August 16, 2011
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Two weeks ago, we decided to take a mini-vacation to the Bay Area. James and I took Thursday-Friday off work. First stop? The Academy of Science in San Francisco.
Last time we went, we didn’t get a chance to go into the rainforest globe. There was also a new snakes and lizard exhibit that we haven’t seen before.
Since I took Zach to the planetarium show last time (2 years ago), James took him this time. We had originally planned to go to the Monterey Aquarium as well this weekend, but there was such a big aquarium at the Academy of Science, we decided to move that trip to a future weekend.
We stayed until almost closing time and then headed to Sophie’s house, our free hotel for the next 3 nights. Zachary LOVED playing Kinect … which I admit is pretty amazing (although I am easily impressed as my favorite game growing up was Keystone Kapers). Sophie made Calie an ice cream cake and a glittery pink, rhinestoned birthday crown. We also got to meet Taylor for the first time – what a friendly and cute baby!
Friday, we went to the San Jose Children’s Museum. I love that place … there are so many fun, interesting hands-on exhibits for kids. I envision myself getting a membership and taking the kids there all the time if I only lived closer. We stayed until closing (haha, so typical.)
Dinner was at ‘Sweet Tomatoes.’ I recalled when it first opened, and I was an intern at Siemen’s ROLM. It’s very possible that my standards have gone up since those college days. It was so crowded, and people were aggressively shoving for food in the buffet line. Kids had their hands in the food as they were scooping. Hurrah for not getting food poisoning, a real concern I had during dinner.
Next day … Santa Cruz! I purchased the unlimited rides wristbands and activity pack at Costco. It was downright cold when we first got there (~10am). There were no lines at all for the rides so we ‘got our money’s worth’ very quickly.
The hang glider ride ruined it for the grownups who were too motion sick to go on any more rides afterwards. So we had lunch. (Logical, right? When nauseated, then eat?) Since Calie fell asleep after lunch, it was off to play 18 holes of mini-golf while she napped. It was quite a good pirate-themed course!
Because it was colder (low 80s), we did not bring swimsuits. But by late afternoon, it warmed up enough to hit the beach. Plus, the Boardwalk was getting very crowded and lines for rides were long. It was definitely a good call to do rides in the morning and the beach in the afternoon.
Note: Kids have very high tolerances for cold water. If it’s fun, they don’t really care if it’s freezing. Zach chased waves, fell in waves, and ended up in wet sandy jeans. We totally should have brought swimsuits! We left with a bunch of activity tokens still unused; Santa Cruz can easily be a 2-day trip, as my coworker advised me, especially if you/your kids love the beach. For dinner, we tried a Thai restaurant that Sophie recommended. Yummy. And Sunday, we had dimsum before heading home – thank you Sophie and Eddie for letting us stay in your home!
This weekend, we went to Karen and Paul’s backyard camping playdate. We swam first (for a long, long time) and then had pizza on beach towels.
When it got darker, the kids watched a movie. Karen borrowed a projector from work and used a shower curtain as the screen. Guess the movie? Yep. How to Train Your Dragon. Since I’ve seen it twice already, I hung out on the other side of the patio (with most of the other adults) for funny conversation and s’mores made with a mini blow torch.
Karen and Rachels’ family decided to pitch tents and sleep out overnight, but the rest of us chickened out. Maybe next year! Thank you Karen for being such a creative host – we had a great time.
Sunday morning, the kids amazed me by being incredibly cooperative. We went to swim lessons, followed by grocery shopping at The Nugget. Then they played at home (didn’t want to go out, which was fine by me … it’s too hot!) and cleaned up the whole house! All the little game, puzzle, and toy pieces were grouped together and put away. I was even able to wipe down the train table; it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that surface!
Since they were so well behaved, I took both kids out for dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory. I had 2 free kids meal coupons, and they let me use both! Zach ordered spinach tortellini when there was mac/cheese on the menu, and when we got home, Calie went to bed without putting up a fight. Who are these kids?!
The next morning was Zach’s first day of school. Second grade in public school; The after school program was expanded and he finally got in. Somehow a small private school felt like an extension of daycare/preschool … perhaps since Calie was at the same campus, in a building next door. Going to a 700+ student elementary school suddenly made me feel he was growing up. *GULP!* I was relieved to see his Kindergarten classmate Claire and his soccer coach’s son Brian in the same classroom. I hope he does well and likes his new school.
