We headed to this beach after having spent the afternoon at Slide Ranch, which is just ten minutes or so away. This beach stretches beside a quaint, laid back town, in which people are extremely friendly.
The beach itself stretches quite far. We have been here twice and both times we have been fortunate enough to miss crowds. Not many waves, so it is perfect for the children to wade and play within the sand. With so many children of all ages, my own were able to make many friends whom they were able to build a sand castle, dig ditchs, splash within the ocean.
There is a bathroom with changing stalls available. Showers are a plus, only I wish the shower heads were a little lower so that when rinsing off my children I would not have had to get wet along with them. Or so that I did not have to raise my hands above my head in order to rinse off the beach toys.
Make sure you have cash on hand. The little market in town had closed early and the only other ATM was broken. We needed the cash to eat at the burger stand beside the beach. The restaurant next door smelled delicious, but the menu was slightly pricey and we were unprepared to pay so much at the time. In addition, we didn't want to stay too late, desiring to leave before dark in order to avoid having to drive on the winding highway back to San Francisco in the dark.
All in all we all had a blast and next year when we go back to Slide Ranch we will probably stop at Stinson Beach again.

My family had a great time at this place, though it will most likely only be a one time experience due to the price of the tickets and once you've seen the show there's not much else to it.
We arrived at 2pm for the 3:30pm show; therefore we got great parking and did not need to wait in a long line. Though, the 6pm crowd was much larger than our audience so I am glad we attended the early show. Prior to the show there was not really that much to do to entertain a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. We bought our son a shield and sword and our daughter a headband with veil. My husband and I really enjoyed the dungeon tour with all the medieval torture devices. My daughter pretended to be scared but she actually enjoyed guessing what each contraption was used for.
The food was decent. I was surprised that my daughter actually like the Tomato Bisque, especially when she got to dip the garlic bread in it. The chicken and potato was somewhat bland, but the "dragon" rib was tasty, though my daughter would not eat it because she really thought it came from a dragon.
After the show the kids took photos with our designated knight, who also had given my daughter a flower...which she kept rubbing upon her cheek the entire drive home.
Overall, it was fun and I highly recommend trying it out at least once. Next time we are off to see the Pirate show...

I have driven past Murray Family Farms several times on my way to San Diego. I have always been drawn to the many colorful signs posted along the highway and finally my family and I decided to take the time to check things out.

Apparently, there are two locations, one nearer to the 5 and the other located off the 99. The latter one, referred to as the Big Red Barn, is the one we visited and will not be added to our list of favorite pit stops. I would much rather visit Casa de Fruta (on my way to Monterey, Gilroy, Santa Cruz, etc.) or Cobb Ranch (even if it is only seasonal, located in Fresno).

Upon entering the Big Red Barn, the aroma of baked food smells amazing! Instantly, my stomach started growling and I thought I was going to be throwing a "party in my tummy" with all the fresh produce. Yet, surprisingly there was not as big of a selection as I would have liked and the baked foods they offered looked greasy or stale. Not very appetizing if you ask me.

None of the outside activities seemed to be running. There were farm animals way off to the side and seemed to be cramped in such a small space for so many of them. The garden was wild and not organized very attractively and appeared as if you needed to pay to walk through it. There was also a little train of small metal cows, that was parked far off beyond the field of flowers and left unattended.

Overall, it was not worth stopping for and I would have rather just continued on to our destination...

I'm not typically a big fan of aquariums and zoos to begin with, for the whole situation seems a little melancholy to me when I see all those poor creatures behind glass when they're meant to be somewhere more exciting and mystifying. Though, I do know children love viewing animals up close and in real life, as does my husband. Yet, I did think it would be rather cool to go underground, and even better, beneath the water and view aquatic life as if you were in the water with them. I ended up being disappointed, even if my daughter (at the time just turned 2) was somewhat satisfied by the fieldtrip.
I have been to the enormous aquarium in Monterey, California and so far it remains unbeat. The underground tunnels did not add any further appeal to the tour than a regular aquatic museum. And even though I want to say that this was advertised to be the longest/largest underwater aquarium, it only took us 30 minutes to make our way through it, despite being pregnant traveling with a group of nine. I don't know if we just were not interested that day. Or maybe because we've seen better. The exhibits were just not that captivating.
The kids found the room at the end, which was equipped with a wrecked, treasure ship to play in, was the most fun.

I just got home from taking my 3 year old daughter to Family Day. She got to experience so many new things, including milking a goat, bottle-feeding a kid (baby goat), "herding" sheeps, and feeding chickens. She got to touch and hold all the animals and absolutely loved it.
She also had her face painted, made arts and crafts, and planted a seed in a newpaper cup to bring home.
Just make sure you bring your own lunch and invest in some galoshes. You may want to bring some baby wipes because the kids get dirty. Also, the bathroom are simple porta-potties and you may want to wipe down the seat. They have running water and soap but it's just so much easier to wipe their faces with a baby wipe.
Anyhow, not only are the activities wonderful learning experiences, but the views are spectacular and the staff is great. I'm definitely looking forward to taking the kids back next year!
If you intend to visit Slide Ranch, make sure you visit their website to sign-up for email notifications. They are not open year round and have specific events that you must pre-register for.