Category: Travel

Helix by Exploratorium is a children’s science center located on State Street in Los Altos, CA. In the Bay Area, larger science museums provide more of an all-day experience. In contrast, Helix is a place for local kids to spend an hour or two in an educational environment.

The center is a two-story facility with hands-on exhibits placed throughout the space. The retail space occupies much of the downstairs, and is a welcome space to find some thoughtful birthday gifts for children.

In the magnet exhibit, learners will learn and players will play. Even younger children can interact with the exhibits without having the master the finer points of magnetism. Just having fun is okay.

Adults can experiment with the spinning table and try to place the perfect object that it will remain spinning in place as the surface rotates.

The center is not large, but is probably just the right size for young elementary school children. Enough to keep their attention, but not too large that their patience will be tested.

I’ve driven past Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, CA many times. This afternoon, I finally set foot in the museum and was really impressed with the exhibits.

In the lobby, a replica of the Wright Brothers’ plane floats above your head.

In the cavernous exhibit hall, you can see an impressive collection of helicopters and airplanes, ranging from the historic to the experimental. The exhibits are well-curated with accompanying explanatory videos.

Plan on taking about two hours to visit the museum.

I climbed up to Mission Peak in the Mission Peak Regional Preserve, which is located at the end of a suburban street in Fremont, California. I arrived shortly before 8 a.m. on a weekend and the parking lot was full. In fact, the entire street leading to the preserve was full.

First off, this was not a hike. From my parking space two blocks away, I had a steady climb up to the entrance of the park. And, as I headed up to the peak, it was an unrelenting uphill march. Not a stretch of flat land where I could relax and catch my breath. I usually get my 10,000 steps in a day so I am not completely out of shape. But, walking up a steady incline is a different beast than walking on level ground, as all the still sore muscles continue to remind me. A bit hazy in the morning, but I did enjoy an aerial view of Fremont.

I couldn’t see Mission Peak until the last 20 minutes of the climb. The entire time, I was just focused on the next turn in the trail. Didn’t take long before the people further down the trail looked like little ants.

Eventually, you’ll make one more turn and Mission Peak will be right in front.

Then you wait in line to take a photo with the marker.

Next week, Normandy will celebrate the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I was in Normandy last December and signed up for a tour of Normandy with Christophe Gosselin of Normandy Heritage Tours.

My adventure started at the Paris Saint Lazare station. I am glad that I arrived early at the station because I needed every single minute to retrieve my tickets from the machine. With my print-out in hand, I walked up to the ticket machine and entered my information, only to be told that my tickets could not be located. That’s when I began my mad search for a staffed ticket office. I walked through the entire station and was redirected to the correct platform and another machine that displayed the same symptoms.

In addition to the confirmation code, the machine also asked for my name. The reservation listed First-Name Last-Name, so I tried that and it didn’t work. I reversed the order and tried Last-Name First-Name and that didn’t work either. As a last resort, I tried Last-Name only and that worked. The machine promptly printed my tickets and I was off to the platform. The machine should have simply asked for a family name or surname, and I would have be spared from all this angst.

Upon arriving in Bayeux, we walked to the Hotel Reine Mathilde. The hotel was centrally located within walking distance to the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, Bayeux Cathedral, and nearby shops and restaurants.

The next morning, we met up with Christophe in the hotel lobby. His van comfortably transported us on a private tour of Normandy. If you have time, you may consider a two-day tour. Normandy is such a large area that one-day may not feel enough. It all depends on your level of interest in World War II and historical events.

Our first stop was Sainte-Mère-Église, which Google Maps tells me is 55.9 km (39 min) away from Bayeux. On the exterior of the church, you can see a paratrooper with his parachute caught in the tower. Inside the church, we admired the stained glass windows which honored the paratroopers who helped liberate the city.

Next, we drove along the hedgerows and stopped briefly at the Batteries d’Azeville et de Crisbecq. Then, we proceeded to Utah Beach.

The Utah Beach D-Day Museum was closed during our visit. However, there are monuments and artifacts outside that you can see. Even if the museum was open, I’m not sure that we could have spent too much time there since our schedule was quite tight. From there, we drove to the church at Angoville Au Plain, where medics Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore treated soldiers from both sides of the war.

On D-Day, U.S. Army Rangers had scaled the cliffs to capture Pointe du Hoc. The site itself is quite impressive with massive craters still in place marking the allied bombardment of Pointe du Hoc.

Also, look at the bulk of this casement.

Our last destination was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. These men and women gave their lives so that we could be free.

The Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo is a great San Francisco Bay Area destination for children. Located in Palo Alto, the museum offers fun and education exhibits targeted towards its young visitors.

The exhibits at the museum do change. The current one is focused on bugs, which showcases various insects.

Outside, you can see the various live animals in their collection. The large pond is home to Roxy, an embden goose, as well as assorted ducks, turtles and rabbits.

The bobcats appear more cute than menacing.

If you are lucky, you’ll see Sequoia the bald eagle or Boeing the red-tailed hawk. They were with their trainers on the day I visited. Not sure where these majestic birds hang out regularly.