The East Bay Regional Parks District is beautiful system of 73 parks in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. The parks are collectively comprised of over 125,000 acres, 1,250 miles of trails, and 55 miles of shoreline. One of the first things we did when we got to California is look for new places to hike. It is our favorite thing to do as a family and we have been completely in awe of the beautiful, well-thought-out recreational space
2021 was the first year that The Hable Way has lived in California! Inside of that first year, we checked off a lot of exciting boxes on our bucket list of adventures. We decided to put together a quick, easy Bay Area roadmap for you to use if you are ever in the San Francisco area! Click the text links below the map image to learn more about each location. If you would like to follow us head over to Instagram and Facebook to get more Bay Area inspiration!
I have lived 34 years without ever visiting the Sunshine State! It seems like a destination that everyone has been to! Maybe it is the beautiful weather or the endless beaches. Somehow it has eluded me for so long until June 2019! Long before kids, Kyle and I had always talked about driving the whole way to Key West. After going to Prague in April of 2019, I got the travel itch. I couldn’t wait to book another flight. I didn’t even care where it
Oh Savannah, I have fallen in love. Beautiful historic buildings, old-growth trees draped in Spanish Moss, and the quintessential southern charm is everywhere you look! We made plans with friends to meet in Savannah for a long weekend. They would be flying as they are a bit further away, and we were driving. Kyle’s dad lives in SC so it was a nice way to break up the drive before continuing to GA the next day. We were due to arrive in Savannah on Friday
For a long time, I had been dreaming of a way to revisit the Hawaiian Islands and take my kids for their first visit! I knew they were going to love it as much as I do. So we planned a trip to celebrate our 15-year anniversary that was on August 4, 2021! We picked Kauai simply because Kyle and I had never been there before. In 2007, we had our wedding ceremony (on our 1-year anniversary) on the North Shore of Oahu and we went spent
Some of the coolest (and most random) places we have ever been are due to Kyle’s work… Prague, Amsterdam, Nashville! So we had another work trip on our hands… to Indianapolis! This time it was a road trip! We spend a lot of time in the car together. Most of the time, Kyle is driving and I am trying to keep the boys entertained (or maybe it’s me who needs the entertainment). When he mentioned that he may need to go to Indy, I was
Different types of immersive art installations and experiences have been around for decades but have recently regained a lot of traction! These modern movements have helped transform and rejuvenate the importance of art in our communities. They can be temporary or permanent exhibits and are constructed in all types of environments! My first experience with immersive art on such a large scale was in Santa Fe, New Mexico at Meow Wolf. Though this industry, like many, had a difficult year, they are a resilient bunch
An adventure was brewing! Kyle and I got this crazy idea to drive to New Mexico this year instead of fly. We made plans with my sister to go to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque! Put it on your list right now, this is a must-see! Truth be told, I am still not great at flying, so this was an easy decision for me….or was it? Should we really drive across the country with a 5-year-old and 1-year-old? Before this trip, our youngest son Brooks
Every year for my birthday in August, we take a quick weekend trip to a destination that is a reasonable distance from home. This year we visited Charleston, South Carolina. Kyle had to work there earlier in the year and went on and on about how he wanted to take us to visit. Conveniently, Kyle’s dad lives in Greenville, SC and his birthday is two days before mine! We thought it would be the perfect time to visit him and take our trip to Charleston.
Every once in a while, we will get in the car and go searching for a new place to discover. This past weekend we happened upon Somerset, Virginia. We found out that Liberty Farms was hosting their 1st Annual Sunflower Festival! This picturesque farm had 5 acres of 30 varieties of sunflowers with the Blue Ridge Mountains for its backdrop. We got to the farm early, just after opening for the day! We checked in with the ticket table and learned all about what we
As the seasons change, we are often reminded how lucky we are to live in a place that has such beauty at our doorstep. Living near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is a gift that keeps on giving. The Swift Run Gap entrance of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park is less than 18 miles from our home. If the weather is nice, you can find us there nearly every weekend! Shenandoah is so vast that trying to figure out what will work
Botanical gardens are incredible works of living art. The dedication and 24/7 care required to keep these magnificent gardens running seamlessly is a masterpiece in itself. Thankfully, these botanical gardens happen to be all over the world. We are lucky enough to have an extraordinary garden right down the road in Richmond, Virginia. The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was on my radar since we moved to Charlottesville. I was thoroughly looking forward to visiting it one day but didn’t have a plan. Once again, social media
Exciting Update!! The Dino Walk is back for 2022!! The event will officially be held on September 24, 2022. This is a popular event that sells out quickly! Check out the details of our trip below and be sure to save the link to the website to learn when the event is opened for purchasing tickets (which historically has been a few months before the event)!! culpepermuseum.com/dino-walk/ For the quickest info, visit their facebook page here. Every July for the past 5 years, the Museum of
Have you ever been up close and personal with an elk?… had a buffalo put his big head right in your car window or feed a Zebra? Just south of Lexington in Natural Bridge, Virginia lies a unique 180-acre safari park nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. This 180-acre property is comprised of a drive-thru safari, walk-thru village, gift shop and cafe. The Virginia Safari Park is a fun, exciting way to see wild animals and safely interact with them. It is a day-trip you
Sometimes Plan, Sometimes Wing It! Ever since we bought our Tepui rooftop tent, we have been looking for destinations to take it to! Our first trip using our tent was to the 2017 International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, which was a tough act to follow. Read about that adventure here! On to #TheHableStaycation2018! In the summer of 2018, I had planned an epic adventure from our home in Virginia to Nova Scotia! I made grand plans to drive the whole way around the island, stopping at different
When traveling, we often seek out Children’s Museums in the towns that we are passing through. They are the perfect place for kids to shake off some energy, connect with others and learn new things! Richmond is a little over 1 hour in the car for us. Every so often, we drive down there to spend a few hours. We pick a spot for lunch, then visit a nearby attraction. On a recent trip, we took the opportunity to discover the Children’s Museum of Richmond
My favorite Christmas tradition includes a cool, crisp evening with hot cocoa in hand, wandering through millions of Christmas lights with my family. Having moved so often over the past few years, the venue has changed. Regardless, I have always been able to find an incredible display of lights for us to enjoy! Thankfully, for this year, I found the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. Our first experience there was late in the Summer. They showcased the Nature Connects®: Art with LEGO® Bricks
What wine goes with Captain Crunch? George Carlin Kidding, kidding…but seriously, if you like wine, you don’t stop going to wineries when you have kids. There are plenty of family-friendly wineries in the Charlottesville area, and it is my duty to test out each one of them! I will be sure to update this list as we visit more local vineyards. Please be responsible and designate a driver to keep everyone safe! Kid-Friendly Kid-Friendly wineries welcome children into their facilities & tend to have a
With only 24 hours in D.C., we packed as much stuff in as we possibly could. Our Nation’s Capital is about a 2-hour car ride from Charlottesville, Virginia! There are so many different areas in Washington DC that we will eventually discover but for this quick trip, we stayed in the Woodley Park Neighborhood. Our hotel of choice was the Washington Marriott Wardman Park, which is conveniently located near the Smithsonian Zoo and the Embassy of the Czech Republic. We planned our whole weekend around attending the
With just a few weeks notice, I did it. I booked our plane tickets to Prague and actually lost sleep over it. It was the farthest we have ever traveled from home and the most expensive plane tickets we’ve ever purchased. I had SO many excuses and so many reasons to say no but I am SO thankful that we went! We have been on work trips with Kyle before and I’m never quite sure how much time we will get to spend with him. He typically