Visit San Jose's History Park, Stroll Around The Japanese Friendship Garden, And Catch A Baseball Game With The San Jose Giants
Spend the day stepping back in time, touring historic buildings and riding the little yellow streetcar.
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
Yellow Fresno Trolly at the San Jose History Park by Cody Tolmasoff
Social Isolation — Day 13
They scheduled today to be opening day for Major League Baseball.
For years, I’ve wanted to take my girls to see the Giants play. I thought it might be fun to warm up with the minor league San Jose Giants play first. Honestly, it’s been on my to-see list forever, and today was a big reminder.
The area around the San Jose Giants stadium is interesting. You may be familiar with Happy Hollow, well right around the corner is a few other cool spots that often get overlooked. The San Jose Giants are across the street. The Japanese Friendship Garden is around the corner, and a little further is History San Jose in Kelley Park. Any one of these locations would be a great spot to spend the day.
In the news today, the US surpassed China with confirmed Coronavirus cases. With the lack of available tests (still) and slow test results, these numbers for everyone are likely much higher. Still, in the Bay Area, we seem to be flattening the curve. It’s funny though, the more we flatten the curve, the less this feels like a real thing we are all avoiding by hiding in our houses. I know it’s real though, but I could see others being less diligent in their good habits soon enough.
The $2 Trillion US aid package to help individuals seems to have cleared the House and Senate, which is good news. New York seems to be getting overwhelmed, and experts are warning of more of that happening. My guess will be Florida next as a lot of New Yorkers headed out-of-town once things got bad.
Onto my daydreams of places where I want to take my kids once this all is behind us.
Destination: San Jose
History San Jose at Kelley Park
Japanese Friendship Garden
San Jose Giants
History San Jose
I hadn’t expected much the first time I visited this place, but it’s pretty cool. Be sure to check the calendar before you go.
I could spend the whole day in the Trolley Barn. A collection of trains and trolleys in different states of restoration. They have a beautiful yellow streetcar that operates often, and even some horse-drawn vehicles they operate occasionally.
The park is full of historic buildings, a replica light tower, a wonderful print shop, a candy store, bandstands, historic associations, and so much more. All the buildings have been moved here from other parts of San Jose.
Japanese Friendship Garden
In 2017, the garden was heavily damaged by flooding in Coyote creek. Repairs are taking place, but there is still much work to do.
Driving into the parking area, this place doesn't feel too big. But walking in, your perception changes immediately. The garden offers many trails, koi ponds, a teahouse, and many wonderful spots to sit and reflect on the beauty all around.
San Jose Giants
I’ve not actually been here, but it’s been on my to-visit list for a while. Games are affordable, the stadium keeps you close to the action, food is reasonably priced, and the weather is typically better than in San Francisco. They have cool events too like fireworks for the 4th of July.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 26 March 2020