Trains, Bikes, and Toddlers

October 12, 2010

Looking for a fun, kid friendly, Bay Area day trip? We got one! On Saturday we boarded a 9am Amtrak train at Emeryville with our bikes—Milo, Ben, and Julie, plus Caleb, Tim, and Eliza. Each car fits three bikes, but the front car has room for 4 that are easy to park in racks—but hustle, the train doesn’t stop for long! Head upstairs and a stake out a table.
The kids played with stickers and we all looked out the window as the train wound along the bay, past the elegant Carquinez bridge and the old C&H Sugar Factory. Shorebirds plied the mudflats, farm workers gathered melons—there was lots to see.
An hour and three-quarters later we were off-boarding in Sacramento. It’s just a couple hundred yards from the station to the American River Bikeway – a thirty mile bike path along the river that starts in downtown Sac. and ends up at Folsom Resevior. Just head west from the train station, towards “Old Sacramento”, pass the Train Museum (more on those later) and you’ll see the river and the path.

We ended up riding about 6 miles past beaches and picnic areas, over bridges, and under overpasses, most of which isn’t even in sight of city or buildings. Note: once you leave the grassy park in the first couple miles, picnic tables and especially grass become much more scarce—but we finally found a good picnic table in some shade to lunch at. Milo and Caleb were glad to get out of the bike seats and romp around a little.

On the way back the little guys fell asleep in their bike-seats, and we transferred them to blankets on the cool grass and joined them for a nap. Refreshed, we headed back to check out the Train Museum right before it closed (really cool! worth coming back), grabbed some Cajun food in the old west Old Sacramento, and rushed to catch a 5:30 train home (they run just about every hour). On the way back Milo discovered that you actually walk from one car to another, which led to lots of exploring.



It was a really fun day, and left us wondering if it could be made into a fun overnight?

Summer Swimming

It's been a long time since we posted, but our little vacation to Cape Cod and Maine was too delicious not to share.

We've often talked with Tim and Eliza about doing a joint vacation with our two families, and we finally did it. They came to our favorite spot in Truro for a few days, then we split up, then we reunited on Eliza's beloved family land in Vinalhaven, Maine for a few days.

Vacations are fun to begin with, but for Milo and Kaleb, having their buddies around put it over the top. They swam and boated, ran, climbed, chased, and hid. They found hermit crabs, watched turtles, hunted for berries, and threw rocks in the water (unfailingly entertaining at any time of day).

Not that the kids had all the fun. Truro is always relaxing, and it was a real treat to share it with friends, then have it to ourselves, and then have Boppa and KK show up. While Milo frolicked with the untiring grandparents, Ben and Julie were able to slip off to do some birdwatching and go out to dinner in Provincetown. Ben also bought a surfboard and was able to catch some small, but uncrowded waves.



We also got to see some relatives -- Ben's uncle Brian and aunt Donna were staying up on Slade hill, and we hosted them for a fun dinner. Then when they left cousin Molly and her friend Caroline arrived, and we had a delightful evening with them. It's fun to entertain at Topside--cocktail hour on the deck, squeezing in around the dining table with some guests sitting on the bed--and I feel we are carrying the torch lit by my grandparents.

Later, Karen and Frank's friends Bill and Alice Sims payed a visit (we had a yummy meal at The Juice in Wellfleet, while Milo danced to a great bluegrass band), and on our last day we got to hang out with Uncle Ken and Aunt Cynthia, kayaking down to Corn Hill for a swim.

We got up early the next morning and piled into our little rental car and headed for Maine. We just missed the 1pm ferry, but we caught the next one and before we knew it we were climbing aboard Tom's beautiful wood cabin cruiser Lark. We pulled in to the Welch compound and immediately felt the magic of it. We set up our tent on the lush grass, Ben feeling nostalgic about Maine. The cove was bathed in golden light as Tom and Claudia cooked up some mussels in wine and butter. We ate dinner in their boathouse with the barn doors wide open to the falling light and the rising tide.

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