Trick or Treat

Halloween is finally here this weekend, but after a pumpkin patch, two festivals, a haunted train ride and trick or treating at the zoo, I think I got my fill. The boys want more ... so we have some additional fun activities planned this weekend.

On Friday, my neighbor and I are taking our preschoolers to the preschool trick or treat in downtown Willow Glen from 10 am to 12 pm. There is also a school-age trick or treat from 2 pm to 4 pm.  Local businesses will be handing out candy and other treats to neighborhood kids.

On Saturday afternoon we are going to Gigante's Halloween Party at the San Jose Municipal Stadium from 2 pm to 5 pm. The event is free and Sprout characters Zaboo, the Berenstein Bears and others are purported to be there.

And our festivities will conclude with trick or treating on Saturday night. I think I need a nap just thinking about it.

Boo at the Zoo

Last Saturday afternoon we took Caleb and Xander to San Francisco for Boo at the Zoo. It is an annual Saturday and Sunday event where the kids come dressed in their costumes and can trick or treat throughout the zoo grounds. The only caveat is that the zoo asks that you don't wear masks, you wouldn't want to scare the animals (or preschoolers).

The boys donned their skeleton costumes. I didn't purposely dress them identically. Caleb is a three year old with an opinion, and he decided he wanted to dress like Xander. Xander has wanted to be a skeleton for Halloween for a year ... so when I bought the Gap glow in the dark skeleton PJs, I bought a second pair just in case. Hopefully I'll get Caleb into his very cool dragon costume this weekend.

It was a cool foggy day in the city. This meant that animals used to warm climates were huddled together, and those from cool climates were frolicking. I have never seen the polar bears or penguins so happy and active.

We did a lot of walking, and we road the Little Puffer steam engine as well. The boys had a wonderful time. We even got up close and personal with a bald eagle. The zoo keeper was bringing him to the penguin exhibit for feeding (the bald eagle keeps the galls away). We ran into him, and got to take some nice posed shots with the eagle.

Trains, Carousels and Trick or Treating at Goblyn's Glen

This summer I wrote my ode to the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos. The boys love riding the train on weekends. Over the last two months we have taken a break from the park, mainly because my husband and I were getting a little tired of it.

However, now that it is Fall we decided to take the boys to the Goblyn's Glen at Oak Meadow Park. The festivities kick off at 7 pm on Friday's and Saturdays, and 6 pm on Sunday's. We started off with the moonlit train ride through Oak Meadow and Vasona Park. Afterward we road the Bill Mason Carousel, and then went trick or treating in the Goblyn's Glen haunted house.

We have finally reached an age where the boys enjoyed it, and weren't too scared. By giving the kids trick or treat bags, it made the witches, vampires and monsters far less scary. Xander said "I wasn't scared at all mommy." Caleb got scared a couple of times when someone would jump out at him, but he handled it by asking, "What's your name?"

They were also great about the amount of candy and kept it to a minimum. The kids also got stickers, spider rings, a pumpkin, and balloon. This is a good thing, since Caleb managed to eat all his candy by the time we got home. 

It costs $2 to ride the train, and $8 for the Carousel and haunted house. Well worth it. If you want to take your kids it runs through October 31.

Pumpkin Pancakes and the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival

Two years ago we took Xander to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin & Art Festival. We gave ourselves plenty of time, since the Festival attracts about 250,000 visitors, and were able to watch the parade, which was fabulous. The only draw back was that we took 92 into Half Moon Bay and it was a parking lot. Friends who left 30 minutes after us turned around, life is too short to spend your weekend in traffic.

This year we decided to try it again. However, we skipped 92 and opted to come by way of windy Woodside Road. The original plan was to go to the parade at 12 pm on Saturday, but Xander spiked a fever on Friday night, and Saturday was a sick day.

On Sunday we took advantage of having two preschool early birds, and left the house at 8:00 am. We headed to Woodside and had breakfast at Buck's. This is a new annual tradition. Buck's is a kitsch restaurant with tons of things for the kids to see from airplanes to cowboy hat lights, butterflies and model trains. The kid's menu even includes a scavenger hunt.  The special was pumpkin pancakes and bacon -- which was marvelous.

Taking Woodside Road into Half Moon Bay was definitely a good choice. We didn't hit any traffic. However Caleb gets car sick, and got car sick on this trip ... so maybe next year he'll wear a garbage bag on the trip to make for easier clean-up.

Once we arrived at the Festival, our perfect day came abruptly to an end. Turns out our family isn't art festival people. Between the crowds, and the booths showing lovely blown glass (Caleb was enamored, I wasn't in the mood to buy a shelf of broken glass) it was too much for us.

We did enjoy seeing the giant pumpkins, weighing more than a 1,000 pounds, and the cool pumpkin carving display... but you get all of this at the parade. So, next year, we are going on Saturday, eating breakfast at Buck's, preparing ourselves for a car sick preschooler, attending the parade, and skipping the art fair.

Pumpkins in the Park - San Jose

Last Saturday we took the boys to San Jose's 15th annual Pumpkins in the Park festivities at Discovery Meadow. It is a free event, and only five minutes from our house, so it was a no brainer.

The boys had fun. It reminded me of Festival on the Hill in Bernal Heights (neighborhood in San Francisco), but there were far more free activities and the overall festival was geared to children. No wonder US News & World Report listed San Jose third on its 10 Best Places to Grow Up.

There were tons of exhibits which gave the boys the opportunity to make crafts, taste apples and cider, listen to music, and participate in lot's of other activities. Most of the activities, and almost all of the food (apples and cider included) were free.

Xander's favorite part was planting a bean (crossing my fingers that it will grow), and Caleb's favorite part was a firetruck wearing a San Jose Sharks costume. As the kids get a little older, I think they will appreciate this event even more.

Fleet Week

Last week was Fleet Week in San Francisco. Definitely the coolest time to visit. You get clear, beautiful weather (except Saturday ... they apparently canceled the air show due to cloud cover) and the Blue Angels flying over the Bay Bridge.

On Friday we took the boys to see the Blue Angels. We opted to view the show from the Ferry Building, versus heading to Pier 39 or the Marina. This way we avoided the crowds, but still got to see plenty of air show action.

Our preschoolers appreciated the air show, but after about thirty minutes they got bored and started playing with their trains. The adults on the other hand sipped our Blue Bottle coffee, ate steamed chicken buns from Out the Door, and were in awe of the contrast between the City by the Bay, and six FA-18 Hornet aircraft flying overhead.

Pumpkin Patches - Uesugi Farms

Halloween is still several weeks away, but with small children it makes sense to beat the crowds and do your pumpkin patch visits early.

Last weekend we took the boys to Uesugi Farms in Morgan Hill. It is a large pumpkin patch surrounded by corn fields.

Last year we took them in late October, and it was crowded. This year's visit was much more fun. We didn't have to wait in long lines, or endure the crowds, and it was much easier to spot our boys if one managed to wander away.

The pumpkin patch offers all of the obligatory Fall events. It has train rides through the pumpkins, hayrides through the corn, and if you children are especially persuasive, pony rides.

Cost wise it wasn't too bad, about the cost of going to a movie theater for a family of four. Parking was $3, the train and hayrides were $4 a person, and the pony ride was $5 a person.  Walking through the pumpkin patch was free, as well as the live music. Pumpkins were also fairly priced.

We had been to the pumpkin patch before, so we bought tickets for the train, and the hayride. We took the boys on the train first (a red miniature train that looks identical to the one at Wheaton Regional Park). We then took the hayride, which was bumpy and fun.

After that we explored the pumpkin patch, took pictures of the boys below the pyramid of pumpkins and picked out our pumpkins. We were ready to go when the boys spotted the pony ride. I broke down, and bought them tickets...

They loved the whole experience, and we were able to do everything in about two hours. Over the next couple of weeks I have some other Halloween activities planned ... Boo at the Zoo, Pumpkins in the Park, the Haunted Train Ride. This is really my favorite time of year.

Dennis the Menace Playground

My biggest recommendation when traveling with kids is to research local public parks in the cities that you are visiting. Museums, shopping districts, historic sites and cafes are fun ... but kids need space and time to play and run.

And if you plan to visit Monterey, Calif. along with a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you should schedule a visit to the Dennis the Menace Playground. Opened in 1956 it was a collaboration between the City of Monterey and Frank Ketcham the creator of the comic strip. We haven't been to enough parks in California to claim it as the best park, but it certainly is up there.

A couple of weeks ago my neighbor and I took our kids to the park an hour from our house to beat the heat. My boys squealed with delight when we pulled into the parking lot. The first thing you see is a retired black Southern Pacific steam engine.  The boys happily boarded the train, and pretended to drive it. It isn't play equipment, so you will need to closely supervise your kids.

The park also includes a long suspension bridge, a Sun stairway, a long red roller slide, three wavy green slides, an old fashion metal slide, tunnels,  mazes,  climbing structures ... you name it, it has it. The red roller slide was also a favorite of the kids.

There a many great photo opportunities as well. The water fountain is a large lion, so your kids have to put their heads in the lion's mouth to get a drink of water. And bronze Dennis the Menace sculptures decorate the grounds. Totally fun!

The only draw back to the park is a so-so snack bar, and the closest food is in touristy Cannery Row.

Every time I announce a trip to the park they now ask if we are going to the "park at the beach" (their name for the Dennis the Menace Playground). We will definitely be heading back there soon.

I Love A Parade

It finally feels like fall. There is a nip in the air every morning, and the leaves are starting to change color (as much as they do in Northern California). It is also time for Willow Glen's annual Founder's Day Parade.

I love a good parade. Especially a laid back community parade complete with high school marching band, classic cars, and girl and boy scouts. This year's Founder's Day Parade didn't disappoint.

The parade started at 10:30 am on Lincoln Avenue, our neighborhood's main business street. We walked to the parade, and found a spot near the beginning at Willow and Lincoln. We brought the double stroller, but the boys happily sat on the sidewalk to watch. No pushing, shoving or piles of people to ruin our view.

Caleb's favorite part was a car that looked like blue Mater (from the movie Cars), and Xander's favorite part was the mounted police.

If your neighborhood has a Founder's Day Parade seek it out. It was such a wonderful way to kick-off Fall.