Subscribe RSS

Archive for the ‘Santa Cruz County Adventures’ Category

Five Family Fun California Vacation Activities That Your Kids Will Love

May 18th, 2010 by bsmith | 4 Comments | Filed in Family Travel, San Diego Adventures, San Diego Zoo, Santa Cruz County Adventures

With three kids and the price of airfare,  we tend to stick close  to home for many of our vacations.  That doesn’t mean we spend all our time at Disneyland, however.  There are lots of fun ways for families to enjoy their California vacations.  Here are some of our favorites from North to South.

View from the Train, Train Town Sonoma
View from the Train, Train Town Sonoma

Sonoma Adventures

  • Picnic in the Sonoma Plaza: This was one of my family’s favorite day trips as a child.  Last summer I returned with my kids and am happy to say it continues to be very fun.  Grab a picnic from a local gourmet deli and play at the Children’s Playground.

Ride a train at Train Town: Admission is affordable and the ride on the miniature train is perfect for all ages.  You stop to take on water at a kid sized town that the little ones enjoy exploring.

 

 

US Pampanito, Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco California

San Francisco Adventures

 

  • Visit Fisherman’s Wharf  Play vintage games at the Musee Mechanique and take an audio tour of the USS Pampanito Submarine.
  • Explore the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park This National Historic Park has a cheap entrance fee and plenty of big vessels to explore.  They also have a wide assortment of tours and kids programs.

 

Roaring Camp Railroads, Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz Adventures

  • Ride a Train Through the Redwoods  Roaring Camp provides old fashioned family fun.  You can ride a steam train through the redwoods or catch a diesel down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
  • Ride the Giant Dipper  at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk This is my favorite roller coaster in the world.  It’s more than 100 years old and you can catch a glimpse off the ocean and the town of Santa Cruz as you zoom along.

Carlsbad Adventures

  • Build and Test at LEGOLAND California Carlsbad, California is a charming family oriented beach town with a great family attraction.  Legoland California is an interactive theme park for young children.  The Sea Life Aquarium and the new LEGO themed Water Park give families more reasons to visit.
  • Play at the Flower Fields. Unfortunately the Flower Fields have finished their season, but if you return next spring, you will be awed by the fields of flowers.  Kid’s enjoy a quaint Santa’s Village themed playground.

 

 

Soar Over the San Diego Zoo

San Diego Adventures

  • Go on Safari at the San Diego Zoo.  It may be clique, but a visit to the world famous San Diego Zoo is a must see for family travelers.  Keep an eye out for The Unauthorized Guide to the San Diego Zoo releasing later this year.
  • Stop by Cousin’s Candy in Old Town.  Old Town San Diego is a great location for family adventure.  Kids enjoy visiting the old buildings and learning about life in old San Diego.  The highlight of your trip will be the trip to this old fashioned candy store- trust me ;) .

Happy Trails,

Bridget

PS “I wrote this blog post while participating in the Williamsburg Tourism and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here .

Family Travel Tip Tuesday: Park Workout

April 27th, 2010 by bsmith | 1 Comment | Filed in Santa Cruz County Adventures, Travel Tips

Bridget and Jared's Park Workout

 A trip to the park with Jared today reminded me that park playgrounds are not just for kids.  Usually I just sit back on a bench and relax, but one of my goals for this new year is to get moving every day.  With appointments and homework supervision I knew I wasn’t going to find an opportunity to walk the dog or get some other form of exercise. 

There was not a judgemental grownup in sight at the deserted Leo Mullen park in Encinitas, so I seized the moment and started swinging on the swing.  Before I knew it I was climbing ladders, joggy across  the jumpy bridge and sliding down the slides.  My heart was beating fast, and I even worked up a little bit of a sweat.  Best of all Jared described this as “the best park day ever!”.  I like to think this had more to do with Mom’s participation and less to do with the ordinary play equipment pictured here:

Leo Mullen Park, Encinitas

 Looking back at my files, I realized this wasn’t the first time that the Smith grownups have enjoyed a park work out.  Here are some pictures of my husband Ken enjoying Louden Nelson Park during our Santa Cruz vacation.

 

 

Ken and Justin go for a Spin, Louden Nelson Park, Santa Cruz, Ca

 So next time you’re on vacation find a park and hit the monkey bars.  You’ll build some muscle and your kids will have a blast.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

Tags: , , , ,

State Park Sunday: Ano Nuevo State Park

August 21st, 2009 by bsmith | 2 Comments | Filed in Santa Cruz County Adventures, State Park Sundays

Elephant Seal, Ano Nuevo State Park

As summer comes to an end, I start thinking about Elephant Seals.  At  Ano Nuevo State Park, just North of Santa Cruz California you will find the largest elephant seal breeding colony in the world. Starting in mid December you can participate in guided public walks.  Tickets for this amazing experience go on sale October 20th and apparently the walks fill up quickly so mark your calendars!  They even have a live web camera set up for those of us who won’t be heading up North this winter.

If you visit outside of the tour season,  you will need to get a visitor’s permit to visit the wildlife viewing area.  See more info here.

I don’t think I’ll be in Santa Cruz this winter. Still,  if this amazing park stays open, I will definitely have to gather the kids around the laptop, and check out the web cam.  Perhaps when we make our annual pilgrimage to Santa Cruz next year, we will get visitor permits and try to observe the seals molting.

Every Sunday, Family Adventure Guidebooks  is featuring a different California State Park in order to call attention to the potential State Park closures that will be happening after Labor Day.  The California State Parks Foundation is organizing I Heart State Parks actions throughout the state over Labor Day Weekend.  For more information and to learn how to organize your own event click here.

If you would like to do a State Park Sunday guest blog or just contribute a photo of a California State Park, please leave a comment below.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

 

PS The beautiful photo is provided by bike4freedom2 under a Flickr Creative Commons License

Tags: , , ,

Photo Friday: Train Place Deli, Capitola California

July 3rd, 2009 by bsmith | 11 Comments | Filed in Family Travel, Photo Friday, Santa Cruz County Adventures

Train Place Deli, Capitola California

It was Day 8 of our Santa Cruz adventure.  Due to circumstances mostly beyond my control I needed a place to eat dinner at 6:45 pm.  The kids were cranky and exhausted.  My husband was out eating with friends.  I was desperately seeking a place that was so entertaining that the little ones would behave themselves well enough that we wouldn’t be kicked out!

I found my oasis in the town of Capitola, California.   I headed to the Train Place Deli hoping that the mesmorizing sight of model trains would calm my rowdy crew.  Well, as you can see from the pictures below, the kids were still pretty rowdy, but the gracious service and fascinating trains did put everyone in a better mood.

Tired, but Happy at the Train Place Deli

Tired, but Happy at the Train Place Deli

The hardworking owners of the Train Place Deli welcomed us fifteen minutes before closing, patiently took my children’s order,  (A five year old can be pretty undecided at 7pm), and even treated us to some extra cookies.  My Italian Special was delicious and included: a huge salami sandwich, pasta salad, and a drink.  Each kids meal came with a big cookie which made everyone happy.

Yummy Treats at the Train Place Deli
Yummy Treats at the Train Place Deli

 

Then of course there are the trains.  Half the deli is filled with elaborate model trains that run  throughout your visit. Take a look:
All Aboard at the Train Place Deli

All Aboard at the Train Place Deli

 

Thomas Steams Along at the Train Place Deli

Thomas Steams Along at the Train Place Deli

 If you are looking for more train adventures, this week we also took the beach train at Roaring Camp in Felton, Ca and visited Sonoma’s Traintown a very affordable train adventure.

Family Adventure Guidebooks participates in the Photo Friday Blog Roundup.  Check out more fun travel photos here.

Happy Trails,

Bridget

Tags: , , , , ,

State Park Sunday: Henry Cowell State Park

June 28th, 2009 by bsmith | No Comments | Filed in Santa Cruz County Adventures, State Park Sundays

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Felton, California

Yesterday we had the chance to ride the Roaring Camp Big Trees Railroad with some friends down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  Afterwards crossed over into Henry Cowell State Park and walked their loop trail through the redwoods.  We all started out a bit grouchy.  I had left my backpack  containing video camera at the beach.  Jared, my youngest was exhausted and threw a tantrum at the beginning of the path.  He and Daddy stayed behind and enjoyed the visitors center.

Soon the beauty of the redwoods started working its magic.  Along the trail there are fallen trees to hide in and little caverns carved out by wild fire at the base of others.  These hidey holes worked their magic on, Justin my ten year old.  Suddenly he started to enjoy the hike.

In the middle of the trail their is a tree with an opening big enough to accomodate several adults and children standing up.  Our party of over five children and one adult entered the tree to discover a small group of young women from Japan were already there.  They serenaded us with a beatiful Japanese song.  They wanted us to return the favor, but the kids were too bashful.

Returning to the visitor center, we discover four year old Jared happily stamping out animal paw prints.

If you find yourself in Felton, California be sure to check out this beautiful state park.  It’s perfect for camping or a hike with the kids.

For updates regarding potential California State Park closures visit the California State Parks Foundation.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Tags: , , , ,

Affordable Vacation Ideas
Toyota Sienna
Fun Family Vacation Activities
Visit Williamsburg