great takes on family travel in the U.S.

This week, Governor Schwarzenegger asked Californians to not buy fireworks in the counties and cities that still allow them, citing the recent and current California fires. And Watsonville has banned fireworks sales this year, with a unanimous vote by city council members. Personally, I like to find myself a good, old-fashioned town parade to celebrate Independence Day, and in the Bay Area, we have several options:

Marin Mommies has put together a great piece on the celebrations in Marin County, including parades in Corte Madera-Larkspur, Novato and Sausalito. They also list some of the local fireworks displays around the Bay.

In the East Bay, 4th of July parades can be found in Alameda (theme: Clean and Green), Vallejo with the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, and in Danville, residents will celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the city and 50^th anniversary of Hay Days with a parade starting at 9am on July 4^th.

Near the UpTake offices, you can check out the Redwood City Parade and Family Fun, also celebrating their 70^th anniversary. Cupertino holds a pancake breakfast before setting off on their parade. And in Santa Cruz county, you can celebrate with parades and events in Watsonville, Boulder Creek and Aptos (this last parade features Great Pyrenes dogs in their parade!)

Our family is going to celebrate locally this year, heading over to our community pool and joining in on the annual Great Decorated Bike Parade, a wonderful photo opportunity! What are your plans this Independence Day?

UpTake blogger Gudrun Enger, was born and raised in Palo Alto. After living in other parts of the world, she has returned to raise her family in her home town. And while not professing to be an expert on Palo Alto, she offers this perspective….

Give 5 adjectives that you would use to describe the “feel” of Palo Alto and its residents:

Educated, mindful, adventurous, youthful, eclectic.

What is your favorite neighborhood of Palo Alto:

I am partial to the College Terrace area of Palo Alto, located just south of Stanford University. All the streets are named after famous colleges and universities, the homes are a mix of sweet bungalows and artfully designed family homes, and the proximity to Stanford ensures a good mix of college types, young professionals and families.

Which cuisine do you think Palo Alto does best? What is the runner-up?

Palo Alto is chock-a-block of restaurants for every taste - On California Ave, don’t miss La Bodeguita del Medio for Cuban-inspired cuisine, Bistro Elan for classic French, and the Counter, for classic American burgers, your way. On University Ave, Three Seasons for Vietnamese, Mediterranean at Evvia, Junoon for Indo-fusion, La Strada for Italian, and scads of hip places such as Pluto’s, Pasta?, and Miyake’s. Why limit ourselves to one cuisine, let’s embrace them all!

What is the best free thing to do?

I love the 10-week evening jazz series at Stanford Shopping Center on Thursdays during the summer. Bring a picnic dinner, a beach chair and enjoy the lovely music.

What is your favorite type of entertainment?

Anything outdoors. Window shopping on California Avenue, walking “The Dish” in the Stanford Foothills, roller blading through the neighborhoods.

List the best family friendly activity:

The myriad of parks in Palo Alto are enough to keep the average family busy for weeks. Our favorite is Johnson Park on Everett, between Kipling and Cowper, with a mini-rock wall, cement slide (bring your cardboard box) and slide and sand for everyone. The community garden in the back corner gives it a comfortable, neighborly feel.

What spot would you send a couple, looking for a romantic weekend?

Ok, romance for us means eating lots of great food, exploring places on foot and finding the hidden gems of a city. I recommend booking a room at the centrally-located Garden Court Hotel and heading to Vino Locale for Friday night dinner, with local wines and slow food, before the Friday-night Art Walk. Quick Saturday breakfast at Coupa Cafe (spicy hot chocolate and pastries), before heading out to explore the Farmer’s Market behind the post office. Take a break in the afternoon with a couple’s massage and soaking tub at Watercourse Way Bathhouse Spa. Dinner at Tamarine (sit in the bar and people watch), a movie at the Stanford Theater, end with dessert at Gelato Classico. Go back to hotel, collapse. Order breakfast in….

Describe a perfect day…one that captures what your area/city is all about. In 3 sentences or less.

I would start with a family bike ride over to Stanford University, stopping for a free visit to Cantor Museum and a picnic lunch on the Oval, with the required frisbee-throwing and people watching. My kids might throw in a visit to Hoover Tower or a splash in the Claw Fountain at White Plaza. And finish with a casual dinner at the Palo Alto Creamery before heading back home.

Tell us about a place that you love to go, whether it is in the guidebooks or not.

I love to take our kids to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, where I used to go as a youngster. Wonderful hands on activities and a small zoo with a bobcat!

Just because it is the start of summer here in California, and because we are insatiably curious about our readers, let’s make this into a meme. First up and tagged are Claude from Les Explorers , Erica from Blissful Travel, and Guido from Happy Hotelier . You can tell a European vacation is on our minds!

Want to share, brag, or tell about your town? If so, send an e-mail or comment on this post–then you can be our next local expert!

Thank you to E.M.B. for the Palo Alto Egg picture!

Even before we had kids, my husband and I agreed that water and sun vacations were our preference. Both of us are swimmers, he was a college water polo player, and we love spending time at the beach and in the water. Therefore, when our son (also our firstborn) was old enough to let us know that he hated the water, we were shocked. What was this going to do to our beach vacations?

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Paris, France, March 2008

The London Eye, March 2008

My husband and I both enjoy wine, and before the kids came along, we used to spend many a relaxing afternoon at wineries in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, picnicking and sipping classy California wines. Along came the kids, and somehow this did not seem practical anymore. We had new afternoon plans, which mostly involved naps, scheduled feedings and lots of play time. Wine tasting seemed like it had gone the way of our golf games….

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My husband and kids can hardly contain their excitement - the NCAA tournament is right around the corner! And while we don’t have tickets to any of this year’s games, we are eagerly anticipating filling out brackets and watching as much college basketball as possible. The tournament is going to be all over the place, and I thought I would do a little blog roundup of things to do in some of the host cities…..

The Women’s NCAA Regionals take place in New Orleans, LA, Spokane, WA, Greensboro, NC and Oklahoma City, OK. The NOLA Jazzfest will be hosted in New Orleans this year too - great to see that the city hosting such a diversity of events.

For those of you considering taking the Coast Starlight train along the West Coast up to Spokane, the LA Times Travel has provided an update on service on this line - sounds like it has been a little sketchy of late.

Not knowing much about Greensboro, North Carolina, I was pleased to see that the “Greenest” hotel in America has opened there! Thanks to Sustainable Travel for the tip.

And if basketball is not your thing and you are looking for something else to do in Oklahoma City, Things You Should Do suggests checking out the National Cowboy Museum!

The Mens NCAA Regionals will take place in Charlotte, NC, Phoenix, AZ, Detroit, MI, and Houston, TX. Always looking for culinary adventures when I travel, I was pleased to see that Charlotte is the home of the Best Steamed Bagel Sandwich in the U.S. Can you believe? Neither could I.

In addition to hosting NCAA basketball, Phoenix is also right in the thick of things for another popular sport, baseball. The Family Travel Blog points out the Cactus League Spring Training program, with all games no more than an hour away from Phoenix. Wow, you could just camp out for the month of March in Arizona!

Intelligent Travel highlights an interesting part of Detroit, Heidelberg Street, which is doing its part to put a damper on urban blight. Definitely something unique to check out!

Since the only time I have ever been to Houston was for a conference, I am going to send you right over to the Visit Houston Texas site, for loads of ideas of how to spend your time in this state of greatness. Personally, I would go shopping for a ten gallon hat and a pair of purple boots….

The Women’s Final Four will be played in Tampa Bay, while the men will be a couple states over in San Antonio. Now, I have been to San Antonio, and I must say, the San Antonio River Walk is a great place to spend a couple hours - good restaurants and bars, lots of people to watch, great atmosphere.

In Tampa, you can of course spend time at Busch Gardens Africa, but LA Times Travel points out that if you live in California, you would be better off staying home. Fortunately, Things You Should Do highlights a fun annual festival in Tampa, Guavaween. Not until October (think Halloween), this very popular event (think 80,000 folks!) is sure to be a great way to celebrate!

Are you planning to chase the NCAA basketball tournament this year? Who is your favorite team? Let us know!

My family of four will be visiting London over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and I realized today that I should figure out if there is any fun, family-oriented activities to celebrate the holiday of green. Well, turns out the close proximity to Ireland and a strong Irish community in London means that there will be tons to do!

According to the official London St. Patrick’s Day website, Sunday, March 16th is the day to set aside to celebrate my inner Irish-ness. A parade, which includes marching bands and county groups holding their county flags, in addition to festivals held in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden, will certainly hold appeal for my family. I am most excited about the Irish Foods Market in Covent Garden, and my kids will probably enjoy the Children’s Area at Leicester Square. The best part is that most all of these activities are FREE!Since we are arriving a few days before the big festivities, I looked to the Hammersmith and Fulham Irish Center in London for ideas of how to get in the Irish mood. They list a week’s worth of St Patrick’s Shenanigans, including an Irish Dance Set, Irish Storytelling and ‘Fiddle, Sticks, Buttons and Bows’, presented by the Mulkere Academy of Irish Music.

On her London Travel Blog, Laura Porter lists her favorite Irish Pubs in London to try a pint of Guinness. After a day of celebrating with our kids, my husband will be happy to find a bar to explore some Irish suds! For more information, we can also check out the Top 10 - St Patrick’s Day guide on FluidFoundation, London’s leading independent drinking guide.

All this talk about St. Patrick’s Day has me eagerly anticipating our trip - guess I better make sure to pack some green and stock up on my St. Patrick’s Day doo-dads for the parade!

photo of Trafalgar Square on St. Patrick’s Day 2006 courtesy of Diliff