BACK TO SCHOOL? BACK TO THE MUSEUMS!!!

I think I was one of the last moms to join our playgroup - so my kids are just a couple months younger than most of the other kids.  I thought we would all be on similar school schedules, but turns out those few months made a big difference, as we have January birthdays.  This Fall we looked on wistfully as most of our playmates started Kindergarten, while we still had one more year of preschool.  We sighed, and then started planning some Fall outings.

I don't like summer crowds (maybe because we have lost our kids so many times??)  But, in general, I stay away from any place where I may have to smell be with lots of other people - museums, zoos, amusement parks.  (We are the family that visited Disneyland in January during a rainstorm!)  I haven't made the pilgrimage to the SF Academy of Sciences, and I have even avoided the new Seahorse exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

But with almost everyone back in school, I decided to venture out into the world again.  I really wanted to camp with the boys at New Brighton Beach, but getting reservations there is like trying to get into French Laundry.  But lo and behold, we were suddenly able to get a premium site on the bluffs overlooking the ocean on a late August Sunday night.  I booked the site, and we enjoyed a huge campsite on the bluffs with no neighbors on either side of us for the bargain price of $35.   "Wow!" my husband and I thought.  "This is really great."

Emboldened by our camping experience, we decided to go the Aquarium on Monday morning, right around opening time.  We knew we were onto something when we parked a block away.  We waltzed right in, and had the very best visit we have ever had.  Turns out, the last 2 weeks of August, and the 1st week of September are really quiet, as most kids are just starting school *and* it is too early for Field Trips!  We roamed around like we owned the place.  The play area by Splash Zone - empty.  The play area by The Outer Bay - empty!  And what a luxury to enjoy the Seahorses at a slow leisurely pace.

The following week I decided to try our luck at the Oakland Zoo.  Normally, this zoo isn't very crowded anyway - but again, during the first week of September - it was almost empty!  We were the only ones getting an early lunch in the Cafeteria - and my boys did not have to fight with anyone else (except each other) over who gets to put the key into the Info boxes.  We strolled at a leisurely pace, and I did not have to worry at all about keeping an eye on either boy in crowds.

Obviously, visiting attractions and camping during the week only works if your schedule allows for this.  But for us, "Back to School" weeks are the best time to go back to everything else.   Maybe we'll visit Disneyland this time next year!  Oh, wait - then my kids will be in Kindergarten!

Original post to Mad About Multiples by Nora Kim.