I left my heart in San Francisco

Haight Ashbury is a strange place to take kids in San Francisco, but if you are looking for comic books stores and Japanese toys, its got a few off-beat shops working hard to defy the trends. China Town features all the delights that China can offer from sharkfin soup to knock-off toys and cheap jade and silk. Alex and Serene actually gave up after a few hours of playing tourists and went back to the hotel to swim. For the little ones, save these trips until their older. And, buyer beware...the shopkeepers are experts and getting even the little kids to buy their goods. Alex walked down one street and bought something at every shop! Its a good thing, the aunties, uncles and cousins were along to help.

Riding the Rails....

Roaring Camp outside of Santa Cruz, California offers two chances to catch trains in Northern California. The 90 minute steam train travels through narrow gauges into the Redwoods, while a Diesel takes 3 hours to make a roundtrip to the beach at Santa Cruz.

Curiosity @ CuriOdyssey, Coyote Point

Coyote Point is located just south of San Francisco in San Mateo, CA directly on the Bay. The beautiful eucalyptus trees line the park and provide stunning views great for walking, running & biking for big kids and little kids. Bring a picnic and hangout by the giant play area featuring a three story viewing point offering one of the best view of the Bay. Alex and Serene hooked up with cousins at the CuriOdyssey Museum also located on the small peninsula. This science museum and small zoo is perfect for little children. On the science side, children can test gears, turn wheels, touch fog machines, make soft sponges float high in the sky over lightly blowing machines and watch bees make honey. On the zoo side, there are Golden Eagles, bobcats, vultures, frogs, slugs and lots of other critters. All the animals are rescued and deemed not able to return to the wild.

The best trip is to the pool

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

The last day of pre-school was celebrated with a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden with best buddies. As the pre-school buds searched for their favorite animals -- lions & tigers & bears (no joke!) -- they also took in a bird show, stretched their necks for the giraffes, and played like monkeys on the kids playground. The zoo's big features are the Elephants of Asia exhibit and the Campo Gorilla Reserve. Elephants are the world's largest land mammals and gorillas are the largest & strongest of the great apes.

Americana: Shopping in the U.S.A.

The Americana in Glendale, CA describes itself as the ultimate shopping experience. It combines sophisticated shopping, movie theaters, fine dining, elegant tram rides and dancing fountains creating fun for everyone from infants to adolescents to octogenarians. The Americana is more like Disneyland than your average shopping mall. It is both perfect for date night and an afternoon walk with the stroller to the playground. In the afternoon and evening, an old fashioned trolley car makes laps around. The free five minute ride can be walked in the same amount of time, but its much more fun to take the ride.

Legoland and Lying

Legoland encourages lying. Ok, that's totally not true. I'm not proud of it, but I taught my kid to lie at Legoland. Legoland splits some its rides between children ages 2-5 and 6+. At five years, 5 months, Alex is really too big for the little rides, but not quite six years he is a little too small for the big kid rides. He wanted to do both, so we worked the system. We quietly whispered about how we would trick the attendants when they asked his age for the 6+ rides so he could get on. He'd check-in with me to make sure he was getting it right and then smile when the trick worked. Have I corrupted him forever? Should I have towed the line and just dealt with the tantrum? Or was it harmless fun that won't psychologically damage him forever? I guess I'll find out when he gets to high school. If he starts carrying a fake I.D., I might have to blame myself. As for Serene...she spent the day riding around in her stroller.