Junior Museum & Zoo - Palo Alto, CA

The Junior Museum & Zoo is a place where children and their caregivers come to explore, discover, create and play. Through hands-on science exhibits and a diverse community of live animals, your child's natural scientist will be nurtured.

The Zoo is home to more than 50 species of animals—about 200 specimens in all—many of which are brought into classrooms as part of the Junior Museum & Zoo's science outreach program with local schools. Some of the animals include bobcats, raccoons, jungle bats, hedgehogs, ferrets, snakes, fresh water fish and invertebrates, birds, turtles and a giant tortoise!

Admission is a suggested donation of $5 per person. We stayed for a couple of hours and then played on the playground of the park right next door for about an hour.

Swimming at Lantern Cove - Foster City, CA

After recently moving to Foster City, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful pool.

Ryder Park - San Mateo, CA

We had our second of many visits to Ryder Park. This is still one of our favorites.

See my older post for more information:  http://jillianmichelestevens.blogspot.com/2011/09/ryder-park-san-mateo-ca.html

Shakespeare Festival (Presidio) - San Francisco, CA

The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former military base on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

In 1996, the United States Congress created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the park's lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%. In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013, which it achieved eight years ahead of the scheduled deadline.

The park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1962.

We met up with Auntie Angelique for the Shakespeare play, Cymbeline. Although it was crowded, it was a very peaceful crowd and a welcoming environment with absolutely beautiful weather. We stayed for several hours.

Ryder Park - San Mateo, CA

Shoreline Park is one of San Mateo’s newest parks – comprised of two parts – Ryder Park and Seal Point Park – it offers an abundance of open space and scenic views of the San Francisco Bay. 

Seal Point Park
This park has a three acre off-leash dog park and many walking and biking paths that wander through natural and restored habitats. Keep your eyes open when on the trails because Seal Point Park is home to many types of native wildlife. The park also has a natural stairway as well as kayak and wind-surf launch areas.

Ryder Park & Aquatic Playground
Our renovated water feature and creative play areas make Ryder Park a perfect outing for the family. **The water play area is open seven days a week from May 25 – October 1, 11am – 4pm. The park also has beautiful pathways landscaped with native vegetation – perfect for native gardening ideas in your own backyard. Ryder Park also has a barbeque and picnic area. It is a popular spot, so if you are planning an event, be sure to reserve your picnic area early.

We spent several hours at just Ryder Park before heading to the Bay Trail. Looking Northwest you can see planes flying over Coyote Point Marina and landing at SFO.

Chichibu Park - Antioch, CA

http://antioch-chichibu.org/index.html

We visited this 6.3 Acre neighborhood park in Antioch, California named for sister city, Chichibu, in Japan. We spent half a day here with family.

Great America - Santa Clara, CA

California's Great America is a 100-acre amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, it originally opened as Marriott's Great America in 1976 as one of two parks built and operated by the Marriott Corporation. The park features over 40 rides and attractions. We had so much fun that we purchased an annual family pass.

Fathers' Day at the beach - Half Moon Bay and Montara Lighthouse

 Four miles of broad, sandy beaches stretch out to welcome visitors to Half Moon Bay. This picturesque setting is ideal for sunbathing, fishing and picnicking. A campground provides accommodations for those who wish to visit longer.

Point Montara Lighthouse is actually a hostel, but we dropped in for about an hour just to take a look around and visit the lighthouse.

San Francisco Zoo - San Francisco, CA

Nestled against the Pacific Ocean, the San Francisco Zoo is an urban oasis. It is home to over 1,000 exotic, endangered and rescued animals representing more than 250 species and lovely peaceful gardens full of native and foreign plants. 

The majestic Leanne Roberts African Region and the Valentine Family Savanna offer a multi-species landscape with giraffes, zebras, kudu, ostriches, storks, and more. At Hearst Grizzly Gulch, visitors can get nose-to-nose with rescued grizzly sisters Kachina and Kiona. Lemurs leap through the Lipman Lemur Forest, the largest outdoor lemur habitat in the country. Penguin Island is home to the largest colony of Magellanic penguins outside of the wild. The Zoo’s troop of gorillas lives in the lush Jones Family Gorilla Preserve. Farm animals for feeding and petting can be found in the popular Fisher Family Children’s Zoo. The historic 1921 Dentzel Carousel and the 1904 miniature Little Puffer Steam Train are treasured by generations of visitors. And the $3.2 million Elinor Friend Playground re-opened to the public in fall 2013. The SF Zoo offers a rich history for its guests, including fun rides, educational programs and exciting events for children of all ages. The SF Zoo is proud to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

We met up with lots of family as the park opened and stayed until it closed. You could spend all day here and still not see it all. 

Disneyland - Anaheim, CA

Grandma and Grandpa Breedlove brought us to the happiest place on earth. We spent several days park hopping between Disneyland and California Adventure. We stayed at Disneyland Resort Hotel. What a great time!

Guadalupe River Park, Children's Discovery Museum and Discovery Meadow - San Jose, CA

Guadalupe River Park is a three-mile ribbon of park land that runs along the banks of the Guadalupe River in the heart of downtown San Jose from Highway 880 at the north, to Highway 280 at the south. It is a resource of regional importance to the people of Santa Clara County and the Bay Area. It is composed of many different areas.

Discovery Meadow is at the southern end of the park, adjacent to the Children's Discovery Museum. It features a large expanse of lawn and is used extensively for festivals during the summer months and also the largest outdoor Monopoly board. The Riverwalk trails along Discovery Meadow follow the river closely and are lined with comfortable park benches.

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose (CDM) is located on Woz Way in downtown San Jose, California. Woz Way is named after Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, whose nickname is "Woz," and who was the single largest private donor during the original capital campaign that funded the museum. The museum builds and displays interactive exhibits that they believe respond to children's diverse educational needs. The museum is 52,000-square-feet.

We spent roughly 5 hours at the park, Monopoly board and Children's Discovery Museum.