Day trip to Capitola

I have been meaning to write about our daytrip to Capitola for quite some time now (almost a year!). So here I am, 8.5 months pregnant with baby #3, trying to muster up the energy to get one last post in before the baby arrives. I have rather optimistically made a long list of day trips and adventures that I want to pursue on maternity leave, so I hope you all will follow along on instagram in the event that I don't get around to writing much on the blog.

Now, back to Capitola! Like many of our trips, the catalyst for heading to the area was to make a stop at the very popular Saint Adairius Brewery in Capitola. Our first planned stop of the day, however, was the nearby Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. We hadn't done the best job packing for the day, so we were all a bit hungry when we arrived in the area.  Thankfully, we stumbled upon the Aptos Farmers Market which was pretty darn awesome! I highly recommend making a pit stop if you are visiting on a Saturday. We loaded up on fresh baked pastries and several baskets of berries and fresh fruit and then continued on our way down the road to start our hike.

Does anyone else have a problem actually getting home with strawberries?? These kids could easily eat half a flat in one sitting!

We parked just inside the main gates (parking is $8/vehicle) and hiked along Aptos Creek. The trail immediately takes you off the main road and into the redwood groves where you are greeted by the sound of the creek. We followed the trail until we got to a point where the creek was just an easy couple of steps down from the path. The kids enjoyed hopping on the boulders and walking across the fallen trees. It doesn't get much more relaxing than being surrounded by nature with the sound of water flowing. We ended up keeping the hike relatively short and turned back after about a mile.

Our next stop was Saint Adarius, so we swung by a local grocery store to pick up deli sandwiches and some snacks and then headed to the brewery. The seating area is relatively limited, but we were able to find a nice picnic table in the back room, which opens to the parking lot, providing fresh air and ample sunlight. The kids were easily entertained with lunch and some coloring books, and we got to enjoy some of the delicious beers on tap!

Our kids love to smell our coffee and beer.

Clearly a relaxing venue for this little lady...

Our last stop of the day was Capitola City Beach, located in the heart of the charming beachside town of Capitola. We arrived in the early afternoon, but despite being a popular spot, we had no problems finding a place on the sand to settle in for a bit. One of my favorite parts of this beach is that Soquel Creek runs through the middle, making for a very calm moving and relatively shallow body of water for the kids to splash around in without the worry of waves. It was the perfect environment for both our girls to enjoy some time in the water.

We came a bit unprepared in the sense that we didn't bring swimsuits since we don't typically go too far into the ocean water (brrrrrrr!). The kids ended up having a blast and getting pretty soaked in the creek, so thankfully we had a change of clothes back in the car. After a couple of hours in the sun, we were all pretty exhausted so we packed up and headed home. While I got the sense that the beachside stores and restaurants were pretty touristy, I would definitely like to do a little more perusing of the nearby streets when we return someday.

Any recommendations for things to do in Capitola?

Details: Capitola is about an hour and a half from Berkeley. Street parking is a bit hard to find, but there were plenty of spots in the Beach and Village public parking lot.

10 kid-friendly breweries with a side of adventure

If you have been following the blog for a while, you know that we love to incorporate some good beer into our outings. We often goes as far as to plan our adventures around new breweries that we are eager to try out!  Over the past couple of years we have had great luck in finding a number of excellent East Bay breweries that offer both a kid-friendly environment as well as really great beers. I'm excited to share with you a roundup of our favorite spots that I recently put together for 510 Families. For each of the 10 breweries on the list I have included suggestions for outdoor adventures to pair with your brewery visit. I hope you enjoy!

You can see the full post here on 510 Families. Happy drinking!

36 hours in San Luis Obispo County

San Luis Obispo is one of my favorite places to take an easy weekend trip. It's a relatively short 3.5 hour drive, making it the perfect destination for a quick getaway. This past spring, we stayed in an airbnb rental in Los Osos, which is nestled just between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay and offers great access to the entire county.

Just like with our first trip to the area last summer, we made it a point to break up the drive down with a quick stop at Pinnacles National Park (read more about our visit here). From there, we headed to Morro Bay for an early dinner at Sunshine Cafe, which we absolutely loved! It's a small cafe with an adjacent market that is full of organic goodies at reasonable prices.

The entrance to the 400 acre property we stayed on.

After dinner we checked into our rental, which was a very rustic miners cabin situated on a 400 acre ranch. I have to be honest in saying that it was probably a bit too secluded for our comfort, but it was a beautiful setting nonetheless and quite the adventure getting to manually light the overhead propane lamps!

When we originally booked the weekend, we had forgotten that Sunday was Easter and that we of course, needed to be home for the Easter Bunny. So we only really had one full day in the area on Saturday. Our first stop was Avila Valley Barn, which we have incorporated into all of our trips to the area because it's such a hit with the kids. For $1, you can buy a bag of veggie scraps and the kids get a solid half hour of entertainment feeding the animals.

We then headed out to Oso Flaco Lake, which is about 20 miles south of San Luis Obispo. It was a bit out of the way, but we really wanted to see something new in the area and this particular hike seemed both unique and kid-friendly. Thankfully it did not disappoint!

There is a small parking lot at the trailhead (parking was $5) as well as free street parking just outside the entrance to the park. The trail starts along a wide path with tall shrubs and trees along each side and eventually leads to a wooden boardwalk that spans across Oso Flaco lake. This was one of my favorite parts of the walk. The boardwalk was well maintained and had safety railings along the entire span, so there was no fear of our kids falling into the water. Gazing out at the calm lake with the sand dunes in the background provided a beautiful backdrop for bird watching and enjoying nature.

The boardwalk portion of the hike is about 1.4 miles and then there is a short portion at the end that requires walking through the sand to get to the ocean. When we made it to the sand it was very windy and the winds only picked up as we continued out to the ocean. I have a feeling that it is typically pretty windy out here, so this is not the spot for you if you're looking for a day of lounging in the sun.

We found a little refuge from the wind behind one of the sand dunes and managed to have some snacks while the kids ran around. The wind didn't bother them a bit. The hike is out and back, so we returned the way we came in and then headed off to San Luis Obispo.

As a reward for all our efforts on the hike we made a quick stop at Libertine Brewing in downtown SLO. If you are a beer lover, then Libertine is a great place to grab a drink and relax. We visited early afternoon on a Saturday and we were the only people in there, which was perfect since we had our kiddos with us.

Our kids often ask if they can smell our beers :)

We finished up our visit with a walk around town and an affogato and ice cream shake at Scout Coffee. They make some seriously good coffee and great desserts, which I highly recommend if you find yourself in the area.

The rest of the evening was spent back at the cabin, where we put together a home cooked meal (the perks of renting a place with a kitchen!) and did a little star gazing.

Have you been to San Luis Obispo County? What are your favorite finds?

Be sure to check out our first visit to the area here.

Weekend in Boonville

Every holiday season, my family gets together for a weekend getaway. It was a decision we made five years ago to forego gift giving and instead use those resources to experience something new together. As adults, my siblings and I have spread out across Northern California, so a weekend together gives us the opportunity to reconnect and for the cousins to play together (probably the highlight of the trips for me is seeing the kids reunite). Whether it's a weekend away, or something easier like taking a family hike or playing tourist closer to home, I have found that creating memories together has been far more rewarding than gifts.

This year we landed on the small town of Boonville, nestled in the Anderson Valley and a short drive from the coastal town of Mendocino. Our home for the weekend was the beautiful Toll House Inn. I could probably devote an entire post to this amazing property alone. The Inn is made up of two rental properties (The Toll House and the Bunkhouse) that are adjoined by a common breezeway, but are otherwise completely separate. We stayed in the Toll House, which is a historic Boonville Landmark, built in 1912, and beautifully restored to accommodate large groups. There are 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms (horray for that!) as well as a chef's kitchen and an inviting common room with a wood burning fireplace. The Inn sits on 650 acres of open space that includes hiking trails and a pond and could easily provide enough entertainment if you chose to forego the local wineries and state parks.

Every square inch of the home was perfectly styled while still being extremely inviting.

 
As tempting as it was to spend our entire visit snuggled up next to the fireplace, we did venture out on Saturday morning to take advantage of the break in the rain. Our first planned stop of the day was Hendy Woods State Park, which much to my dismay ended up being closed for the season due to construction. The other nearby state park, Navarro River Redwoods, was also closed due to flooding on the highway that provided access to the park. Luckily, the entrance to Hendy Woods was directly next to the Philo Apple Farm, which had peaked my interest during my research for the trip.

Although apple picking season was over and the farm was clearly in it's off-season, there was a small farmstand full of fresh fruit and apple juice as well as a nice assortment of jams, jellies, chutneys and wine, among other tasty treats. The kids enthusiastically pounded a glass of their fresh apple juice and then we took a short walk down to the Navarro river that runs along the edge of the farm. The apple farm is definitely a place I would like to return to in the fall.

Since the nearby parks were either closed or inaccessible, we opted to start the wine tasting portion of the day a little earlier than intended. Our first stop was Navarro Vineyards, which in addition to a nice range of award winning wines, also offers a very popular non-alcoholic grape juice. The grounds were pristine and although the tasting room was relatively small and not ideal for 4 toddlers, the outdoor space was perfect to let the kids run free. We alternated between wine tasting and playing on the grass lawn that ran next to the rows of grapevines. This would definitely make for an ideal spot to grab a bottle and have a picnic.

Just down the road was our second stop of the day, Scharffenberger Cellars, which specializes in sparkling wines. I really enjoyed our tasting at Scharffenberger. Not only were the sparkling wines extremely good (and a bargain at $20), the woman helping us was very kind and not at all phased by our large group or energetic toddlers. The tasting menu made sure to note that they were a kid-friendly venue and offered both crayons to color with and juice to keep the children entertained. I'm always a bit uneasy when wine tasting with toddlers, but their warm welcome immediately put me at ease. An added bonus is the selection of scharffenberger chocolates that you can purchase and enjoy later immediately.

View from the front patio of the tasting room

Boonville's main street is about a block long, and there are a handful of charming shops clustered around the Boonville Hotel. If you are looking for a sweet treat, then Paysanne's is worth a stop to pick up some cookies and a pint of Three Twins ice cream (have you had their Lemon Cookie flavor? soooo good!). For lunch, we wanted an easy to-go option that we could take with us to our last stop of the day, Anderson Valley Brewing. We settled on sandwiches from The Boonville General Store. I had a difficult time finding something on the menu that would appeal to our kids and the sandwich we got was good, but not memorable. I will probably give somewhere like Lauren's a chance the next time we are in the area.

With lunch in hand, we trekked on down the road to Anderson Valley Brewing Company. I always seem to favor a good brewery over a winery when traveling with kids. The vibe is typically very relaxed and in the case of Anderson Valley Brewing, there is a large outdoor area for the kids to enjoy as well as a small herd of goats. We enjoyed a pint of their Blood Orange Gose and an experimental Cherry Gose, both categorized as sour wheat beers and both VERY tasty. The kids enjoyed trying to get the attention of the goats and walking around the frisbee golf course.

We returned home just as the clouds opened up and the rain began to fall. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent by the fireplace watching the kids chase one another around, followed by a delicious home cooked meal and Christmas presents for the kids.

The rain continued throughout the night and peaked in the morning hours. This meant, unfortunately, that we did not have the chance to explore any of the hiking trails on the property. We did enjoy a leisurely breakfast and managed to get a photo of all four cousins!

What are some of your holiday traditions? Would you prefer an experience over gifts?

Details: Boonville is about 2.5 hours from Berkeley. The Tollhouse can be rented by the room, or you can rent the entire home. I think renting by the room would be ideal for a childless vacation (or if your kids are exceptionally well behaved). The bunkhouse is another option if you have a large family, but don't require the entire home.  Tastings at Navarro Vineyards were free and most bottles were $20-$30. Tastings at Scharffenberger were $3 and waived with the purchase of a bottle, which was around $20. Pints at Anderson Valley Brewing were $4.50. Anderson Valley Brewing also offers a daily tour of their brewing facility, which you can inquire about in the tasting room.