Junkyard Social Club

Have you ever been to a junkyard playground?

You might not think that those two words go together - I mean, they do sound at odds with each other - but when combined in just the right may they come together to make something truly magical!

Junkyard Social Club in Boulder is one such place where "junkyard" and "playground" come together in the most unexpected way. This amazing space is home to play structures and equipment created from repurposed junk. Can you imagine a playhouse made of wooden crates, recycled timber, old sinks, baseball bats, bike wheels and number plates? Or a stage and climbing structure made of reclaimed timber, skis and baseball bats? Or maybe umbrellas made of Volkswagen Beetle hoods atop a cable reel table? What about a giant giraffe sculpture made of scrap metal and bones? You don't need to imagine any of these fantastical things because they all exist at Junkyard Social Club and you can see them in the photos below!

Berkeley's Adventure Playground

Here in Berkeley we're lucky to have one of the most amazing playgrounds you'll ever see right on the waterfront. This playground is definitely not your run of the mill suburban playground. You won't find mass produced play equipment with rubber on the ground to soften falls. You won't find swings or a sand box.    

But what you will find, just like other playgrounds, is a lot of children having fun. And oh what fun!

The Adventure Playground at Berkeley Marina has been a favorite destination with Bay Area families since its inception in 1979. The concept of the Adventure Playground is very different from your average playground. Here the play equipment, made from scrap wood, tires, ropes, nets, old boats, pianos, and other recycled materials, is ever evolving. And it's definitely unique. Much of the playground has been, in part, designed, made or decorated by the children who visit themselves. 

52 Weeks: Week 37

Week 37: Cedar Rose Park

This past weekend the girls and I took a walk to our local REI store to purchase a new tent to camp out in at the upcoming Hoesdown Festival at Fully Belly Farm.

Our walk home was quite long and the girls were in need of a break so we stopped to play at Cedar Rose Park; a park that we often pass through while bike riding, but never stop at to play.

52 Weeks: Week 34

Week 34: Aquatic Park

The long Summer break is drawing to a close. Just one more week left before the girls are back at school. We've been trying to get out and about and enjoy the rest of Summer as much as possible. This means lots of trips to the playground. We usually head to either Live Oak Park or Ohlone Park but this week we decided to venture to a playground we hadn't visited for a while: Aquatic Park down by Berkeley's waterfront.

The girls enjoy going to the playground at Aquatic Park because it's so different to the other playgrounds we go to. Everything in the playground is made of wood, giving it a fort like feel. It's a little out of the way so we don't get there all that often which makes it feel a little more special when we do go there.

The girls had fun climbing, swinging, sliding and running around the playground together and with friends who met us there. 

52 Weeks: Week 28

Week 28: Back to Summer

After three weeks spent with friends and family back home in Australia we're back... home. Back in the place that has become home and is now home. The Bay Area.

And of course, travelling half way across the world also means that we're back in Summer. Our Summers here in the Bay Area aren't particular hot (in fact, Fall is actually our warmest season) but after Winter in South Australia it practically feels like we're in the tropics!

We've all been suffering from jet lag, especially early in the week, but I've been making a conscious effort to get out and about and be active, despite my brain's desire to stay in bed. The girls love being out and about, and there's nowhere they enjoy being more than a playground. Earlier this week we hit up one of our favourite playgrounds here in Berkeley at Live Oak Park.

Here's a look at our fun afternoon in the playground...

52 Weeks: Week 22

Week 22: After Karate Fun

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon Ava and Lola take karate classes in a park near our home. I love that their karate class is outdoors rather than inside. It gives Mathilde a chance to run around and play while the big girls practice their karate chops, and it gives me a chance to just sit and relax for a while - in between chasing after Mathilde, of course! Friends often drop by to catch up and watch the class. We can talk, laugh and eat without having to worry about disturbing the class or making a mess. It's just lovely all round. And because it hardly ever rains here we rarely need to come up with a back up plan. The one advantage to being in a drought! 

If you were to ask Ava and Lola the best thing about having karate classes in the park they would no doubt tell you that it's the play equipment. After every class, without fail, the girls are on the play equipment within a matter of seconds. In fact, the whole class is. Even Mathilde. Or at least, she tries. There are several climbing structures next to where the class takes place and they are a huge hit with the kids. They climb to the top. They play tag. They hang upside down. They jump from as high as possible. Ok, that last one is just Ava. There's always at least one kid calling out "Look at me, look at me, look at me!" as they hang upside down or balance on one foot from the top of the play structure. 

It's a pretty fun place to hang out so let's take a look at what the girls got up to after class this week...

52 Weeks: Week 3

Week 3: At the playground

We're so lucky to have so many great parks within walking distance of our apartment building. There's one particular park a few blocks from our home that we frequent the most. Ava and Lola take karate classes there twice a week, they like to ride their their bikes/scooters/skateboards there, and several times a week we head to the playground to play.

This week I thought I'd share some shots from our visit to the playground on Monday afternoon.

Lemonade & Cookies

 Yesterday the girls ticked another American childhood Summer must-do of their list.

They held a lemonade (and cookie) stand with friends!

Oh what a cute stand it was!

Mission District with Mamma & Papa

Day three with Mamma and Papa was spent hanging out in San Francisco's Mission District.

Just like the Mission District itself, our day was a mixed bag. A little gourmet food, a little playground fun, a little history and a little street art.

Koret Children's Quarter, Golden Gate Park

Last weekend we spent an afternoon in Golden Gate Park. It was such a beautiful. sunny day; perfect for hanging out in the park.

Golden Gate Park is huge. It's bigger than Central Park in New York (something that SF locals enjoy pointing out to New Yorkers!) and contains so many wonderful things to explore. As we always visit Golden Gate Park on foot we tend to stick to a small area at a time. Usually we're going there for something in particular: birthday picnics, exhibitions at the de Young, visiting the Botanic Gardens or Japanese Tea Garden or getting our science on at Cal Academy. Each visit we tend not to venture too far from our particular destination so even though we've been to Golden Gate Park many times there's still so much of it that we haven't seen.

And can you believe that one of those places that we were yet to visit in Golden Gate Park was the Koret Children's Quarter? How was it possible that after two and a half years we still hadn't been to this wonderful playground and carousel? Admittedly, I'd purposely never told the girls that there was a lovely playground and carousel in the Golden Gate Park. Once they know that there's a playground nearby trying to do almost anything else becomes a challenge!

Ava and Lola were pretty excited when I told them that we were going to a playground in Golden Gate Park. As soon as I mentioned that the playground features concrete slides and a carousel (two of their favourites) their excitement levels went through the roof!

Happy Australia Day 2014

It's Australia Day today and what better excuse for a picnic with some of our favourite Australian foods.

The girls and I spent yesterday baking sausage rolls, Anzac biscuits, cheese and vegemite scrolls and attempting (unsuccessfully) to make lamingtons. There were plenty of other family favourites I would've loved to have also made such as pavlova, jelly slices and vanilla slices, but we already spent the whole day baking as it was. Plus I'm not really allowed to eat any of those things!

Today we headed to one of our favourite parks in Berkeley and had a little picnic with our home made Australian goodies. I picked up a few Bundaberg ginger beers on the way to round out our lunch with an Australian beverage - maybe not the best thing for me considering the high sugar content. Oh well, it's only Australia Day once a year!

Our little Australian picnic

Aquatic Park in Berkeley

It's no secret... Kids love playgrounds. 

And it's no secret that the San Francisco Bay Area has some pretty fantastic playgrounds.

During the long Summer vacation I'm always looking for ways to keep the girls occupied. While they're pretty happy being at home working on arts and crafts (or playing with electronic gadgets) there's nothing they enjoy more than getting outside and having fun at the playground. Seeing as we live in a relatively small apartment with no outdoor space of our own, a trip to a playground is a treat that we try to squeeze in most days.

One of our favourite playgrounds here in Berkeley is Aquatic Park down by the Bay. Being made almost entirely of wood, it offers a different feel to the other playgrounds that we frequent. The playground is filled with wooden forts, bridges, monkey bars, a zip line, swings, slides and a multitude of things to climb on. The playground also boasts a butterfly garden with a variety of flowering plants for when little ones need a break from all that climbing. Nearby there is a large grassy area, picnic tables, clean public toilets and, on weekends, a small cafe. We always visit Aquatic Park on weekdays so we're yet to make use of the cafe.

Here's a look at some of the fun the girls have when we visit Aquatic park...  

Big smiles for Aquatic Park

Alta Plaza Park, San Francisco

Today we headed into the city for the annual Fillmore Jazz Festival.

We enjoyed listening to some great live music, ate greasy festival food and walked up and down Fillmore Street taking in the sights and sounds (and walking off that greasy food!).

After a few hours of music, food and crowds the girls were ready to move onto something else. I'd spotted a hilly park down one of the side streets so we thought we'd go check it out. This turned out to be one of the best calls I've ever made while exploring the city and we ended up in a fantastic playground with amazing views over the city.

Playground with a view

Happy Birthday Ava

Today was Ava's 6th birthday. I can't believe that my oldest baby is 6 years old already!

Seeing as today was also Superbowl Sunday we celebrated her birthday yesterday with a party on our roof top. You may remember seeing it here.

Today had we planned to take Ava and Lola to Oakland Zoo as a birthday treat. We ended up having to put those plans off until next week due to track work on BART causing delays. Never mind. After such a busy day on Saturday it was nice to have a quieter day today. Ava unwrapped presents, we went for a bike ride, we played in the playground at Ava's school, we ate pizza from the Cheeseboard for lunch, we posed for some more photo booth shots and went out for Japanese for dinner. A nice day, even without all of the animals!

Photo booth fun for sisters

Here's a look at Ava's birthday...

Bay Area Discovery Museum

This past weekend the Bay Area was blessed with absolutely beautiful weather so we decided to make the most of it and get out and about.

Our destination on Sunday was the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. Now I know what you're thinking, why would we spend a beautiful day indoors at a museum? Well, that's just it. Much of this particular museum is outdoors. And those parts of the museum that are housed indoors are filled with the most wonderfully fun activities that you don't mind that you're missing out on the beautiful day outdoors.

So what makes the Bay Area Discovery Museum such a great place? Well, first off you could not ask for a more picturesque location. The museum is located at Fort Baker right near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. The museum, surrounding picnic area and even the car park award stunning views over San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Lookout Cove - a playground with a view

But it's not just the fantastic views that make the Bay Area Discovery Museum special. The hands on exhibits capture the imagination of young visitors who learn about the biodiversity of the Bay Area. Ava and Lola had fun playing with all sorts of exhibits including making boats and watching them float, checking out sea creatures such as starfish and sea urchins up close, creating artistic masterpieces, pretending to be fisherman on a wharf, building with foam blocks and lots and lots of playing.

Dolores Park Playground

Time for another amazing playground, this time a little closer to home.

When we first moved to the Bay Area one of the first places we visited was Dolores Park in San Francisco's Mission District. It's an amazing park with sprawling lawns, breathtaking views over the city and some pretty interesting views of the (not always dressed) locals! One thing that was missing, however, was a playground.

Fast forward to April this year and a new playground has been opened in Dolores Park. And what an amazing playground it is. The kids absolutely love this new playground. I love this new playground!
We visited the new playground while attending the Cinco de Mayo Festival in Dolores Park. As you can imagine, the park was absolutely packed with festival goers. That said, the playground has enough to keep kids occupied even with huge crowds. I think the only thing the girls had to wait their turn for was the swing and the long slide. Other than that it was go, go go...

The playground at Dolores Park

I won't go into too much detail about the playground. I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

Dennis the Menace Park

Back in April we went for a short trip down to the beautiful coastal town of Monterey. The highlight of our trip was our visit to Monterey Bay Aquarium - you can read about it here. While the aquarium may be the biggest drawcard in town there are a few other "must see" places to take the kids.

Once such place is Dennis the Menace Park; quite possibly one of the coolest playgrounds ever!

This playground was designed by the creator of Dennis the Menace, Hank Ketcham who was a local in the Monterey Bay area.

Dennis the Menace Park

Now I must admit that not being a fan of Dennis the Menace I was a little skeptical when I heard the name. However, I'd been told by quite a few people that it's a great place. Well, they weren't wrong. This playground has everything: slides, tunnels, flying fox, swings, bouncy suspension bridge, rock climbing wall, a maze, plenty of things to climb, a weird spinning ride that I couldn't possible name...