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COVID-19 Part 2: Keep Smiling

Hello again, all! I hope you had some great home-based adventures with the tips from Part 1 of our special Saturday Smiles at Home series.

Let’s be honest: Imaginary field trips and forts in the backyard are marvelous, but shelter-in-place doesn’t mean it can be Saturday seven days a week. Today I want to share more tips and resources to help you balance your family’s overall well-being.

Image by Picjumbo on Pixabay

Distance Learning

Let me start with this: PLAY IS LEARNING. You do NOT need “curriculum” for your toddlers and preschoolers, even if their schools are closed right now. (And remember that I say this as a certified preschool teacher.) Open-ended materials, free time to explore, and supportive adults who are around when needed are the most important ingredients for learning. Hands-on experience is the best teacher. Your kids honestly don’t need you to entertain them 24/7. Let them play.

To those of you with older children whose schools are attempting distance learning systems, of course follow their school’s guidance. Just remember that kids of all ages benefit from unstructured downtime, so when their school day and homework are done, let it be done. Please, please don’t worry that they’re “wasting time” by not having “real” school right now. They need downtime to relax and process, and they need the stress release from play to stay healthy on all levels. Let them play. 

Okay, soap box finished. Thank you.

soap bubble hanging on a bubble wand
Image by Sally Wynn from Pixabay

If you do feel the need for an academic supplement for your older kids, many online learning sites are opening some or all of their resources for free right now to help with the crisis. Khan Academy is particularly robust and well-respected.

Life skills are curriculum too.

This is also an excellent time to teach your kids life skills. Which way do you turn a screwdriver? How do you do laundry? How do you make pizza from scratch? How do you safely use a knife to cut the vegetables for dinner? How do you check the air pressure in your tires? What creative projects can they sew out of scrap fabric? If you give them a chance, your kids will truly amaze you with their capability at any age.

girl baking cupcakes
Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash

And if you made it to adulthood without learning these skills, you’re not alone. Look up YouTube tutorials and learn the skills together with your kids. It’s 100% okay for kids to see that adults don’t know everything. Role modeling a “lifelong learner” attitude is a powerful gift to give them!

Social Stories

This is a new situation for everyone, but some of us handle new situations more easily than others.

This excellent social story from Easter Seals can help. It’s about why we’re washing our hands so much, why schools are closed, and how the adults are still here to care for kids and keep them safe. I really like this one.

cover to Easter Seals social story called My Coronavirus Story

The Autism Society of Florida also has two very short and simple social stories, as well as other COVID-19 information, on their home page.

Some children (and adults) are also extremely sensitive to the ambient stress level in their house and community. Don’t be surprised if you see more stress reactions that seem out of proportion to what’s happening in the moment. There’s just a lot to process.

Special Needs

Families of children with special needs are obviously used to caring for those needs at home. Still, for some of you, 24/7 togetherness means being on duty 24/7 without a natural mid-day break. That’s a lot. Be patient with yourself as well as with your kids. Do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself and recharge your own batteries. Take turns with another family member or call for respite care if you can. We’re all human.

two teddy bears hugging
Photo by congerdesign on Pixabay

Fortunately, some things are within your control. If your child struggles with changes in routine, for example, try to keep a consistent routine at home. You can print a free visual schedule to help them follow along.

Take a breather.

Need a calm-down break, or a soothing transition between activities in your routine? Try this. Turn off all background music, TV, and other noise in the house. Turn on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Jelly Cam” feed (with or without sound) and just watch for 60 seconds. It’s incredibly soothing!

screenshot of MBA's live Jelly Cam

Random Acts of Kindness

Even from home, there’s a lot we can do to take care of our community. For example:

  • Make cards for the firefighters at your local fire station.
  • Call your neighbors and family members on the phone to check in.
  • If you play an instrument well, you can invite your neighbors to open their doors and listen to you play from your porch.
  • Leave cheerful chalk doodles or encouraging messages on the sidewalk for your neighbors to enjoy.
rainbow drawn in sidewalk chalk
Image by Paula Wiseman from Pixabay
  • If you have to go to the store, ask your neighbors if they need anything while you’re there. The fewer people going out, the more we can slow the spread of this pesky germ.
  • Got a talent or favorite art project? Post “how to” videos on YouTube for others to enjoy.
  • Order take-out from your favorite local family restaurant. Support other local small businesses by buying their gift cards now (to use later when the shops re-open) or shopping directly on their websites instead of the usual giant warehouse websites.
  • If you know how to sew, make washable cotton masks for medical professionals who are running low on the disposable kind.

This is also a great time to clean out your closets. Gratitude and generosity are the best ways I’ve found to counteract the “hoarder” mentality that’s out in the ether right now. Consciously recognize how much you have, give thanks for abundance, and see what you can release to help families in need. You can look on Nextdoor for specific neighbors who need the help, or search for local sites that are still accepting donations.

Mental health matters too!

Of course this is all changing every day, but some experts believe the social distancing may have to extend well into the summer. We don’t know yet if that means the full shelter-in-place measures will be in force that long, but it does mean life isn’t likely to go back to normal anytime soon. At this point, it’s better to plan for the long haul and be pleasantly surprised if it ends earlier.

With that in mind, please figure out a system or routine that feels sustainable for your family. You don’t want to exhaust yourself by using up your “spoons” early on, only to find that this 3-week quarantine becomes a 3-month experience.

I know it’s incredibly hard to be teacher and caregiver while also working from home. It feels harder still when you’re cut off from some of your usual outside supports. Do whatever you need to do to take care of yourself along the way.

  • Can’t get to the nail salon? Declare a “me time” hour and do your own nails in the backyard while listening to your favorite music.
  • Want to try a new hobby? Check out YouTube videos on beginning crochet or old Bob Ross episodes to practice painting. Creative expression in any form is a powerful stress reliever.
    (Don’t have paints or canvas? Try the Procreate app on your iPad. It’s my favorite!)
screenshot of a Bob Ross "The Joy of Painting" classic episode
The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross on YouTube
  • Find a TED Talk on something you know nothing about.
  • Can’t get to your book group or Bible study? Do it over FaceTime. Remember, social distancing does not equal social isolating. Stay as connected as you can.

If you’re approaching the end of your rope, please reach out for help — mental health professionals are still available and there’s no shame in asking for support. Contact your doctor or one of these online supports.  You are not alone.

Stay Healthy

African-American father and daughter washing their hands
Photo by CDC on Unsplash

I’ll spare you the usual “wash your hands” advice. You all know that by now. I will share a an idea from my former professor, though:

Q: What do you get when you close all the doors and windows and turn up the heat?
A: An incubator!

Even if none of you has this virus—and I pray you don’t—it’s still cold & flu season in general. Please don’t make your house an incubator. Whenever possible, open the doors and windows for at least half an hour every day to get fresh air in the house. It will lift your spirits, prevent that stuffy smell, and help you all stay healthier.

Stay Informed

If you haven’t already signed up for your city’s or county’s emergency alert system, now is a great time. Many places are using a system called Nixle to connect with everyone, so that’s a great place to start. Simply text your zip code to 888777 to opt in for your area. (Nixle is not just about COVID-19. It’s a general emergency alert system for severe weather and other emergency situations, so you’ll want to stay registered even after this pandemic is over.) They send out messages by text, phone, and/or email. You can also check out the city/county websites for wherever you live and look for emergency alerts. (For San Jose residents, scroll about halfway down this page for another way to sign up.)

screenshot of nixle.com homepage

Keep smiling.

Watch your favorite comedy. Listen to Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me  on NPR. Read the funniest book you own. Play charades, Pictionary, or another goofy game with your family. Re-hang your Christmas lights to add sparkle inside and out. Do whatever it takes to raise your spirits.

And hang in there. We’re in this together and we’ll get through it together. With some extra creativity, we might even enjoy parts of it. We’re here anyway, so slow down and appreciate the scenery. Look for joy, spread kindness (from 6 feet away, of course!), stay connected to those you love, and find a reason to smile every day!

Bunch of pink and yellow balloons with happy faces on the yellow ones
Photo by Hybrid on Unsplash
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COVID-19 Part 1: How to Enjoy Staying Home

Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope your families are safe and happy. Obviously there won’t be any new destination posts here for a few weeks because everything we could visit is closed due to the coronavirus. Luckily, that doesn’t mean the fun is over!

Check out these great ideas for a shelter-in-place Saturday that you and your kids will remember with a smile:

Zoos & Aquariums

Many zoos and aquariums are livestreaming their most popular animals. You and your kids can read about your favorite animals and then watch them in real time. If you’re working from home, you could even open the livestream in a small corner of your screen and let the penguins keep you company during the week!

3 meerkats
Photo by Dušan Smetana on Unsplash

Take a virtual field trip

To take it a step further, how about an imaginary field trip? Pack the Cheerios in little baggies, put on your sweatshirts and sneakers, and line up the kitchen chairs in two columns to be the “car.” You can even let your kids do the “driving” on the way to your virtual zoo. Talk about what you think you’ll see, what sounds the animals make, or which animal they’d like to visit first. When you “arrive” at the “zoo,” you can pile out of the “car” and into the living room, where you’ve slung the livestreams onto your TV. Which animals are there? What else can we see? When it’s lunchtime, should we have a picnic beside the monkeys or the otters? Use your imaginations!

Photo by Karen Lau on Unsplash

Get outside!

It’s really, really important to get a little sunshine every day if you can. Even if you’re not an “outdoorsy” type (we can relate!), just go for a walk around the block or read your book on the patio for a little while. Social distancing can feel isolating enough; compounding that with lack of sunshine will make this time even harder. Please be kind to your mental health as well as your physical well-being.

sun peeking through pink flowers on a clear blue sky
Photo by Anders Jildén on Unsplash

If you don’t have a yard, you can still create a safe outdoor play space for your family. (Thanks to Janet Lansbury for that article!)

Playgrounds are closed; parks are open.

The shelter-in-place order says to stay home and stay indoors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go outside at all. If you have a dog, walk the dog. If you want to go for a walk or ride your bike, go for it! Just make sure you’re staying 6 feet away from anyone else along the way. Please note that all playgrounds are currently closed in San Jose, but the parks themselves are open for walking, hiking, and biking.

Obviously the rules change frequently right now, so please see the official updates from the WHO (world), the CDC (national), and the State of California. If you’re local, check Santa Clara County‘s and San Jose‘s specific guidance as well.

Treasure hunt in your own backyard.

If you have a backyard, go on a scavenger hunt together. How many different colors or shapes of leaves can you find? Can we gather the flat ones to do crayon rubbings? Can we make a collage by gluing leaves and twigs to construction paper?

collage of leaves and twigs on paper
Photo by Jonas Elia on Unsplash

If you don’t mind your kids digging in part of the yard, consider burying some “treasure.” When I was little, I remember my dad and his girlfriend building this whole story about how a pirate had lived in the house before she did and had left his treasure behind. Her nephew and I found dozens of coins — some chocolate, some real coins collected on my dad’s overseas trips — and loved it. What could your imaginary “pirate” have left in your yard?

The Amazing Ever-Changing Backyard

How many different things can your backyard become? Here are some ideas:

  • Move or angle your tv to face the backyard. Then fill an inflatable swimming pool with pillows and blankets for a comfy “movie theater” under the stars.
  • If you have any kind of play structure, shed, basketball hoop, fence with lattice work on top, or anything else that can become an anchor or frame, challenge your kids to turn it into something different every few days. Re-use old sheets, garbage bags, string, buckets, or whatever else you have around. Can it become a pirate ship? A circus tent? A campout? A space station?
    (Obviously make sure any pesticides or other toxic substances are out of reach while your kids are playing out back.)
children drawing with sidewalk chalk
Photo courtesy of Stock Snap
  • Turn your driveway into an art museum with sidewalk chalk. You can even post pictures of their creations on Instagram or Facebook.
  • Make a fairy garden using recycled materials found around the house.
  • “Paint” the fence or house with plain water and a wide paint brush. The color contrast is great while it’s wet, and there’s no paint to rinse off afterward!
  • Use sidewalk chalk to draw on the ground or the fences. It washes off easily with the hose for a fresh canvas every time.
  • What kind of balls or other sports gear do you have at home? How many games can you invent to use those in different ways?
Two kids digging in backyard garden
Photo courtesy of Pixnio

Together from a Distance

If you have families nextdoor or behind you, you can have grand fun over the fence or between your apartment balconies:

  • Have an acapella sing-along. How many Disney lyrics can you remember together without checking?
  • Start a story, then have the other person add the next part. Use the voice memo app on someone’s phone to record it if possible.
  • Have a jump rope or hula hoop contest. Who can go the longest?
  • Tune to the same radio station and have a dance party.
  • Sit near the fence and  stream the same movie at the same time on your tablets. Then you can share all the squeals and “oh my gosh”es at the same time.
  • If you both have the same board game, you can each set it up on your side of the fence. Announce your moves out loud and move both pieces so you’re seeing the same thing. Otherwise, play as usual. This is especially effective in a game like Guess Who or Battleship when you’d normally each have your own boards anyway.
  • Important: Do NOT play catch over or share/pass any other objects over the fence. Just share the experience verbally.
close-up of car piece in boardgame of Life
Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

Indoor Activities

  • Use watercolor or food coloring and water in clear containers to learn about colors. Can you make a color wheel with 6 colors? How about 12? How many shades can you create by mixing different numbers of drops of each color?
  • Practice physics by creating a compound mechanical contraption. (If you want the gold medal ultimate version, check out this amazing video!)
  • Combine your Halloween costumes and/or stuffed animals in unexpected ways. What if your frog wears a tutu and bunny ears? What kind of story can you invent for that new character?
  • Play the photo mystery game—each person in the house takes 5 creative photos. Look for intriguing textures, close-up details, and other harder-to-guess shots. Then everyone else guesses the subject/location. The person with the most mysterious shots wins!
  • When you all need a break, check out PBS Kids for commercial-free educational programming.
  • Many public libraries are opening up their online resources to help. If you don’t already have a San Jose library card, you can get a temporary “eLibrary Card” to let you access everything from home right now.

Of course, see Pinterest for (literally) millions more ideas specific to your children’s ages, interests, and needs.

Child's foot covered in paint
Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Let’s get creative!

It’s time to put your imaginations in high gear. Trust your kids to have great ideas; trust yourselves to be able to relax and follow their lead. Even when we’re stuck at home, life is full of reasons to smile!

children's hands on dirt with caterpillar

This special edition Saturday Smiles at Home series continues with Part 2. Stay tuned!

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Ainsley House

Historic Downtown Campbell: Part 2 of 2. Start with the Campbell Historical Museum, then come read about the Ainsley House.

front of Ainsley House in Campbell

The Ainsley House is the historical home of Mr. John Colpitts Ainsley’s family. He was one of the businessmen who put Campbell on the map through his successful fruit cannery. When you tour, the docent will share with you about the Ainsley family, California life in the early 1900s, the mixed architectural styles of the house, and the innovative technologies (innovative for their day, that is) incorporated into its design. You’ll walk through all the rooms with your docent and then get to explore the surrounding gardens on your own.

large white daisies with yellow centers outside Ainsley House in Campbell

In a Nutshell

As you learned at the Campbell Historical Museum, Campbell’s fruit orchards and canneries were a huge industry in this area for a long time. Mr. Ainsley owned one of those canneries. He was born in England and moved to California at age 26. He wasn’t born wealthy, but he did see the potential to build on the existing apricot farms in this area, so he started a cannery company and became very successful. He built this house for his family later in life and lived here until he passed away in 1937. His children eventually donated the house to the City of Campbell as an historical site. It’s now on the National Register of Historic Places.

oak-paneled entry hall in Ainsley House in Campbell

This house has many interesting architectural features and details. It also showcases “newfangled” things we take for granted today, such as an electric refrigerator or an upstairs telephone. On this guided tour of the home, you’ll learn about all of these ideas and about a family’s lifestyle in that era. Keep your eyes open for the magic button in the dining room…

dining room in Ainsley House in Campbell

Believe it or not, the house was not always on this site! It was originally built where eBay’s main campus is today. In the 1990s, it was literally picked up and trucked more than a mile to the city park land where it sits today. Wow! We were actually lucky enough to see the move happen. (I was very little but I still remember it.) When you visit, you’ll get to see a short video of the move before touring the house. It’s amazing!

Location

The Ainsley House is located at 300 Grant St. in Campbell. It’s adjacent to the Campbell Public Library and City Hall. It’s about a block and a half over from the main Campbell Avenue corridor in Downtown Campbell, and not far from the Hamilton Ave. exit from Hwy 17.

Google map of the Ainsley House area in Campbell

The Ainsley House is about half a block from the Campbell Historical Museum. You can see one from the other, but you’ll probably have to move your car to do both in one day because the museum parking is limited to 2 hours total. For the Ainsley House, you’ll park in the lot next to the Campbell Public Library. They have disabled spots in that lot in the corner closest to the Ainsley House, so you’re not limited to the spots by the library entrance.

diagram map of Campbell Historical Museum and Ainsley House's relative locations

The closest public transit is the VTA Bus Route 26‘s Civic Center stop or the VTA Light Rail‘s Downtown Campbell station on the 902 Winchester line.

Downtown Campbell is very bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, so if you prefer, you can always choose to bike or walk here to avoid the parking drama altogether. 

When you arrive, the sidewalks and the house’s grandeur will naturally lead you to the front door, but follow the signs from there to the carriage house where you buy tickets. Inside the carriage house, you’ll watch about a 5-minute intro video and then meet your docent, who will take you through the main house.

Carriage house visitor center at Ainsley House in Campbell

Weather

The house has been retrofitted with central heating and air conditioning, so you can plan your visit any time of year.

In the spring and summer, the gardens around the house are particularly photogenic. They actually do weddings here because the space is so beautiful, so be sure to bring your camera!

beautiful pink flower outside Ainsley House in Campbell

Cost

When we visited (summer 2019), the Ainsley House tickets were $8 for the general public, $6 for seniors, and $4 for youth ages 7-17. Children 6 and under were free. If you purchase a joint ticket with this and the Campbell Historical Museum, you can save $1 per person over purchasing the tickets separately.

child's bedroom in Ainsley House in Campbell

There are also membership options as described in our Campbell Historical Museum post:

If you want unlimited access to the museum and the Ainsley House, a quarterly newsletter, gift shop discounts, and free or discounted admission to museum events, memberships are available for $35 per person. Expanded benefits are available with fancier levels of membership.

Both this museum and the Ainsley House are part of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. This means you can get  free or discounted admission to these and many other museums around the continent if you have a membership at one of them. You can search the full list here.

Length of Time

The tour is led by a docent, so the length of time can range from 30 minutes to easily over an hour, depending on the level of detail they share and the number of questions you ask. Combined with the Campbell Historical Museum, allow 2.5 to 4 hours total.

kitchen in Ainsley House in Campbell

Wheelchair Access

Their website has information for guests with disabilities. The house was built in 1925, so there isn’t much they can do to make it wheelchair-friendly, unfortunately. The main floor of the carriage house (which serves as the visitor’s center and gift shop) is wheelchair-accessible. An accessible restroom is included in that building too.

The Ainsley House itself is two stories, but even the first floor has single stairs up and down from individual rooms. About half the rooms on the first floor are wheelchair-accessible via ramps. The tour involves only short-distance walking, but a lot of stairs and lot of standing. They do have folding chairs available if you need to sit while the docent speaks, but you move between rooms so often that you don’t sit for more than a minute or two in each place. For someone with mobility problems, this house is honestly very difficult. (That’s not their fault at all, they do their very best to accommodate, but the house was built more than 60 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. What can you do?)

oak stairs in Ainsley House in Campbell

Walkers are allowed, so my mom tried using her walker instead of the wheelchair. It was really tough, honestly. The docent was excellent about making sure to point out the steps and offering to help her up and down the steps if needed. She even offered to carry the walker upstairs if that would help. By the end of the hour-long tour, though, even with sitting in each room as the docent spoke, it was obvious that this was too much walking and standing. Time for Advil and resting the rest of the day. Everyone has their own threshold for when to be stubborn about not missing out on something and when to take care of their health, so of course it’s up to you. Just be aware that this tour involves more standing and walking than it seems like a “house tour” might, so please be gentle with your body if you have mobility issues.

Official service animals are allowed, but emotional support animals are not.

Vision & Hearing

Mrs. Ainsley's desk at the Ainsley House in Campbell

The docent narrates the whole tour, so guests could still get a lot out of the visit without seeing the architecture and artifacts directly. There are also recorded sound effects that play in a few of the rooms. If someone in your party has a sight limitation, you can even arrange a “touch tour” to further enhance your experience if you call in advance. (This is such an unusual offering, I have to give them kudos!)

Guests who are deaf would probably need a family member to serve as a sign language interpreter. Tour groups are usually small (often just your family), so if you have limited hearing, you could ask the docent to speak loudly and could turn your hearing aids up. The house is quiet enough for this to work.

garden at Ainsley House in Campbell

Sensory Processing

As you might expect for an historical home, the sensory level here was nicely low overall. One very unusual feature was that a few of the rooms had sound effects set up on motion sensors so they played automatically when you entered the room. (For example, a recording of FDR on the radio would play when you entered the library, or cooking and chopping noises would greet you in the kitchen.) These were not loud, but I found them a bit distracting as I tried to focus on the docent’s words at the same time. Still, this is the only place I’ve encountered such a simple but unusual idea — motion-triggered ambient sounds to enhance the experience — and I thought it was extremely clever.

garden path at Ainsley House in Campbell

Food

There’s no food or drink allowed on the house tour. There are plenty of benches in the green park area in front of the house for eating before or after your visit.

Would we go back?

Sure! Even though we saw the house move (because everyone around came to see such an unusual event) in the 1990s, we had somehow never come to tour the inside of the house after that. I’m glad we did and would be happy to do so again some day. If you want to put a more personal face on all the cool stuff you learn at the Campbell Historical Museum, wander over to Ainsley House too. It’s sure to make you smile!

Ainsley House in Campbell, as seen from the side

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Campbell Historical Museum

Historic Downtown Campbell: Part 1 of 2. Stay tuned for the Ainsley House visit next time!

The Campbell Historical Museum is a surprising little gem located in the heart of Downtown Campbell. Although we both grew up in this area and even lived in Campbell briefly, we’d somehow never been here. It was definitely worth the visit. We had no idea the City of Campbell had been so important to the history of this valley!

Campbell Historical Museum official sign and front of the building

In a Nutshell

This unimposing little building was actually the first city-owned building when Campbell was incorporated as a city back in 1952. It was the fire station, police station, and city hall — all at once! As the city grew, naturally its services spread out. By 1983, the main services had moved elsewhere, and this building became the Campbell Historical Museum.

Campbell Historical Museum dedication plaque from the Campbell City Council

The museum includes a variety of interactive stations, video segments, timelines, and artifacts to connect the valley’s history to today. There are hands-on opportunities and well-written plaques for children and adults to engage with the subject matter in their own ways.

pretend "general store" inside the Campbell Historical Museum

The details of their current exhibits are on this page. You’ll learn about the evolution “from canneries to computers,” tracing Campbell’s history from its origins in orchards and canned fruit to its role in Silicon Valley today and putting it in context with national and world historical events at the time. Many important innovations happened here long before the microprocessor was invented. Did you know President Roosevelt even came to visit once?

timeline called "Campbell in Context," detailing the history of Campbell in parallel to world history

Note: The museum and the Ainsley House are “sister museums” to each other; both are technically independent so you can visit either or both. We highly recommend starting here at the Campbell Historical Museum and then visiting the Ainsley House. The house will make much more sense if you have the context offered in the museum first.

Location

This museum is located at 51 N. Central Ave. in Campbell, on the corner of N. Central and Civic Center Dr. It’s kitty-corner from the Campbell Public Library and one block over from the main downtown shopping and restaurant district on Campbell Ave. If you’re coming from farther away, it’s fairly close to the Hamilton Ave. exit from Hwy 17.

Google map of Campbell Historical Museum area

Parking is always tight in Downtown Campbell. There is a small lot connected to the museum, but you enter it from the other side of the block: turn on N. 1st Street and go in the driveway behind Recycle Bookstore West and Sorelle Salon & Spa. Take the first left inside the parking lot (between the two tiny fences into the second half of the lot) and then turn right to get closer to the museum. The museum is the tall unmarked building at the end of the lot. Park in any unmarked slot. (The first slots you see will be reserved for the bookstore or salon, so be careful. Go deeper into the lot to look for 2-hour parking that’s not restricted to a particular store or reserved for staff.)

Zoomed-in Google map showing arrows of where to park

Parking lot for Campbell Historical Museum

There is also some on-street metered parking on Civic Center Dr. If you don’t mind walking, you can park elsewhere in town and walk in. (Just be respectful of time limits anywhere you park, because Campbell does mean business in their traffic enforcement.)

Although the address and front sign say N. Central Avenue, the entrance is actually accessed from this parking lot, so walk around the building to the back if your GPS takes you to the official front on N. Central.

Very zoomed-in Google map showing the actual front entrance vs. the street address

The closest public transit is the VTA Bus Route 26‘s Civic Center stop or the VTA Light Rail‘s Downtown Campbell station on the 902 Winchester line.

Downtown Campbell is very bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, so if you prefer, you can always choose to bike or walk here to avoid the parking drama altogether. 

Weather

Thankfully this historical building has been upgraded with modern HVAC, so you can enjoy this little museum anytime of year.

old-fashioned hand-washer and dryer press with pretend laundry outside Campbell Historical Museum entrance

Cost

When we visited (summer 2019), the museum admission was just $2 for anyone age 7+. If you want a joint ticket for the museum + the Ainsley House, it essentially saves you $1 over buying the two admissions separately. (We didn’t get the joint ticket, but did happen to find a $1 off coupon on an Ainsley House flyer, so it worked out the same.) The joint ticket does not have to be used on the same day.

child's wagon with pretend fruit and cardboard cut-outs of children in an orchard, Campbell Historical Museum

If you want unlimited access to the museum and the Ainsley House, a quarterly newsletter, gift shop discounts, and free or discounted admission to museum events, memberships are available for $35 per person. Expanded benefits are available with fancier levels of membership.

Both this museum and the Ainsley House are part of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. This means you can get  free or discounted admission to these and many other museums around the continent if you have a membership at one of them. You can search the full list here.

Length of Time

Given the relatively small size of this museum, it’s mind-boggling to think of it once housing the fire department, police department, and city government! The museum will take you about 1-2 hours.

If you’re doing both in one day, plan for the Ainsley House to take an additional 1-2 hours. You can ask the volunteers at the museum desk what time the next Ainsley House tour leaves so you can plan accordingly. If possible, do the full museum before going to Ainsley House.

Carriage with picture of Teddy Roosevelt in the Campbell Historical Museum

Wheelchair Access

Physically, the museum was spacious enough and flat enough to navigate easily with the wheelchair. However, most of the displays were surprisingly high up on the walls, so it was tricky to read some of them comfortably from a seated height.

Vision & Hearing

There were more hands-on and audio elements here than at most museums, so someone with limited vision would be able to interact quite a bit. For example, there were plastic fruits on Velcro dots to be “picked” off the “orchard” trees, rubber fruits to be “packed” into the tin cans, and a guessing game with food scents inside metal shakers. There were also narrated video clips and an audio recording of someone reading President Roosevelt’s speech, plus an interactive play space with pretend foods. Unfortunately there is no braille or audio tour of the other material, so a companion would still have to read the text of the main plaques out loud.

guessing game with shakers with scents inside, part of the Campbell Historical Museum

The video and audio clips had subtitles, so someone with a hearing impairment would be able to participate fully here. There’s little to no background noise to interfere with hearing aids on a regular day. (I’d imagine if an entire class were here for a field trip, that might change.)

Sensory Processing

This was a delightfully calm museum in terms of sensory content. The lighting was normal, the background noise was minimal, and that scent game mentioned above was not noticeable unless you held the shakers to your nose. The displays were visually a little busy in places, but not overwhelmingly so. Particularly for the level of interaction it offered, I found this to be one of the more sensory-friendly museums we’ve visited.

Old electric vehicle in Campbell Historical Museum

Food

There’s no food or drink allowed inside the museum, but there are picnic areas available outside. Of course the entire restaurant district in Downtown Campbell is also only a block away!

Would we go back?

Sure! We both learned a ton about the legacy of a town that we’d honestly always thought of as just a cute little offshoot of San Jose. It turns out Campbell was once the home to three major fruit canneries that shipped fruit all the way to England. The Pruneyard Shopping Center was even part of a major Supreme Court decision on free speech and states’ rights. Who knew? If you need a short but very interesting spot to visit, the Campbell Historical Museum is sure to make you smile!

Campbell Historical Museum sign says "Museum & Store open Thurs-Sun 12-4 pm"

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Intel Museum

We’re back! Thank you all for your patience the last few months. Let’s dive back into exploring our own backyard here in Silicon Valley!

close-up of an Intel Museum mural with 0 and 1 binary text all over

I’d describe the Intel Museum as a “small but mighty” museum that chronicles not just the Intel company but the evolution of Silicon Valley and the technology behind our growth. It’s approachable and interesting for techies and non-techies alike, all without feeling like the information is “dumbed down” at all. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

In a Nutshell

This museum is on the Intel campus in Santa Clara. It includes the museum itself, a cute little gift shop, and a spacious courtyard area outside. The giant Intel sign  out front is known as one of the key high-tech tourism stops in the Bay Area, so be sure to snap a selfie there!

Giant Intel logo sign outside the Intel Museum

Inside the museum, you’ll walk through sections showing the history of the company, the evolution of modern computing, the way silicon chips work, how they’re manufactured, and what may be coming next in the world of tech. You can even dress up as a “clean room” worker.

Photo opportunity to dress up as a clean room worker at the Intel Museum

The design of the museum is quite appealing. It’s a healthy blend of plaques to read, touchscreen stations, artifacts and memorabilia in display cases, movie clips, interactive elements, and thought-provoking questions. I’d say the target audience would be kids at least 9-10 years old through adults.

The museum is open to the public and also hosts school field trips. In a way, it’s like a mini version of the Computer History Museum — less detail but also much less time-consuming and still very enjoyable. I love the CHM, but if you don’t have all day, the Intel Museum is a very good alternative.

Intel Museum poster of a quote that says, "Today, there is no place on, above or below the earth that the microprocessor has not reached." by Michael S. Malone

They are usually open 9-6 on weekdays and 10-5 on Saturdays. They recommend calling ahead (1-408-765-5050) to make sure they’re not closed for a holiday or special event on the day you plan to come.

Location

The Intel Museum is located on the main Intel campus in Santa Clara. Their address is 2200 Mission College Blvd., close to 101 and Montague Expressway.

Google map of the Intel Museum area

Parking is free and fairly close to the museum, but takes a bit of guesswork to find. Here’s what you need to know:

  • From Mission College Blvd., turn into the Intel campus. If you came from Montague Expressway, it will be a left turn at the light that says “Burton” with an arrow to the right. There’s a little Intel sign at the driveway, but it almost doesn’t look big enough to be the main entrance. It actually is. Turn there.

Entrance to the Intel campus and Intel Museum parking lot

  • As you enter the parking lot, follow the “visitor parking” signs, some of which are rather small. You’ll hug the right three times, go past the ticket booth (which was empty for the weekend) and enter the parking lot.
  • From the disabled parking spots, you’ll see the blue and white crosswalk and a wheelchair sign directing you to the sidewalk and then to the left. Follow these signs even if you’re not using a wheelchair.

arrow showing the walkway toward the Intel Museum from the disabled parking spaces

  • Follow the sidewalk along the front of the building until it opens up to a courtyard. Look to your right and see the giant Intel logo sign. Go toward the sign.
  • The museum entrance is the double doors to the left of the sign.
    (Note: We went during Pride month, so I don’t know if these doors are always rainbow-colored or just in June.)

Intel Museum entrance doors with Pride rainbow decoration

If you prefer public transit, the VTA Route 60 bus drops off about half a block from the entrance. That bus does run on weekends.

Weather

As an indoor museum with good air conditioning, this would be an excellent stop any time of year. In the spring and summer, the flowers in the courtyard are blooming nicely, so that’s an added bonus if you’re a fellow shutterbug.

yellow flower outside Intel Museum in Santa Clara

Cost

Parking and admission are both free here. They don’t even ask for a donation at the door; they just smile and welcome you in. Nice!

If you want to take one, they offer a printed map of the museum layout to guide you through the different areas. (It’s a loop, so it’s not like you need the map to avoid getting lost. It’s just a guide.) The map is available in multiple languages on the rack between the welcome desk and the gift shop.

 

Length of Time

We spent about two hours here including the gift shop, although if you thoroughly read each display and spend more time on the interactive stations, you could easily spend half a day. It’s easy to enjoy at your own pace.

Intel Museum gift shop display of "Pride Inside" t-shirts and bracelets during the month of June

Wheelchair Access

This museum was delightfully wide open and easy to navigate. The displays were magically comfortable to read from both a seated/wheelchair height and an adult standing height. (I’m not quite sure how they managed that, but kudos, because very few museums pull that off!) The floor is mostly made of metal tiles that are smooth and quiet to roll over.

Intel Museum display about Moore's Law

The restroom included a wheelchair-accessible stall that was easy to use independently.

Vision & Hearing

As in many museums, most of the displays here are visual. They’re either text on a wall or touchscreen, or artifacts in acrylic display cases. A few of the stations could be interactive through touch or hearing alone, but for the most part, someone with limited vision would need a companion to read the plaques to them. We asked at the front desk and unfortunately there’s no braille guide or audio tour available yet. (Maybe some day…)

antique IBM computer in Intel Museum

Hearing loss is much less of an issue here. Nearly everything was text-based and easily enjoyed visually. The museum was remarkably quiet overall, even though there were other people there at the time, so there wasn’t even much background interference for someone with hearing aids to filter out.

Sensory Processing

I found this museum hit the “sweet spot” in terms of sensory levels. It was engaging enough to be interesting, but in no way overwhelming or overstimulating. It was invitingly light but not too bright. The displays were spread out enough not to feel overly busy. The few video stations were loud enough to hear while standing in front of them, but didn’t blast the surrounding area with distracting sound.

Intel Museum first section of displays

The only mild issue was that in the second half of the museum, there were times when a random flash would light up the area. It turns out it was from the the flashbulb at the “selfie station” near the end, where you can dress up as a clean room worker. It wasn’t a strobe or anything too obnoxious, but it was very noticeable and somewhat distracting in the moment. Once I figured out what it was, it was okay.

This museum is very close to the airport, so we did hear quite a few airplanes passing directly overhead while we were out in the parking lot. (You can’t hear them from indoors, don’t worry.) If you or your child are easily triggered by loud noises, do be prepared for the loud overhead airplanes while you’re outside here.

Food

Food and drinks are not allowed in this museum, but there are a lot of benches in the courtyard outside if you bring your own lunch. Otherwise, you’re pretty close to Specialty’s Cafe, Subway, Starbucks, and other nearby eateries.

Would we go back?

Yes! There’s plenty of detail I’m sure we missed the first time through, and we enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. If your inner geek needs a pick-me-up or if your out-of-town visitor wants to see something free and unique to Silicon Valley, the Intel Museum is sure to make you smile!

Intel Museum wall with quote by Robert Noyce: "Don't be encumbered by history. Go off and do something wonderful."

Visited June 2019

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Harvest Festival: Original Art & Craft Show

We’ve been going to the Harvest Festival almost every year since I was in elementary school. It’s delightful to see some of the same vendors every year – a few of whom even remember us and say “hi” – and to see many new ones as well. As an artist, I always find it inspiring to see so many new ideas and creative styles in one place. We often find truly unique gifts for our hard-to-shop-for friends and family members here too!

Inside the Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Show

In a Nutshell

This is a large indoor arts & crafts festival that travels around California and parts of Nevada every year, showcasing beautiful hand-made arts and crafts, specialty foods, kids’ craft and activity areas, and a live stage with continuous music and entertainment. I think of it as a playful cross between a county fair (minus the farm animals and ferris wheels) and an art & wine festival.

Understandably, out of respect for the artists’ work, the show forbids most photography inside. My apologies for the limited photos in this post as a result.

Harvest Festival sign says "no photos or videos of merchandise"

Location

This is a traveling show, so you can choose the location that’s closest to you. Check out the Shows page on their website for this year’s schedule. Parking and transportation details will obviously depend on the venue.

Weather

This is an indoor show, so you’ll enjoy it regardless of the weather outside. Given that many of these shows happen in the fall and over the holiday season, being a weatherproof outing is definitely a feature!

Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Show sign outside San Mateo Event Center

Cost

At the door, tickets are typically around $9 for adults and less for seniors, kids, and military personnel. (Prices are from 2018, but they don’t tend to change much year to year.) You can often get discounts for purchasing tickets online ahead of time, or with a postcard coupon if you join their mailing list. The postcard usually also has a coupon for a free shopping bag, so it’s worth joining the mailing list if you plan to go back next year.

Length of Time

This will take you a few hours to most of the day, depending on how quickly you stroll through the booths and how many exhibitors are at the show. (We’ve noticed some cities or some years bring bigger or smaller shows, but they’re always enjoyable regardless of size. We haven’t spotted a predictable pattern in the sizes, so we just go with the mindset that we’ll enjoy whatever we find.)

Regardless of which show you attend, we highly recommend getting there close to opening time because the event will get more crowded as the day goes on. If you’re going to a particularly popular show, such as the one in San Jose over Thanksgiving weekend, you’ll save some time in line by buying your tickets online ahead of time.

musicians dressed in Christmas clothes at Harvest Festival

Wheelchair Access

Accessibility will depend on the venue, of course, but every show we’ve seen has been in a large public event center, convention center, or the indoor part of the county fairgrounds, so it’s always been wheelchair-accessible in our experience.

The event is large, so if you have any kind of mobility challenges, balance/stability issues, or pain with too much walking, we definitely recommend bringing a cane, walker, wheelchair, or scooter, depending on what works best for you. For context, it’s more walking and standing than a typical trip to the mall, but much less than a day at Disneyland.

Each vendor’s booth varies somewhat in its accessibility because the layout is up to the exhibitor. Some have wide open spaces and some pack more tables into the same square footage, unfortunately leaving less maneuvering room for mobility devices. We’ve found that electric mobility scooters (especially the larger four-wheeled kind) have a harder time in this setting; wheelchairs are much more maneuverable in the sometimes-tighter spaces. Walkers or canes can navigate easily too.

FYI, a few booths also have high enough display cases that it can be challenging to see the merchandise from a low seated position. (This is where it helps to have a sidekick who can reach things for you.) It’s not a big enough problem to keep you from enjoying the event on your own, though. Most things are visible, and most of the artists or fellow shoppers will gladly help if you need it. Just ask!

Vision & Hearing

There would be a lot for someone with limited vision to enjoy here. The food booths often offer tasting samples, the teas and candles smell nice, and most of the textile or jewelry crafts can be as easily felt as seen. Some of the craft booths sell wind chimes, folk music CDs, and other sound-oriented goodies. It’s also possible to pick up most of the merchandise to look at it up close, so someone with limited but functional vision could navigate and enjoy the show independently. All the booths are laid out in aisles, which are marked by overhead flag signs. The layout of each individual booth is different, as mentioned above, and there are no tactile or audio markers to help with wayfinding, so a person who’s blind would need a companion to help navigate this setting.

Music is a much less prominent part of the show, compared to the visual arts and specialty foods, so someone who is deaf could easily enjoy the Harvest Festival without missing out on much. Because of the busy nature of the show, someone who uses hearing aids may have trouble filtering out the background noise at times, so if this applies to someone in your family, please remember to get their attention before speaking to them and be close enough for them to hear you clearly.

stage at the Harvest Festival

Sensory Processing

This is definitely a high-sensory experience, but I enjoy it anyway. I always wear earplugs here, and we are careful to go early in the morning to take advantage of the lower crowds. (This helps in two ways — lower sensory busyness for me and fewer crowds in which to maneuver the wheelchair for my mom.) In terms of visual and auditory input, it’s a little bit busier than a trip to the mall. There’s a lot going on in each booth, but it’s exciting artsy stuff that’s fun to look at, and you can just choose not to go in any booth that may feel overwhelming. There are a few musicians who walk around playing the ukulele or washboard or harmonica, which can be loud, but they pass quickly and there are only a couple throughout the whole show. (If you want to enjoy the stage shows, sit near the back so you’re farther from the often-too-loud speakers.) If you like to touch things, you’ll find many lush fabrics, soft toys, beautifully finished woods, smooth metals and jewelry, and other marvelous textures to explore.

If you’re especially triggered by smells, as I am, be aware that there are quite a few different smells to contend with here. Some of the crafts the vendors sell are handmade scented candles (none of which are lit, fortunately), soaps, foods, teas, seasonings and spices. Fortunately the smells are usually contained to the individual booths (apparently by magic, because the booths are open, but somehow it works), so it’s nothing like walking into (or even past) Bath & Body Works at the mall. I find that if I just don’t go in those booths, I’m fine. The venues are always enormous rooms with very high ceilings, and the fragranced vendors are a small fraction of the show, so it somehow evens out.  There is also a “food court” area, but it’s always off in one corner or one side, so those cooking smells don’t pervade the room either.

Food

You can bring your own food or buy food there. There is an area to the back or the side where a half-dozen booths sell different kinds of food for lunch or snacks. (These are not craft vendors; they’re part of the Harvest Festival itself and tend to be the same every year.) For example, there is usually a coffee & muffins booth, a salad booth, a chili & baked potato booth, a pasta booth, and a pulled pork or Philly cheesesteak sandwich booth. The food is usually made on-site but not always to order, so be careful about allergies. The people preparing it have very limited space and not much flexibility aside from whether or not to include certain toppings. Be patient with them.

food court at Harvest Festival

These food booths are side-by-side, and then there’s a large area with cafeteria-style tables end-to-end where you can eat. This makes it easy for different members of your family to choose different foods and eat together. (Keep in mind that you pay at each booth, so if you want different types of foods, you’ll each need to stand in line for yourself.) The tables are also an easy place to eat your own food from home if you brought it (I’ve never seen signs restricting it) or to just take a break if you need one.

As with most events, the lines for food can get long at peak times, so plan ahead if you can and have lunch a little earlier or little later than average and you’ll be fine.

Would we go back?

Of course! It’s a tradition for us at this point, but it’s also just really fun to see the creativity and variety on display each year. Pack your earplugs, wake up early, and go enjoy the Harvest Festival when it comes to your area. It’s sure to make you smile!

official marketing image of shoppers at the Harvest Festival

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The Great Mall

We’ve always loved shopping, especially at big malls. I know not everyone agrees, and that’s okay, but for us, malls are a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. We don’t have to have a specific shopping list or destination in mind; it’s fun just strolling through, “window shopping” and “people watching” and sometimes finding unexpected treasures. When I need creative inspiration, I often find the fabrics, home decor items, jewelry, and other items at the mall to be a great source of new ideas.

Growing up in the Bay Area in the ’90s, I took it for granted that the question was only ever “Which mall?” and not whether or not to make the trek out to “the mall.” (When I got to college and met people from other parts of California, I realized how blessed we are here.) It’s true that online shopping has shifted the nature of most malls to include more restaurants, movie theaters, and interactive experiences than in the past, but anyone who tells you that malls are a “dying breed” has clearly not tried to park at one on a Saturday afternoon recently. Trust me, there are plenty of people still going to malls, and we will always be among them.

Silicon Valley is still home to many malls (although sightly fewer than twenty years ago, it’s true), most of which are listed on our Ideas page. We’ve sorted them by indoor/enclosed malls vs. outdoor/open-air centers so you can choose based on the weather or your personal preferences.  We’ve been to  almost every mall on that list, many multiple times. We have a few favorites but enjoy almost all of them for different reasons. Each has different stores, of course, but also different types of restaurants, different sensory levels, and different overall vibes.

Today we chose the Great Mall in Milpitas because we hadn’t been there in a while and because it had a couple stores we wanted to browse for specific items. As always, we enjoyed this mall’s variety and lively atmosphere.

entrance to the Great Mall in Milpitas

In a Nutshell

This is a relatively large mall laid out in a big oval shape.  It’s divided into what they call “neighborhoods,” which are just segments of the loop like slices of a pie. It’s a way to help you navigate and know where you are.

The mall has a combination of bigger anchor stores and smaller stores. Many are high-end outlets or big-name stores and some are unique local spots. It’s a Simon mall (meaning the parent company who runs it is Simon) so it has a wider variety of stores  than most Westfield malls do. The exact mix of stores changes on a regular basis, so check the mall’s website for a current list if there’s something specific you want to see.

store listing directory outside the Great Mall in Milpitas

In addition to stores, the mall has a Century movie theater, a Dave & Buster’s entertainment space, changing activities inside (such as jumpers, 3D simulator seats, or a small train for little kids to ride), and of course multiple restaurants and a food court.

inside the remodeled Great Mall in Milpitas

One of the things I enjoy most about this mall is its diversity. It really feels like a miniature version of the entire Bay Area inside. We see families and individuals of all ages and cultures there, but have never once felt a problem in it. (Having grown up in San Jose, then gone to college in a town that was over 80% white and 50% twenty-somethings, this diversity is one of the things I missed most about home and still consciously enjoy now that I’m back.) I love listening to the plethora of languages being spoken all in one place. Call me philosophical, but I find it beautiful to see such diverse people just enjoying their afternoon and sharing this space so peacefully. The world could take a lesson here.

Location

The Great Mall is in Milpitas, just pass the San Jose border, about halfway between I-880 and I-680, near Montague Expressway. See their website for driving directions if you don’t have GPS.

The mall’s address is 447 Great Mall Dr, Milpitas, CA 95035-8041.

map of the Great Mall area in Milpitas

The mall is surrounded by a large parking lot on all sides. There’s also a small parking garage on one side near the Bed Bath & Beyond (Neighborhood 5) entrance. For some reason, we’ve found the most disabled parking spaces to be available in this area, but of course there are blue slots all around the mall if you need them.

There’s also a big public transit hub at the edge of the parking lot. The Light Rail, ten VTA bus lines, and one AC Transit bus all meet here, so it’s possible to get to the mall via public transit from most of the Bay Area.

public transit station in the Great Mall parking lot in Milpitas

Weather

This is an indoor mall, so it’s great in any weather. In case it’s pouring cats-and-dogs in the winter, do be aware that the parking garage is close to the entrance but does not have a covered walkway, so you may have to walk (or roll) in the rain for a short stretch. In the summer, we have sometimes found it to get pretty crowded by mid/late afternoon on exceptionally hot days when many people (including us) come in search of air conditioning. Other than those two extremes, the weather really doesn’t factor in here. 

Length of Time

This is a medium-large mall, so you can choose whether to spend a couple hours or most of the day here. It depends on whether you’re just wandering and browsing in a few stores or whether you want to go in more stores, try on more clothes, eat in a sit-down restaurant, see a movie, etc.

Wheelchair Access

Unless it’s one of those exceptionally crowded afternoons, this mall is usually nicely wheelchair-friendly. They’ve recently completed a renovation that included new flooring, which makes for even less friction/drag on the wheelchair tires and therefore less draw on the battery. Some stores are laid out with wider or narrower aisles than others, of course, but that’s true everywhere. We’ve had no trouble navigating most of the stores here.

disabled parking outside the Great Mall in Milpitas

Note: a few big stores and most restaurants have restrooms inside, but the majority of the mall’s public restrooms are located down hallways between stores. They’re clearly marked on the map and with signs. There is at least one wheelchair-accessible stall in each one, but do keep in mind that some of the hallways are fairly long and sometimes you find a long line for the women’s room at the end. Don’t wait until it’s super urgent…

Vision & Hearing

Overall, the Great Mall is similar to other malls in terms of visual or auditory access. The background noise level is usually not super loud (i.e. it’s easy to follow a conversation while wearing hearing aids). One thing to note for someone with low vision: for some reason, this mall has never established a consistent traffic flow pattern. In most malls, I’ve seen that people tend to walk on the right, so most of the people around you are flowing the same direction you are. In this mall, people tend to walk both ways on both sides, so you do have to be a little more alert than usual to cross-traffic or to people walking toward you. If you have very limited vision, it may help to have a companion in this setting.

inside the Great Mall in Milpitas

Sensory Processing

I’d rate this mall as a “medium” on the sensory scale. It’s not as mellow as Hillsdale or Stoneridge, but it’s also not as in-your-face as some I’ve encountered. I don’t usually wear my earplugs here. There is some background music, mostly from the stores, but it’s not overwhelming. In this mall, you will find ample skylights, high ceilings, and mostly neutral-colored flooring and walls in the main walkways, especially since the renovation. (The flooring does have some print to it, but it’s a neutral tone-on-tone pattern, nothing like the bright geometric carpet patterns I see elsewhere.) The signs are color-coded by Neighborhood to help you orient yourself. The food smells are mostly contained to food areas and the strongly-scented stores don’t leak into the common spaces much at all. As long as it’s not too crowded, I usually find this mall to be busy/alive-feeling but quite nice.

Food

The Great Mall has a food court with an ever-changing assortment of choices, plus multiple sit-down restaurants. Some of these, such as Red Robin, are in the mall and some, such as Olive Garden, are freestanding buildings in the parking lot. Check out the “food” tab on their website for a current list of offerings.

food court in the Great Mall in Milpitas

On this trip, we were delighted to find that they now have Loving Hut in the food court! This is one of our favorite vegan restaurants. At this location, it’s a self-serve hot bar with lots of choices and you simply pay based on the weight at the end.

Loving Hut at the Great Mall in Milpitas

We also noticed a new Jamba Juice on this trip, which opens up even more vegan and allergy-friendly choices. Of course you can also always bring your own food to eat in the food court or on any bench/seating area around the mall.

Would we go back?

Of course! We’ve been here countless times before and will continue to visit in the future. We sometimes go for something specific (such as luggage, purses, Pyrex, shoes, fancy dresses, or other things for which they have an uncommonly large number of choices) and sometimes just for the fun of walking around the mall. Whether you’re doing some holiday shopping or just enjoying a day out, the Great Mall in Milpitas will make you smile!

parking lot and entrance to the Great Mall in Milpitas

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Gilroy Gardens

Gilroy Gardens is a small family-friendly theme park about a half-hour drive south of San Jose. It was originally called Bonfante Gardens (named for Michael Bonfante, who founded the park) and was famous for its “Circus Trees” – very cool whacky-looking trees that  were sculpted with special grafting techniques many years ago. Since then, the park has grown to include more rides, a large playground, multiple water play areas, and special events. It’s a delightful way to spend the day with or without children of any age!

basket tree, one of the circus trees at Gilroy Gardens

The park is generally open from late March through late September for the regular season. Then they have special hours in October for Halloween and in late November/December for holiday lights. See their calendar for specifics when you’re planning a visit.

Gil and Roy, mascots at Gilroy Gardens

If you’re interested in the backstory of the park, there are self-directed tours and sometimes guided tours of the gardens, circus trees, and sustainability innovations throughout the parks. You can find the self-directed tour pamphlets at the Welcome Center near the front of the park.

brochures for self-guided tours available at Gilroy Gardens

In a Nutshell

The atmosphere here is lively but in a peaceful way, if that makes any sense. We always find it refreshing because it’s engaging enough to pull us out of everyday thoughts and concerns, but not so big or overloading that we feel pressured to squeeze everything into one day and go home wiped. For perspective, it’s bigger than Happy Hollow but smaller than Great America and much smaller than Disneyland.

paddle boats at Gilroy Gardens

The rides are mostly low-key (think more Dumbo, less Matterhorn) with one moderate roller coaster near the back. There are also gardens to explore, water slides and water-play areas of various sizes, carnival-style games, a small amphitheater that sometimes has a special show, and little “learning sheds” with interesting information about bees, trees, and other nature-oriented topics. There are often seasonal extras, such as a petting zoo or holiday lights.

apple & worm kids' ride at Gilroy Gardens

On certain weekends, the park has special add-on events such as a Memorial Day BBQ or a Mother’s Day brunch or a holiday feast. You can also rent that event space for a wedding or party.

redwood trees at Gilroy Gardens

This year they added a nighttime feature for Halloween that’s a separate admission fee unless you’re a premium member. We haven’t seen this one, but we have seen their December holiday nighttime displays and enjoyed them very much, so I’d imagine their Halloween one would also be well done.

Location

Gilroy Gardens is in — you guessed it — Gilroy, off Highway 101 and 152. It’s about 30-40 minutes south of San Jose, or about 10 minutes from the Gilroy Outlets.

Google map of the area around Gilroy Gardens

There’s a large parking lot just outside the entrance to the park. Parking is $15 or is included free with certain levels of season pass. Disabled parking is plentiful and is right up front near the entrance, not in the main columns of parking spots.

annotated map of the Gilroy Gardens parking lot, highlighting the disabled parking

Because of its location, public transit is unfortunately not a great option for Gilroy Gardens. If you can’t drive here, I’d suggest carpooling with a friend or looking into a ride-sharing option such as Lyft or Uber.

Weather

Gilroy’s weather tends to be similar to San Jose, or sometimes a little warmer or windier. Most of the year, it’s very pleasant down here, especially if there’s a light breeze. In spring and fall, it’s often a little cooler in the shelter of the park than it is in the direct sun in the parking lot, so I’d recommend bringing your sweater in with you even if you think you won’t need it.

The satellite view on Google Maps shows all the trees:

Google maps satellite photo of Gilroy Gardens

There are lots of trees and peaceful garden spaces, but as with most theme parks, you will also definitely feel the prevalence of concrete and blacktop when the weather heats up. (There’s a reason the water park areas are so popular in the summer!) There isn’t a lot in the way of indoor/air-conditioned retreat options here. If you’re extra heat-sensitive, make sure to stay hydrated and go earlier in the day in the summer so you can be done before the heat of the day gets to be too much.

Gilroy Gardens water oasis

Cost

As of our visit (2018), general one-day admission at the gate is $58, but don’t worry, you don’t have to pay that if you plan ahead a little. Buy tickets online ahead of time (or even on your smartphone from the parking lot) and they’ll be $39 each or less, depending on how many you buy, plus taxes/fees. Note: there are often coupons in the newspaper or magazines for what look like significant discounts, but these usually only apply to the gate prices and bring them down to the same price you could get online without a coupon. If you subscribe to Goldstar deals, they sometimes have Gilroy Gardens discounts that save a couple dollars off the regular online price.

Gilroy Gardens water oasis play structure

Daily tickets are somewhat pricey but there are good membership options if you plan to come more than a couple times a year. We’ve had memberships here many times before and certainly will again. We usually opt for the Premium level to get the free parking, in-park discounts, and holiday admission, but the Value level is a more affordable way to get free regular-season admission if that’s all you need. Both levels of membership are actually tax-deductible because Gilroy Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

palm tree-lined walkway at Gilroy Gardens

Note: A Gilroy Gardens membership doesn’t transfer to anywhere else, but if you have a Great America Gold or Platinum-level season pass, that will get you free admission into Gilroy Gardens as well. (They’re operated by the same parent company, Cedar Fair.)

Length of Time

This will take you a few hours to a full day. We usually spend about half a day riding our few favorite rides, sitting and reading in the gardens, taking lots of pictures, and just enjoying the ambiance. If your kids want to do the water park parts and/or ride all the rides, allow most of the day.

waterfall at Gilroy Gardens

We sometimes go for a half-day or longer, or when we have a season pass (free admission + free parking), we sometimes go just for a little while. One of our favorite things to do is to sit in the shade in Claudia’s Garden near the waterfall area and just read a book for a while. It’s so peaceful!

Rainbow Garden round boat ride at Gilroy Gardens

Wheelchair Access

Their website has accessibility information and a Guest Assistance Guide PDF with more detail.

All parks operated by Cedar Fair use a Boarding Pass Program that gives you a paper pass to show the ride operators to let you go in the exit on most rides. To get this pass, go to the Welcome Center when you first enter the park. (Look at the map they give you at the entrance. After the ticket booths and security, go down the boardwalk, under the railroad track bridge, and past the restaurant and gift shop. The Welcome Center is directly in front of you.) Tell the Welcome Center folks you need a boarding pass. To help you choose which rides are safe, they’ll ask you about your ability to transfer and how much trunk/core stability you have. They’ll also ask how many people are in your party. Then they’ll give you the paper Boarding Pass with your name and today’s date and the list of rides. They’ll tell you about entering through the exit on most rides to avoid stairs and switchbacks while waiting in line. Simply show this pass to the ride operators at the exit to board.

Gilroy Gardens boarding pass for special needs

Most of the rides are accessible if you can transfer out of your wheelchair and take a few steps. The railroad can accommodate your chair in the last car without transferring, along with one companion. Almost all of the gardens and other attractions are accessible as well, although the water parks are obviously limited to ground-level access and depend on how wet your chair can safely get.

A few of the rides are usually accessed from an elevated platform, so you’ll need to ride a little elevator to reach the exit. These elevators aren’t especially elegant, but they work reliably and you get used to them quickly. They’re rather narrow but open on top. To use one, just open the door, roll in, let the door close solidly behind you, then use the up/down button to control the lift yourself.

Gilroy Gardens wheelchair elevator
Wheelchair elevator as seen from the outside at the bottom
Gilroy Gardens wheelchair elevator
Wheelchair elevator as seen from the top
Inside a Gilroy Gardens wheelchair elevator
Inside the elevator

 

Service animals are allowed in the park, of course, but cannot ride most rides with you. You’ll need someone in your party to stay with the service animal (park employees are not allowed to watch them for you) while you ride. You can use the Child Swap Policy to let that other person in your party ride immediately after you’re done without having to wait in line again.

Every bathroom has accessible stalls and sinks as well. If you’re on your own, sometimes the main door to get into the ladies’ room is difficult to open from a wheelchair, and going in through the exit and out the entrance works better. If you need a private restroom for companion assistance, there’s one at the First Aid station.

orange, yellow, purple daisies at Gilroy Gardens

You can rent a wheelchair or electric scooter for the day on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $15 for a wheelchair or $55 for an electric scooter. They also have $12 strollers and $18 double strollers to rent for younger guests.

red, pink, white flowers at Gilroy Gardens

Vision & Hearing

I think this park would be fun for guests with any level of hearing or vision impairment. Visually, there are many beautiful gardens, colors, and details to soak in. There are also printed signs with safety information for each ride. Auditorally, there is cheerful (but not overwhelming) background music and verbal instructions when boarding each ride.

inside the Monarch butterfly greenhouse at Gilroy Gardens

If you arrange it at least a week in advance, they offer American Sign Language interpreters. The Welcome Center also has guides printed in Braille and large print upon request.

Sensory Processing

For a park this size, the sensory factor is amazingly reasonable. Yes, there’s background music in some places, but it’s simple and upbeat and not too loud. Some of the rides make a high-pitched whine as they get moving, but it doesn’t last long. This is one of the few places that I don’t need my earplugs. Visually, the colors come mostly from the flowers in the gardens or from the rides, most of which are designed to look like fruits and vegetables. There were mild food smells inside the restaurants but nothing overpowering inside or out.

landscaping at Gilroy Gardens

Food

Officially you’re not supposed to bring food into the parks, but there are two exceptions:

  1. Food for infants & toddlers
  2. Special diets due to food allergies, religious restrictions, or personal choice

Anyone can bring a picnic lunch if you eat it at the picnic tables near the entrance. For all outside food, they request that you eat it in the picnic area near the front entrance, but in our experience this is not strictly enforced. Just be respectful about it.

pink tropical flower at Gilroy Gardens

They do sell gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan food options in some of the restaurants in the park. In our experience, these are hit-or-miss, especially for the vegan options. Almost everywhere sells the fruit salad and the side salad, but if you want something vegan with protein, you’re more limited. This season it’s essentially only the tofu veggie option at The Wok, which was closed the day we visited. (There were also hummus and pretzel cups at the coffee shop near the front.) To be safe, I recommend bringing a vegan protein bar at least.

Would we go back?

Of course! We even plan to renew our season passes in the future. Even when we go for only a couple hours, it always feels like we really went somewhere special — a mini getaway — and we always come home refreshed. If you’re looking for a special spot to visit, Gilroy Gardens will make you smile!

waterfall at Gilroy Gardens

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New all-inclusive playground coming!

In the last several years, we’ve seen a wave of all-inclusive playgrounds springing up in the Bay Area. I love it! The next one is planned for John D. Morgan Park in Campbell.  Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager’s latest newsletter announced the project:

The County’s commitment to increasing the health and wellness of our residents is stronger than ever, including providing them with opportunities to go outdoors and get active. For instance, we recently opened new trails in our parks. We also installed an outdoor par course on the Civic Center campus in San Jose. Unfortunately, many of our residents, especially our kids with physical limitations or special needs, are not able to enjoy these offerings. That’s why I’m so excited to announce that an all-inclusive playground is coming to Campbell’s John D. Morgan Park.

On August 14, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved my proposal to provide funding for the approximately one-acre playground. It will provide play areas for residents of all abilities, including those with mobility challenges, autism spectrum disorders, sensory challenges, visual and auditory impairments, cognitive disabilities, developmental disabilities, and medically fragile conditions.

The County is contributing $1 million to the project which the City of Campbell will match. Design work is scheduled to begin this fall, and public workshops will be held so local residents can provide their input. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2020 with the playground’s opening anticipated in 2021.

I deeply appreciate all the work that will go into this project for the children in our community. I’m also really grateful that this trend is considering children with so many different abilities. In an era where politicians seem to be out of touch with real life so much of the time, seeing leaders take the time to pursue projects like this really makes me smile!

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San Jose Museum of Art

The San Jose Museum of Art is perhaps my favorite art museum anywhere. It’s just the right size and has an ever-changing variety of exhibits. Of all the art museums I’ve visited, this is my favorite for the peacefully excited creative vibe it gives me. I just like how I feel inside myself when I’m there and when I walk away.

San Jose Museum of Art front entrance

In a Nutshell

The museum has two main gallery floors plus a mini gallery downstairs. There’s also the obligatory cafe and gift shop on the ground floor, of course.

True, it’s not the biggest, nor is it filled with classic paintings by the Old Masters. It does have a wide variety, though, and doesn’t have the stuffy, boring, or elitist vibe many art museums carry. To me, it’s the “Goldilocks size” for a museum — big enough to be interesting, but not so big as to be overwhelming. I walk out excited to sketch or paint something of my own.

first gallery at San Jose Museum of Art

The works tend to be contemporary-ish, in that they’re usually from the early 1900s until today. I’ve never seen a Renaissance or Van Gogh exhibit there, for example. That said, they’re not just what you’d think of as “modern art” (the highly abstract random-looking art that many people find unappealing). They tend to include a variety of photography, painting, sketching, sculpture, and installation art in many different styles. They often create a collection or exhibit on a particular topic, such as social justice or people’s varying concepts of “home” or American landscapes from the mid-20th century. They also include background information on many of the pieces to help guests understand the context of the work. I find it quite interesting and inspiring. It’s different every time I go.

upstairs gallery at San Jose Museum of Art

The museum allows photography and very few of the works are under glass. As long as you don’t touch, you can get very close to the work to see the details and feel more connected to it. The galleries are wide open and airy with just the right balance of having enough to look while also having plenty of breathing room between each exhibit.

There are friendly volunteer docents available if you need them, but I never feel pressured or watched. It’s very much an enjoy-at-your-own-pace kind of place. It’s also laid out in a very nonlinear way (think more Macy’s, less IKEA) with no scripted path, so you’re free to flow with your interests.

The museum has clipboards with paper available if you’re feeling inspired to sketch while you’re there. They also have Art Pack tote bags with games and art supplies to borrow. These are designed to help children feel more connected to the art, but they’re freely available to anyone.

kids' activity bags at San Jose Museum of Art

The museum is open to all ages, of course, but I’d say elementary school on up would be ideal. Most preschoolers and younger children will struggle with the look-don’t-touch aspect of the museum. If you do bring younger children, I’d suggest borrowing an Art Pack or bringing crayons and a drawing pad they can use in their lap in the stroller. This will give them something they can touch and do (in a room full of “no”) that connects to what they’re seeing.

Location

The museum is in downtown San Jose at the corner of S. Market Street and E. San Fernando Street. (It’s at one end of Plaza de Cesar Chavez, where Christmas in the Park happens every year.) The address is 110 South Market Street.

Google map of downtown San Jose

It’s very close to The Tech Museum of Innovation, St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica, and loads of different restaurants. It’s a comfortable walking distance (under half a mile) from San Jose State University, the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.

I always recommend taking public transit downtown if you can, just to save on parking costs and traffic stress. At least fifteen different VTA transit routes (including the free DASH Shuttle) run close to the museum, or if you’re coming from farther away, it’s about a 20-minute walk from the CalTrain station to the museum.

If you do drive, their website has driving directions from all parts of the Bay Area. There are several nearby parking lots or, if you’re very lucky and good at parallel parking, some on-street parking. There is one accessible (blue curb) parking spot on Market Street if it’s available and if you have a placard or DP plates. Otherwise, ParkSJ.org lists the Second and San Carlos Garage or the Third and Santa Clara Garage as the best options.

Weather

This is an indoor museum, so you’ll enjoy it any time of year. Their strong air conditioning makes it an especially wonderful choice during a heat wave! (That air conditioning also means you should actually bring a light sweater even if it’s warm outside.)

gallery inside San Jose Museum of Art

Cost

When I visited (2018), the tickets were $10 for adults and less for children, students, and seniors. Children under 6 are free. See their website for current pricing. There are also annual membership options at multiple levels and prices.

If you’re a San Jose Public Library cardholder, you can use their Discover’n’Go pass program to get free one-day admission for a family of 4. There are many different special offers and discounts listed on the museum’s website, so it’s worth checking to see if any of those apply to you.

Length of Time

This museum usually takes us about two hours. If you’re the read-every-single-plaque type, it will be longer, but I find two hours is usually enough to meander through the galleries at a comfortably calm pace.

There are public tours available for free at 1:00 and 2:30 every day except Mondays. (The museum is closed on Mondays.)

Wheelchair Access

I have to give this museum kudos for their fantastic accessibility on many fronts.

The whole front of the building appears to be stairs, but there is a sign directing you to the wheelchair ramp at one end. It leads directly to the front door.

ramp into San Jose Museum of Art

The entire museum is wheelchair-friendly. You can roll right up to the artwork, it’s hung at a variety of heights, and there’s a lot of room to move around each exhibit. The floors are all hardwood (or something that looks like it) so it’s easy to maneuver. There’s an elevator connecting all three floors.

There are benches scattered throughout the museum. If you need to borrow a wheelchair, seat cane, or stroller, just ask at the information desk. They even have “gallery stools” to borrow, which are lightweight little seats that look like wooden step stools but have a small hole in the middle so they’re easy to carry around with you.

The restroom is a little small but does have an accessible stall.

Vision & Hearing

For guests with limited but functional vision, the museum has magnifying glasses (which they call “visual aid tools”) to borrow from the information desk. They also have a binder with all of the exhibits’ information plaques in large print if you have trouble reading the smaller print on the wall plaques.

large print exhibition guide at San Jose Museum of Art

Of course as an art museum, nearly everything is “look, don’t touch,” so someone who’s totally blind would miss out on most of it. There are a few galleries which include videos or mini documentaries related to the exhibit subject, so they could listen to these, but that would be about it.

Some of those videos are closed-captioned to be accessible to guests with hearing impairments. You can also request ahead of time to have a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter for the public tour or a special lecture event at the museum. Outside of that, the experience is almost entirely visual, so a visitor who’s deaf would be able to fully enjoy the museum.

Sensory Processing

The sensory level is another way in which this museum hits the “Goldilocks” spot for me. It’s naturally quiet enough that I didn’t need my ear plugs (for once!) and wasn’t distracted by ambient noise, but it also doesn’t have that stuffy dead-quiet formal atmosphere of some art museums. People talk quietly to each other. The documentaries/videos are faintly audible in some areas, but the designers did a good job of containing them in a nearly closed-off area so the sound isn’t too distracting outside of the theater space. It’s comfortable.

movie room at San Jose Museum of Art

The lighting is also comfortable. There’s a lot of natural light in the central area. The gallery lighting is high enough to be effective and cheerful but not glaringly bright, even with the white walls and wood floors. Again, my kudos to the people in charge. It’s well done.

My only sensory note is if you’re sensitive to smells, beware: The soap in the bathrooms is heavily fragranced. Next time, I’ll just wash with water and take my chances with the germs…

Food

There’s no food or drink allowed in the galleries (as usual with museums) but there is a cafe on the main floor. It has indoor and outdoor seating available, so you could bring your own food if you prefer. The cafe is also open to the public without a museum ticket. Depending on where you park, a purchase at the cafe may get you up to 40 minutes of validated parking.

They have moderate to high-end food by museum cafe standards, on par with the restaurants nearby in downtown San Jose. They offer snacks or whole meals. I saw gourmet sandwiches, salads, soups, bakery treats, and breakfast foods. There were also grab-and-go bottled beverages, chips, and fresh fruit. There were lots of vegetarian choices but limited vegan options (mainly the chips and fruit). The menu didn’t talk about food allergies, so call ahead at 408.277.0557 to ask what’s available if you or someone in your party has a specific need.

Would we go back?

Absolutely! This is my second visit to the San Jose Museum of Art in two years and will certainly not be my last. There’s something new to see every time. I love the creative energy, calm open space, and friendly people I always find there. If you’re looking for creative inspiration or just a new destination for your weekend, this museum is sure to make you smile!

San Jose Museum of Art display