why the first week of the month is the best week for a Bay Area staycation

It's been a really long time since I updated this blog. I was shocked to log on and see that I didn't update it at all in 2017. Welp! Seems to be the story of the blog since kid number two came along over five years ago. But I'm tweaking the title and tone of this blog and hope to catch up moving forward. The next dozen or so posts may be wildly out of chronological order as I write what's on my mind rather than check the posts off of the list I've been keeping over the past couple of years. This blog was very much about babies and toddlers for awhile, then I kept it private for awhile, then I made it public again. With this post, at least, I'd like to explore a little of what I've been doing since quitting my full-time job last summer - how to keep kids entertained and busy in the Bay Area without spending a ton of money. It's not easy. But fortunately for me (and sometimes my kids) the things I enjoy doing - seeing art, getting outside, playing Just Dance - are free or low-cost, if you do it right.

When a SoCal road trip fell through, a Spring Break staycation this year worked out well because it coincided with the first week of the month. Many of the museums in the area are free on a different first day of the month. With that largely in mind, here's what we did.

It's so hard to choose just one!

Donut Savant in Oakland

Spring Break really started with Cesar Chavez day the Friday before. After a quick morning treat at Oakland's Donut Savant (what we saved on admission and picnic lunches throughout the week we spent on donuts and ice cream!), we drove into San Francisco, lucked out on parking right near Dolores Park, played, picnicked, then drove across the neighborhood to Southern Exposure for the penultimate day of a show that included the work of one of my artist friends.

Lisa Jonas Taylor's 'Portal' at Southern Exposure in SF

Monday was our 13th wedding anniversary so Neal took the day off. We hiked in the area of Oakland where we got married, saw Isle of Dogs, and then had a late lunch/early dinner at Cancun Taqueria in Berkeley (they catered our wedding).

On that first Tuesday of April, the day when most of the art museums in San Francisco are free, we went to the Legion of Honor, where I worked for three years well before kids. It was their first visit. Not their favorite art museum but they seemed to dig the location and architecture and yes, we got ice cream on the way home at Salt & Straw.

She's cranky because the spinny stools were challenging.

On Wednesday, I took the kids to the Bay Area Discovery Museum, free on the first Wednesday of the month. Elias has been several times but shockingly, I'd yet to take Daphne. Coupled with a public safety thing in the morning it was hella crowded. But we managed a few hours of fun and, as always, a picnic lunch, before heading back to the east bay via Loving Cup in Greenbrae.

On Thursday, we opted for a lower-key morning outing rather than a full day trip. We drove to Vallejo for Children's Wonderland.

Pro tip: not only are they cash only but they do not accept bills larger than $10. So I had to first find an ATM and then find a place to buy something small in order to break my $20 (I never carry much cash on me because I'll spend it on nonsense). All that said, I'm glad we persisted and eventually got in. The weather was overcast with sprinkles now and then but the kids loved it and we'll definitely go back this summer. I'm also curious to attend their monthly art walk - I just heard on this KQED Forum program that the next one is on May 11th. It might make for a fun pit stop if you're making your way to Sacramento or Tahoe that Friday evening.

Born on Guam like I was, we then had to have a light lunch at Keepin' It Island, conveniently located next to Starbread Bakery, where we had seniorita bread for the first time.

On Friday it rained so we decided to finish Elias's book report (he chose the "movie poster" option - remember when the only option was to write a written report?).

That weekend he and Neal went on an overnight cub scouts camping trip, presenting the perfect opportunity to get Daphne's ears pierced, but more about that in a separate post!

Wacky Wednesdays - the extended encore version!

I thought I'd wrapped my Wacky Wednesday posts but going through photos for my last post I came across a few more adventures, only one of which was actually on a Wednesday, but all of which were just Elias and me, while Daphne was still in part-time daycare with Eryn. When we returned from Monterey in June 2014, we had just three days until the 4th of July weekend, so rather than sign him up for any kind of camp, I decided we'd have three Wacky "Wednesdays"! On Tuesday that week, we went to the Alameda County Fair:

On Wednesday, we enjoyed a short hike in the Marin Headlands before hitting up the Bay Area Discovery Museum (we've yet to take Daphne!):

And on Thursday, we checked out a really cool pool in Martinez (that I reviewed for 510 Families), had lunch at Elias's favorite restaurant at the time (Chevy's!) and then saw a matinee:

It was indeed the summer of selfies and soft-serve!

a mini family reunion in Monterey - June 2014

Oh, man, I've only written two blog posts this year! However, I've made a list of blog posts that I need to write to catch up, so here we go. Now that we're all caught up on kids' birthday parties (with Daphne's 4th fast approaching in just 3 months!), let's backtrack again to June 2014 (I know, I know!), when we met Uncle Ryan, Aunt Kelly, and cousins Maddie and Zach in Monterey for a mini Grigsby family reunion, along with Grandma Joanne.

Short road trips are the best road trips.

NOT napping in the car, as we kind of counted on.

Highlights, other than hanging with family, included the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Elias and cousin Maddie!

 

Fighting the nap on the go.

As you can see in one of the above images, Daphne really struggled with napping on the go. I believe we tried to sneak in a nap or two back at the hotel when this didn't work, but eventually she conked out in the stroller. At 5 pm!

...on our way to fetch the Peterson's Donuts our SoCal relatives had so generously hand-delivered to us!

We also checked out the very fun Peter Pan playground:

The hotel pool:

Other hotel shenanigans, including eating BiRite circus animal cookie ice cream during one of Daphne's hotel naps:

And the beach!

Rinsing off with cousin Zach.

Our family also previewed the general area where the Monarch butterflies pop in during their annual migration, typically in late November/early December (so we were there at the wrong time, of course, but made a mental note for a future trip - read on!).

Another on-the-go nap, conveniently timed during lunch.

We're headed back to this area at the right time this year, in just a few weeks, to see the butterflies, meeting Uncle Ryan and family and Grandma Joanne again for Thanksgiving weekend and a likely return visit to the aquarium.