We are already at the end of June and sadly have not done any camping or much hiking yet.  Despite the projected heat this last weekend, our family and the kids’ cousins went out for a morning walk at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center.  There are several loops you can take, each being quite short. We planned for a 1 mile hike but I’m not certain now if that was indeed the route we actually took. ...

When we visit grandparents, a favorite park to go to is Oak Meadow Park.  Our first stop has to be the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad. When we have gone, Engine 3502 has been in charge, but on weekends during the summer the heavy lifter is a 104-year old steam engine. This railroad has also been a feature of the park since 1970. In case you were wondering who Billy Jones was and whether he was, in fact, a wild...

Its easy to spend half a day at the park when you have a steam train you can ride, a 100 -year old beautifully painted carousel, in addition to a large park with lots of play structures.  For an alternative to a park picnic, head to a nearby long-standing hotdog/burger place which has served generations in the Los Gatos area. To park at Oak Meadow Park,  I suggest driving down Blossom Hill Road to the...

Quite possibly the most beautiful steam train ride I have ever taken was the Redwood line at Roaring Camp Railroads.  Two lines are available at base camp in Felton, a few miles from Santa Cruz, CA.  One is a trip through Bear Mountain that takes a little over an hour total, and the second is a trip down to the the Beach Boardwalk of Santa Cruz that takes an hour and a half one-way. Some of the cars of the...

I had mentally put a visit to The Tech Museum high on my to-do list for the next time I was in the area. A recent trip with the kids to see their grandparents meant that I wouldn’t have to wait long to see it.  I knew that most of the exhibits would be beyond the comprehension of a two or four year old, but I clung to the words of the museum’s website, ” … there’s sure to be something...

Trying to teach a sense of history to a four-year old is, in some ways, like talking in a foreign language to him.  I think he gets the words, but when you put them together I’m not sure if the meaning is really understood. Still, I took my four and two year old to Old Sacramento recently in part because it was a short trip from our home, and in part to show them that there is more to Old Sac than...