TravelPangs's Passport
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Send a ComplimentHometown:
SF, California, United States
About Me & My Family
I'm a mother
3 Kids 0-8 years old boys and girls
3 Kids 0-8 years old boys and girls
When we travel, good food and adventure always abound. Our family loves to push the limit of what we can do with children. Our mantra has always been - have kids, will travel. However, this doesn't mean I'm unlike most frantic moms before a trip. Wanting adventure and being a control freak can sometimes be a lethal combination.
Our Family's Travel Personality
adventurous, independent, spontaneous
We Just Got Back From
Northern California and Oregon
Our Favorite Vacation Spot
Hawaii
A Place We'd Love To Visit
New Zealand, Argetina, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Cambodia
Favorite Vacation Memory
Climbing Machu Picchu with a 4 month old infant in a slight and having all the locals stop us to ask what happened to his feet which were all bundled up. They just couldn't believe it wouldn't be bow legged.
Worst Travel Moment With My Kids:
Getting to the airport on our way to Scotland with my 15 month old and discovering that my husband's passport had expired. Instead of rebooking all of our flights, we decided that I would do the first leg of our journey on my own with baby. Unfortunately, we had not packed for me to be flying by myself. I could bearly walk to the runway with all my bags and a 15 month old who would get distracted by everything along the way. He then proceeded to sleep only 1 hour of the entire 11 hour journey (red-eye). It was pretty miserable.
Websites I Like:
Kid Adventures On a Rainy Day in the San Francisco Bay Area
Yikes, the weather outside is frightful, but San Francisco is still delightful. If you're getting stir crazy at home and need to get the kids out to release some energy or just for a change of pace during a wet and stormy week, here are some ideas.
199 Museum Way
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - Located in Twin Peaks, this little free museum is a great place to spend an hour or two on a rainy day because it's all indoors, there's parking and there are animals that the kids can pet and look at.
reviewed on: January 08 2009
"Great free museum for cold days"
The Randall Museum is great for a young children. It's a small museum with hands on exhibits. Our 5 and 2 year old really like the petting zoo area where they can get up close to rabbits and guinea pigs. Another cool exhibit is the bee hive where you can watch bees making their hive through plexiglass. On the weekend, the museum holds art and sciences. Some require sign up and others are drop in. All are for a small fee and make for a fun activity with the kids especially on a cold or rainy San Francisco day.
My favorite thing about the museum is the view from the garden. Set on top of twin peaks, the Randall museum offers breath taking views of San Francisco. This is a locally known gem.
470 carolina st.
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - This is another membership based club where kids can play, make messy art and have a ton of fun. However, they do have play passes for non-members who want to drop in at select times. Check their website for when these are available. Passes start at $20 for 1 adult and 1 child.
900 North Point St Suite F100
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - It's a membership only club for young families, but if you are looking for fun indoor space for your little one to play, take classes or get a few hours of babysitting while you hang out with your laptop, a cozy novel or connect with a friend, Peekadoodle is really nice.
1201 Mason Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A great way to spend an hour with kids learning about San Francisco history and seeing the muscle behind the beloved cable cars that run on the streets of San Francsico. It's free and it's indoors!
reviewed on: November 26 2008
"Interesting for young engineers"
Young engineers will be fascinated with the fantastic huge engines that pull cables all across the city of San Francisco. Take a cable car ride from union square and stop off to see the muscle engine that has kept the cable cars running across San Francisco's hilly streets for hundreds of years.
55 Music Concourse Drive
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A little pricey, but such a fantastic place to visit especially on a rainy day. They even have a covered garage if you're willing to pay for it.
865 Market Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - Get there by Bart or Muni and walk right into this wonderful mall without getting wet. Lots of high-end kids stores. Great for an outing with your tween or teen, but also a good place to exercise those little legs. Grab a bite to eat at the food court downstairs.
221 Fourth Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A favorite museum for many San Francisco families. The claymation studio is a bit hit. But there is also a new toddler area that is worth a visit on a rainy day.
reviewed on: May 18 2009
"Were my expectations too high?"
We visited the Zeum and after reading all the rave reviews, I wonder if my expectations were too high. Or maybe it was because we went on Mother's Day when there was free admission. In any case, I was surprised that the museum was so small. The kids did enjoy themselves. The younger one really just played with Legos the whole time. Our 5 year old really got into the claymation studio. It seem to be a good museum 5- 16 year old kids. But it's a good thing they just added the toddler area so that while older siblings are having a grand old time pretending to be animators, graphic artists, or cutting they new album, young siblings will still be occupied. We'll definitely give this another try on a less busy day.
Palace of Fine Arts
3601 Lyon Street San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A big rainy day favorite is the Exploratorium that has so many wonderful science exhibits that intrigue kids 5 and up. But they also have a toddler area that is fun. It's not big, but worth a visit for a rainy day escape.
reviewed on: August 13 2008
"Perfect for School-age Children"
Wow! The Exploratorium is an absolutely must visit if you are bringing school age kids to San Francisco. My kids who are starting to reach the age when they would rather listen to their ipod than enjoy a beautiful hike were enthralled from the moment we walked through the door. There is an electricity about the place. Even adults find the exhibits fun. My kids who are budding sport fantatics loved the exhibit on the science of sports. This museum makes science comes alive. For the rest of our vacation, the kids were asking questions about how various things work. Uh oh, now I need to go brush up on all that physics, chemistry and biology that I've not touched in years.
Various Locations
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - There are many different locations where these Tot classes are held all over the city. Check their website for the schedule and locations. Great for toddlers and preschoolers who are practicing motor skills.
Various Libraries in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A nice low key rainy day activity. Check their website for the different times and locations of story times that held every day of the week. Most story times include music and it's a fun way for kids to meet up with other kids in the neighborhood.
201 Mendell St.
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - An indoor play space filled with huge jumpy houses. A definitely place for getting out all that excess energy. Available for drop in on Wed afternoons and Friday mornings. There are locations all over the bay area - check their website for locations and drop in play times.
19th Avenue and Wawona St.
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - This is a newly renovated pool at 19th Avenue and Wawona. The pool temperature is set at 80 degrees. Besides classes even for the youngest, they also have recreation swim times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
3200 California Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - Mostly a membership only recreation center with a wonderful pool and babysitting. However you can purchase a daily pass too.
801 Toland Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - Visit this treasure trove of recycled art materials. The visit will be an experience in and of itself. Then head home for a day of creating fanciful art. It will make that rainy day at home whizz by.
The Embarcadero & Beach Street
San Francisco, California
Comment:
In San Francisco - A small museum that I'm not a huge fan of, but they do have a pretty cool touch pool area that it worth a visit if you have a ocean animal fan. You can pet rays and sharks.
56 Hill Street
Daly City, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - San Francisco really needs it's own drop in jungle gym place, but since it's doesn't this is the closest to the city. If your kids really need to expend some of that energy, drop in at Daly City Playhouse for some climbing and jumping. For little ones, visit in the morning before the big kids get out of school.
341 N Amphlett Blvd
San Mateo, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - Another indoor jungle gym in San Mateo that has drop hours.
601 Skyway Road
San Carlos, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - A small aviation museum that's easy to get to and where most of the exhibits are indoors. Best for kids 4 and up. They also have an after school aviation program for kids first grade and up on select Tuesdays.
1150 El Camino Real
San Bruno, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - There is a free but crowded indoor play area right outside Marshalls with colorful foam sculptures that kids love to climb and slide on.
1651 Coyote Point Drive
San Mateo, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - A small indoor museum with fun animal related exhibits that kids will enjoy.
reviewed on: September 10 2008
"Great Playground"
Plus is that is a very large new playground perfect for 4-12 year olds. Lots of space to run and castles to climb. Down side is that there are tons of geese that call the grassy field by the playground home and with them come lots of germ infested bird droppings. Not so great if you have a little one that wants to pick up everything. The geese are also kinda mean hissing and being generally scary. (Sorry, I really have a thing about birds.) Some nice biking trails that are flat with nice bay views. Sometimes it's too windy to feel that you can stay out very long.
1451 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto, California
Comment:
South of San Francisco - A small but free indoor children's museum with lots to pull, tug, jump, and climb on. Good fun on a rainy day for a couple of hours.
2065 Kittredge Street
Berkeley, California
Comment:
East of San Francisco - A fun place for kids under 8. It's not big, but still lots of fun especially on a rainy day because it's all indoors unlike the Bay Area Discovery Museum.
538 9th Street
Oakland, California
Comment:
East of San Francisco - They have drop in studios for kids 18 months to 5 years old where kids can
In our drop-in studios, children age 18 months and up learn and express themselves using paint, papier-mâché, clay, fabrics, feathers and all kinds of unusual materials. It's just $7 child and $3 adult. MOCHA also has "Family Extravaganza" on the weekends.
reviewed on: June 24 2010
"Let the kids get messy and leave the clean up to someone else"
I went to MOCHA with my 4 and 7 year old boys today and we had such a wonderful time. We dropped in at their open studio. It's a small art studio, but the set up was perfect for kids under 10. We spent about 2 hours creating art together. The open studio is set up with various art stations centering around a particular theme. Today the theme was prehistoric times. The kids got to get very messy with clay. They project was to create fossils and there were plastic dinos, shells, leaves, and bones to make fossils with. My boys got really excited about the clay and I was glad to not have to deal with the clean up at the end. There is also a waiting wall with different types of brushes and instruments that kids can paint their masterpiece with. I loved that the painting wall made it possible for the kids to be really messy with their painting. It was nice to not have to intervene with "be careful". Something I find myself doing a lot of when I am creating art with them at home because we have wall to wall carpeting all over our house.There were some other projects - recycled white plastic and foam to assemble the skeleton of an animal and materials to create a mask and amulet. For younger siblings who aren't interested in creating art, there are some wooden blocks and a little playhouse.
The staff was very friendly, but really took a back seat and allowed parents and kids to explore on their own. The fee to use the open studio for kids is 7 and adults is 3. At least one adult must stay with kids, so factor that into the cost.
The art gallery upstairs is free to peruse. It's very informal, but there are some really great pieces created by some very talented children. There is a reading area and a magnetic marble run to amuse the kids. My boys could hung out here quite happily for half and hour. I wouldn't make a special trip to see the gallery, but it's fun to pop in if your near by.
MOCHA also offers all day art summer camps and classes for kids age 6 and up. We summer camp in operation and the kids looked like they were having a wonderful time. They were creating some fantastic works of art. We were admiring their Egyptian mummy tombs, and golden clay goblets.
Centennial Drive
Berkeley, California
Comment:
East of San Francisco - A wonderful rainy place destination where kids of any age can find something fun to get full absorbed in. Whether it's building and racing a Lego car or petting some cool exotic animal.
reviewed on: March 25 2009
"Kids really enjoyed the Lego car room"
We happened to be in Tilden Park on a rainy day and ended up visiting the Lawrence Hall of Science on a whim while we were trying to escape the wet. But we had a fantastic time in the toddler area where the kid were able to build using large foam blocks. But the area that they enjoyed the most was kids can build cars out of Legos and race them down a track against other cars. It was a fun lesson on areo dynamism and stability. The store had some really fun stuff, but we always try to spend very little time in museum stores. In the summer, Lawrence Hall of Science runs a series of wonderful science camps. If we lived closer, I'd definitely sign up kids up.
6800 Mowry Ave.
Newark, California
Comment:
East of San Francisco - It's a hike to Newark from the city, but if you live on the Peninsula, it's not too far. When you get there, you'll be greeted by warm water and a wonderful indoor water park at such an affordable price. Great place to escape the cold (not the wet) and expend lots and lots of energy.
reviewed on: January 03 2010
"Perfect for the younger set"
Unlike the typical water theme park, this INDOOR community aquatic center in Newark, CA is perfect for younger kids. After reading reviews here on Trekaroo, we just had to check it out for ourselves. It was totally worth the drive. This indoor facility is open year round, so even though it's the middle of winter, we had a fun day at the pool. There are 5 pools at Silliman.
1) A pool with a play structure with a couple of small slides and water shooting at your from every direction. Our 3 and 6 year old boys had such a fantastic time here. Perfect for kids under 8.
2) Lazy River with floaties: It's small because it's indoor, a fun change from the craziness in pool #1, but everything as you'd expect.
3) Big slides: These slides aren't as big as the water slides you typically see in an outdoor water park. And I think I've seen larger ones indoors as well, but it was sufficient to be pretty exciting. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and the weren't any long lines. That was the best part about it. Dread waiting in line at most water parks when you're wet and cold. You have to be 48" to ride these slides.
4) Lap pool with basketball hoop and water polo goals.
5) Spa: It was pretty crowded and folks were waiting in line to get in.
If you have younger kids, I think Silliman actually works out better than Aqua Adventure for several reasons. First, the price is perfect $7.50 for adults, and $4.50 for kids. At other more expensive water parks, as a parent with little ones, I always feel like I'm not getting my money's worth hanging out at the kiddie pool all day. Silliman had enough to keep teenagers happy and lots to keep elementary school aged kids and younger VERY happy. Secondly, it's indoor and the water is warm. If you have kids like mine that start shivering 20 minutes into a swim, then you'll really appreciate the nice warm water.
The bathrooms were remarkably clean for a public facility and I felt comfortable enough walking barefoot in it Gasp.
There were life vests available for free those who need it. The life guards were very vigilant. Not particularly friendly or chipper, but definitely attentive.
My only complaint - the cafe was outside of the pool area, so if you get hungry, you'll have to dry off first. Also, there wasn't quite enough deck chairs for the crowd.
Silliman also has nice party rooms which are quite reasonably priced. Check their website for rates.
200 N San Pedro Road
San Rafael, California
Comment:
North of San Francisco (Marin) - You can purchase a daily pass and use their wonderful pool. Childcare is available.
503 South Palm Drive.
Hamilton Community Auditorium Novato, California
Comment:
North of San Francisco (Marin) - Free indoor Tot play program run but the city of Navoto from Monday-Thursdays from 9am-11 am from Jan to May.
559 S. Novato Blvd suite H
Novato, California
Comment:
North of San Francisco (Marin) - Drop in museum available on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Kids can visit reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
70 Digital Drive, Suite #3
Novato, California
Comment:
North of San Francisco (Marin) - Drop in Powerplay sessions are offered for kids 5 and under on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings for $10 (non-members).
