Road Trip to Our Mini Pismo Beach Vacation

In April I started a new job, which means that this summer we had to do mini vacations versus full blown vacations. Our trip to Calgary was just five days (including travel on the fourth of July). And we took another long four day weekend right before the kids started school.

Well planned a long weekend mini vacation can be wonderful. The key is to keep travel at a minimum ... no more than four hours door to door. Calgary was a two hour flight away, and Banff a short ninety minute drive from Calgary. Pismo Beach located near San Luis Obispo (SLO) is three to four hours from San Jose (depends on whether you take scenic route 1 or boring 101).

We've spent enough time in SLO, either passing through or stay for a day to have a favorite destination restaurant in mind, the Big Sky Cafe, and we had booked a hotel for three nights. Otherwise, we were completely unplanned.

This time around we chose to do the scenic route there. An opportunity to detox a bit if you like roadtrips. And Jonathan and I like roadtrips. Route 1 has a lot of awesome sites along the way, from the Bixby Creek Bridge to Hearst Castle and ... of course elephant seals.

Stopping by the elephant seal rookery is a must when traveling on Route 1. I think I've been telling Jonathan about my Sophomore biology trip to see the elephant seals at Año Nuevo since we first met, but I didn't know that just 45 minutes north of Pismo was an overlook where you can watch these amazingly large sea creatures and their pups basking in the sun from a safe distance.

When we were driving we spotted a crowd of people looking over a lookout onto a beach with massive grey things and decided to pull over. And there was Piedras Bancas State Park. It was the highlight of the days festivities.

When we got to Pismo Beach the boys hit the hotel pool, which was heated. This was a good thing since it was about 60 degrees and foggy. But the disadvantage of road trips is the need to run the kids afterward. Cooped up for four hours in car is long time for a five and seven year old.

They happily swam, and they weren't alone in the pool. Jonathan took out a wonderful pasta dinner in from Guiseppe's Fine Italian Restaurant, and we watched the closing ceremonies for the Olympics.
 

Our First Rodeo - At the Calgary Stampede

When we were booking our Calgary/Banff vacation we noticed that all of the hotels in downtown Calgary were either booked or very expensive. Turns out we planned our trip during the Calgary Stampede, an annual ten-day rodeo, exhibition and festival. It was also the Centennial Celebration for one of the world's largest rodeos.

While going to a rodeo has never been on my bucket list, when in Calgary during the Stampede,  you should do like the Calgarians (is that even a word).

70s television was chopped full of rodeo action, so Jonathan and I had a very good idea what to expect. Although we were at a loss on which events we were going to see ... rodeos have events?  The boys were a bit in the dark, since so much of kids programming today does not include rodeos, due mainly to animal rights concerns.

I should point out that on the animal rights front, the Calgary Stampede does a great job at putting the safety of the animals first. The organizers work very closely with the Canadian SPCA to ensure all of the animals are treated humanely. In fact on our rodeo day one cowboy was disqualified for unnecessary roughness when tying a calf. And the announcer kept assuring the crowd that the interest of the animal comes first.

The Calgary Stampede is much more than a rodeo... Though the rodeo was a lot of fun. We bought tickets to the rodeo which gave us admission to the fair-like festival and all of the animal exhibits. When we arrived we went to the Saddledome where the Calgary flames play and watched the miniature pony races. The boys enjoyed it (the little horses are so cute!) Then we headed to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. Amazing beautiful and massive horses. We also watched a performance on the Saddledome steps.

One great thing about the festival is that there were tons of free activities for the boys -- shows, exhibits and games.

When it was time for the rodeo we lined up and went inside. Jonathan had enough foresight to get us seats in the shade. Although we were miles from the action. Still on the hot afternoon, we enjoyed the breeze and felt sorry for those folks wilting in the sun.

I had my big lens with me, so I was able to get some pretty good pictures though. The boys liked it mostly, although they did get a bit bored.  We left after the bull riding, but before the kids pony rangling (even though the boys friend from the hotel pool was competing in that event).

It was a wonderful afternoon, and a great experience. Although rodeos still aren't my thing, and I thought the boys would love it more, it really was worth visit. Especially if you happen to be in Calgary during the Stampede.

Glorious Banff

It has been coming on slowly for awhile now. The boys at 7 and almost 6 increasingly like and are capable of doing things that Jonathan and I like to do. For example, only in the past week the boys started bicycling without training wheels opening up new possibilities for longer bike rides and trail riding.

And this is also true for long hikes. In Banff we got to put this into practice.

Banff is not too far from California. The flight to Calgary is only two hours, and the drive to Banff is only 90 minutes. We left on a 2 pm flight, and were in Banff in time for dinner ... pretty cool. What's more when we were thinking of summer Holidays, only two locations met our airfare price point - Calgary and Beliz. Everything else was terribly expensive.

Banff had been on our list for awhile, and after making the trip I don't know what kept us away. It is one of the most beautiful places that I have been to in the world. The vast snow capped Canadian Rockies and amazingly pristine park with blue skies (we were blessed with great weather) are spectacular.

On our first morning there, after a pancake breakfast at Melissa's Missteak Restaurant, we headed to Lake Louise for a hike. We hiked from Lake Louise to Lake Agnes and the Lake Agnes Tea House. Now this is a 4.5 mile loop (half up a mountain). Even a year ago, we wouldn't have considered this hike with the boys. But now well hydrated and well fed we ventured up the mountain.

At the Lake Agnes Tea House we ate sandwiches, the boys drank hot chocolate and we had tea. It was amazing. By the way I recommend hot tea after a long climb ... so very civilized.

We only had one snag. We chose to go down a different way, and ended up climbing down a very steep incline lined with loose shale. I've always been pretty good at navigating inclines, so I ended up catching Xander and Caleb, and even helping some fellow hikers get through it.

The boys did great. Although they didn't want to go hiking the following day (so we called the next day's hikes "nature walks" and they didn't complain at all). Afterward we rode the Banff Gondola. It was expensive, but worth it.

The boys loved the ride up (and ride down). We walked the boardwalk to the weather station and back. We even got to see some mountain goats. On the ride down we saw some Elk in the woods too.

That night we ate at Coyotes Southwestern Grill in Banff ... another kid friendly restaurant that reaffirmed Banff as a family spot.

The next morning we ate at Melissa's again (the breakfast was that good), and traveled Icefields Parkway. Since we were heading to Calgary that afternoon for the Stampede, we could only make it as far as Peyto Lake before turning back, and now Jasper is on our list of things to do.

Even though we were only taking nature walks that day, we managed to hike about 3 miles ... near Peyto Lake and Crawfoot Glacier. On day two the boys were leading the hikes with enthusiasm.

We had an exceptional time in Banff and then it was off to Calgary.  But the Canadian Rockies are now on our short list of places in which we plan to return.

Ode to WestJet

There are moments in my life that I would like to take back. To relive with full hindsight. Just moments ... moments when I make stupid little decisions or don't pay attention to details... happen to turn down the wrong street, or forget something really important. The fourth of July we had one such moment.

Before I travel anywhere I always have a reoccurring nightmare. I dream that my airplane is leaving in an hour, and I'm still in my pajamas, and I haven't packed yet. Shear panic. In this nightmare, everything goes in super slow motion, except time.

Our trip to Calgary went down like a real life nightmare. It was the vacation that almost wasn't, due to one stupid error.

Jonathan and I recently renewed our passports. As part of the renewal we got the fancy new passport cards which can be used when traveling in Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico and the like. How convenient? We failed to read the fine print ... by land or sea -- not air!

When traveling by air into Canada you need a good old fashioned passport... ugh! And when did we figure this out? At the check in counter two hours before our flight. In fact I flashed back to a moment earlier that day when I looked at Jonathan and my passports sitting on the desk, and thought... maybe, just maybe I should pack these.

But no such luck. The accommodating WestJet staff took pity on us and extended the check in cutoff time by fifteen minutes, from 1 pm to 1:15 pm. ... if Jonathan could make it back  from San Jose with the passports by 1:15 pm (our flight was at 2 pm), they would get us and our bags on the flight.

That was a big if.  Now to put it into context, even on a Holiday, it usually takes 45 to 50 minutes to get to San Jose. Realistically we were looking at Jonathan arriving back at the airport at 1:30 pm. To complicate matters, our house keys were with the valet in long term parking. Jonathan not only had to get our passports in no time flat, but he also had to figure out how to break into our house.

To add more drama to an already tense situation, WestJet has only has one flight a day to Calgary, our vacation was very short, and one day lost would have put a damper on the entire Holiday. 

Jonathan sprinted for a cab.

I sat with the boys within eye and earshot of the WestJet counter.  I would get periodic updates from Jonathan, and relay it to the West Jet staff, while the minutes counted down on the clock.

First off, the cabby pulled off a miracle, traveling at 80 miles an hour the whole way. And Jonathan figured out how to get in the house, without breaking a window -- and the house was far more secure because of it.

At the 1:15 pm deadline Jonathan alerted me that he was pulling into the airport, and just needed to pay the cabby. I told the WestJet staff, who started checking in the boys (we had their passports), and our luggage so the porter could run it to the airplane. 

Once we were checked in, the attendant escorted us through security at a run, and ensured that we made it safely on the airplane.

We just got back from an amazing four day trip to Calgary and Banff --thanks to the amazing efforts of of a cabby, and the understanding staff at WestJet. In contrast to some of our recent bad, family-unfriendly air travel experiences, this level of customer service was truly exceptional. It was our first time on WestJet, and definitely not our last.

Disappointed Seven Year Old

On arriving at Splash Camp on Monday, Xander, my oldest, found out that he was being moved from the intermediate swim class to the beginner class. To add insult to injury, Caleb, my youngest, was advanced from beginner to intermediate.

While I can't shield my boys from disappointment and set backs -- nor should I -- it was a major bummer, which put a damper on the week. Xander was in full analysis mode trying to explain what happened, "maybe it was my backstroke," and "I don't tread water as well as I should." Caleb wasn't helping, "backstrokes and treading water are so easy."

Of course I spent the week fretting a decision we've made. Xander may have very mild cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia) -- we don't know for sure. It sounds worse than it is. If he has it, it is very mild. So, mild when you first meet him you might not even notice. It affects his eyes (intermittent strabismus), his hands (poor fine motor skills) and his legs -- mostly his legs. He has a funny gait (he walks on his toes and his feet and knees turn in slightly). Because of this he has trouble running, balancing and descending stairs.

Last year we took him to see a pediatric neurologist, and she determined that he does have paralysis in his left leg, and stiffness in his right leg. She scheduled an MRI. While we made it to the appointment, we didn't go through with the MRI; Xander was too scared (a combination of the confined space and loud noises). The technician suggested that we ask his doctor to sedate him. After talking with his doctor we decided the risk of sedation outweighed the benefit -- a diagnosis.

If he has undiagnosed CP, as I said, it is really mild. But everyone who knows Xander sees that there are things he struggles with, we just don't have an official label yet. Of course, I head into a tailspin of self doubt when he gets perfect marks on his report card except for two Ns (needs improvement) in gross and fine motor skills. Or when I overhear a parent struggling to answer the question from Xander's friend like, "Why can't Xander run well?" I wonder what is said to Xander when I'm not around to hear.

In some ways a diagnosis would be a relief. Without a label people can be insensitive (misinterpreting his challenges as not trying) -- moving him to beginning swimmer for example. But in other ways a diagnosis scares the heck out of me.  With a label people could be overly sensitive... would they keep him in intermediate even though he is clearly falling behind because there would be different standards for Xander? Or would they suggest special accommodations, exclude him from a program because he has difficulty keeping up even though we know he can do the work?

Of course Xander is taking it all in stride. Just today he said that he likes being in beginner, that he needs to work on some skills, and if he works hard he'll pass the swimming test.

We spent the week learning about disappointment and how it is a part of life, and that we all have different gifts, interests and personal challenges. Xander is learning to play piano, likes Cub Scouts, Karate, games, reading, math and science, is on the Honor Roll and still loves swimming.  Caleb may be a gifted athlete, may pick-up things quicker and may always be better at sports than Xander. Xander shouldn't compare himself to Caleb. I think Xander gets that. But disappointment still stings.

Chef Xander's Cooking Birthday Party

A few years ago Cucina Bambini opened up near our house in Willow Glen.  It is a hands-on cooking school for kids. We'd driven by, and we've always been curious. And to our pleasant surprise it also does birthday parties. Picture 14 kids making their own pizzas, and decorating their cupcakes in a kitchen that you don't have to clean-up afterward... Awesome.

Now, last year's Aloha Scooby Doo Mystery Birthday Party was fantastic. It also set the bar for kid's birthday parties in our neighborhood, and  caused a sizable decrease in the number of home-hosted birthday parties this year. It was fun, but it was also a lot of work. Who can keep up?  Certainly not us. And truthfully, this year we wanted the party to be easier, shorter and elsewhere.

Cue Cucina Bambini - two hours of educational cooking fun. It was also a perfect party for Xander who loves crafts and creative endeavors. He is my shadow every Sunday, helping to cook our weekly pancake (or waffle) brunch.

In preparation for the cooking party the boys and I made chef's hats (purchased a box of paper Chef's hats) for all of the kids attending. I created a "pizza restaurant" like typeface in PowerPoint, printed out each child's name in the typeface, and bought 8,000 stars to decorate the hats. You'd think that I would still have a lot of stars leftover, but our neighbor (who also attended the party) helped decorate and he created an elaborate red piranha with stars on his hat... but that is another story. I was also able to buy The Everything Kids Cookbook on Amazon as party favors for under $5, and because of a special that week it was buy three get the fourth one free.

So, I was set-up on the party favor front and Cucina Bambini handled the rest. Our party started at 11 am. The kids washed their hands and put on aprons before they started to make dough from scratch. They got to measure the flour, water, oil, salt ... They made the sauce from scratch and Xander even got to operate the pan and spatula and cook the sauce. Then the kids rolled the dough, and put toppings on their pizza.

While the pizzas cooked in the oven, the kids decorated their cupcakes with frosting and candy. By the time they were finished decorating the pizzas were ready. I was amazed at how well behaved fourteen kids at a long restaurant table were ... but when they are invested in the meal, they are less likely to whine and climb under the table.

Then we sang the birthday song, and they got to eat their cupcakes. Xander loved it, and I think most of the kids did too. Now, what should we do for Caleb's sixth birthday? I'm thinking a Sharks Super Soaker party at home ...

Roadtrip: Through the Redwoods

Jonathan and I love a good roadtrip. We like exploring the sites along the main road, or turning off, and seeing what we can find. Sometimes it doesn't work out, you find yourself surrounded by strip malls and track homes. Other times you can uncover hidden gems like magnificent hikes and cute little hamlets.

Route 128 heading in and out of Mendocino is an excellent roadtripping road. The Navarro River Redwoods State Park runs along the route, offering magical clover filled paths to explore and giant Redwoods. Perfect for two little boys who started in with "are we there yet?" and "how many more hours" just a few minutes into our four hour drive.

The eleven mile stretch of park is right off the road, perfect for a quick detour, and there are plenty of places to pull over -- you really can't go wrong. We spent a half an hour, stretching our legs, climbing a redwood log and exploring the trails lined with clover. 

We missed it on the way in due to torrential rains, but on the way it out it was a pleasant way to break up our trip.

Tide Pool Exploring with the Boys

One of the best parts of living in Northern California is the vicinity to the ocean and aquatic life. One of my favorite things to do, is to visit tide pools ... what we affectionately call tide pooling.

Tide pools are areas of rocks by the ocean filled with seawater. They are visible at low tide, and home to starfish, crabs, sea anemones and other bottom living sea life.

During our visit to Mendocino, we took the boys tide pool exploring. After breakfast on our second day we headed to MacKerricher State Park with the purpose of visiting the tide pools. However, the tide pools were closed as MacKerricher is also a habitat for baby seals. Two had been born recently, and an additional forty were expected soon.

We hiked along the coastal park hoping to spot a baby seal, but alas had no luck. It is a beautiful park with breathtaking scenery, which we enjoyed visiting ... so we weren't that disappointed. Still by this point we really did want to find some tide pools.

Next stop was Glass Beach which also happens to be part of MacKerricher State Park (just separately accessible). The beach is made up of small pieces of glass, smoothed and washed ashore. It also has some splendid tied pools.

There the boys scurried among the rocks to see what animal life they could find. Mainly small fish, sea anemones and small crabs. It was great fun, and a wonderful way to spend a morning.

Dawn of the Hockey Mom

I knew this day would come. Caleb is finally old enough to play hockey league. We'd been preparing for this moment for more than two years. Ever since our almost three year old developed an obsession for hockey, and we started group ice skating lessons, we'd been working toward the collective end of one day playing hockey with a stick.

After a crash course in all things hockey, I now know how to tape a stick (thank you Youtube), and how to keep hockey socks up. Of course we went cheap on all of the equipment ... he is only five after all, but he is thrilled. He would wear it full-time if he could fit in his car seat all padded up, and if the elbow pads didn't itch and if he actually liked wearing a cup.

Now I find myself at the ice rink two hours a week -- on Monday's for mini mites practice, and on Saturday's for the weekly game. But this is only the beginning. Someday hockey may takeover our lives ... clinics, camps, traveling teams ... who knows what the future holds. I feel hockey mom-dom burgeoning.

Still I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Although Caleb is holding his own, he is hardly a hockey prodigy. There are other kids that are much, much, much better.  We don't know their story either. Caleb has been playing hockey for a month ... they could be older, or playing longer, or have parents that actually ice skate. Their parents could have been grooming their progeny for hockey since birth ...  in fact we overheard one mom say to her son (who happens to be a fantastic skater), "in Russia we ice skated everyday and we didn't complain."

All that said, the most important thing right now is for Caleb to have fun, and he is having a blast.

Fun at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens with the Boys

Seems like an oxymoron, fun at a botanical gardens with boys. But the Mendocino Botanical Gardens with our boys was fun. Oh yes there is a plethora of flora and fauna (just deer), lovely landscaping and educational labeling, a large collection of rhododendron ... but my two tykes who had been cooped up for two days were also able to simply run wild for a few hours, which is exactly what they needed.

The Mendocino Botanical Gardens was recommended by my husband's co-worker who had grown up in the area. So as we made our way through the fussy gift shop (far too many glass shelves filled with glass knick knacks for any comfort considering my clumsy six year old) and forked over $38 for our family of four we almost said... ah we'll pass.

But a recommendation is a recommendation. And the sun was finally out and the boys need a good dose of mother nature. The Mendocino Botanical Gardens were a pleasant surprise.

You enter into the formal garden and exit through a gate on a coastal trail. The trail takes you to the Parrish Farm. David Parrish worked with Santa Rosa's own Luther Burbank before he moved his ten kids to Fort Bragg to raise potatoes and peas on the coast.  Now, if you didn't grow up in Sonoma County you are probably only mildly familiar with Luther Burbank. He was a botanist, horticulturalist and pioneer in agricultural science. His home in Santa Rosa was a staple on the field trip circuit and as I remember, he invented hundreds of varieties of daisies, as well as apples and potatoes.

The farm is very sweet, and definitely fun for the kids. Following a Big Blue Meanie sign the Gardens have created an adventure trail near the farm for kids that includes forts, giant eggs and other hands-on surprises. This was the boys favorite part. A good part of my childhood was spent playing in the woods behind our house with my neighborhood friends. And I do wish my boys had more opportunities to build forts and experience the woods the way I did as a kid. The adventure trail harkened back to a time when kids had easier access to nature, and although they couldn't build a fort, they could play in one, and they loved it.

It is funny, but when our boys are cooped up for any time they get a little silly and crazy. It makes for challenging travel in restaurants, lobbies, hotel rooms and stores -- anywhere you need a semblance of decorum. The Mendocino Botanical Gardens offered a needed outlet where the boys could just play.  It will stay on our shortlist of things to do in Mendocino with the boys.

Aboard the Skunk Train

This winter I finally packed up and moved the massive Thomas the Tank Engine collection to the basement. The boys only occasionally played with their trains, and they didn't even miss them... I did. It is an end of an era, my little boys weren't preschoolers anymore, and were no longer interested in preschool toys. Alas in the age of Beyblades and Lego Ninjago, trains are for babies.

On the first full day on the Mendocino coast it was supposed to rain. With miserable weather ahead we thought, how fun it would be to ride the Skunk Train. And don't get me wrong, it was fun. The Skunk Train runs through the redwoods from Fort Bragg toward Willits. During the summer you can ride a classic steam engine. In the Winter/Spring your engine is a good old fashioned diesel train.

The train has been following the Redwood Route since 1885. Originally to reach logging encampments, the modern version is for tourists.

But, for our boys the magic is gone. The wonder and amazement and pure joy of all things trains is gone. In its place mild enjoyment and curiosity.

The Skunk Train is quite a time investment. Our train left at 10 am and returned four hours later.  The first half of the ride the boys were great. They listened to the conductor's stories, lead Jonathan to the outside train to view the 1,000 year old redwood trees, and happily looked outside the window.

We then had lunch as the train was turned around to be sent back to Fort Bragg. After lunch the boys were no longer interested in the train. Caleb managed to make friends with other kids who were a little bored of the train ride too. They looked out the window, told jokes and shared secrets.

Xander didn't have as much success, so he played video games on Jonathan's phone. I asked the boys if they liked the Skunk Train, and the answer was a resounding "yes, but..." But for them, once is plenty for the foreseeable future. I don't think we would have had the same response from three and four year old Xander and Caleb. I guess Jonathan and I will let our membership at the California Railroad Museum elapse. Sigh...

Spring Break on the Mendocino Coast

I don't remember getting this much time off when I was a kid. In February we have ski week around the President's Day holiday, and in April we have Spring Break. Ski week for us is in Florida visiting the grandparents ... and Spring Break always puts us at a loss for what to do, since we can only take about two days off work, the kids are in Y Camp for the other three days. It needs to be a compact Holiday with minimal travel time (under four hours) and maximum fun. Last year we spent a few days in Monterey, and this year we headed to the Mendocino coast.

April is still considered off season on the beautiful coast. With the boys we opted to stay in Fort Bragg, more pedestrian than upscale Mendocino. Fort Bragg also is where you can catch the Skunk train, and close to a bunch of coastal parks.

If we could do it over again, we would have selected a different hotel. The rooms at the Holiday Inn Express are small, and it doesn't have balconies. So on our rainy first day (actually thunder, lightening, torrential rains and hale) we felt cooped up. With four of us, we should have sprung for a low end suite at a property with balconies. We'll keep that in mind on our next visit.

In fact after the boys acted up at dinner on our first night -- they were more uncontrollably silly than anything else, 5 year old Caleb turns to me and says in a very grown up voice, "Mom, of course we are acting silly. We haven't had any kid time, and we need an outlet."

Hmmm ... I wonder where he heard that before? Keeping that in mind we found plenty of free play activities for the boys. And the weather was fantastic the rest of the long weekend. Our itinerary included:

Friday - 10 am - 2 pm ride the Skunk Train; 2:30 pm visit the Botanical Gardens (there is an adventure trail for the kids which includes a fort), 4 pm visited a Light House -- did I mention we were feeling cooped up after Thursday's storms.
Saturday - Tide pools (we went to two separate beaches, at the first the tide pools were closed because of the baby seals) and Mendocino Headlands
Sunday - Travel home with a stop for a hike in the Redwoods.

The trip was amazing. The boys can't wait to go back! They loved it. Over the next few weeks I'll blog about our specific excursions. The Mendocino coast is definitely a great destination for both adults and children.

The pianist - The first piano recital

One of life's big regrets is that I never mastered a musical instrument. Growing up as a military brat, we moved around a lot. In the pivotal learning to play the flute year, we moved mid-school year from New York to California.  My new class in California was much further along than my previous school, and although I sat in for the rest of the school year,  I never caught up. And as it is with many kids, I moved on and lost interest during that year.

In my 20s I studied guitar, but it wasn't the same. So with regret breeds ... piano lessons for my kids. I have heard the horror stories of kids (especially who grew up in the 40s and 50s ...) being forced into piano lessons. Understanding that is really not a good thing, in January Xander started piano lessons with no coersion.

Proud Mamma bragging time -- Xander was born with two inherent loves. One is water. From his first bath he has been in love with being wet, splashing around and water, and the other is music. As a baby we hummed Tchaikovsy to him to calm him down, his first concert was an opera, and his first favorite toy as a toddler was his rainbow piano. He also has great focus and beautiful long fingers, and a ear for music. He was born to play piano.

In January Xander started piano lessons. At the behest of his piano teacher we waited until he was six and half, but we knew that he would love it. Every Friday Jonathan takes Xander to his lesson, and he practices piano 10 to 30 minutes a night -- no pressure.

So after a whopping four months of lessons on Sunday Xander had his first recital. It was great. His teacher likes to do recitals because it is a forcing function to help her students rise to the occasion. It is always good to have a goal. Xander did great playing both Yankee Doodle and Mary Had a Little Lamb. Remember Billy Joel and Beethovan were once beginners. Still I'm not sure he is bound for Julliard yet. But I think we are fostering a love of music that will serve him well in life, no regrets.

A date with dolphins in the Florida Keys

When I was a kid I loved to watch the 1964 show Flipper in syndication. It is the one and only mental picture I have of the Florida Keys. So, when it came to planning our trip to the Florida Keys I wanted to make sure the boys had an up close with marine life experience, especially an opportunity to meet dolphins.

While swimming with the dolphins is romantic, and there are plenty of options in the Keys, it is also pricey at $100 or more per person for an encounter. With early swimmers, scuba and snorkeling are also out of the question. Other activities for small kids can also be at a shortage in the Keys -- other than beaches and swimming pools. And to be honest we had that in Hollywood, Fla.

Don't get me wrong. The Florida Keys are lovely, and well worth a visit. Yet may be more geared toward grown-ups -- snorkeling, followed by fruity cocktails, fresh fish and a live band ... fun.

I'm so glad that we discovered Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. I found it on Yelp (searching for "kid friendly activities" in the Florida Keys).  To be honest, other than glass bottom boats, snorkeling and scuba trips it was the only thing that came up. At first I was concerned by its 3.5 star rating. But the negative Nancys had issues with it being geared toward small children -- Hooray for us!

I actually think that they were wrong. It is not geared toward small children. But it is a throw-back, a nostalgic nod to a simpler time when little boys named Sandy and Bud could live on a marine refuge in Southern Florida.

Founded in 1942, Theater of the Sea is the second oldest marine wildlife show in the North America.  It does promote the "swimming with the dolphin experience." But I'd suggest bypassing the "programs" (what they call the swimming with the dolphin, sting ray or sea lion) line, and just buy tickets to the shows. They are so worth it. We got there early at 10 am with the intention to sit up front for each show -- which we did.

We started with the parrot show, followed by the dolphin show and concluding with the sea lion show. The parrot show, was probably the least exciting. Yet, I also think it was Xander's favorite. He loved the parrot tricks and he got to hold a parrot, and he still talks about that.
 
Jonathan and my mother in law headed to the dolphin show to secure seats upfront while the boys and I waited in line to hold a parrot. The dolphin show was a blast, and Xander got picked for the audience participation part. He got to pet a dolphin... which is pretty awesome.

Next was the sea lion show, which was really cute. There is something amazing about watching a sea lion balance a ball on its nose. We also sat up front for this show, and Caleb got chosen to play sea lion ring toss.

After we made the rounds of the shows, we went on a nature walk, took the short bottomless boat ride (where we got a short dolphin show in the center of the boat). And then headed to the beach, where you can feed large tropical blue fish. All in all we spent five hours at Theater of the Sea, and we had an amazing time. Seriously if you are looking for something fun to do with small children in the Florida Keys, Theater of the Sea is it.

RIP Sweet Border Collie

Yesterday we put down our beloved border collie Geddy. Her kidneys had failed and she had stopped eating. As much as I wanted her to die at home, the vet told us that she was in a lot of pain, felt so nauseous she couldn't eat anymore and that bringing her home would be more for us than for her.

Geddy came into our life nearly 15 years ago. She was six months old at the time, and as is the case with many rambunctious, high energy border collies we were her fifth home. Her mother walked into the street when she was five weeks old and was hit and killed by a car. Shortly afterword she left her first home to live with the breeder's son's girlfriend in an apartment with a makeshift yard (a kid's swimming pool filled with dirt). When Geddy became too much for the girlfriend, she dropped her off with the breeder's son, now her ex-boyfriend. Geddy spent the next couple of months in a pen with her litter mate. Finally, the breeder's son returned her to his parent's house where we adopted her.

All of the puppy trauma made for a submissive little dog. She suffered from such great separation anxiety that she used to fill our bedroom with mother nature -- wood chips, leaves, dirt. She destroyed our shoes, baseball caps, ripped apart a couch -- she was a little terror. Yet we had to rebuild her confidence with encouragement -- which was pretty hard to do when you are trying to reassemble your couch and hide the foam before company arrives. But each day she became a better dog.

When she was 18 months old we rescued a golden retriever named Barney as a companion for Geddy and some much needed adult dog supervision. The two dogs were best friends until Barney's death four years later (at age 14 of kidney failure).

In her prime she was an amazing athlete. A natural frisbee dog. She would lay down in an open field, and from a crouch position, run, jump up in the air, catch a frisbee and then leave it at our feet. Impressive.

She was our constant companion. We took her everywhere with us, to Burning Man, Santa Barbara, on camping trips, hiking, the beach... When we lived in the city she was in a play group with other herding dogs. She was a very happy dog.

But when we had kids her life quickly changed. We left San Francisco for San Jose and a big yard. Geddy was displaced by the boys. All of the time we once spent with Geddy we now committed to our boys. She adapted. She became an elder statesdog. She tolerated  the boys, she kept them in order, herded them, and sometimes corrected them ... And she also left them alone, and pursued other interests, like barking at the mailman and chasing squirrels. Her new favorite place to sleep was under Xander's crib, and then later under his bed. And I think in her own way, she loved the boys and has been very content these last seven years.

We are so sad to say good-bye to Geddy. She was our baby girl. She taught us patience and optimism -- to see her for her potential, and not her puppy trauma. She was loud and rambunctious, smart and sweet. We love you Geddy girl. Rest in peace little border collie.

Alligator Wrangling in the Everglades

One of my favorite books when I was a kid was the Great Escape or the Sewer Story. It was about Silas the alligator, taken as a baby to New York from the Everglades by a vacationing family, who eventually flushed him down the toilet when he got too big. He ended up in the New York sewer with other alligators that staged a great escape back to the Everglades. The book is alas, out of print.

So, on this trip to Florida when we decided we were going to visit the Everglades, I wanted to see alligators. But, Caleb and Xander were adamant that there was to be no alligator wrestling. Instead we headed out on a alligator wrangling adventure.

After reviewing options on Yelp, we opted for the Everglades Safari Tours for our alligator seeking air boat ride and wild life show. I was most impressed that they made a point to tell us that there was no alligator wrestling.

It was an amazing trip. The 45 minute ride through the Everglades was fun. Strangely enough I didn't really know what the Everglades were before the trip. I thought they were a swamp. But our tour operator corrected us that the Everglades are not a swamp, but in fact  a slow moving river of rainwater running through high grasses. But seriously, what really is the difference?

During the ride we saw plenty of alligators, birds, haddocks and mangroves. After the air boat ride the adventure really began. The wildlife show was fun, seeing a bunch of large sleepy alligators responding to their names, as a brave trainer presented in the alligator cage.

Afterward we walked around the park. On one side were captive alligators behind a fence, and on the other side was sun bathing "wild" alligators. As we posed for pictures in front the fantastic "wild" reptilians, I kept thinking of the family photos before tragedy strikes. As people hoist their child in front of a lion, or bear or ... alligator for that great photo. I kept the boys on the sidewalk, and stayed a reasonably safe distance away. But the wild ones did have significantly more appeal from a photo perspective.

For three dollars each, the boys were also able to hold a baby alligator too. For Caleb and Xander this was one of the highlights of our Florida trip. The baby alligator was little and cute. Cute enough to take back to San Jose, but what we do with him when he got too big?

The Spirited Traveler at Age 5

Last year I wrote about the challenges and strategies for traveling with my spirited little boy Caleb. Mary Sheedy Kurcinka describes a spirited child as "a normal child who is more. They are more intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, energetic." My little Caleb continues to be all these things... and more!

The biggest challenge with traveling with him -- gosh even mornings, bedtime, or weekends when we don't travel at all -- is the transitions. When we travel he is on pins and needles leading up to the transition, takes awhile to settle into the transition ... lather, rinse, repeat.  One of the outcomes of major transitions, like travel, is the inevitable meltdown.

I love traveling with my boys, but airports tend to be the focal point for a transition-induced meltdown. Especially at the end of the trip when Caleb is disappointed and sad that the trip is over, and anxious about going home. As we embarked on our Florida trip I flashed back to last year's end of the trip airport meltdown.  "Meltdown at Gate C3" was a full kicking, screaming, yelling and crying meltdown in the middle of the gate check area as we waited to board the flight.  It was a major scene with people standing around and pointing at us, and saying "I hope that child isn't on our flight." It was over a bag of chips, and much, much more. All of his emotions coalesced in a major meltdown.  

So it was on this the one year anniversary of "Meltdown at Gate C3" I felt some trepidation about the Florida trip. But I'm happy to report it was without incident. We have finally outgrown the meltdown. Yes we did have some minor temper tantrums,  whining, angry outbursts and even a few tears -- but no meltdowns.

I'd like to say it was because of some great parenting trick. We did implement certain strategies to address the meltdowns - before (reading the signs that one was coming, and avoiding situations where Caleb was overly tired, stimulated or hungry), during (giving him a little space, comforting him and letting him win a little bit on something small), and after (discussing with Caleb how he could more appropriately communicate his feelings). But I really think that Caleb at age five finally outgrew the meltdown.

Vacation by Yelp

In 2001 we spent two weeks in Germany, Switzerland and mostly Italy. Most of the trip was planned and booked with recommendations from Rick Steves. Jonathan loves Rick Steves. Every quaint hotel we visited, and tiny little restaurant we frequented was packed with Americans in their 50s flipping through their worn copies of Europe Through the Back Door. We had better luck six years later in Austria, which is less of an American tourist destination than Italy.

We needed a better strategy, and one that works well for everywhere we plan to go. But touristing is hard. How do you get the local recommendations, and avoid the tourist traps without a great guide book?  If you use a web search engine you get lists of activities that are overwhelming, and many times just advertisements.

So today, at least for trips in the US, you can use Yelp, at least we do. Type in "kid activities" in any location and you get a recommendations of things to do. You can check the ratings, read the reviews and bypass the paid for lists. But make sure that you read several of the reviews ... For example, one place that we are planning on visiting has only 3.5 stars. But the worst review says "if you are over 13 stay away, this place is not for you!" As the parent of a 5 and 6 year old I read this as "if you have a 5 and 6 year old go, your kids will have a blast!" Which is in line with what other reviewers said.

A boat tour was listed under "kid activities" which got sucked into the Yelp search engine because one patron complained about kids being on the tour. And how kids shouldn't be allowed on until they are old enough to behave. Since it was a snorkeling and scuba tour -- it probably doesn't meet our requirements for safe fun with our little boys anyway.

We've used Yelp to find our favorite restaurants in Sacramento, and a decent cup of coffee in Michigan after our red-eye.  You can use Yelp for international destinations, but the information is much more spotty, and if you don't speak the local language, you will need to use a translation engine.

I'm relying heavily on Yelp for our upcoming South Florida trip. This time we want to go the Everglades, as well as the Florida Keys. I found the air boat tour and nature show which will give the boys plenty of opportunities to see alligators and mangroves, as well as our activities in the Keys (dolphins and bottomless boats). I also found the restaurants we will be taking the boys to (typing kid-friendly restaurant did the trick).

Will Yelp replace the tourist guide book? Probably not, we love the preset itineraries in Lonely Planet books when traveling in Russia, Asia, Australia or South America, and Rick Steve's wonderful recommendations in Europe ... however, at least for our US trips, we are relying less and less on guide books, and more on Yelp.