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Broke Guy Day Care: Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco
The are certain words and phrases that immediately put me to sleep. "The Nutcracker Ballet" is one. "A new film starring Julia Roberts" is another. And, since I was a small child, "The Conservatory of Flowers" has worked like verbal Benadryl. Growing up, I considered this Golden Gate Park botanical garden a punishment for kids who weren't good enough to go to the Steinhart Aquarium.
No trains, no problem.
But then I got older, had kids of my own, started planting tulips in my front yard flowerbox, and began to appreciate destinations for their lack of visual overload. So when my colleague Jennifer Blot suggested that I take my sons to see the Garden Railway model train exhibit at the Conservatory, I was on board.
My glowing review is below. To summarize:
1. The Conservatory of Flowers rules.
2. My young boys liked it. Even the flower part.
I'm calling this a Broke Guy Day Care, because I haven't done one in almost two months, and our family of four was able to get in for $16 total. It would have cost closer to $10 if we lived in San Francisco. More thoughts on the Conservatory are below. Please stick around for the part about the model train display, which will continue to be featured at the botanical garden until mid-March.
-- The place really should be called the Conservatory of Leafy Vegetation. I can only remember seeing maybe 12 flowers total before I got to the railway. (I was keeping a close eye on my kids so I may have missed a few ...) Still, the real draw for me was the architecture, and the beauty of a structure which benefitted from a five-year restoration that ended in 2003. The humidity and natural greenhouse lighting makes the place feel both spacious and womblike. Even the grating and stonework on the ground was fabulous.
Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco' »| December 29 2010 at 07:16 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Do-It-Yourself "Star Wars" Lego sets
I feel a little bit of rage every time I set foot in the Lego aisle at Target. With Lego sets, there seem to be two tiers of pricing -- a regular price for the more generic sets, and then about a 35 percent markup for the licensed properties. In other words, a garbage truck that would cost about $20 runs closer to $30 if it includes "Toy Story 3" characters. Same with "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and even "Prince of Persia." (Everyone hated that movie. Shouldn't those sets be marked down?)
I figured this out at the beginning of my then 4-year-old son's Lego obsession, and encouraged him to get into the City Lego sets. He has received or saved for a police car and fire truck, a sea plane, a police helicopter -- and the most I ever paid was $49.99 for his prized possession: a fire boat that came from Santa.
As I mentioned last week, he recently moved on to all "Star Wars" all the time. Rather than bankrupt our family, we're letting him do extra chores around the house to earn a quarter or 50 cents here and there. He swears he's saving up for the Death Star, and with good financial planning, he might realize this dream by the time he's 65.
In the meantime, we've been using his existing Legos to build our own "Star Wars"-themed sets. They are admittedly a little bit janky. They're definitely not sticking to the canon. (His only Lego figures are four Clonetroopers I bought for him in the cheapest "Star Wars" Lego set, and a few strays he got from his babysitter's son.) But we have fun building them, my son has fun playing with them and I get a special thrill about sticking it to The Man. Just kidding, Mr. Lucas. My own "Star Wars" purchases have probably put your kids through college ...
Our three favorite makeshift "Star Wars" Lego sets that we've made together are below. Feel free to send me pictures of your own DIY Lego sets -- "Star Wars" or beyond -- at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com. ...
. Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Do-It-Yourself "Star Wars" Lego sets' »
| October 19 2010 at 07:22 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Model rockets at Moffett Field
I feel sort of spoiled growing up in Bay Area in the 1980s, raised by a generation of parents who weren't such a colossal bunch of wusses.
Chad Ziemendorf/Chronicle
America, f--- yeah!
I was thinking about that as I drove to Moffett Field last month, to write this story for the Chronicle about local model rocket hobbyists. When I was a kid, we fired Estes rockets at pretty much any park that was big enough to support a launch. It was just one more thing you threw in your tote bag (soccer ball, suntan lotion, Class G rocket engines ...). And you know what? No one launched from piles of dry kindling, or used the rockets to down low-flying planes or aimed the rockets at government buildings. The worst crime that was committed was littering. Occasionally a rocket would end up in a tree or a neighbor's backyard.
Fast forward to 2010, when a combination of post 9/11 paranoia, housing overdevelopment and a culture of overprotectiveness has grounded most rocketeers. Pretty much the only legal place in the Bay Area to launch model rockets is at Moffett Field, with the Livermore Unit of the National Asoociation of Rocketry, who have cut through all the red tape needed for a legal launch. The next LUNAR Moffett Field launch is this Saturday morning starting at 9 a.m.
This is one of those bad news/good news things. Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Model rockets at Moffett Field' »
| July 15 2010 at 09:45 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Adventures with Google Earth
Sunday was far too nice of a day to spend the afternoon on a computer or a PDA. But after basketball and a half day of yard work on Saturday, a trip to the park Sunday morning, plus a week filled with even more parenting afflictions than usual, I was ready to sit with my 5-year-old son on Sunday afternoon and do a whole lot of nothing.
The Dodgers must be in town - there's a fight in the bleachers.
Adding to our degree of difficulty: My 2-year-old was asleep in his crib and my wife was at book club, so we had to pick an activity on our property. And since this is Broke Guy Day Care, it had to be cheap/free.
No problem. We went the Academy of Sciences. And the Giants game. And the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. And the Louvre ...
I've been wanting to introduce my son to Google Earth. After cleaning a bunch of spider webs and one wasp nest out of our backyard play structure, I brought a couple of stadium seat cushions and my iPod Touch. We camped out underneath the second floor canopy of the structure and touched the Google Earth app. (As you're about to see, our play structure is nicer than our house.)
My initial inactivity-on-a-nice-day guilt was eased by the fact that the next hour was a pretty good geography lesson. Several highlights from our Google Earth tour are below. If you've done something similar with your kids, please let us know where you've visited. (I'm thinking this may turn into our next The Poop contest ...) Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Adventures with Google Earth' »
| April 19 2010 at 06:03 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Up close with airplanes edition
With two high energy boys, I feel relaxed in exactly two places: the shower and the car.
My sons are certifiably crazy in our living room or at a park. But miraculously, they both travel really well, spending even long car trips zoning out and looking out the window -- becoming animated only if the sun gets in my toddler son's eyes or I try to turn the station from a 1-800-Kars-4-Kids commercial. I often find myself taking "the long way" home, just to buy another 10 minutes of accident-free disaster-free peace and quiet.
petergreenberg.com
The fasten seatbelt sign is on ...
"The long way" to my wife's work in Alameda often brings us through Bay Farm Island on the Southern end of Alameda. While passing by the island's ferry building the other day, my 5-year-old noticed how close a Southwest airplane headed for Oakland International Airport came to the road we were driving on.
"Did it land in the water?" he asked.
"I don't think so," I said, remembering how much I used to love watching the SFO airplanes finishing their descent over Coyote Point in San Mateo. "But let's get as close as we can to where the airplanes land and find out."
And thus began my best time-killing journey of 2010, which is detailed below. If you and your kids like to watch airplanes take off and land at Oakland International, SFO, Norman Y. Mineta International or any other airports, give us your plane-watching tips in the comments.
Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Up close with airplanes edition' »| April 05 2010 at 06:04 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Deer Hollow Farm in Mountain View
Our latest Broke Guy Day Care excursion is a reader's choice: Deer Hollow Farm, the non-profit agricultural education center located in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in Mountain View. My five-word review: "Great farm, bring a sherpa." A few more thoughts below ...
We both wanted to ride this tractor.
Deer Hollow is the South Bay equivalent of the Tilden Park Little Farm in Berkeley, a favorite on The Poop that recently topped our all-time Broke Guy Day Care list. The two farms are very different experiences, worth checking out separately. I like the Tilden Park version a little better, but most of that has to do with my extremely unattractive laziness streak with regards to hiking. (Deer Hollow Farm requires a mile-plus walk, while Tilden Park Little Farm is about 100 yards from a huge parking lot.)
There are other differences. Tilden Park is more of a kid destination, with a science center nearby, along with a carousel and steam train down the road. Deer Hollow is an unpretentious farm, which rests as close to the middle of nowhere as you can possibly get in Mountain View, and sort of blends in with the scenery. There were kids there, but also lots of old people and joggers, who don't break stride as they run by the bleating sheep.
I took my two young boys yesterday afternoon. We didn't pack much -- I figure on trips like this that if something apocalyptic happens, we can just eat the animals -- going with a lightweight stroller and backpack while ditching the less awkward diaper bag. Digging out an old pair of hiking boots also turned out to be a good move. Still, I realized pretty quickly that I might be in over my head ... Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Deer Hollow Farm in Mountain View' »
| March 24 2010 at 06:04 AM
The Broke Guy Day Care 5: Best free outings for Bay Area kids
I've been working on a Chronicle story about free museums, galleries and other places for cheapskates to go in the Bay Area. It's sort of the adult version of our Broke Guy Day Care series, although about half of my picks are family friendly. Look for that in this weekend's Pink section.
Peter Hartlaub/Chronicle
Not only was the Tilden Park Little Farm free, but this cow graciously validated our parking.
Included is an excellent free gallery that's newly open to the public, which I'll write about in detail on The Poop some time next week. In the meantime, I thought that after nearly 40 Broke Guy Day Care entries in 3 1/2 years, I would pick my five favorite free or exceptionally cheap local things to do with kids.
Below are the Broke Guy Day Care 5: the best places to go with your kids in the Bay Area. I only chose actual destinations -- not things like bargain tracksuits at Costco and stuffed animal birthday parties. I also didn't include any parks or playgrounds, no matter how awesome. We'll have a separate "best playgrounds" post in the next couple of weeks.
The original post for each pick can be found by clicking on the title. Your choices in the comments.
5. The East Bay Vivarium: This Berkeley institution (www.eastbayvivarium.com) isn't just a business -- the owners and friendly staff seem to be on a mission to spread the gospel of reptiles as pets. It's a smart move: every kid they cheerfully allow to get up close now to their huge collection of snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs and tarantulas could become a customer later.
Read More 'The Broke Guy Day Care 5: Best free outings for Bay Area kids ' »| March 01 2010 at 06:36 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: The $15.99 Adidas tracksuit is back!
I'm starting to become that creepy parent at the park. Except instead of hitting on the moms or playing too enthusiastically with random kids, I have one annoying habit: Walking up to parents of children wearing this and saying the words "$15.99 Costco tracksuit?"
"Send us your worst tracksuit photo" winner, Year 2042.
Since I wrote about the garment a few months ago, I've been seeing a lot of kids wearing them -- distinguishable from non-Costco tracksuits by the unique Adidas logo stitching pattern on the back. The last mother who I confronted said the word "Ummmm, no," and quickly walked away. But I know she's a freaking liar, or at least a horrible bargain hunter. Because after not being on the shelves for a few months, THE TRACKSUITS ARE BACK!
I learned this about two weeks ago when my mother-in-law walked in with two dark blue Adidas tracksuits -- size 5T and 2T -- for my sons, which will probably fit them both in the summer or early fall. (They run a little big.) Since then, I have received at least three e-mails, and one blog post comment, from loyal readers letting me know that they're back.
And thankfully, they're the same price. Because the query "$16.59 Costco tracksuit?" just doesn't have the same ring to it ...
Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: The $15.99 Adidas tracksuit is back!' »| February 04 2010 at 07:02 AM
Broke Guy Day Care: Christmas shopping at the Target One Spot
My parents, sister and I have made verbal pacts over the last couple of years, pledging not to get gifts for each other and instead focus on the kids. The one loophole in this accord is for photos. We're allowed to wrap up framed pictures of our children, or put together a photo-themed calendar.
Thank you, Target One Stop.
So I got excited when my wife came home a couple of weeks ago with these photo cubes from the Target One Stop -- that little island of mostly junky crap that near the front of the retail super-store. The majority of the stuff in this section is priced for $1, and is worth a little less than that. But there's always a good find or two. I recently bought some Silly Putty for my son, to find out if the glossy new Chronicle would reproduce (the answer: sort of). It occurred to me that I could probably purchase all the gifts for my sons, ages 4 and 1, at the One Spot, and they wouldn't be any less happy on Christmas morning. (But that would also deprive me of the pleasure of playing with my older son's new chainsaw.)
These photo cubes are near the top of my family's all-time One Spot scores, second only to the monkey and tiger puppets that I bought for my older son in 2005. They're basically nothing more than three inches square of clear plastic, but once my wife added photos they looked very nice on our mantel.
Now for the disclaimer: I just went to the Albany Target (AKA The Target Majal) and didn't see any left, although there were several empty shelves, which hopefully means they're ordering more. You may have better luck at a Target near you.
| December 15 2009 at 05:30 PM
Broke Guy Day Care: Home Depot Kids Workshops
We have a membership to the Oakland Zoo, but that's mostly for the enjoyment of my wife and I. Given the choice, my 4 1/2-year-old son would rather spend an afternoon looking at reciprocating saws and lawnmowers at Home Depot.
Some assembly required ...
We go to the construction/home improvement superstore frequently, often as a reward if he's good in the morning before preschool. During one of these short trips, I saw a little boy wearing a child-size Home Depot apron. When I asked a clerk where I could buy one, I learned that they give them away free -- at the Kids Workshops at the Home Depot, a sort of construction-themed group craft project that the store hosts this Saturday and the first Saturday of every month.
The workshop is set up from 9 a.m. to noon, the projects are designed for ages 5 and up and all Home Depots participate. Our son has gone twice, and we've been very pleased. Home Depot workers bring simple little construction kits and help the kids put them together. It's a casual thing -- drop by any time -- and from what we've seen not especially crowded. I would put it a step below fire station visits on my list of fun free things to do with your children in the Bay Area, especially if your kid likes to build things.
Below are a few positives and negatives ... Read More 'Broke Guy Day Care: Home Depot Kids Workshops' »
| November 05 2009 at 07:02 AM
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