Homeschool Fieldtrip San Francisco Zoo & Gardens #SFZoo #California #Homeschool

 *Hosted guests of the San Francisco Zoo

I LOVE the San Francisco Zoo. It is a beautiful place with amazing animals. The landscape, buildings, park playground and the food make this place more than a home for the animals, its a destination if you are visiting the Bay Area. 

We are a homeschool family (long before the pandemic) and I try to find ways to make what my son learns in books also an experience in life. This is why I love Zoos and what they do to educated children about animal conservation. I feel like kids seeing these wonderous animals in person will help them further understand why we must conserve the land of these creatures. 

My son LOVES and I mean LOVES Giraffes!! Anytime we can make a visit to a Zoo they are the first animal we check out. We enjoyed a close up visit with an adorable giraffe that made my son so happy. We also learned why they have dark colored tongues, its like sunscreen to not get a sun burn. We were standing in our group circle for this close encounter so he was all ours for a few moments. The Zoo created spots for families to stand in (they are painted on the ground) so people can keep a safe distance.

Educational opportunities are all over the park on signs and posters.

The Eastern Lowland Gorillas are one of my favorite animals to visit at the SF Zoo. I could sit there for hours watching them interact with each other. The silver back is magnificent to see in person and the antics of the other gorillas is adorable! We watched them toss blankets at one another and take turns sitting in a cozy bucket.

As a Californian, bears have a special place in my list of favorite animals. The California Grizzly Bear is our state animal and also on our state flag. The strength and size of the bears leave me in awe to see one close up. Watching one casually play in a mini lake was amazing to see.

We also saw a Mexican Gray Wolf, American Black Bear, Scarlet Ibis, Rhino, Zebra and so many other magnificent animals. We did not see the whole Zoo this trip since this place is HUGE but it is also a great reason to go back and see more of the animals.

THE FOOD. I did not expect the food to be so delicious or have so many options. Our chef was so nice and prepared our food right there fresh. My husband and I ordered the 100% Grass Fed burgers and our son ordered a meatball sub with of course mac n cheese on the side. They maintained safety by having us wear our masks indoors and eat outside on the wooden picnic tables. The Zoo is so beautiful that I prefer to eat outside, you will even get to see all the peacocks walking around as you enjoy your meal.

Back in 2013 my son was the first kid to play on the San Francisco Zoo Elinor Friend Playground. We visited the playground as guests and WOW was it cool! We of course had to take the time to play after we ate. 

Slide 2021 (he doesn't need my help up there anymore!)

Slide 2013 (he is so little and this must have seemed huge to him)

The playground is awesome. It has many places for parents to sit, a squishy ground to help in falls and bumps, different themes for each playground area and hand sanitizer stations too. My son played on the swings, went down the slides and we enjoyed the beautiful cool day outside.

We have a tradition to our Zoo trips that we always leave with a stuffed animal. We visited the gift shop and found a giraffe stuffed animal that we did not already own (this is tough to come by when your kid has dozens of them lol).

Welcome to our herd, Mort the newest stuffie to join our crew.

We always enjoy our visits to the SF Zoo. It is an experience in learning about animals, plants and conservation. All mixed in with a fun playground and even a train ride. We definitely rode the train ride, it is a lovely way to see part of the park and a rest for your legs. Our favorite, the carousel was not running that day but hopefully it will be next time.

Meeting Stan Lee in San Francisco #StanLee

When we had the chance last Fall to meet Stan Lee in person at a charity event at a San Francisco CA  I took off of work and we drove there just in time to get in the growing line of people waiting outside. My heart panicked a bit when a guy with a clip board was checking if people in line had prepaid for the event! Thankfully they still had a few spots left to meet him for that day purchases. My son was dressed in his Spider-man costume and we grabbed one of our classic Spider-man comic books from our collection to have signed. This was a first time meeting with Stan Lee for our family, we were elated to meet the comic legend!! My son has started writing his own comic books but would not let me post them here in case he's famous one day as he says, he did offer to sell me one though!

Amazing Fantasy Comic store held the event at their tiny store in San Francisco. It created an intimate atmosphere as each person took turns going inside the store to take a photo and get an autograph. The buzz outside the store was awesome as people passing by tried to get a peek at Stan Lee and the people who just met him were comparing and showing off the items they brought for him to sign. We all shared stories of Stan Lee, the Marvel Universe, comics in general and all the nerdy geekness of being a fan, it was epic!

Being in San Francisco is always a day trip for us and we made the most of it by visiting the beach where I may have possibly let my son swim in the ocean while wearing his Spider-man costume. My son told me Spider-man defends New York and he could defend California!!

No trip to S.F. is complete without a clam chowder in a bread bowl for dinner. We stopped by Boudin bakery for ours and had to go say "hi" to the seals on Pier 39. It was a perfect day meeting a legend with the people I love!!

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Fall Season Fun #discoverykingdom

* We received complimentary tickets to attend for our visit. All opinions expressed are my own.

To celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this Fall my husband and I decided to take our son to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to celebrate. What a better way to celebrate our family than a fun day at a theme park all together.

My husband and I have been going to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for about 19 years now. We have created countless lasting memories as a couple and as parents on our visits to the park. We have have taken many family members over the years as guest to share our love of the park with them. It has changed so much over the years and has become more and more exciting.

My family and I enjoy the animal exhibits the most at Discovery Kingdom. Being able to see wild animals up close and open the door to learning is to me a wonderful thing. The Shark Experience is my favorite animal encounter. Walking through the underwater tunnel with sharks, sting rays and fish swimming above you amazes me every time I see it. It leaves me in awe of the beauty of sea life. My son loves seeing the sharks up close. He will stand there for as long as we let him just watching the sharks float all around as the fish go darting by.

The Dolphin Show is a must see for us, we ran from one side of the park to the other to get to the last showing of Drench!. The theme of the dolphin show has changed over the years and it has been memorable to see the creative ideas they have. It is amazing to see the dolphins jump through the air and splash the crowd sitting close. I still have it on my list of must do things to swim with a dolphin. I am hoping next year I can accomplish that!

One of my favorite things we did for this visit was the Elephant Ride we all took together as a family. My son was so excited and I must admit I was a bit nervous. I nervously chatted with the elephant trainer for our walk, I did learn a lot but wish I would have relaxed and enjoyed it like my son and husband had. Our picture did not turn out nice enough to buy, none of us were looking in the right direction at the same time. It was a very cool moment to pet an elephant and experience a ride.

Our trip would not be complete without a trip to the Butterfly Habitat. This is another exhibit that no matter how many times I have seen it, its never the same and I always enjoy the experience. I love to sit at the bench near the waterfall and see all of the colorful butterflies all around us. It is like being in a fairyland garden.

I love going to the park in the Fall when the temperatures are cooler and the crowds not as big as the summer. I can get hot coffee to enjoy, my son can wear long sleeves and I even wore jeans. I really do enjoy the Fall at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom the most.

We had a wonderful time as a family enjoying the park and all it has to offer. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a great local getaway in Northern California to take the family to on a weekend. Right now they are having special deals for season passes for 2017 that include this year 2016 Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park.

They are open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October for Fright Fest. During the day the park is family friendly and the Halloween decor adds to the fall fun. But as I have said before the night time during Fright Fest is a bit spooky and little ones may get scared. We usually leave before the spooky stuff starts to happen when we have attended Fright Fest and still have a wonderful time.

In November they are open on weekends and the 25th starts Holiday in the Park. You can follow Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for park updates, ticket specials and fun events on Instagram and Facebook.

post by -Laura

Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco 2016 World Burger Tour Review #worldburgertour

*The information, gift card, gift pack and giveaway have been provided to me by Hard Rock International.

This year for Mother's Day we decided to drive to San Francisco to celebrate. I LOVE the city, the food, the people, the houses and the ocean. Each time we go to San Francisco we stop at Pier 39 to eat and shop. This time we decided to eat at Hard Rock Cafe San Francisco. The first thing my son loved was the giant guitar that stands outside the entrance of the restaurant, we had to take a classic tourist picture of course. The gift shop is the first thing you walk into as you go into the restaurant, they have so many great items and even a Bob Marley life like figure.

Once you are in the restaurant the place has so much to see. The priceless items that decorate the walls are amazing! The wait staff encourages everyone to walk around and look at the memorabilia and other patrons are very nice if you want a pic of something cool near their seating area. There was even a guy going around making animal balloons, of course we had to have him make my son one.

The menu has so many great burgers on it! I had a hard time deciding which one to select. My mother in law went with the Legendary Burger and I had the World Burger Tour Seattle Java Lava Burger to celebrate my own Mother who lives in Seattle area. The Java Lava is amazing! It has a very unique flavor from the espresso rub that I loved. It was a juicy burger with crispy onions, bacon and even a fried jalapeno.

The wait staff was amazing too! We were seated by the kitchen which for me is a treat. I like hearing the kitchen bustling, seeing and smelling all the great food passing by us as we wait for our own. Our server Matt was super kind, he fixed an issue we had right away, checked on us often, made recommendations and even giggled with us as my son ordered two things off the menu. My son could not decide on a meal so I let him get both, he picked a bit from each and we took the rest to go.

We had a wonderful experience of good food, great location and amazing staff. We stopped in the gift shop to get my son a Hard Rock Guitar plate like the one his meal was served on. He loves that plate and has me serve his lunch on it daily. I bought myself a Hard Rock coffee mug with pictures of San Francisco on it so I can be reminded of the great Mother's Day I had there.

With full bellies and smiles on our faces we left Pier 39 and headed to the beach to make sand castles and jump in the waves. I highly recommend eating at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco, its good food and a fun environment. I told a couple I met at my work who was visiting from Australia to check out the Hard Rock Cafe since they had plans to go to San Francisco the next day. Hopefully they will grab a World Tour Burger too!

The limited-time World Burger Tour menu is available Sunday, May 1 through Thursday, June 30, 2016. Hurry to a Hard Rock Cafe near you to try these legendary burgers! I made a reservation using the Open Table App, it was super easy and I recommend reservations in the upcoming summer months since it is a busy time for Pier 39.

Hard Rock Cafe 2016 World Burger Tour and Giveaway #worldburgertour

*The information, gift card, gift pack and giveaway have been provided to me by Hard Rock International.

San Francisco here we come!! Hard Rock Cafe has launched their 2016 World Burger Tour for Northern America. I am definitely a burger fan and after looking over the menu I am not sure which one I will select to eat when we visit for Mother's Day. I may order the Java Lava Burger since I do love Seattle or the Tango Salsa Burger since I have not eaten a burger with a fried egg on it before. I am thinking I will have everyone in our family select a different burger so we can taste a few of them. The menu has a time limit on it as how long the burgers will be available so be sure to visit before June 30, 2016.

Hard Rock World Burger Tour

·         Hard Rock Cafe locations in North America are celebrating the start of burger season with a menu showcasing international Local Legendary™ Burgers

·         The limited-time World Burger Tour menu is available Sunday, May 1 through Thursday, June 30, 2016

·         This year, Hard Rock is also offering a literal World Burger Tour, a travel package that takes the most adventurous burger enthusiasts on the road (and the skies) to sample offerings from the World Burger Tour menu at Hard Rock Cafe locations in London, Athens, Buenos Aires and Seattle!

Backstage Burger Pass

Hard Rock gives chefs at their cafes the freedom to create a unique Local Legendary Burger that captures the flavors of their city. This year more than 160 local burgers were evaluated by Hard Rock’s culinary team with fan favorites selected to headline the World Burger Tour menu. Throughout May and June, Hard Rock Cafe menus* will feature the following World Burger Tour offerings:

·         English Breakfast Burger (London, England) – a Certified Angus Beef® patty topped with sliced ham, a sausage patty, a fried egg, a portobello mushroom, arugula and garlic aioli and served with a side of baked beans

·         Java Lava Burger (Seattle, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty grilled and dressed in a house-made espresso rub and topped with lava sauce, crunchy java onions, bacon, melted Cheddar cheese and garnished with a fried jalapeño

·         Tandoori Chicken Burger (Mumbai, India) – a dark meat chicken patty seasoned with aromatic spices and fresh herbs, topped with mint mayonnaise and served with a side of cucumber

·         Jamaican Jerk Burger (Montego Bay, Jamaica) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with banana pepper rings, mango jalapeño cream cheese and jerk mayonnaise

·         ATOMIC! Burger (Las Vegas, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with Atomic beer-battered peppers, pepper jack cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, garlic chipotle ketchup and chipotle mayonnaise

·         Tango Salsa Burger (Buenos Aires, Argentina) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with andouille sausage, Monterey Jack cheese, chips de batata, a fried egg, salsa criolla and garlic aioli

·         Greek Burger (Athens, Greece) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with arugula, feta cheese and a tomato slice

·         Aloha Burger (Honolulu, United States) – a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with Portuguese sausage, Monterey Jack cheese, a grilled pineapple ring with sweet soy glaze, guacamole, pico de gallo, served with Furikake french fries 

Burger Tour for the Roadie

For those a little more hungry, Hard Rock will bring its menu to life and offer a unique burger experience that takes guests’ taste buds on an international journey. Hard Rock, in conjunction with global experience agency Infrared, is offering a World Burger Tour travel package that includes stops at iconic cities including London, England; Athens, Greece; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Seattle, United States. This four-stop, once-in-a-lifetime excursion celebrates the cities that inspired Hard Rock’s World Burger Tour. The World Burger Tour travel package is a private, 10-night trip that includes flights, first class hotel accommodations, ground transportation and exclusive dining and music experiences at Hard Rock Cafe locations in each city not typically available to the public

Have you eaten at a Hard Rock Cafe before? What is your favorite Burger there? I will be posting our review of the San Francisco Hard Rock Cafe location later in the month.


GIVEAWAY

Hard Rock Cafe Gift Pack will include a branded oven mitt pair, apron, and spatula.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 6, 2016 and ends on May 31, 2016 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. I was provided a gift card to visit my local Hard Rock Cafe. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con is Coming! Ticket Giveaway #conlife #wizardworld

I must admit I have never attended a Comic Con, YIKES! Sad I know but this year things are different. We have wanted to attend one for years and I feel like my son being 5 this is the perfect time to go. He loves super heroes, Nintendo, Disney and more. His Dad and I have been gamers and cartoon fans for years and love sharing those interest with our son. What can be more fun then attending an event where we can all dress up, meet cool celebrities and buy stuff for our collections. If you are new to attending Wizard World Comic Con shows like us you can watch this video to see more of what it is about.

The Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con will be at the Sacramento Convention Center June 19 thru 21st. Each day has different speakers and activities so be sure to check the schedule and get your tickets here to plan your experience at Sac Comic Con.

Here are a few of the celebrities I am looking forward to meeting, Patrick Warburton who plays Joe Swanson on Family Guy and was David Puddy on Seinfeld ( I want to ask him if he does the voice on the Skylanders Swap Force game because it sure does sound like him), Danny Trejo was in Spy Kids movies and Muppets Most Wanted says he loves to play the bad guy in movies so the youth can see bad guys never win, The Blue and Green Rangers from the TV show Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and WWE Superstars Dave Batista and Diva Eva Marie.

photo by: Wizard World

Being the HUGE Simpsons fans we are I am also looking forward to meeting animator Phil Ortiz, he also has worked on Smurfs and He-Man. I want my son to see the variety of artists that work to make his cool characters he knows and loves.

GIVEAWAY

To kick off the 36 Day countdown till Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con arrives I am hosting a giveaway for a 4 pack of tickets to attend Sunday June 21st. Sunday the event is from 11 am to 5 pm with the Kid's Costume Contest that day too. The tickets are for adults and kids over 10, children 10 and under get in FREE when accompanied by a paid adult (Limit 2 kids Per Paid Adult Admission)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Giveaway limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 14, 2015 and ends on June 15, 2015 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I will be provided tickets to event for this post.