinda long, but no one seemed to mind and we enjoyed going up part of the mountain and coming back down. There were signs for a waterfall and after talking to a few people who were returning from it, we learned that it was quite far and required most of the day to get there and back. We decided that it would be left best for when the kids get older, although it sounded amazing! The best part of the hike was taking pictures in the huge redwood trees. I really do feel small every time I step foot in one and realize how tiny and insignificant I really am, but how amazing and awesome God is for His majestic creation. It is wonderful that He loves even me!

Hidden Villa, Los Altos, CA

This started out as a fun day and turned into a loooong hike! I had been wanting to go to Hidden Villa for a while; it seemed like a unique place. Finally, one Saturday we went and it was another gorgeous California day! It was kinda weird figuring our way around once we got there....there really weren't any signs and no real good guidance in terms of where to go for hiking. It was obvious that there were other events happening day, so we didn't want to disturb anything that was going on either. So we quietly walked around, trying to find our way. On our left, it looked like a cabin where there was some sort of gathering like a birthday party. It was actually a really cute setting for something like that. Further up ahead on our right, there was a wedding about to take place. Again, a beautiful setting in a more modern building than the cabin we had passed earlier. As we walked on, there were some garage like structures that seemed to house old farming equipment and such. Kind of weird with a fancy wedding just across the way, but we continued on and ended up hiking for almost 3 hours! wow! It got kinda long toward the end, but when you don't know the area all that well, you just kinda have to keep going. I do remember the views being pretty amazing from the top. Los Altos is just a beautiful area....the houses are gorgeous and its such a beautiful area nestled there in the hills. Would definitely recommend this area to go hiking in. There's a ton to explore!