Fun Northern California kid-friendly day-trip ideas...

August 22, 2008 7:37 AM

Help me plan a short father-daughter outing!

Summer is just about over for my 7 year old daughter. She has two days next week with no summer camp and then it's back to school (2nd grade!) I'd love to take a very short but memorable Father-Daughter day trip. We live in the East Bay and I'm thinking of something we can do by hopping in the car for a 1-4 hour drive. Maybe overnight, but that's not necessary.

posted by Echidna882003 to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

My parents used to take my brother and I on overnight trips to Santa Cruz beach for a lot of summers, and we loved it.
posted by gt2 at 7:59 AM on August 22, 2008

I would say for a memeorable day do the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not only is it awesome but to make it memorable you can do the behind the scenes tours. If you are willing to fake that your daughter is 8 for the day you can also try the sailng adventure with aquarium guide. It is more expensive but looks cool too. I know in second grade I woudl talk about my "exclusive" trip behind the scenes at the aquarium.
posted by elationfoundation at 9:38 AM on August 22, 2008

Camp (and drive!) on the beach at Pismo.

Mt. Diablo

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Port Chicago

Exploratorium (!)
posted by rhizome at 10:25 AM on August 22, 2008

As a child age 7-10, I love both camping at Mt. Diablo and going to the beach in Santa Cruz. Also Monterey Bay Aquarium, but I imagine that she'll take half-a-dozen field trips there through school, unless East Bay schools are way different than Silicon Valley ones.
posted by muddgirl at 11:27 AM on August 22, 2008

That should be "... I loved both camping..."

I did not mean to give the impression that I am now a child age 7-10.
posted by muddgirl at 11:37 AM on August 22, 2008

Thanks everyone! Great suggestions!
Has anyone ever gone to Black Chasm Cavern?
posted by Echidna882003 at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2008

It depends what she's into.

Things I've done/plan to do with my daughter:
California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. You could even take the train to get there!
Take the ferry (car + boat = win!) to Marin and go to Mt. Tam or the Marin Headlands.
Whale watching or a short coastal cruise.
Monterrey Bay Aquarium.
There's plenty of horse riding to be done in the far East Bay, around the foot of Mt. Diablo.
Heading south there's Hearst Castle. Afterewards you can stay at the Madonna Inn.
posted by lekvar at 12:28 PM on August 22, 2008

Skunk Train! Or Roaring Camp if you take the Santa Cruz suggestions.
Can you tell I like trains?
posted by harmfulray at 4:46 PM on August 22, 2008

I have banged this drum before but one of the cooler things I have done with my kids is burying a time capsule in some obscure area of where we were going. We would get a big PVC type pipe, fill it with memorable items of some sort and pick a date to return to retrieve it. The whole experience is a lot of fun because the both of you really get to participate and the the kid usually finds it quite exciting... and then there is the promise of a getting to do it all over again in reverse.
posted by bkeene12 at 8:30 PM on August 22, 2008