Short Ferry Boat to Angel Island with the Kids

We lived in San Francisco for seven and a half years and never visited Angel Island State Park. I barely knew it was there, or that it had wonderful walking and biking trails.

The island sits in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. Last weekend we went to a wedding in Bodega Bay and decided to stay in San Francisco. On Sunday we took my in-laws and our boys to Angel Island. It was an absolutely spectacular day with weather in the 80s --a rare occurrence for San Francisco.  We opted to take the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island -- you can also catch the ferry in San Francisco, but it runs less frequently. The ferry ride was pleasant, and short. As much fun as boats are, our boys get bored easily. So 15 minute rides are preferable.

We only had time to explore a small portion of the island. We decided to hike from the ferry dock to the Immigration Center.  Angel Island was the Ellis Island of the West, but quite different. With the Chinese Exclusion Act it became a prison-like detention center. The Act wasn't repealed until 1943. Then, during World War II it become a POW camp. The hike to the Immigration Center took us about an hour or so each way. It was definitely worth the visit. 

The hike itself was beautiful. You climbed a series of stairs, and then you walk along a road. Along the road you have a wonderful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the East and North Bays. We also saw several deer. We did have to deal with some whining, and fighting from our boys which slowed down our progress.

One thing we hadn't realized  until we were close to the Immigration Center that there is shuttle bus from the dock to points of interest on the Island. This is good to know, especially since my father-in-law has difficulty walking and stayed near the dock for our entire visit, and we left my mother-in-law at a picnic table halfway up the stairs. We will keep this in mind next time, especially if we want to visit more remote parts of the island.

Exploring an Icebreaker with the kids

One of our best days of many during our Michigan trip was when we visited a retired icebreaker. An icebreaker is a large Coast Guard ship, known as the "Queen of the Great Lakes" that breaks ice on frozen waterways during the winter months to ensure that other ships can get through.

An icebreaker is truly an awe inspiring ship. The Ice Breaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum gives everyone an opportunity to climb through the maze of rooms and explore the decommissioned ship -- view the Captains quarters, visit the engine room (looks like a set of train engines) and sit down in the mess hall.

 The boys enjoyed it, especially my 10 year old nephew.

The experience is not cheap (although significantly less expensive than the $50 to $100 a family that some aquarium's charge). This is another one of those great activities that are free for children five and under, at $6 not too bad for the six and over crowd, and $11 for adults. Definitely worth a visit if you happen to be near Cheboygan, Mich.

A Sports-Themed Fifth Birthday Party for Caleb

In June, I optimistically thought we'd have a Sharks-themed super soaker birthday party for Caleb. We were coming off the high of a successful Scooby Doo Mystery party for Xander. Then, our summer ended with a week vacation in Michigan, and the start of Kindergarten and First Grade. A Labor Day weekend barbeque at our house with 16 to 20 kids seemed exhausting.

So, we did what we thought we never would do. We looked into a jump house party. Those organized parties at a location that has an obstacle course of bouncy houses for the kids. You get a "party planner" who guides the kids through the three sections of organized fun, followed by a pizza party and cake. There is nothing wrong with these parties. They are just a bit sterile.

Once we decided that we were going down this path, we started researching sports complexes in our area where we could combine sports with jump houses. And we actually found two such options, and settled on one. We ended up having the party at the Silver Creek Sportsplex -- which claims to be the largest indoor fitness and sports facility under one roof in North America.

The party was two parts bouncy house, and one part play on an indoor soccer field. The sports theme fits our very athletic five-year old to a tee. It was also off the beaten path enough, that we had yet to attend a party there on the preschool birthday circuit.

The facility is very clean, and the party was extremely well organized. Our "coach" for the day was excellent -- he teaches soccer clinics to young children, and one of our guests had spent the summer in his class.

We also had the run of the place. It could be the Labor Day weekend, but the bouncy house areas were closed to the general public during the birthday party. Which meant the 15 minutes in the obstacle course bouncy house section, followed by the 15 minutes in the bouncy house section with the basketball court, and the 15 minutes on the sports field were for just our 16 kids. We also weren't back to back with another party, so the kids weren't rushed through. It was awesome.

Maybe next year will do a barbeque -- with my super soaker vision (water guns, water balloons, and a slip and slide). Hopefully back to school should be less daunting, and Caleb will have plenty of friends in first grade to invite. But this year, a bouncy house party organized for us was just our speed.