Kid’s Turn: My Favorite California Experiences

I’ve written a lot about our spring break trip to California including stops in Sonoma, San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Cambria and Paso Robles. Today’s post is written by Hannah, age 11, where she talks about her very favorite experiences on our trip.

I loved every aspect of our recent trip to California trip, but these are a few of my favorite experiences.

The first place we went to was Sonoma wine country. My favorite thing there was going to the Larson Family winery. We were just getting off the airplane, so I was glad that there was plenty of space to run around. There were also three dogs, all of which were labs, and one of the winery’s cabernets was called “Three Lab Cab.”
Running around at Larsen Winery
The second city we went to was San Francisco. The best thing there was, to me, the Golden Gate Vista Point. My dad wasn’t such a fan of it, seeing that he’s afraid of heights, but I loved it. You got a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay.
Enjoying the view at Vista Point
In San Francisco I also loved the California Academy of Sciences and Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The California Academy of Sciences was full of exhibits and fun things, and my favorite part was the rainforest. It was like walking through a jungle, except you could access all stories, and see animals, plants, bugs, and fish from many parts of the world. The tea garden was very quiet in contrast to the noisy rainforest. There were small pools with koi, tranquil bridges and pagodas, stunning trees, and flowers in full bloom. It was so serene, I almost forgot where we were!
Soaking in the peaceful setting in the Japanese Gardens
Another highlight of our trip was the Monterey Aquarium. You could see fish, otters, turtles, sharks, penguins, and more. I loved watching the jellyfish propel themselves through their tanks.
Watching the jellies at the Monterey Aquarium
Carmel is a very charming town in central California with an amazing beach. One morning, we went walking on it and a dog came up to us, obviously wanting to play. So we threw his ball into the waves, and he ran into the water to fetch it, then brought it back to us. So cute. I really liked exploring the town but my favorite was our morning on the beach.
Playing with the dogs on the beach in Carmel
Finally, we went to the Paso Robles Valley and went to the Shale Oak winery for a wine and cookie tasting (I was the designated cookie taster!) And boy, were those cookies good! My personal favorites were the raspberry and rose hip, and orange and poppyseed cookies. Yum!
Cookie tasting at Shale Oak