Adventures

We love taking our boys out on adventures on weekends.  Weekends are made for fun.  Here is a list of places we've taken our boys to... and many more to follow.
  1. Gilroy Garden (Gilroy) - our personal favorite, so beautiful
  2. Silliman Aquatic Park (Newark) - great for hot or cold days
  3. SF Zoo (San Francisco) - front half is totally remodeled
  4. Oakland Zoo (Oakland) - so close, only 7 mins from our house and they have kid rides too
  5. California Academy of Science (San Francisco) - love the small toddler play area and aquarium downstairs
  6. Bay Area Discovery Museum (Sausalito) - their outdoor areas are better than their indoor areas, makes for great pictures with the Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop
  7. Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose) - good for cooler days since SJ can get hot, expect long lines.  Family membership does not include $10 parking fee
  8. Emma Prush Park & Farm (San Jose) - Free. Watch out for chickens in the parking lot
  9. Children's Discovery Museum (San Jose) - super busy on rainy days
  10. CuriOdyssey Museum (San Mateo) - be sure to get a ticket to their animal show
  11. Bounce-o-Rama (Milpitas)- not my favorite but kids love this place
  12. Hop-N-Play (San Bruno) - small but again, kids love it and there's a mall play area right in front
  13. Magic Mountain Park (San Mateo) - huge park, lots of grass and picnic tables
  14. Castro Valley Community Center Park (Castro Valley) - great water play feature for hot days
  15. Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco) - right at Pier 39. Walk to Rainforest Cafe for lunch
  16. Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey) - always buy tickets online to avoid long lines
  17. Hiller Aviation Museum (San Carlos) - educational and has a small play area with an airplane cockpit for the little ones
  18. Habitot (Berkeley) - a small version of SJ's Children's Discovery Museum ... very small version
  19. Super Franks (Pleasanton) - great for birthday parties
  20. Sea Cliff State Beach (Aptos) - has a half sunken ship and you can see lots of sea life
  21. Natural Bridges State Beach (Santa Cruz) - they have a wadding pool (but lots of kelp)  and lots of sea life
  22. Santa Cruz Boardwalk (Santa Cruz) - the boardwalk is good for older kids but their beach is nice
  23. Lemos Farm (Half Moon Bay) - pony rides, train rides, and animals.  Pretty extravagant Pumpkin Patch
  24. Tilden's Little Farm (Berkeley) - lots of farm animals including an indoor museum and it's all free
  25. Tilden's Steam Train (Berkeley) - train ride and they have a model train roundabout
  26. Tilden's Merry-Go-Round (Berkeley)  - go during Christmas time for their Christmas Fantasy in the Woods
  27. Muir Woods (Mill Valley) - great for family hikes
  28. Children's Fairy Land (Oakland) - first prototype for Disneyland
  29. Lake Chabot Camp Grounds (Castro Valley) - great place for family camping without driving too far (10 mins from us!)
  30. Chabot Space and Science Center (Oakland) - free on certain days for Bank of America card holders
  31. Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley) - very educational.  Don't forget to go downstairs to see the animal room and meet the Chinchilla
  32. Ferry Ride (San Francisco) - Ride the ferry from Pier 39 to Angel Island or Tiburon/Sausalito.  Kids love it.
  33. Jelly Belly Factory (Fairfield) - Koen enjoyed it
  34. Kennedy Park (Hayward) - pony rides, petting zoo, merry-go-round, train ride, jumpy houses, playground, and lots of picnic tables
  35. Exploratorium (San Francisco) - a bit dated... but they're moving to the Piers in 2013
  36. Redwood Regional Park (Oakland) - great for family hikes and picnics
  37. Joaquin Miller Park (Oakland) - they have a baseball field, picnic areas, playground and an outdoor pool
  38. Lake Temescal Regional Park (Oakland) - good for family BBQ's and swimming
  39. Don Castro Regional Recreation Area (Hayward) - good for family hikes and they have a man made swimming lake/beach
  40. U-Me Play Cafe (Menlo Park) - great to watch your kids while you work.  Great gym area and open space
  41. Golden Gate Park (San Francisco) - Stow Lake, Playground with Merry-go-Round, biking, paddle boating just to name a few.
  42. Lake Elizabeth (Fremont) - paddle boating, biking and lots of picnic areas/grass with multiple play grounds
  43. Lake Merritt (Oakland) - paddle/sailing boats, play grounds, oldest bird sanctuary in the US, gondola rides, and the path is being modeled
  44. Almaden Lake Park (San Jose) - swimming with sandy beach, picnic areas, playgrounds with water play
  45. John D. Morgan Park (Campbell) - great playground, lots of grass and picnic areas.  Just minutes away from the Pyo's
  46. Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (Palo Alto) - when they say junior, they really mean junior.   We were not too impressed but hey, it's free
  47. Ocean Beach (San Francisco) - cold and windy most of the time but it's a great beach to see the Pacific Ocean.
  48. Baker Beach (San Francisco) - very close view of the Golden Gate Bridge and lots of unleashed dogs
  49. Sonoma Train Town (Sonoma) -  smaller than expected but the mini village is nice and fun.  
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