Outdoor Ice Skating When it is Sunny and 65

One of the great wonders of modern technology, is the ice skating rinks that pop up during the holidays all over California. In San Jose, we have an ice rink (Downtown Ice) as part of Christmas in the Park. In San Francisco there is the Embarcadero Center ice rink. And although many critics complain about these warm weather wonders (choppy ice and being bumped into by small kids), with two small kids, it is great fun!

I also have to admit, that San Jose is a hockey town. We love our home team. Ice skating and hockey are very popular here. For the last two years our Saturday mornings have been spent at Sharks Ice, our local indoor ice skating rink where the boys take lessons. We are raising a little hockey fanatic in Caleb, and just this Fall Xander asked to start skating lessons again, and absolutely loves it this time around.

So why not take the boys to an outdoor rink during the Holidays?

The boys had a blast. There is the novelty of being outdoors, breathing "fresh-ish" air and gliding across the ice. I remember driveway ice skating in upstate New York when I was their age. I overlooked the rocks (it was a gravel driveway that my dad took the garden hose to), and enjoyed the complete freedom of skating the day away on my 5 by 6 foot private rink.

Now, these rinks are bit pricey. $12 a kid (skate rental included) and no in and out privileges, but worth it. You can also find great deals, for example, if you are a Sharks season ticket holder, or some Monday nights in January (free if you have your own skates), or if you plan to make a day of it by ice skating, and going to the Children's Discovery Museum and the Tech Museum.

As a side note, the indoor lighting and hockey glass at Sharks Ice makes for some pretty dreadful pictures -- and I appreciated capturing the moment in natural light. I think we'll go back again next year (January 1st or 2nd). Downtown Ice is open through January 29th (the Embarcadero Center rink is open through January 8).

Tis the Season for the California Academy of Sciences

Friday was our first day off before the Christmas Holiday, so we met family in San Francisco and visited the California Academy of Sciences. We last visited two years ago. The boys were a bit too young to really appreciate it, and they didn't meet the recommended age for the planetarium.

I had heard an ad on the radio to come see reindeer and snow, and I thought it could be fun. And it was! Four hours worth, with a nary a meltdown. Even among the five and six set, four hours is a long time to do any activity.

The thing about the Academy of Sciences is that it is super expensive. Nearly $100 for a family of four. The membership is $200, so if you intend to go more than once a year, it makes sense to buy the membership. Of course, we probably won't  be going more than once a year.

The Academy is a indoor rainforest, aquarium, planetarium, and natural history museum rolled into one. So I guess from that perspective it is a big value.

We got there at 9:30 am when it first opened. This way we were able to get free four hour street parking, within a short walk of the academy. We we also able to visit most of the exhibits before the lines formed, and get tickets to the planetarium show.

We started at the Tis the Season for Science exhibit and lined up for the Snowman theater. You learn about how snowflakes form inside a giant snowman. The show was targeted at small children, and the boys loved it (in fact that, and the planetarium were there two favorite parts).

While we waited in line it started to snow. It was a thick bubble mixture. But the kids were thrilled and all ran and danced in the snowflakes.

At 10 am the four story rainforest opened, so we queued for the exhibit. Coming from snow and snowmen to heat and humidity required a wardrobe adjustment. We started at the bottom of the rainforest and climbed to the top. The rainforest is built over the aquarium. So when you look down at the swamp, you can see people watching the big fish in the aquarium. At the top of the rainforest is my favorite part ... the butterflies. Then you make sure you are butterfly free and take an elevator to the aquarium.

The aquarium is pretty cool. The boys liked the hands on area, where you can pet starfish and sea urchins. I liked viewing the big fish through the rounded glass enclosure. You feel like you're in an aquarium for the fish, and they are watching you. When you climb out of the aquarium you get to see the albino alligator in the swamp.

We then had tickets for the planetarium. The boys were too young last visit, so this was their first time, and they loved it. They stay engaged for the entire show, and we learned something about our solar system.

After that, we went to the rooftop to see the living roof - two acres of native species. Since we are having incredibly warm December weather, it was nice to be outside in the sun. Then on our way out we went to visit the two reindeer before we headed home.

Overall a great visit.

Little Farm - Tilden Park, Berkeley

During the Holidays a couple of years ago we took the boys to Tilden Regional Park to ride the Carousel and visit the Little Farm. It was at the end of the day, and the farm was closing down for the night. So, other than being able to view into some stalls and see a couple of pigs, goats and cows we didn't really see how magical this place is.

Tilden Park is located in the Berkeley hills, not far from my parent's house. Last Saturday armed with a wreath purchased in a Cub Scout fundraiser for my parents we headed to Tilden Park to do the wreath drop-off, visit the farm and ride the Carousel.

On the way there we found out that this time of year the Carousel is only open after 5:30 pm. Decked out with lights it is a sight to behold, but only after dark. Of course we weren't planning to stay there that long, so the Little Farm would have to do.

When we entered the farm we were greeted by three large and friendly cows. The Little Farm lets you bring in celery and lettuce to feed the animals there, and the cows were looking for some food. Of course we didn't remember this, so we just gave them a pet hello, and proceeded to visit the other animals.

Next to the cows were the poultry -- chicken, turkey and ducks -- all very friendly. We watched chickens escape the enclosure walk around the yard a little bit, and then climb back in. The boys also liked seeing the bunnies in the hutch. We then climbed the hillside to see the goats, sheep and young cows. It was awesome.

And you couldn't beat the price... free parking and admission. We'll probably ride the carousel on Christmas Eve when we're in the vicinity again visiting my parents. Next time we'll remember celery for the animals too.

Christmas in the Park - Downtown San Jose

Most people don't know that San Jose is California's third largest city, and the largest Northern California city (bigger than San Francisco and Oakland). In fact most Californian's don't know.  We don't know this because San Jose's downtown is sorely lacking character, restaurants and reasons to visit.

San Jose is trying to change this and attract visitors to downtown. One vehicle to attract visitors is Christmas in the Park, where Plaza De Cesar Chavez is "transformed into a holiday fantasy with over 60 musical and animated exhibits." Of course this has been going on for 32 years now ... but I would venture to guess that San Jose has been struggling with its identity for about that long or longer.

Don't get me wrong, we love San Jose. It is a great place to raise children. The housing is much more affordable than in neighboring Bay Area cities, and you can afford to have a reasonable sized yard. While many of our schools aren't tops, they are getting better every year. We have wonderful weather, access to professional sports teams and facilities, and you can do your grocery shopping without experiencing the gridlock frustration that we did in San Francisco.

This year we went to the tree lighting in San Jose. Before the lighting San Jose made the amusement park rides at Christmas in the Park free. This was really cool. The boys road their first ferris wheel, experienced a spinny ride that didn't require parents to join in, and went on the carousel.

We enjoyed walking through the exhibits. Lot's of decorated trees sponsored by local groups. We actually missed the lighting. The speeches started at 5:30 pm and at 6:30 pm the tree wasn't lit yet. We opted to head for dinner (out of downtown in our Willow Glen neighborhood). And next visit we'll be sure to let the boys ice skate in downtown.