Travels w/ Kids: California

Finally put together something for friends who wish to explore California, and to inspire us to get out more. General locations we’ve documented so far - in order from N to S - include: San Francisco, Castro Valley, Los Gatos, San Jose, Cupertino, Morgan Hill, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Universal City.

• Languages we use: English among parents, Mandarin & Cantonese with kids.

• Transportation: Muni in SF, CalTrain and BART around the Bay. Rent a car if venturing south. If you have time for a slow train that spans a huge majority of CA over 35 hours, we’ve heard great things about the Coast Starlight Train.

• Hot destinations that we know of (North to South): Napa, San Rafael, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Jose, Fremont, Monterey/Carmel, Solvang/Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, Beverly Hills, Anaheim, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Carlsbad, Solana Beach, La Jolla, San Diego.

Accommodations in Castro Valley and San Jose: Friends’ and family’s home.

Getting around: We rented a hybrid vehicle that gave us more mileage without spending exorbitantly on gas.

Itinerary: See video description for specific locations.

Places we would’ve gone to if we had more time: Fisherman’s Warf in Monterey and in SF, BART into Berkeley for a day trip, Napa for wine tasting, watch a Giants game.

Accommodations in SF: Marriott Marquis per MLA conference.

Getting around: SF Muni and MTA (subway).

Itinerary: Video description lists specific locations.

Places we wish we had more time to visit in SF: Chinatown, Sunset District, Giants Stadium.

Accommodations in LA: Omni Los Angeles.

Getting around: Rental car, & Omni offers free shuttle service within a 3-mile radius.

Itinerary: Video description lists specific locations.

Places we wish we had more time to visit in LA: Chinatown for dim sum, Little Italy, Sunset Blvd.

Santa Barbara and San Diego videos in the works… Frequently visited over the years, scattered photos/videos waiting to be organized.