Happy Hollow Howdy Do

It probably wasn't the best conceived plan, but on Saturday we decided to take the boys to Happy Hollow for the first time since it reopened last month. What we didn't know was that it was San Jose State graduation -- since Happy Hollow is across the street from Spartan Stadium all of the parking was taken. At that point we should have taken this as an omen, given up, and planned to visit another day, but alas we stuck it out, and eventually found parking in a satellite lot for $6, and took a yellow school bus to the park entrance.

Sadly, Happy Hollow has raised its prices, and it no longer an affordable way to spend a weekend afternoon. The City of San Jose is obviously trying to make back their investment in the park as quickly as possible.  Park entry is $10 for everyone 2 and up, plus the cost of parking and a family of four is out between $46 to $50 (depending on where you park) for the day. Now since we live locally we really should consider getting a family membership. At $95 it would pay for itself on our fourth visit.

Happy Hollow has also decided to play the movie theater food card, and to charge $5 for a hot dog. This is more than the cost of a hot dog at some major league ballparks -- which means we passed on eating at the park. If you go, you really should pack a picnic lunch, and bypass the concession stand altogether.

The holiday weekend also meant long lines for everything. However, I must say that even with the crowds, the boys had fun. Xander rode his first roller coaster. Caleb liked the playscape and driving the cars. The boys also liked the Red Barn petting zoo, and the carousel. Xander rode on the rhino and Caleb rode on the zebra. The dragon train was not worth the wait time -- too bad because this was an old favorite. Apparently the park has been having trouble keeping it on the track and it had to go too slow to be fun for anyone.

On our way out we went to the zoo part of the park, the boys were exhausted, and near melt down, but liked playing in the sand, and seeing the exotic birds.

We may buy a membership, and will probably come back to Happy Hollow -- it is very close to our house. But if you're visiting from out of town, there are other places that are more reasonably priced, or more fun.

Flashback: Big Time Changes and Kids

The words of wisdom about travel is that kids adapt to big time changes better than adults. But the challenge with big time changes with children, is as much about the child as about the parent. If a child is tired and cranky, they'll make their parents life miserable ... and if you're tired, you will probably find the most well rested child annoying.

East to West Coast travel is supposed to be the easiest from a recovery perspective. Our internal clocks do better with a longer day, then a shorter day. People get over jet lag quicker. Experts suggest that it takes one day per time zone to adjust traveling East, and 75 percent of a day per time zone to adjust traveling West.

I actually think the easiest time change to adjust to is the US to Europe trip. You leave in late afternoon, and arrive early in the morning. If you can sleep on the plane, you can get a full nights sleep. Our boys generally sleep well on the plane, in fact as soon as the engine turns on the ambient noise knocks my boys out. Other than being hungry for the wrong meal at the wrong time ... it usually takes me a day to adjust.

There are a couple of guidelines that Jonathan and I follow every time that we have to make a big time change adjustment:

1) Forget that you just spent 13 hours on an airplane. Don't do any calculations that will tell you what time it is at home, or what time your body thinks it is.

2) Go to bed at your regular time. Whatever you do don't nap if you don't normally nap. With little kids who still have a nap time, do it at the regular time, just make sure to wake them up ... otherwise, you'll get a wired wild child at 2 am.

3) Get outside and get some fresh air. It is my rule for everything ...but there is something wonderful about being with nature after the sardine can like experience of flying.

4) Drink plenty of fluids. I get very dehydrated on planes. Once at my destination I make sure that everyone is drinking. It helps chase away that post flight headache.

5) Don't over plan the day. It should be a mellow day. We use it as our "lay of the land" day.  A chance to explore without an agenda.

If we stick to our rules, when we wake up on our first full day at our destination we feel normal, and ready to enjoy our trip.

The VIP Treatment - Preschooler at an NHL Game

After just a few ice skating lessons and a few weeks with a street hockey stick and puck (well, an orange ball that is meant to replicate a puck), Caleb had shown a keen interest in hockey. We got a Sharks jersey for him, which he wears to hockey lessons without fail, and whenever else possible. He sometimes sleeps with his hockey stick. And, because his jersey is for Evgeni Nabokov, the Sharks’ goalie, he gets excited whenever he sees “Nabby” on TV.

So, even though Caleb is only three, I thought it would be worthwhile to take Caleb to a Sharks game. Kate thought I was brave. I thought, well maybe, but also it meant a guilt free night out at a Sharks playoff game, against the storied Detroit Red Wings no less. The Red Wings are one of the “original six” hockey teams and have won the Stanley Cup 11 times (including a sweep of my hometown team, the Washington Capitals). So, I was excited too. When the playoff series schedule was announced, I learned that Game 1 of the series would take place on a Thursday evening at the pre-school friendly hour of 6pm (a benefit of living on the West Coast). I bought two upper level tickets, 4 rows into the upper level, on the blue line in the zone where the Sharks would shoot during two of the three periods.

On Game Night, I was prepared. I made Caleb change into pull-ups, packed a backpack with a change of clothes just in case, put on his Nabby jersey, and took a deep breath. Any concerns I had with bringing a 3 year old to a sporting event were immediately alleviated, however. In fact, when at the game with Caleb we were both treated like rock stars.

First, we got there early to avoid the big lines, and when we walked up to our seats, the usher spent time with us and played a game with Caleb. He asked Caleb to pick the hand with a prize in it and after a couple of hints, he chose the hand that had a very nice Hot Wheels car in it. Caleb loved it and played with it throughout the game. After the first period, Caleb wanted to go down to the ice. The ushers in the first level let us down, no questions asked, and we spent some time right at the glass on the ice hanging out with the fans in the $500 seats. Of course, as the second period was about to begin, we headed back to our seats (though Caleb was a little upset).

Walking around the arena, everyone was great too. People came up to us and gave Caleb high fives, the vendors with giveaways called us over to give us miscellaneous tchochkes, and Caleb spent time talking to the police officers.

Something that’s not new these days is that sporting events now are as much about the overall entertainment value as they are about the game itself. The Sharks have this figured out as well. Caleb loved watching the players enter the ice through the shark, and loved watching Sharkie the mascot wander around the arena and banging his drum to get the fans excited. With five minutes to go and the Sharks up 3-2, it was an incredibly entertaining game, but by that point all Caleb cared about was finding Sharkie.

We did have our moments where Caleb was a little antsy...after all we were there for over three hours between when we arrived and left. But overall it was a great experience, and Caleb is looking forward to going back next year.

Flashback: Parks, Parks, Parks

It seems the gaping hole in travel literature, is a guidebook to parks. Not National Parks for hiking and camping, but local playgrounds. Even in the Bay Area where I have lived most of my life, I haven't found a definitive guide to local parks and playgrounds, online or in the bookstore. Most of the parks that I've found locally have been by word of mouth ...

And city and town Parks and Recreation departments websites are lacking. They have an egalitarian approach that treats the neighborhood park with one playscape the same as the large city park with a duck pond, water feature, and preschool and school age playscapes.

So, one of the most difficult tasks before traveling with children is to research the local parks. Even with a good sense for local parks, once at your destination more research is required.

Parks are essential for everyone's peace of mind. Your child gets the opportunity to interact with local children, be noisy, let off steam and have fun in an informal setting. I found to prevent melt downs that I needed to include at least one hour playing in a park everyday.

One of the things we appreciated most about Austria was the abundance of fabulous parks. It is worth the extra research...

Double Trouble at the Giants Game - Two Preschoolers & Baseball

When my husband informed me that he got tickets for the family for two baseball games this summer, I thought he lost his mind. Last year he did take the boys to the San Jose Giants game, with moderate success ... but were my three and a half year old, and my almost five year old ready for a pro game in something other than a one on one situation (one parent, one child ... the other parent and child stay home).

Recently we have seen a huge interest in sports from Caleb, especially hockey. He has taken to watching the Stanley Cup Playoff games on television ... and Jonathan did take him one on one to a playoff game. But I kept imagining the two sweet little tykes ganging up on us, and getting lost or into some big mischief.

The game we took them to last Sunday was during Little League Day, and they were giving out batting helmets. Did we need free batting helmets? Apparently we did, Jonathan got us to game two hours before it started. As we entered the sunny PacBell Park, the ticket person said, looking at our fair three-year old, "I hope you brought sunscreen."

Parent guilt ... we didn't bring sunscreen. However, with only a minor cramp in my arm, I managed to keep Caleb shaded all day.

To compound the potential issues with two tykes at the game ... it wasn't a very good game. The Giants lost and Sanchez takes a lot of time between pitches, so it was also a long game ...

But to my surprise the boys were great. They had a wonderful time, they can't wait to go back to our next game in August.  Although Caleb still prefers hockey right now ... but he wore his Giants t-shirt to bed and school the next day.

We also invested in some good strategies for enjoying the game. We surprised the boys with a toy each ... and a stuffed animal. We let them eat junk food including popcorn, and a sweet soda. We road the slide, they got to meet the Giants mascot the Seal, and we ate lunch out of the stands ... A happy, fairly stress free day for all involved.

Flashback: Kid Friendly Austria

Austria is a wonderful destination when you are traveling with kids. The beautiful open spaces, the fabulous parks and the casual dining destinations are perfect for the family with a preschooler ... or a kid of any age for that matter.

In 2008 we picked Austria to spend our 10-day waiting period before we could bring Caleb home. Xander loved every minute of it. By the time we got back to Russia we were so very relaxed.

When I talk to friends about travel, Austria is not top of mind for a vacation destination, but it should be.  Weather-wise, Austria is fairly cool during the summer in the low 70s to low 80s -- perfect if you are trying to escape a hot climate. It has the wonderful, mountainous lakes region with small villages, parks and plenty of hiking. It has large cities like Vienna, that seemed to be built for children, with the Prater, a large park with the Wurstelprater Amusement park and the Lilliputbahn, a narrow guage railway throughout the park, as well as the opera film festival in Rathausplatz complete with outdoor food market (we ate dinner there several nights). Then there is Salzburg, a low key city, with plenty of places to walk, and great parks with unique play structures.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll got into detail on our adventures in Austria with our then three-year old.