Destination: Downtown, San Jose
Visit the San Jose Museum of Art, walk around Plaza de César Chávez, and explore the Peralta Adobe
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.
Fountain at Plaza de César Chávez by Cody Tolmasoff
Social Isolation — Day 40
Happy Earth Day!
Aside from being the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the one thing we should observe from our month sheltering in place is the reduction in pollution and our increased air and water quality we have achieved in such a short amount of time. There are a lot of activities we take for granted that cumulatively have a large impact on our environment.
Here are some questions we should consider as we begin to shape our post-covid world.
Do we really need to drive to the store today? Can we make fewer shopping trips?
Should we be looking to invest in an electric (or alternatively powered) vehicle?
Can we utilize public transportation more often?
Can we use our small individual influence to create a better environment?
Should we invest in more solar and wind energy alternatives?
How can we impact our world today to make a better tomorrow for our kids?
Destination: Downtown, San Jose
Visit The San Jose Museum of Art
Walk around Plaza de César Chávez
Explore The Peralta Adobe
Bonus: The Tech
Bonus: The Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Visit The San Jose Museum of Art
By JaGa — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3541508
Admittedly, most of the time I’ve been down here has been for a visit to the Tech Museum, and I’ve yet to visit this place. But I’m looking forward to a visit. They seem to have a great variety of art to enjoy and the Koret Learning Lab offering STEM hands-on activities for kids.
Walk around Plaza de César Chávez
By XAtsukex — Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9015219
This is a terrific park centered in downtown San Jose. When I’ve been visiting the tech, I’ll often take the kids out for a quick picnic here to get some fresh air to eat some sandwiches I’ve packed. During the holiday season, there is a great walkthrough event here with great Christmas dioramas. There is also a terrific fountain here with water squirting out of the ground.
Explore The Peralta Adobe
By David Sawyer from Rancho Murieta, California, United States — This file has been extracted from another file: Luis María Peralta Adobe (4790931768).jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68126810
I’ve had this on my to-visit list for a while. The Peralta Adobe was built in 1797 by Manuel Gonzelez (the second Mayor of San Jose), later bought by Luís María Peralta (Commissioner of San Jose), both were part of the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition which set up the Presidio in San Francisco and Mission Dolores.
Later the Victorian mansion Fallon House was built in the 1850s next door. Thomas Fallon was a frontiersman with the John C. Fremont expedition, and Carmel Fallon was the daughter of one of the most prominent Mexican landowners in California at the time.
Bonus: The Tech
The Tech by Cody Tolmasoff
What a great hands-on museum, fun for the whole family. Aside from the IMAX theater, they have tons of tech-driven exhibits that everyone will find entertaining and educational.
Bonus: The Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Fire Truck at the Children’s Discovery Museum by Cody Tolmasoff
When my kids were younger, this spot was always a day-long treat for them. I’m sure we would still have some fun today. There is so much hands-on goodness here, you can easily lose a day playing here. From actual retired fire trucks and ambulances you can climb aboard, to the waterworks, workshops, and a wooly mammoth skeleton found nearby at Guadalupe Creek, this place has something for everyone.
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 25 April 2020