The best Christmas present we gave our son this past year was the "Adventure Box." It's a shoe box covered in plain brown paper with a blank journal inside. At the beginning of each month we will hand our son an envelope containing the dates and details for a family-only activity that has been planned for that month. He can then gather tickets, photos and stickers to add to the journal and decorate the outside of the box. By the end of the year, he'll have a box full of memories to look back on and a whole bunch of road trips clocked in as well. The very first envelope contained the tickets to the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, CA and lunch at Jupiter, a brewery that specializes in wood-fired pizzas. Upon opening the box, our son read the contents of the envelope and grinned wide...he couldn't wait to begin! The Lawrence Hall of Science - Berkeley, CAThe drive from Bodega Bay to Berkeley on Sunday was an easy 90 minutes. Using GPS, we drove over the Richmond Bridge, through Cal State Berkeley and found The Lawrence Hall of Science perched on top of a hill with an amazing view. The admission was $18 per adult and $12 for children ages 3-17, but this Coupon Queen scored a FREE child admission voucher using the "Discover & Go" program, a free service online through the Sonoma County Library using my library card. We also opted for the $5 per person 3-D movie entitled "Back From the Brink." I spent a lot of time researching the various things to do at the Lawrence Hall of Science and quickly realized upon entering the first exhibit, that this was an experience geared toward younger children and NOT Teens or adults. This was not mentioned anywhere on their website. We trudged through any way, looking at all the science challenges and exhibits and noticed quite a few families with young children actively engaged. I felt really bad that I didn't know this ahead of time as we would've chosen a different venue all together. We watched the 3-D movie, which was good, checked out the view on the backside of the building and then left for our next stop - Jupiter Pub. We considered the money we paid as a "donation" to the Hall as it is in need of renovations. So far, the first stop on this Adventure Day was a BUST. JupiterThe drive to Jupiter was a quick 10 minutes and it took about another 10 minutes to find a parking spot. Once inside the restaurant, we were told to seat ourselves and we chose a cozy round table. The wait staff was super friendly and the service was fast which was great because we were starving. We ordered the large "Mediterranean Salad" and two 13" pizzas to share among the three of us and it was plenty. Pizza # 1 was called the "Aries" which was your standard pepperoni with cheese...this was mostly for our son. Pizza #2 was called the "Galileo" and featured artichoke hearts, mushrooms and more which is mainly for my husband and I. Both pizzas were delicious and took away any of the ad feelings we had about our bummer science hall experience. We ordered two sodas, refills were $1 each and iced tea...also really good. The restaurant was decorated with strings of white lights on the ceiling and we all decided that we would come back if ever in the area again. Rootbeer FloatsOn our way home we stopped at A&W in San Rafael and ordered root beer floats. They were delicious and it was a great way to end our day on a happy note.
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I was surprised to find out that when a lot of my friends take trips to Disneyland, they don't venture out and visit any of the many other sights in Southern California while they are there. So. I've decided that I would share a few places to visit that are along the path of a road trip to Disneyland. This post will focus more on the hotel we stayed at along with two restaurants and a movie studio. This past March, we made a last minute, 3 night trip to Disneyland. Since I have a friend that works for Disney, he was able to score a 2 day Hopper Pass for each of us making the trip even more affordable. The only to book was a hotel and deciding which route to take. We chose to take the I-5 and make a few stops before checking into the hotel. FUN RESTAURANT #1 The Bear Pit BBQ restaurant. I grew up in San Fernando and so stopping here was like going back in time. The restaurant hasn't changed at all and the food is still scrumptious! Shortly after being seated, your server will bring a bowl filled with crushed ice and an assortment of dill pickles, carrots, celery and peppers. The food served here is authentic BBQ and the portions are big. Just beware...the BBQ beans are addicting and you'll want to take them home. Getting to The Bear Pit BBQ is easy - From the I-5 South, take the 405 South and 5 minutes later, you are there. Visit the link above for the website and more information. Historic Movie StudioJim Hensen's Studio. Being a HUGE Muppet fan, this was a must for me. The coolest thing about this studio is that it was originally Charlie Chaplin's and the buildings and old sound stage are still intact. Right now they do not offer tours, but you can drive by and snap a few photos like I did from the car. 1416 North La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028. Fun Restaurant # 2Bob's Big Boy Hamburgers. I know this may see like an odd one to add, but the Beatles ate here once and if you're lucky, you can sit in their booth! Plus Bob's is known for their famous sundaes. 4211 W Riverside Dr, Burbank, CA 91505. Best Western Plus Orange County Airport NorthOUR HOTEL. After doing a quick search on the internet, I opted for a 3-night stay at the Best Western Plus Orange County Airport North. Our room had two Queen beds and included a hot breakfast and free parking. Using my Best Westerns Rewards Loyalty Number, (You should ALWAYS sign up for every hotel's program if they have one), and paid $337.14 for the 3 nights with their multi night promotion. The hotel was only about 8 miles away from Disneyland and I give it a rating of "C+" - FAIR overall: 1. NOISE. Be prepared. The noise level of this hotel is LOUD. Every room faces the pool and there were people using the pool even at midnight having a good time. There was also a family playing with a basketball on the bottom level and you could hear every bounce of that ball like counting sheep. I called down to the Front Desk to complain and was told that they would send the Security Guard around and the noise leveled out about 1 hour later. If you have light sleepers in your traveling party, this is not your place. 2. BREAKFAST. The breakfast was the same every day and they had 3 different plates to choose from. For example, "Plate A" had scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes and sausage patty. You received 1 plate only and then had to find a place to sit. Every day it was a challenge to find seating and on the last day, a worker opened the pool area so we could use one of the patio tables. We noticed that a lot of families were opting to take their food back to their rooms. We decided not to do this because sitting on the beds to eat did not seem desirable. The food was OK but after 3 mornings...it was enough. Still, it saved from having to go elsewhere to find breakfast each day. The Best Western Plus Orange County Airport gets a C+ rating because although the rooms are nice, recently updated and clean, the noise and the small breakfast room really bring the score down. 3. DISTANCE FROM DISNEYLAND. I originally chose this hotel because of the price and it didn't seem that far from the resort. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to the Mickey and Friends parking structure and that made up for the higher price of other hotels closer to the park. The drive was pretty easy and I wouldn't hesitate to find another hotel in this same location.
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My name is Gigi and I live in California. I love to travel, craft, sew and eat! I am a self proclaimed "Coupon Queen" and am constantly scouring the internet to find the best deals for the next family adventure.ArchivesCategories |